Opinion of the Alliance of Nonprofit Mailers, MPA—The Association of Magazine Media, and Postcom—The Association for Postal Commerce

In the ongoing “Ten Year Review” of postal pricing, the Postal Regulatory Commission is considering whether to retain, loosen, or eliminate the CPI cap on price increases for market-dominant products. Our three associations have urged the Commission to keep the price cap unchanged. The May 12 tentative collective bargaining agreement between the USPS and the National Association of Letter Carriers (“NALC”) confirms that the USPS cannot be counted on to control its costs or prices without the CPI cap.

Our expert witness in the ten year review showed that postal workers are paid nearly twice what the private sector pays for similar work. The miniscule quit rates of postal workers – less than one percent per year or about 1/45 the size of private sector quit rates – confirm this substantial pay premium. Rather than bringing compensation more in line with the private sector – as required by postal law – the tentative agreement with NALC worsens the problem … (click to read more)