Iowa's Harkin introduces bill

The Des Moines Register reports today that Senator Tom Harkin, D IA, has introduced a bill to stop the USPS from contracting out new growth routes. Click on this link for the entire article.

In case the link requires a registration, here are several quotes from the article by Jane Norman, reporter for the Register

Much is at stake, Harkin said on the Senate floor.

"Each day, millions of sensitive materials, including financial statements, credit cards, Social Security checks, passports and ballots, pass through the mail stream," he said. "We cannot afford to allow the safe delivery of these personal, private documents to be granted to the lowest bidder."

And, "Rural carriers, who are in a separate union, also are opposed to contracting, worried that future routes will be taken away from them, threatening their livelihoods and the ability to pay for retiree pensions.

Randy Anderson, director of labor relations for the 122,000-member National Rural Letter Carriers Association, said contracting is becoming "widespread" across the country, though the union can't keep track of exact numbers. Several grievances have been filed by rural carriers in Iowa, he said.

Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Ia., met last week with upset rural carriers, said his press secretary, Beth Levine. "Senator Grassley said he would take a hard look at the bill and would do what he can to ensure that Iowa rural and urban postal customers continue to receive reliable delivery service," Levine said."

Thank you to my retired rural carrier friend, Nancy from Nebraska, for sending me this article.