House postal caucus briefed on pressing issues

Today, NALC President Brian Renfroe and other postal union and association leaders briefed the House postal caucus on the most pressing issues facing letter carriers and all postal employees.

President Renfroe addressed the unprecedented crimes and assaults letter carriers continue to face and urged the caucus to advance the Protect Our Letter Carriers Act (H.R. 1065).

He also explained necessary changes needed to improve the agency's finances. These include a new investment strategy for USPS's healthcare retirement funds, a fair recalculation of the agency's Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) pension obligations, and an increase in the agency's borrowing authority, which hasn't been increased in decades. He emphasized that if the caucus seeks to improve service, these changes are essential.

"For service to improve, the Postal Service must modernize and have the ability to invest in its infrastructure. That infrastructure includes facilities, vehicles, technology, and most importantly - its employees," he said. "These policy changes will give them that ability," he added.

With Postmaster General David Steiner expected to testify for the first time before Congress on his priorities for the Postal Service, it is essential for the caucus to centralize these polices and avoid any proposals that undermine service, the network, or employees' safety, benefits, and job security.

Representatives from the American Postal Workers Union, the National Postal Mail Handlers Union, the National Rural Letter Carriers' Association, the National Association of Postal Supervisors, and the United Postmasters and Managers of America also addressed the caucus.

The postal caucus is a bipartisan group of 26 representatives focused on employee safety, improving service, and the Postal Service's financial future. The caucus is co-chaired by Reps. Jack Bergman (R-MI), Nikki Budzinski (D-IL), Andrew Garbarino (R-NY) and Chris Pappas (D-NH).

Reps. Nick LaLota (R-NY), Emily Randall (D-WA) and James Walkinshaw (D-VA) also attended the roundtable.