Yesterday the President unveiled his budget for 2015 and it included several items pertaining to the USPS.  It was both good and bad, but my thinking is it was more bad than good.  For example the 2015 budget would:

1.  Refund to the Postal Service the projected overpayment into the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) - $5 billion over a two year period.  (Good)

2.  Recalculate the USPS retiree health liability and restructure the payments which is supposed to save $9 Billion through 2016. (also good)

3.  Give the USPS authority to reduce mail frequency to 5-days a week.  (Very bad)

4.  Permit the Postal Service to shift to curbside and centralized delivery. (bad)

 As I said any returning of over-payments or recalculation of retiree health care liability is good for the USPS because it helps to limit their financial liabilities.  But, going to 5-day a week delivery would cost thousands of jobs, as would the curbside/centralizied delivery plans.  The Postal Service needs to be allowed to expand services and to develop new revenue streams. 

Just so you know - I supported President Obama in the last election and when he initially ran in 2008.  But, even though he promised to help working people and told us he believed in organized labor, I have not seen him do much to help out.  Like now with the struggles of the USPS - why haven't we heard from him on this issue??  I mean - it is a service that reaches and affects every American citizen.  Why has he let the debate on postal reform go on for the past four years without even trying to help craft a solution?

In reality his budget is dead-on-arrival.  The House and Senate have their own versions and like most other legislation - it will take forever for them to agree to anything.

This is just another curious turn in the never-ending search for meaningful postal reform.

Terry Grant, President OPWU AFL-CIO