History and Us: Santa Clara County vs. Southern Pacific Railroad Company and Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution of the United States; remember these two.  They could, they will, have profound influence on your life, immediate influence.   Of course, this is just a average citizen talking, and I am sure there are also attorneys and lawmakers ready to espouse their learned opinions on these noted instances of American history.   More

Legislative Trip Report: This was only the second legislative trip to Washington DC that I have had the privilege to make with the TSALC delegation.  Last time the big issue was contracting Post Office work out to the private sector, and we were successful in getting sufficient support from our friends in Congress to get the Postal Service to back off that topic and get back to the bargaining table. our jobs.    More

A threat to our collective bargaining agreement: Meanwhile, Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT), ranking member of the Subcommittee on Federal Workforce, Postal Service, and the District of Columbia, introduced H.R. 5919 July 29. The NALC's interpretation of this bill is that it would give the Postal Service authority to randomly assign 12 furlough days a year, thus directly interfering with our collective bargaining agreement. The NALC will continue its efforts to pass the legislation introduced by Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-MA), H.R. 5647 (see below), and will ask Rep. Chaffetz to make the same effort. Rep. Lynch's bill would provide the Service with significantly more financial relief than H.R. 5919 would, and it would do so with no impact on letter carriers' pay and benefits.

NALC responds to rate increase announcement: President Fredric V. Rolando issued a statement responding to proposed measures to solve the USPS' budget problems, noting that answer is not to be found by making misleading claims about labor costs. "To make this a labor issue ignores the larger financial issues at play," he said. Click here to read more.

PRC confirms USPS overcharged by 'at least $50-$55 billion': The Postal Regulatory Commission issued a report to the Postal Service on June 29 confirming the widely-held view that the USPS was massively overcharged for pension costs related to service preformed by the taxpayer-supported Post Office Department before 1971.  Click here for more

Cutting Saturdays would be a 'blunder': NALC President Fred Rolando testified Wednesday before a joint congressional committee hearing on the U.S. Postal Service's action plan for the future, which includes the possibility of cutting a day of mail delivery service each week.  Click here to read his complete testimony.

Now accepting applications: NALC Executive Vice President Gary Mullins is now taking application forms for the 2011 Leadership Academy classes. To be eligible for next year's training, forms must be postmarked by September 30. Click here to learn more about the Academy. Please note: Previous applicants must reapply and include updated information, along with renewed commitments from their mentors. Download the application form

Big wins for NALC activists: In two clearvictories for lettercarrier activism, the full Senate Appropriations Committee on July 29 approved Fiscal Year 2011 bills that leave six-day mail delivery intact—and also on July 29, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services marked up its bill, with language on six-day delivery untouched as well. Click here to read coverage by Bloomberg, featuring quotes from Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL).

H.R. 5746 co-sponsors: 35

Financial reform legislation advances: A House subcommittee has voted 8-1 to support H.R 5746, the bill introduced July 15 by Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-MA) to address the Postal Service's financial problems. If passed, the bill would implement many of the Postal Regulatory Commission recommendations. It now goes to the full House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. The NALC is now calling on all legislative activists to recruit co-sponsors for H.R. 5746.

One isn't enough? Buried at the bottom of a piece in a recent edition of The Washington Post on PMG Jack Potter was this quote from his remarks at April's National Postal Forum in Nashville: "The value of going to four days—removing a second day—is even greater."

H.R. 173 co-sponsors: 238

Wait just a second: Remember, only Congress can authorize any reduction in the number of delivery days—and so far, 238 House members have signed on as co-sponsors of H. Res. 173, "expressing the sense of the House ... that the United States Postal Service should take all appropriate measures to ensure the continuation of its 6-day mail delivery service." Has your rep signed on? Click here to find out how you can contact your rep and find out if they're with us in our fight to prevent a potential Postal Service death spiral.

You can help 'Save Saturday Delivery': The NALC has launched a nationwide campaign to stop the USPS from making "a big mistake." You can do your part by submitting comments to the Postal Regulatory Commission's website. Click here to find out how.

The NALC's legislative and political action blog

Billings- Postal workers picket to preserve Saturday service: Their contracts prevent them from going on strike, but that didn’t stop postal workers from picketing Tuesday in Billings. (7/20)

EPI: Congressional mandates are to blame: A recent report by the Economic Policy Institute agrees with a growing consensus—that postal reform’s call for pre-funding future retiree health benefits is the reason for most of the Postal Service’s recent losses, accounting for “all of the operating losses in 2007 and 2008 and a significant portion” of 2009’s loss. “Eliminating Saturday delivery would cost roughly 80,000 jobs...and would negatively affect postal customers.... Were it not for the retiree health pre-funding mandate, the USPS would not face the same short-term pressure that has led the Postmaster General to propose cutting Saturday delivery.” Click here to read the report (PDF).

Record collected in 2010 food drive: Americans donated a record 77.1 million pounds of food to help "Stamp Out Hunger" this year in the annual Letter Carriers National Food Drive. Read more

Branches ready to 'Bust a Billion': With just days to go until the 18th annual "Stamp Out Hunger" NALC National Food Drive on Saturday, May 8, letter carriers are stepping up preparations to break the billion-pound collection milestone, with a boost from celebrities, a race car driver, and an offer of some tabulation help from global consulting firm Accenture. Click here to find out more. | NALC Bulletin

Convention registration deadline approaches: Branches with 500 or more members that wish to electronically register their delegates for the Anaheim convention next August must return the postcard sent to them with the Convention Call no later than December 31. The postcards should be returned to Secretary-Treasurer Broendel at NALC Headquarters. Contact