A Proud Day for NAPS

A Proud Day for NAPS
By Chuck Mulidore
NAPS Executive Vice President

I have never been so proud to be a NAPS member as I was on June 24 after attending a hearing of the House Oversight and Accountability Subcommittee on Government Operations with Bob Levi, NAPS’ director of Legislative & Political Affairs, on the future of the U.S. Postal Service. During the hearing, Bob and I both were called out by Subcommittee Chairman Pete Sessions (R-TX) and ranking member Kweisi Mfume (D-MD) for our attendance at the hearing.

Why do I tell you this and why was I so proud of NAPS that day? Because the other postal management organization was not recognized for attending the hearing. That organization has no full-time legislative director as NAPS has.

They outsource their legislative work to a firm that has multiple clients, thus weakening their influence. Nor did they have a national officer at the hearing.

NAPS always is at the forefront of legislative battles, led by our full-time legislative director Bob Levi who has massive recognition and influence on the Hill; that was very evident during the hearing. To me, that is a tremendous talking point when we discuss with prospective members the differences between NAPS and the other management organization.

We are on the Hill full time, fighting and representing all EAS employees. We know the issues and we know the leaders in Congress. They call out to us at hearings.

I want to emphasize that it was Bob Levi who recognized that, in the Congressional Budget Office’s review of the Senate’s version of H.R. 1, it actually would cost the government over $110 million to include language requiring newly hired or promoted EAS employees to pay more in FERS contributions or face “at-will” status in the USPS. This violated the Senate’s Byrd Rule mandating that reconciliation bills not increase the deficit.

Levi collaborated with the staff of Michigan Sen. Gary Peters, a close NAPS ally, to bring this to the Senate parliamentarian under a “point of order.” The parliamentarian accepted the point of order and subsequently struck this language from the bill.

As we know, H.R. 1 passed the Senate under the reconciliation process, then passed the House in a close vote. However, all the negative language in H.R. 1 that directly affected postal employees—current and future, and specifically EAS—was removed from the reconciliation bill.

Should we celebrate that victory? No. The fight is not over. We have to continue working to keep this negative language out of any future legislation, particularly a rumored, second reconciliation bill possibly forthcoming later this year.

More storm clouds hung over that day’s hearing on other postal matters. I provided written testimony to the subcommittee, which was accepted in the record, detailing NAPS’ vision of a vital Postal Service unburdened by past congressional meddling, as well as prudent and rational decisions by Congress and leadership at L’Enfant Plaza.

A panel of “experts” testified on their vision of what a successful Postal Service would look like. While nearly all decried privatization of the Postal Service in principle, a troubling trend emerged from some of the panelists, as well as several congressional members of the subcommittee. They discussed turning over mail processing to private entities—a public-private partnership that would be “more efficient and reduce costs,” in their view.

I see this as our next great battle against those who seek the demise of the Postal Service, that is, a piece-by-piece privatization of the agency—not in one fell swoop, but in a series of devastating cuts that would ultimately hollow out the foundation of this great and uniquely American institution. We discussed this with committee members after the hearing as it may become the next big struggle on the horizon for which we must prepare now.

NAPS will use its outsized influence on the Hill—on both sides of the aisle—to always stand firm against the dismantling of the U.S. Postal Service in any form. This is a position your resident officers will reaffirm to the new PMG when we meet with him now that he has taken office.

Now, let’s celebrate NAPS—who we are and what more we will become—as a leading voice for postal issues on Capitol Hill. I am so proud of the work all of you have done in marshaling your members and co-workers to successfully oppose the devastating language in H.R. 1 as it moved through the House and Senate.

I want to thank Bob Levi for his tireless work in legislatively defending NAPS members. I also want to thank NAPS President Ivan D. Butts and Secretary/Treasurer Jimmy Warden for their unwavering support and commitment to the NAPS legislative agenda. It is a team effort!

Mostly, I want to express my sincere gratitude and immense pride in the outstanding efforts of the National Association of Postal Supervisors in protecting the interests of postal employees nationwide. NAPS will cotinue to lead with integrity, resolve and an unwavering commitment to the well-being of postal supervisors and the broader USPS family.

The work continues.