WHEELING - Postal workers took their case to Rep. David McKinley on Tuesday in an effort to save their jobs.
Members of the American Postal Workers Union and National Association of Letter Carriers gathered in front of McKinley's office in the Federal Building on Chapline Street in Wheeling. The congressman said he already supports their cause, but he does not have enough information to convince the rest of those on Capitol Hill.
McKinley, R-W.Va., sat down in his office with representatives of each group to discuss the U.S. Postal Service's Pension Obligation Recalculation and Restoration Act of 2011, aka House Resolution 1351.
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Postal workers rally in front of the Federal Building in Wheeling on Tuesday.
The bill calls for Congress to address a "decades-old accounting error" within the Office of Personnel Management. The postal service claims the Office of Personnel Management overcharged the postal service on its contributions to the Civil Service Retirement System.
There reportedly is a $6.9 billion "surplus" in the USPS retirement fund. Passage of the bill would allow a pending $5.5 billion payment to the Postal Service Retiree Health Benefit Fund to be drawn from the retirement fund.
Another $1.2 billion of the surplus would be used for workers' compensation expenses.
The desired result is a short-term fix, but it does not address mandated payments in future years.
McKinley, therefore, asked the union representatives to summarize a restructuring plan so the USPS can pay debts later without assistance.
"Passing HR 1351 is the first step in the right direction," said NALC Branch 66 President Dan Kleeh.
The congressman, however, noted Capitol Hill is split on the issue and said he would need to hear a concrete plan to make up future debts. He also mentioned about $10 billion in losses by the USPS, which includes the retiree health benefit payment. Even if HR 1351 passes, he said, the postal service still would be more than $3 billion in the red this fiscal year.
Bruce McNeil, NALC Branch 66 vice president, said a possible money saver could be more rational delivery districts. He described how nearby municipalities in Belmont County must have their mail processed via Youngstown, Ohio, rather than Wheeling or Pittsburgh. McNeil said the system is derived from lawmakers' efforts to keep operations within political districts.
McKinley agreed mail processing should be free of politics, but said more should be done regarding marketing, advertising and other revenue-generating strategies. He cited the recent "If it fits, it ships" flat rate box promotion as a good example for future planning.
Kleeh said he would need to consult with postal service officials on the state and national levels over the next several weeks to develop further plans and plausible solutions.
In the meantime, McKinley said he will research some of his own solutions, such as discovering how the USPS stayed in the black decades ago and finding every factor in its decline.