Statement from the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO on USPS decision to cut Saturday mail delivery

HARRISBURG, Pa., Feb. 6, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The United States Postal Service (USPS) latest plan to end Saturday mail delivery harms Pennsylvania's working families – especially older Pennsylvanians and small business owners who rely on Saturday deliveries. It would also be a major blow to Pennsylvania's economic recovery at a time when job growth remains anemic.   

"Our outrage today is focused on the USPS. Postal service executives cannot save the Postal Service by tearing it apart. The slash and burn cuts to mail delivery and other postal services unravels the fabric of the nation's mail system and puts it on a path to privatization. And the job losses in Pennsylvania and elsewhere are wrongheaded anytime, but especially during an anemic economic recovery," stated Pennsylvania AFL-CIO President Rick Bloomingdale.

"The elimination of Saturday mail delivery adds to the impact of USPS actions leading to the closing of 13,000 post offices, or severely cutting hours of operation, shuttering hundreds of mail processing centers and lowering standards for mail delivery to our county's homes and business. The economic impact is already beginning to register with cities and towns throughout the country," Secretary-Treasurer Snyder said.

"We understand the USPS has financial challenges. However much of it is a mess of Congress's making stemming from an unsustainable congressional mandate requiring the USPS to pre-fund healthcare benefits for future retirees and to do so within in a 10 year window. No other entity, public or private carries this load. The mandate has created a $5.5 billion dollar annual expense since 2007," Snyder added.

"The Pennsylvania AFL-CIO stands with the consumers who want Saturday mail delivery and the workers who make it happen. We are mobilizing our people and resources to keep the mail coming. Immediately we are calling on Members of Congress to provide relief for the USPS from the devastating mandate requiring the pre-payment of healthcare benefits and to mandate 6 day mail delivery. We are calling on Pennsylvania workers to stand with their brothers and sisters in the postal service and contact their Member of Congress and the Whitehouse to demand Saturday mail delivery be continued as is," Bloomingdale stated. The Pennsylvania AFL-CIO website, www.paaflcio.org, will serve as a conduit to connect workers to the leaders who can make a difference in this fight.

SOURCE Pennsylvania AFL-CIO