Postal workers rally in Utica to save postal service
Story Created:
Sep 27, 2011 at 6:36 PM EDT
Story Updated:
Sep 27, 2011 at 6:36 PM EDT
UTICA, N.Y. (WKTV) - Postal workers and community members rallied outside Congressman Hanna's Office on Tuesday to take part in a national "Day for Action" to save America's Postal Service.
Postal workers at the rally say they want Congress's support for House Bill 1351 - a bill which postal workers say Congressman Hanna was one of the first to sign. Supporters say HR 1351 could save the mail industry by eliminating a $5.5 billion payment that the postal service has to pay annually to go towards future retirees.
"Without that $5.5 billion payment, we would've been profitable over the last 4 years, says William Ganery of the National Association. "We would've actually made a $600 million dollar profit if we weren't saddled with that artificial pre payment requirement."
Congress made the Postal Enhancement Accountability Act to pre-fund retirees in 2006, their most profitable year.
"Since the economy collapsed in 2008, you know, the whole economy has slid down," says Ganey. "And now that requirement is tough, it's unfair."
Many postal workers are hoping the bill gets passed before it is too late.
"We may be running out of time," says Utica Postal Workers Union President Fred Ashley. "The postal service is going full speed ahead with these consolidations and that's unfortunate for the residents of places like Utica, because we may find that we may find that we no longer have a plant in Utica, when it wasn't necessary to close the plant in the first place."
Postal workers saying they already have up to 215 co-sponsors of the bill and hope they'll receive a few more to make a majority in Congress.
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