Unions help deliver a legislative win for U.S. Postal Service

After nearly two decades of organizing for legislative change, the United States National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) and American Postal Workers Union workers (APWU) celebrated the passage of the Postal Service Reform Act through the U.S. Senate on 8 March 2022. APWU and NALC are both UNI Global Union affiliates.

The bill, which is expected to be signed into law by President Joe Biden, is one of the most important legislative victories for supporters of a public post in the 21st century. It lifts crushing financial requirements on the USPS, provides for Medicare integration for future retirees, and codifies six-day delivery into law.

“The passage of this legislation is a monumental victory for postal workers, the wider postal community, and the communities we are proud to serve,” said APWU President Mark Dimondstein. “This legislation strengthens the public postal service, a national treasure that has connected us for over 250 years.”

“We thank our fellow postal unions, the mailing industry and postal management for working together on this effort. The resulting legislation – which repeals the unfair pre-funding mandate for retiree health benefits put in place in 2006 and secures the continuation of six-day delivery – puts the USPS in a position to grow and adapt to meet the evolving needs of America’s households and businesses,” said NALC President Fred Rolando.

 The changes in the bill will not only save the post billions of dollars every year for the post. It will ensure the USPS is able to invest in quality jobs for employees and quality services for the hundreds-of-millions of Americans who rely on it nearly every day.

“Over the past two years, we’ve seen how critical the post has been to connect us to each other and to deliver essentials like checks and medicine,” said Cornelia Berger, Head of UNI’s Post&Logistic sector. “This legislation provides the opportunity to secure a bright future for the postal service and for postal workers.