Mail carriers protest privatization

the Postal Service’s losses are related to Amazon.

Congresshas required the PostalService to price parcel deliveryatleast high enoughto cover costs, thoughPolitiFact reported thatthe service was chargingon average $1.46 below marketrates for all parcel delivery— which includes butis not limited to Amazon.

“By law, our competitive package products, including those that we deliver for Amazon, must cover their costs,” Joseph Corbett, the Postal Service’s chief financial officer, wrote in an oped last year.

Mr.Corbett placed blame forthe Postal Service’s financialwoes on rules governing mailon which the agency enjoysa virtual monopoly. He argued,for example, a price capon First-Class Mail, MarketingMail and Periodicals was“wholly unsuitable to ensuringthe Postal Service’s continuedability to provide promptand reliable universalservices.”

Somewith the American PostalWorkers Union — the NationalLetter Carriers Associationis the second major postalunion — think cooler headswill prevail, even duringthe deregulatory fervor of theTrump administration.

The U.S. Postal Service has long been — by a large margin — the most popular federal agency, according to polls by Gallup. Earlier this year, 74 percent of Americans believed the Postal Service was doing an “excellent or good job,” while only 5 percent thought their service was poor, according to the polling group.

The unions are prepared to roll out their largest campaign to date, a spokesman said, hoping to build on recent campaigns to block the Postal Service’s partnership with Staples. Beginning in 2013, the office supply retailer tested “mini post offices” at some of its retail locations in Pittsburgh and three other cities. The partnership was discontinued last year.

Theconvention, held everytwo years in various cities,hosted Sen. Bernie Sanderson Monday and will continuethrough Thursday.