BANGOR, Maine — An estimated 30 U.S. Postal Service employees and supporters gathered Thursday evening to urge Congress to reject legislation they say could be a death knell for the postal service as we know it.
“If Congress doesn’t do something to fix the U.S. Postal Service’s finances by May 15, the postal service plans to close 3,600 post office and 223 processing plants, lay off 100,000 workers, eliminate overnight delivery of first class mail and periodicals, change two-day delivery to three days and end [Saturday] service,” organizer John Curtis, a retired letter carrier from Surry now working with the National Association of Letter Carriers, said during Thursday’s gathering.
At stake in Maine are the Eastern Maine Processing and Distribution Facility in Hampden and as many as 34 post offices, most of them in rural areas. The threat of cutbacks and layoffs has sent postal employees and their supporters into the streets in protest.
“These closures, layoffs and service changes will cause massive disruptions for consumers, small businesses, our communities and our economy,” Curtis said as postal workers and supporters — including members of Occupy Ellsworth and Brewer-based Food AND Medicine — held signs reading “Save America’s Postal Service” and passing motorists honked and waved in solidarity.
While Congress is considering at least four pieces of legislation aimed at revamping the Postal Service, the one that National Association of Letter Carriers is urging Congress to reject is Senate bill 1789.
Sen. Susan Collins is one of the authors of the bipartisan bill, which her spokesman Kevin Kelley said could be considered as soon as next week.
He said the bill does not propose eliminating Saturday delivery.
“In fact, it’s actually the Postal Service that has proposed eliminating Saturday delivery,” Kelley said.
Senate bill 1789 would prohibit the Postal Service from eliminating Saturday delivery for at least two years. Further, he said, it could only be implemented if the Postal Service identifies customers who may be affected disproportionately by five-day delivery and develops remedies; makes full use of its authorities to increase revenue and reduce costs and after implementing all other savings options; and determines that a five-day schedule still is necessary to achieve sustainability.
In a statement distributed at Thursday’s rally, Snowe reiterated her call for postal reform but also addressed letter carriers’ concerns about the Senate bill.
While voicing her strong opposition to the planned closure of the Hampden plant, Snowe said the Postal Service is facing major financial challenges and needs to adopt a “new, sustainable and successful business model.”
“As Congress moves forward on postal reform legislation, we must work to ensure the Postal Service continues to provide the reliable, affordable and convenient services that the public has come to expect, especially in rural communities throughout Maine the country,” she said.
“It also is vital that the Postal Service not preempt Congressional action by unilaterally progressing with the elimination of overnight delivery for First Class mail, implemented in concert with major shutdowns of mail processing facilities and rural post offices,” she said.
According to Curtis and other postal workers, these and other cutbacks in service would not be necessary if Congress did away with a 2006 mandate requiring that the Postal Service prefund — for 75 years in advance — retiree health benefits.
The mandate to prefund retiree health benefits for the next 75 years, and do so within a decade, is a burden no other public agency or private firm faces, spokesmen for the National Association of Letter Carriers and the American Postal Workers Union have said in information sheets distributed to the nation’s news media and the public.
Critics say the mandate is why the Postal Service has been running in the red for the past several years. The postal service is required to set aside $5.5 billion annually, beginning in 2007, Curtis said.
“It has brought the postal service to the edge of extinction,” Curtis said
Also on hand to rally for the Postal Service were Kingman resident Kathy Davis Page, who talked about what the loss of her local post office would mean to the fabric of her small, rural community; Renee Overlock, president of Branch 391 of the National Association of Letter Carriers; William Murphy, director of the University of Maine’s Bureau of Labor Education, who offered his views on how the Postal Service can be fixed; and former Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap, a Democrat from Old Town who is running for Sen. Olympia Snowe’s Senate seat.
The rally in front of the Margaret Chase Smith Federal Building was the third such gathering since last fall, when the U.S Postal Service announced nationwide cutbacks in processing, transportation and delivering capabilities in response to dropping annual mail volumes.
The first such gathering in Bangor took place in September in front of U.S. Rep. Mike Michaud’s office at 6 State St. The second rally was held on Presidents Day near the Bangor post office on Hammond Street and Thursday’s protest was held in front of the Margaret Chase Smith Federal Building on Harlow Street, the former home of the Bangor post office and the current location of Snowe’s Bangor office.
The postal service? Next they’ll tear down the telegraph lines. Then how the hell are we going to communicate?
Communicate? With your kids iphone, silly…..
Someday soon, life will consist of going to work, (for some ;-) ) welfare for the rest, then retreating to the parlor, to play with techno-gadgets until bedtime. Repeat daily.
WHAT? Some are doing this NOW? OOOPS!
SCHWING!!!
HAHAHAHA The telegraph lines have been torn down many many years ago. The Postal Service is next. No Union Bail Out for the Postal Service. Time to Downsize and Privatize.
All the small office with no PM that have non-career oic are
Privatize.
Ok say the privatize so thr federal government will have no say on the mail so that means that there will be towns that will have no mail service than who will deliver mail to those towns ?
The mail can be dropped off by private messenger at the local food store and distributed. The store will have a contract with the new Privatized Postal Service. The Postal Service has done this for many many years using local food stores as their Small Offices. It is the huge Processing Plants with their Union Workers that have bankrupted the Postal Service. The volume of Mail no longer exists to justify having all these processing plants running ONLY 8 hours a day. Consolidation of these plants is needed now to save what is left of the Postal Service.
Do you really think that a company will drive all the way to jackman just to drop off mail an have that person whate all day to bring the mail back ??
The Postal Service does not make multi billion dollar decisions over a few people in Jackman Maine and a handful of letters they receive , mostly junk mail. They would probably give it to a logging truck and the out going mail will go out the next day. That is why the Postal Service has gone to a 5 day window for first class mail instead of the old 3 day window. You Union people will twist anything to maintain your outrageous salaries and benefits. NO POSTAL BAILOUT.
Grayhound Bus!!!! No…. wait….is there still a bus?
Put a office in the local grocery store to handle all services from USPS/ FED EX/ UPS/ DHL and if you want home deliver pay a fee monthly or rent a P.O. box. Within 15 miles of where I live there are 5 small Post Office. They don’t receive any taxpayer money now but laws require them do certain things so we can change a few laws and work out the logistics and we have a private company.
Tell that to the people that live i Jackman
SWCHWING1
Are you aware that FEDX and UPS both contract with USPS to deliver packages they can’t or won’t deliver? UPS is at the local post office every day. So don’t try to say that privatization is better, because it isn’t.
So members of “Occupy Ellsworth” show solidarity for failed government programs that fund the SIEU and other fat cat unions but these OCW folks vocally oppose and protest private sector models of success that work. Shocking. You can always tell a great deal by the company one keeps.
There is no mention of Occupy Wallstreet in the article. It sounds like current and past postal workers. Just because someone is protesting doesn’t mean that it is the Occupy movement.
Curtis said as postal workers and supporters — including members of
Occupy Ellsworth and Brewer-based Food AND Medicine — held signs reading
“Save America’s Postal Service” and passing motorists honked and waved
in solidarity.
Sorry TN it is mentioned.
“It -retirement mandate- has brought the postal service to the edge of extinction,” Curtis said
No, Technology has brought the Post Office to the edge of extinction. The post office has a narrow window of financial effectiveness. Large packages are cheaper to send by UPS, smaller communications by E-mail or File transfer. That window is going to do nothing but shrink.
It looks like the Postal Union wants to set up the public treasury as their retirement vehicle.
I would say it’s the constantly changing world we live in going paperless combined with a mandate to pay someone $20-$30 an hour to deliver mail with benefits no one in the private sector can rival. Compared to UPS or Fedex running part time guys and normal market wages you would think the federal government lives on it’s own planet. Kind of like teachers/professors on tenure and expecting grossly exaggerated compensation.
Can one of you dopes provide a source that shows a single carrier that has cheaper or most cost effective rates on items being shipped that are less then 13oz or items of any weight being shipped internationally?
I’m not going to wait because I already know the answer. It is more then 3x (sometimes more) expensive to mail an item internationally with UPS or FedEx then it is with the USPS and the USPS still has the best rates on items under 13oz.
I have sent 571 business related items items via e-mail since January 1st 2012 that before that date would have been sent by USPS.
That is a savings of $256.95 in postage.
Labor savings of $19.98 minimum.
Envelopes & Paper $42.83
Total savings: $319.76
I expect that number will be about $1,400 by years end. Plans are in place to maybe double that in 2013.
Mine is not the only business doing this. Many millions of us “dopes” are doing this.
It is only a matter of time before before the USPS will be forced to raise its price per item out of the market.
Wow you sent tangible business related items through e-mail? Do you have a device that creates portals? I’d love to be able to send tangible goods through e-mail!
Edit: sarcasm aside all you savy business people should be sending your invoices and other junk paper mail by e-mail instead of wasting resources (paper) and sending it through the mail.
I’m also waiting for someone to find a cheaper method of mailing parcels under 13oz.
The prices for mailing tangible items will inevitably rise. It has no choice. Particularly if our postal Luddites have their way and keep high priced distribution centers open.
What do you tell the people that don’t have computers to bad ?
Yep the buggy dealer had to downsize at one point also.
u funny
u right
But USPS is the one that’s broke, I noticed you said internationally.
The USPS itself is not broke; poor government policy has forced the appearance of it being broke.
Yes if the USPS dissolved and small business can’t afford to ship interntionally what do you think will happen to the cost of their products they sell domestically when they lose those sales?
They will still be in the red without the prefunded mandate. Other companies do international shipping, maybe USPS is under pricing those services to stop competition. I don’t know that for sure.
USPS is a SERVICE not a for profit business.
Just because you keep repeating a lie does not make it true. You even admit you don’t have the facts, but it is obvious you have the rant.
It is cheaper in almost every aspect domestically too unless you are a big businses that has corporate rate with UPS.
The $5 flat rate services (pay and print online) with delivery confirmation in the legal flat rate envelops and padded flat rate envelops is a steal compared to what they would cost at the other carriers.
USPS IS NOT BROKE. They have been forced to fund (over a 10 year period) both their retirement and health care for all employees for the next 75 YEARS. Could you afford to do that?
The big difference is by using UPS or Fedex your package stands a good chance of getting delivered. USPS, not so much.
I bet BIW dose
The government ordered the post to pre fund there retirement
Even without the pre-fund mandate the USPS is in the red.
The average age of a postal employee is 56. The post office cannot keep up its commitment to retirees on the backs of a smaller younger workforce.
now you are trying another angle so nice try
I can’t help it if technology, finance and history are all running against keeping the post office at its current operating level. That’s not my fault.
Glad you like being treated like dirt by your employer. You do realize that is what you said?
The post office is going by the way of the buggy whip. The longer we postpone these cuts, the greater the ultimate debt. “Unnecessary” my butt!
Another US industry strangled to death by greedy unions and complicit management.
There is no mention of Occupy Wallstreet in the article. It sounds like current and past postal workers. Just because someone is protesting doesn’t mean that it is the Occupy movement.
Way to stereotype people from Dixmont. Pretty offensive.
Curtis said as postal workers and supporters — including members of
Occupy Ellsworth and Brewer-based Food AND Medicine — held signs reading“Save America’s Postal Service” and passing motorists honked and waved
in solidarity.
Sorry TN the Occupy Movement is mentioned.
Building new post offices in outlying rural areas was a mistake, evidently. Cutting a Saturday delivery should not be an imposition and having a 3 day instead of 2 day delivery should not be a hardship.
But, maybe cutting outrageous spending and pensions would prevent a boat or luxury car from being purchased by certain employees. NO to bailout!
You and those who liked your comment are either ignorant, or uninformed. What bailout?
Hmmmm….I wonder if they even realize the Post Office is not located in the Federal Building anymore???
These Union Postal Workers just don’t get it. They bankrupted the Postal Service themselves with their outrageous pay and benefits. Let us not forget that the Postal Service has also become obsolete in the age of the Internet Bill Pay, Faxes, and Smart Cell Phones. Protest all you want, you killed your cash cow yourselves. What company gives their workers 6 weeks vacation and unlimited sick pay? Pay Double Time and a Half for standing around doing nothing all night? Sunday Pay. Night Pay. Wake up Union Workers you killed the Postal Service now live with it.
You are wrong did you for get that the government MADE the post office PRE FUND there retirement an medical insurance or did that slip you mind ? How man y companys could stay in business if they were made to per fund stuff ? So don’t try to blame the union
Sounds like your one of the Union Hacks that bankrupted the Postal Service.
No im retired an you did not answer my question you sound like a republican hack
Federal law requires companies to fund their retirement systems. Some fall behind due to economic reasons but have to catch back up in a certain time period or face penalties.
The Post Office was required to fund 75 years worth of pension in a ten year period. What other business is required to do that? None that I know of. Another Republican plan to screw people out of work so they can cry about a bad economy.
Because in 10 years they will go the way of the buggy whip and we’ll be left to pay for the bloated system.
But when they utterly fail to fund them the good old USA steps in to assume the burden. Except when Obama gives them a waver (with a free sandwich coupon).
Yes i know that,, but are they force to per fund at the tune of 5 billion a year ??
80 % of the cost are labor and stopping the prefunding they would still be in the red. Private companies fund their retirement benefits. No lay off rules, really.
no they would not be in the red as you say
Posted 10:50AM 09/07/11Posted under: Company News
According to Post Office lore, “Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.” But fearless as its couriers may be in the face of meteorological adversity, the U.S. Postal Service makes no claims to skill at dealing with storms of an economic sort — and that’s the danger it faces today. On Tuesday, Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe went hat-in-hand before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee to plead for a government bailout. USPS, you see, is losing $9.2 billion a year running those appointed rounds. That’s bad; worse, the Post Office is on track for $20 billion in annual losses by 2015.
yes they will need a bail out IF THEY KEEP MAKING THEM PRE FUND THE RETIREMENT AN HEALTH CARE >
I’ve been looking for part time work since my full time job was downsized and the going rate is $7.67. The new business reality is PART TIME at minimum wage. $920.00 a month! We can make aggregate living facilities out of the post offices!
When i worked at BIW i had over 6 weeks vacation. You work over time an you got time an a half you work a holiday you got holiday pay plus time an a half you work sunday you got double time
Well at least you have proved the depth, the breadth, and the scope of your lack of knowledge. The PO was making money until the Rs demanded a 75 year fund to be covered in 10 years. The PO takes no tax money and does it cheaper, way cheaper than Fedex and UPS.
I don’t blame anyone for protesting when it’s their job being “downsized” but that doesn’t mean anyone else should pay attention to them. We’ve all seen the poor service and uncaring attitude of postal workers for years. NO private business that had to compete on a level playing field would ever survive for long treating their customers this way. Not too many of us particularly care whether or not we get mail delivered on Saturday, or whether it takes 2 days or 3 days to get a bill in the mail. Downsize the postal “service” and cut costs NOW! It’s already gone on way too long.
Blame the UPS lobbyists, FedEx lobbyists, and vultures ready to take all the gravy and dump the service for causing congress to strap the Postal Service with unreasonable costs to strangle it. 5 billion a year in advance health benefits? Who does that?
Take out the 5 billion and their still in the red.
By federal law, private companies must fund their pensions fully, and catch up over time if they fall behind. They don’t have to prefund retiree health benefits.
Communications companies went thru the deregulation process and they survived. Federal law requires them to fund their retirement funds.
But not at the tune of 5 billion a year ?
They fund their retirement plans and health care plans QUARTERLY. Not 75 years in advance. Just once every three months. Pay as you go.
Not for 75 years. The next step they took was to declare bankruptcy and have the pensions cut by 75% and the tax payer cover them. The PO pays its own way.
Like another poster said “read some history” and read some facts.
If they want to save money they should quit making so many different fancy stamps every month. It has to cost more for printing and artwork to make so many different stamps with new ones coming out all the time. I don’t get it.
Wrong again. The variety of stamps actually makes a profit due to the collector value.
All the critics of the USPO still don’t get it. Stereotyping again.
I hope the postal employees doesnt stock to much faith in Snowes help like the people at Loring AFB did when she swapped Loring AFB for Brunswick naval station on the base closure list.the other maine did not have enough supporters to help her reelection campaign.
Good point. But now that she is not running for reelection, maybe she will do the right thing. Just maybe.
What’s up with the ad in the BDN “classifieds” by the USPS for “Temporary Employees”?? Are they preparing for something that may help to keep the distribution center operating?? Seems odd that the proposals involve cut backs, consolidation of services and closing certain offices/centers while advertising for workers……
look closer and it’s probably a scam, ‘ not a traditional classified but one that may require investment’ send your check via USPS to Nigeria.
Let’s be realistic – you can’t shut down the post office. I don’t know about everyone else, but I send birthday and just about every holiday card through the e-mail. I find e-cards almost insulting. I sent presents, little this and thats through the post office – I am not willing to pay $10-$12 to send a small under 5lb package via Fedex or UPS. With all the issues with people stealing your financial information, I still send some bills through the mail – I do not want to have no other choice – there is a problem when we are left with no options – the only company still standing gets to charge whatever they want. No thanks.
Maybe small, rural areas need to be downsized (such as having 4 post offices with Postmasters within 30 miles of each other in Aroostook County). Or maybe we don’t need to pay people upwards of $18-$24 an hour to deliver the mail, maybe some benefits needs to be changed, just like with every other non-federal company, but we need to have that choice to still mail, well, mail.
There is nothing wrong with having a good paying job. UPS workers are well paid, too. But, they should not be forced to pre fund their health care and retirement funds for 75 years in advance. (They have from 2006 to 2016 to pay for the next 75 years.) Every other business owner, including me, pays quarterly. If we had had to pay for the next 75 years, it would not be possible.
I took a letter to UPS 3 months ago an ask her what it would cost to send to a Maine location an she said 10 bucks to send it to Portland an to send it to LA in Ca would cost 12 bucks that is if you take it to UOS if they pick it up it will cost more .
You the Postal Union Mouthpiece for Maine? Boy your Postal Pension must be really great. Too bad all your Union Brothers and Sisters wont see the same pension you got. Most will soon be unemployed. NO POSTAL BAILOUT.
no i tell thats what UPS told me don’t like there prices don’t use them
USPS has not taken a dime from taxpayers since 1971. Once again, READ A HISTORY BOOK. You will find that you owe all the benefits that you now enjoy to hard working UNION PEOPLE! The rich are greedy. They would not give you health care, 40 hour work week, vacation pay, paid holidays, worker’s compensation when you are injured……etc. Could you afford to pay (in a ten year period) ALL your health care and retirement for the next 75 YEARS? That is what Congress required USPS to do. BAILOUT? I think it was USPS that bailed out Congress.
Another Ten DOT problem. There is no bailout, the Post Office takes no tax money and provides a service at 10 to 20 percent of the cost of any competition.
Get educated and learn the facts.
Hey postal workers… welcome to the recession which is deepening…
Not like healthcare, where you can just have the Death Panels kill off enough people to cut expenses.
What are you talking about?
I have always had great service from USPS and the workers are always gracious to me and my family. To have a mailbox right outside my door is wonderful and doesn’t cost me anything . This is a great deal and I appreciate it very much. I do not understand how people can be so negative and unsupportive. It cost me only 45 cents to send a letter any where in the country. Folks will misss this inexpensive service when it is gone. “You don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone”.
Wonderful, then you can pay for the multi billion dollar bailout of the bankrupt Postal Service and every year you can send another 5 billion dollars to Washington DC Postal Headquarters for their yearly subsidy of over paid Union Workers. You just don’t get it, the Postal Service is broke with an obsolete product for sale, Paper Snail Mail and NO VOLUME.
Wow, you are something else.
he sounds like a welfare case or his mind is not in the right place ?
whine you cry baby they have some thing that you don’t have . I NEVER worked for the post offoce
Post Office is not broke. You have the entire problem in reverse. USPS has not taken a dime from taxpayers since 1971. All of its operations–including the remarkable convenience of 32,000 local post offices, are paid for by peddling stamps and other products and services. USPS is required to fund (over a ten year period 2006 to 2016) all health care and retirement funds for the next 75 years. That money, it is my understanding is going into the general fund. Every company pays this quarterly. To require USPS to bare this expense is a design to destroy them. It is not the taxpayer who is bailing out USPS, it is USPS that is bailing out the super rich who won’t pay their taxes.
The post office takes NO TAX MONEY. It runs on what it takes in. Stop being a low information voter and supporting Fedex and UPS stockholders.
You want to know why they are so negative thats because the postal workers have something better than they do every one had a chance to go to work at the post office but chose not to that’s why they are whining now
That’s not very nice.
Oral health is no laughing matter.
(:
The postal service is SUPPOSED TO BE SELF SUSTAINING!!! If they have to close places to do then then so be it.
It is self sustaining. It takes NO TAX MONEY. It runs on what it takes in and the Republicans could not stand a well run agency making their privatize everything attitude look bad.
Does your employer fund your healthcare or retirement for the next 75 years?
Stop being a low information voter and vote for the people, not the stock owners of Fedex and UPS.
Go ahead, close the USPS, and you’ll see MANY small businesses in Maine go elsewhere.
All over the country local USPS offices are fighting to stay open, because local business, local employers, need the Postal Service.
To those who are calling to end the USPS entirely; name a country that has totally privatized their national postal services. Now shut the heck up.
USPS is not a for profit business, it is a SERVICE. Every post office that I have gone into has a line of people waiting to use this service. This would indicate to me that they are needed. UPS charges almost double what the USPS charges to mail a package. What company in the WORLD is required to fund their retirement and health care funds for the next 75 years? (They have from 2006 to 2016 to do this.) Where is that money that USPS is forced by Congress to pay? You all know the cost of health care today, could you afford to pay your own for the next 75 years? FOLLOW THE MONEY! The republicans are just trying to make their rich friends richer. When will they have enough?