Postal Workers, Allies Oppose Slower Service Standards

When postal management unveiled their 10-year Delivering for America plan, APWU vowed to oppose elements of the plan that would affect postal workers, slow down the mail or degrade the service postal workers proudly provide the public. In the past weeks, together with our allies in A Grand Alliance and beyond, postal workers have showed up in a big way in the fight to stop management from slowing down the mail.

As part of their 10-year plan, postal management proposed changes that could slow down mail service for millions of people across the country. Their proposals to extend service standards would lengthen the delivery target for first class mail and periodicals from the current one to three-day standard to as long as a five-day delivery target.

The APWU organized the public opposition to these proposals, and together with our allies, mobilized more than 130,000 submissions to the Postal Service’s public comment process on the proposals. The union has also fully participated in the Postal Regulatory Commission’s proceedings reviewing the Postal Service’s proposed service standard changes.

“Postal workers are proud to serve our communities every single day,” said President Mark Dimondstein. “These negative service changes could affect every community we serve and we’re proud to unite with the people in defense of the prompt and reliable service they deserve.” 

The public comments were a key element of the union’s case at the PRC and were also cited in an important brief submitted on behalf of 21 state attorneys general. In addition to the state AGs, a number of allies submitted comments and briefs into the PRC case, including Public Citizen, the NAACP and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund.

The proceedings at the Postal Regulatory Commission for the proposed service standard changes to first class and periodical mail have concluded. The PRC is expected to issue its advisory opinion on the changes in the coming weeks.