"Preserving An American Institution"
William Arthur, Inc. in West Kennebunk prints exquisite greeting cards, invitations, and personalized stationery. I visited the factory last spring and met many of its 350 employees who believe in the company's products and that, even in the age of email and Facebook, Americans still want to send a thank you note, wedding invitation, or Christmas card in the mail.
Nearly 38,000 Mainers work in jobs related to the mailing industry. Nationwide, the U.S. Postal Service is the linchpin of a $1.1 trillion mailing and mail-related industry that employs approximately 8.7 million Americans in fields as diverse as direct mail, printing, catalog companies, and paper manufacturing.
Unfortunately, the Postal Service -- so vital to our economy -- is on the verge of collapse. It is in imminent financial danger and literally won't survive without legislative and administrative reforms. Absent action, it won't be able to meet its payroll less than a year from now.
That is why I have teamed with a bipartisan group of my colleagues - Senators Joe Lieberman, Tom Carper, and Scott Brown -- to put forward a bill that would give the Postal Service the authority it needs to restructure, modernize, survive, and thrive.
I worked to ensure that this legislation would not permit the Postal Service to simply raise prices and cut services - tactics that would only drive more customers away and accelerate its death spiral.
For example, our bill would require the Postal Service to continue serving remote areas like islands off the coast of Maine and communities with transportation challenges such as inclement weather that affect access to services. It would also needs to establish minimum standards that have to be met in terms of reasonable time and distance a customer would have to travel to a Postal location.
The Post Office on Matinicus Island is a good example. Matinicus Island is 20 miles off the coast and today receives mail five rather than six days a week, and then only in good weather. Closing this post office or moving it into a large retail facility is simply not realistic. For the residents of Cliff Island, off Portland, closing their Post Office would mean a more than two-hour roundtrip by ferry in order to send parcels or conduct all but the most simple of postal transactions.
Our bill would prohibit for two years the Postal Service's plan to eliminate Saturday delivery. Five-day delivery would force industries ranging from home-delivery of medicines to newspapers to turn to other, non-postal delivery options. Once these private firms leave the mail system behind, they won't be coming back, and the Postal Service's revenues will suffer another blow.
Under our legislation, eliminating Saturday delivery could only be implemented if other cost cutting reforms have been tried and the savings still are not enough. In other words, five-day delivery is prohibited unless the Postal Service demonstrates that eliminating Saturday service is truly the last resort, not the first option.
Among many other provisions, our bill proposes long-overdue reforms in the federal workers' compensation program that will save hundreds of millions of dollars, put many individuals back on the path to work, and bring it in line with most states. Federal and postal workers' comp benefits are often more generous than those given to workers in Maine and are tax free.
Workers' comp is essential to help tide over employees who are injured and to make sure they receive income while they recuperate, pending their return to work. But, in some cases, it has become a tax-free retirement plan, and it's one of the threats to the Postal Service's bottom line. The Postal Service spends more than a billion dollars a year on workers' compensation. The truth is, the Postal Service currently has more than 2,000 employees who are 70 years-old or older who are receiving higher payments on workers' comp than they would under the standard retirement program. It is obvious that these employees are not coming back to work. One Postal Service employee receiving workers' comp is 99 years old!
The Postal Service has its roots in Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution. Americans continue to need universal and affordable mail service. Yes, email and electronic bill paying has eroded volume, but many people still want a hard copy of their bill, a birthday card, a magazine, or the weekly newspaper delivered in the mail. The Postal Service must re-invent itself in order to survive. It must embrace changes to revitalize its business model, enabling it to attract and keep customers. Our bipartisan bill would help the U.S. Postal Service evolve and maintain its vital role in American society.
Nearly 38,000 Mainers work in jobs related to the mailing industry. Nationwide, the U.S. Postal Service is the linchpin of a $1.1 trillion mailing and mail-related industry that employs approximately 8.7 million Americans in fields as diverse as direct mail, printing, catalog companies, and paper manufacturing.
Unfortunately, the Postal Service -- so vital to our economy -- is on the verge of collapse. It is in imminent financial danger and literally won't survive without legislative and administrative reforms. Absent action, it won't be able to meet its payroll less than a year from now.
That is why I have teamed with a bipartisan group of my colleagues - Senators Joe Lieberman, Tom Carper, and Scott Brown -- to put forward a bill that would give the Postal Service the authority it needs to restructure, modernize, survive, and thrive.
I worked to ensure that this legislation would not permit the Postal Service to simply raise prices and cut services - tactics that would only drive more customers away and accelerate its death spiral.
For example, our bill would require the Postal Service to continue serving remote areas like islands off the coast of Maine and communities with transportation challenges such as inclement weather that affect access to services. It would also needs to establish minimum standards that have to be met in terms of reasonable time and distance a customer would have to travel to a Postal location.
The Post Office on Matinicus Island is a good example. Matinicus Island is 20 miles off the coast and today receives mail five rather than six days a week, and then only in good weather. Closing this post office or moving it into a large retail facility is simply not realistic. For the residents of Cliff Island, off Portland, closing their Post Office would mean a more than two-hour roundtrip by ferry in order to send parcels or conduct all but the most simple of postal transactions.
Our bill would prohibit for two years the Postal Service's plan to eliminate Saturday delivery. Five-day delivery would force industries ranging from home-delivery of medicines to newspapers to turn to other, non-postal delivery options. Once these private firms leave the mail system behind, they won't be coming back, and the Postal Service's revenues will suffer another blow.
Under our legislation, eliminating Saturday delivery could only be implemented if other cost cutting reforms have been tried and the savings still are not enough. In other words, five-day delivery is prohibited unless the Postal Service demonstrates that eliminating Saturday service is truly the last resort, not the first option.
Among many other provisions, our bill proposes long-overdue reforms in the federal workers' compensation program that will save hundreds of millions of dollars, put many individuals back on the path to work, and bring it in line with most states. Federal and postal workers' comp benefits are often more generous than those given to workers in Maine and are tax free.
Workers' comp is essential to help tide over employees who are injured and to make sure they receive income while they recuperate, pending their return to work. But, in some cases, it has become a tax-free retirement plan, and it's one of the threats to the Postal Service's bottom line. The Postal Service spends more than a billion dollars a year on workers' compensation. The truth is, the Postal Service currently has more than 2,000 employees who are 70 years-old or older who are receiving higher payments on workers' comp than they would under the standard retirement program. It is obvious that these employees are not coming back to work. One Postal Service employee receiving workers' comp is 99 years old!
The Postal Service has its roots in Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution. Americans continue to need universal and affordable mail service. Yes, email and electronic bill paying has eroded volume, but many people still want a hard copy of their bill, a birthday card, a magazine, or the weekly newspaper delivered in the mail. The Postal Service must re-invent itself in order to survive. It must embrace changes to revitalize its business model, enabling it to attract and keep customers. Our bipartisan bill would help the U.S. Postal Service evolve and maintain its vital role in American society.
