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OpEdNews Op Eds    H3'ed 12/28/11

Wrecking America's Postal Service

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Pensioners dependent on benefit checks to pay bills, anyone buying drugs and other essentials by mail, and businesses needing prompt delivery to operate effectively will be impacted.

According to a Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) Retail Access Optimization Initiative (RAOI) Advisory Opinion , so will rural America.

RAOI says small post office closures aren't about "rationalizing" the network as savings achieved are minimal. At issue is breaking the bond between small communities and USPS and hastening privatization to make delivery services another profit center instead of a public service.

Currently, USPS generates about $62 billion annually in revenues. Corporate America wants them. Donahue serves their interests. So do union bosses.

They agreed to past work force reductions. In 1999, USPS employed over 900,000. Today it's around 600,000, a nearly one-third drop, including attrition of over 100,000 under Obama.

On November 21, USPS Postmaster General/CEO Patrick Donahue's National Press Club speech was interrupted with calls, saying: 

"Hey, hey, ho, ho, Donahue has got to go," and "Don't privatize the post office. It's a public service. It's not a profit center for Fed Ex and UPS to rip off the people. Return the overpaid pension funds....Stop closing post offices."

Outside the building protesters yelled, "This is what democracy looks like," and "We are the 99%."

Donahue claims mail delivery downgrading will save $2.1 billion annually. Other cuts will save $20 billion by 2015, he says. He also wants Congress to end no-layoff union contract clauses for career employees, halt retiree healthcare and pension contributions, and impose other anti-worker measures.

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