Nadler Offers Alternatives To Avert Postal Closings

The Chief-Leader/Adrienne Haywood-James PROTECTING THE POST: U.S. Rep. Jerrold Nadler said that the U.S. Postal Service's move to close post offices was 'akin to moving around furniture on the deck of the Titanic.' Joined by other elected officials and union members, he called on Congress to pass bills that relieve the agency of having to pre-fund retiree health-care costs and make USPS downsizing more transparent.

Postal union members joined U.S. Rep. Jerrold Nadler and other elected officials Aug. 20 outside a West Village post office that is one of 14 in the city targeted to be closed, and voiced support for legislation that could provide financial aid to the ailing agency.

The American Postal Workers Union believes that the USPS can realize necessary savings without service cuts, and is urging Congress to instead relieve the agency of having to pre-fund retiree health-care benefits, which cost it $5.6 billion annually. Congressman Nadler is supporting two pieces of legislation regarding the USPS, one that would offer some relief on the retiree health-care benefit costs, and one that he said would make USPS downsizing more transparent.

Wants Closings Justified

"The legislation if passed would require that the Postal Service fully explain and justify plant closures, hold public hearings well before the closures, and notify the public well in advance of taking any action," he explained outside the postal station on Hudson St. "A public assessment would then be required for determination on the proposed closure."

Mr. Nadler said the first bill would save the agency more than $3 billion per year. New York Metro Area Postal Union Executive Vice President Clarence Wall said that the union supported both measures, but opposed a companion bill in the U.S. Senate because of an amendment that would require arbitrators to take into account the USPS's financial health when awarding contract terms, a measure unions believe would put workers at a disadvantage.

"In 2005, 2006 and 2007 the Postal Service reached maximum amounts of mail volume, their best years ever in their 234-year history," Mr. Wall said. "So that shows that the Postal Service is needed. Even with the Internet and the technology, the Postal Service still had high volumes—their best years. If it was not for the $5.6 billion that they had to spend every year, [pre-paying the retiree benefits] the Postal Service would have had a surplus of $1.2 billion for 2008 and 2009."

Not Just a Mailing Facility

Union and elected officials said that the USPS offered essential service, especially for small businesses that depend on quick mail service for product delivery and financial transactions and for senior citizens who do not use the Internet. City Council Speaker Christine Quinn recalled that a constituent recently said that her local post office was more like a community center than a mere mailing place, where people ran into neighbors and caught up with people.

Assembly Member Linda Rosenthal of the Upper West Side noted that postal workers were an essential part of the lives of people who are homebound because they come to their homes everyday and are often the first to find out if they need help. Congressman Nadler reiterated that USPS needs to move away from a profit-driven business model and instead seek further funding from the Federal Government.

"The mail service is a public good. It was instituted before the American Revolution," Congressman Nadler said. "If it cannot pay for itself—and maybe it cannot pay for itself—then it has to be part of government services. We don't ask the military to pay for itself. We don't ask highways to pay for itself. There's no good reason why if we're not lucky enough that the Postal Service can make a profit that you have to close services and shut down services."