Guffey to Testify on Postal Finances Before Senate Subcommittee

APWU President Cliff Guffey will testify before a Senate Subcommittee on May 17 about the USPS financial crisis and the steps needed to restore financial stability to the cash-strapped agency. The hearing will be broadcast on the committee's Web site beginning at 10:30 a.m.

The hearing will focus on “the difficulties currently facing the Postal Service and the plans postal management has developed to address them,” said Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE), chairman of the of the Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information, Federal Services, and International Security.

The subcommittee also will examine legislative proposals to address USPS difficulties, including an updated version of a bill Sen. Carper introduced last year.

“The Postal Service must receive immediate, short-term relief from the unique and unreasonable requirement that it pre-fund retiree health benefits,” Guffey said. “Furthermore, the USPS must expand — not cut — service in order to survive and remain relevant in the future.”

The APWU president has been calling on union activists to focus attention on legislative issues. “It is critical that our members contact their elected officials and impress upon them the importance of supporting measures that will get the Postal Service back on track to fiscal solvency,” he said.