The the editor:
Mr. President, your recent comments regarding the United States Postal Service illustrate just exactly how much you do not know even about your own government. You insist that you have no interest in including stimulus for the postal service unless it raises rates on shippers such as Amazon. Mr. President, postage rates are established by the Postal Regulatory Commission. This commission is appointed by the president of the United States. Yes, that is you. The business plan for the postal Service is unique as it does not directly control the retail prices for the goods and services it offers. Your appointees control that.
The United States Postal Service is in debt because irresponsible politicians put it there. In 2006, Congress passed the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act, which put a burden on the postal service that no other government agency faces. The law requires the postal service to pre-fund the government’s portion of retirees’ retirement and health care costs 75 years into the future. This requires the not-for-profit postal service to net profit about $5 billion a year to make this payment. This results in the postal service’s inability to acquire new equipment, new vehicles, modernization, etc.
Mr. President, you said we are not considered “essential workers” although we work seven days a week 355 days a year. We also work 10- to 12-hour days regardless of weather, health or safety concerns. We are the city/rural letter carriers, mail handlers, clerks, supervisors, postmasters, custodians and mechanics. In many cases, we are the face of the federal government. Yes, we are essential workers.
Letter carriers delivering in the neighborhoods of America are role models, counselors, lawyers, nurses, doctors, firefighters, veterinarians and mechanics. We deliver medication, greeting cards, stimulus checks, newspapers and smiles. We look after your grandparents to see that they are safe, and, in many cases, we are the only person they will see this week. We ARE essential workers.
There are 600,000 postal workers who get up every day and wear red, white, and blue proudly to effortlessly perform their job duties regardless of this pandemic — a pandemic that has already taken the lives of our fellow co-workers, family and friends. The dedicated postal employees will not let America down during this time. So please, Mr. President, do not let us down.
Mr. President, please protect the United States Postal Service and support a stimulus package to preserve America’s oldest institution.
Greg Felts
Pendleton
