- Atecia Robinson
- Members from NALC union 599 (from left to right: Tony Diaz, George McEndree, Debbie McEndree, Seve Gonzalez and Sam Santilli)
There is so much at stake for the United States Postal Service, who face laying off 120,000 employees if congress does not vote for H.R. 1351.
In 2006 congress passed a bill that required the USPS to pay a 75-year liability of $5.5 billion a year for ten years. The liability payment was supposed to “pre-fund” healthcare benefits for future retirees.
Anthony "Sam" Santilli, the labor management president of the National Association of Letter Carriers in the state of Florida gathered along with other members of the NALC Branch No. 599 and USPS letter carriers to rally on North Armenia Ave, to inform South Tampa about H.R. 1351 this past Tuesday. “We’re here to let Kathy Castor know we say thank you for supporting us in our fight to stop the pre-funding, and to free up our pension money so we can use it to build our organization not tear it down,” said Santilli.
The USPS says service cut-offs, the elimination of Saturday deliveries, closing up to 3,700 offices and processing locations are what’s at stake. Despite the no—layoffs clause in the union’s contract, many carriers are in danger of losing their positions if congress doesn’t act.
This article appears in Sep 29 – Oct 5, 2011.