Government affairs

Following House passage last week of the latest legislative package of Coronavirus-relief (the HEROES Act), negotiations amongst Congressional leadership and the Administration are ongoing. The HEROES Act notably requires an enforceable safety standard from OSHA to protect frontline workers such as letter carriers (currently there is none), also includes $25 billion in public-service appropriations for USPS in addition to providing hazard pay for essential workers. Any meaningful action on this package will have to wait until the beginning of June at the earliest as the Senate is now on a 10-day recess/district work period.

While the House was on recess this week, the focus in the Senate was primarily on the consideration and approval of judicial and Executive-branch nominees. The House is set to begin work again next week, which will likely see the first instance of the new proxy voting rule in action as the chamber considers its first pieces of legislation not directly related to the Coronavirus response since March.

NALC activity

On Monday, NALC President Fred Rolando, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, and the presidents of the APWU, NPMHU, and NRLCA, led a coalition of 64 union leaders in a letter to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Leader McConnell, calling on Congress to protect and help the “640,000 steadfast employees of the United States Postal Service (USPS) who every day carry out their essential services on behalf of the people of this country.” The letter highlighted the irreplaceable role USPS and the postal workforce have in our country and the current fragile state of the agency’s finances, before urging Congress to support a $25 billion emergency appropriation to offset mounting losses and help USPS weather this pandemic, a proposal also supported by the Board of Governors. You may read the letter here.

NALC continues to call attention to the need for relief for the duration of the crisis—to fully cover the difference between postage revenues and total USPS expenses during this crisis as well as a mechanism to reimburse the Postal Service for the cost of Covid-19-related leave.

To support our continued efforts, letter carriers should continue contacting their members of Congress to urge support for funding in the next stimulus package. Let Congress know that the Postal Service doesn’t need more debt and that we now have overwhelming voter support for funding. Click here to take action.

In addition, letter carriers should encourage their friends and families to visit the newly launched website www.HeroesDelivering.com, which provides information and resources to the general public on the importance of USPS and the need to keep it strong and well-funded during this pandemic. It gives readers an easy means to contact their legislators and call on them to support funding for the Postal Service in the next legislative package.

Congressional activity

On Tuesday, Speaker Pelosi and House Committee on Oversight and Reform Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) sent a letter to House colleagues to highlight the provisions within the HEROES Act that seek to help USPS weather this dual public health and economic crisis. In it, they call on their fellow members to, “make your U.S. Senators aware of your support for the U.S. Postal Service.” You may read the full letter here.

Following House-passage last week of a new rule (read more here) to allow for remote voting by proxy and for official remote committee proceedings during a public health emergency, such as the current crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic; Speaker Pelosi announced that the rule shall be put into effect starting next week.

The likelihood of proxy voting being allowed in the Senate is small due to Leader McConnell stated opposition to any such rules change. In fact, he took the time to dispute the constitutionality of new House rule, prompting Speaker Pelosi to release a statement in response.

“Remote voting by proxy is fully consistent with the Constitution and more than a century of legal precedent, including Supreme Court cases that make clear that the House can determine its own rules,” said Speaker Pelosi. “As legal scholars have concluded, the ‘Constitution bestows on each House of Congress broad discretion to determine the rules for its own proceedings… This authority is expansive and would include the ability to adopt a rule to permit proxy voting.’

“Leader McConnell’s comments are deliberately misleading, as proxy voting has long been used by Senate committees. Simply and sadly, he is trying to find every excuse not to meet the needs of the American people.”

2020 election activity

2020 primaries are being delayed and in-person voting is being cancelled due to the Covid-19 crisis. Many states are opting to expand absentee and vote-at-home measures so voters and poll workers may remain safe during this election season.

To find the most accurate and up to date information specific to your state elections, you can visit your state’s secretary of state webpage (ex: Ohio) and look for “elections” or if your state does not have a secretary of state, search for the office of elections (example: Hawaii). You can also visit the National Conference of State Legislatures webpage on state primary dates, which is tracking all date changes.

NALC Priority Bills/Resolutions

H.R. 2382/S. 2965 – USPS Fairness Act
Status: Passed House of Representatives, introduced in Senate by Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT)
Co-sponsors: 7 Senate (4 Democrats – 3 Republicans)
House vote: 309 Yea (222 Democrats – 87 Republicans) – 106 Nays (105 Republicans – 1 Independent)

To repeal the requirement that the United States Postal Service prepay future retirement benefits.

House Resolution 23 (H. Res. 23) – Door Delivery
Status: Introduced by Reps. Susan Davis (D-CA) and Peter King (R-NY)
Co-sponsors: 261 (207 Democrats – 54 Republicans)

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the United States Postal Service should take all appropriate measures to ensure the continuation of door delivery for all business and residential customers.

House Resolution 33 (H. Res. 33) – Anti-privatization
Status: Introduced by Reps. Stephen Lynch (D-MA) and Rodney Davis (R-IL)
Co-sponsors: 267 (226 Democrats – 41 Republicans)

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that Congress should take all appropriate measures to ensure that the United States Postal Service remains an independent establishment of the Federal Government and is not subject to privatization.

House Resolution 54 (H. Res. 54) – Six-day Delivery
Status: Introduced by Reps. Gerry Connolly (D-VA) and Sam Graves (R-MO)
Co-sponsors: 292 (217 Democrats – 75 Republicans)

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the United States Postal Service should take all appropriate measures to ensure the continuation of its six-day mail delivery service.

House Resolution 60 (H. Res. 60) – Service Standards
Status: Introduced by Rep. David McKinley (R-WV) and Marcy Kaptur (D-OH)
Co-sponsors: 206 (180 Democrats – 26 Republicans)

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the United States Postal Service should take all appropriate measures to restore service standards in effect as of July 1, 2012.

Senate Resolution 99 (S. Res. 99) – Anti-privatization
Status: Introduced by Sens. Gary Peters and Jerry Moran (R-KS)
Co-sponsors: 54 (44 Democrats – 8 Republicans – 2 Independents)

Expressing the sense of the Senate that Congress should take all appropriate measures to ensure that the United States Postal Service remains an independent establishment of the Federal Government and is not subject to privatization in whole or in part.

H.R. 2478 – Fed Retirement Fairness Act
Status: Introduced by Reps. Derek Kilmer (D-WA) and Tom Cole (R-OK)
Co-sponsors: 58 (45 Democrats – 13 Republicans)

To provide certain federal employees the opportunity to make catch-up retirement contributions for time spent as temporary employees after Dec. 31, 1988, thus making such time creditable service under the Federal Employees Retirement System. Now applies to temporary postal employees, such as letter carriers who spent time as casuals, TEs, and CCAs.

H.R. 2474/S. 1306 – PRO Act
Status: Passed House of Representatives, introduced in Senate by Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA)
Co-sponsors: Senate 40 (39 Democrat, 1 Independent, 0 Republican)
House vote: 224 Yea (219 Democrats – 5 Republicans) – 194 Nays (186 Republicans – 1 Independent)

To increase protections for workers’ right to organize and bargain for higher wages, better benefits, and safer working conditions.