NOT FOR SALE $: USPS Workers Reject WH Plan To Privatize Postal Service; April 15- Tax Day Action
"KEEP IT, IT'S YOURS!" Postal Workers' Message to Public Denounces Trump Privatization Plan. "DON'T SELL THIS NATIONAL TREASURE to private interests that will charge more for less service," union says before Tax Day events. Andrea Germanos, Common Dreams, April 14, 2019.
U.S. Postal Service workers will hold a day of action Monday to reject a Trump White House proposal to privatize the service. "Our message to the public is quite simple. 'The United States Postal ServiceKeep it. It's yours!'" said Mark Dimondstein, president of the American Postal Workers Union (APWU), in a statement.
> "Don't sell this national treasure to private interests that will charge more for less service."
> The workers' message, which they plan on delivering outside over 100 locations across the nation, is actually twofold. In addition to rejecting privatizationas well as a "franchising the mailbox" proposal floated by a White House task force, they want to dispel the myth that the USPS is funded through tax dollars.
*It's a timely message given that Monday is Tax Day. Putting the postal service in private hands would be bad news for customers, who'd face service cutbacks and higher prices, the union says. To amplify its message, the union also just released a video entitled "We Deliver Almost Anything." "The post office will take almost anything but your tax dollars. But some in the government want to sell off the post office to private corporations. That'd be the end of delivering almost anything, anywhere at a cost you can afford," the narrator says.
-> WATCH USPS VIDEO: "We Deliver Almost Anything" ! Support the US Postal Service- It's YOURS!
To explain the looming threat, the U.S. Mail Not for Sale campaign, a project of APWU and the National Association of Letter Carriers, states: On June 21, 2018, the White House's Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released a restructuring proposal for the federal government. The proposal, "Delivering Government Solutions in the 21st Century," delivered misinformation without ever consulting the United States Postal Service (USPS) and, if implemented, would end regular mail and package services at one affordable price, delivered to all 157 million addresses six days a weekregardless of geographic location. The OMB proposal takes direct aim at the USPS under the guise of reforming and structuring for the 21st century." [...]
The White House USPS Task Force Report, released on Dec. 4, outlines the first step of the OMB's privatization proposalrestructuring the USPS to fatten it up for sale. Rejecting the task force report, Dimondstein wrote last month: Recommendations like shuttering post offices, reducing delivery days, and relinquishing the sanctity of the mail that mailers and household have come to trust and rely upon are unlikely to be the commercial panacea the task force suggests they may be.
> It's a classic death spiral scenario and should be rejected by everyonemailers, organizations, and regular household usersthat relies on the Postal Service's affordable, nationwide network to market, exchange goods and information and conduct their affairs. It should be especially concerning to the most vulnerable across the country, especially those in rural and remote areas, the poor and underserved and veterans who especially rely on postal delivery of life-saving medicines. More, https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/04/14/keep-it-its-yours-postal-workers-message-public-denounces-trump-privatization-plan
StTimofEdenRoc
(445 posts)They need more retirement funds to steal.
CousinIT
(9,245 posts)I think they're primarily after the unions. Privatize the USPS and the union(s) is/are GONE.
stuffmatters
(2,574 posts)CousinIT
(9,245 posts)And The Devil's vengeant ass would love to destroy these decent folk.
Doodley
(9,092 posts)JohnnyRingo
(18,635 posts)The republicans know where union dues go, it's the #1 source of democratic party donations. That's why union dues are the first casualty of Right To Work laws.
Postal workers are fed workers unaffected by state laws. That's why they have to hand it over to private interests that will hire unorganized low wage employees.
CousinIT
(9,245 posts)...that's probably primarily what they're after.
appalachiablue
(41,140 posts)the 'right to freeload,' workers draining union funds as planned.
HuskyOffset
(889 posts)JohnnyRingo
(18,635 posts)There may be some Right To Work laws in certain states that try to regulate donations (for their own political purposes), but the #1 donor to the Democratic Party nationally are labor unions, in particular service unions, postal workers, and teachers. It used to be auto workers, but outsourcing changed that. They can't outsource the remaining union workers so republicans fight to end union dues, the prime cause in every Right To Work law.
The #1 donor to the GOP are various energy companies. That certainly explains a lot about climate change, doesn't it?
https://www.investopedia.com/news/top-democrat-donors/
https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/list.php?id=
HuskyOffset
(889 posts)I found this which says:
Are my dues being used to fund political candidates I do not support?
NO. Federal and various state campaign contribution laws prohibit dues dollars being used for political campaign contributions.
and:
If my dues cant be used for political contributions, how do Unions contribute to political campaigns?
Unions participate in political campaigns through donations from a political action committee (PAC) fund, funded by voluntary union member contributions.
The FEC web site seems to agree with that.
JohnnyRingo
(18,635 posts)https://www.investopedia.com/news/top-democrat-donors/
The fact remains that unions are the single largest donor to democrats, and they act like it by sticking up for the working class.
FEC Data From Feb 2019_____________________Total________To Democrats
Carpenters & Joiners Union_________________$38,366,262____$37,822,215
Service Employees International Union________$28,224,658____$28,219,509
Laborers Union___________________________$27,538,080____$26,810,870
National Education Assn____________________$20,647,535____$20,362,583
American Federation of Teachers_____________$20,020,711____$19,986,642
American Federation of State/Cnty/Muni_______$13,397,952____$13,373,953
Operating Engineers Union__________________$10,704,285____$9,924,294
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers__$9,867,170_____$9,669,751
United Food & Commercial Workers Union______$8,201,202 _____$8,179,319
Communications Workers of America__________$7,592,938_____$6,886,028
United Steelworkers_______________________$6,885,226_____$6,427,342
https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/list.php?id=
HuskyOffset
(889 posts)but those are all voluntary contributions. Unions are prohibited by law from using dues money for political activity.
JohnnyRingo
(18,635 posts)As a lifelong union member and retiree, I know for a fact that the IUE and UAW sent a portion of our dues to democrats. I provided the links to explain how this is done with soft money. I was never asked by my local to "voluntarily" make donations. Never. they pool unlimited money in PACs and send it along.
Ironically, republicans fought for this loophole (Citizens United) all the way to the Supreme Court in order to allow businesses like the Koch Bros to donate unlimited funds to the assholes who butter their bread. They don't ask employees what they want either.
This time, check the link below to see how much is from individuals, PACs, and soft money.
https://www.opensecrets.org/industries/totals.php?cycle=2018&ind=P04
HuskyOffset
(889 posts)I was all set to argue with you further, but then I tried reading 11 CFR Part 114 and I went cross-eyed and my brain started to hurt, so I'm just going to throw up my hands and say "you win".
PatrickforO
(14,576 posts)Let's NOT.
JayhawkSD
(3,163 posts)The USPS is funded entirely by its own operations, by revenue from the sale of its own products and services. No government tax revenue is given to the USPS to fund its operation, and has not been for quite a few years. Privatizing it would serve no purpose.
exactly right. Also postal workers are not allowed to strike. The postal service isnt the governments to give away. I think if it were privatized you would see fewer post offices and rural areas would be hit hard.
JayhawkSD
(3,163 posts)If it were privatized would the government still be able to mandate the inability to strike? I suspect not. Would the government still be able to mandate delivery to all points? Almost certainly not.
So it would accomplish nothing positive and would have a negative impacts on the citizens of the nation.
There are some things the government does better than private enterprise. That being said, there is a place for FedEx and UPS, and it seems to me that having both government and private enterprise service the public in this area is useful.