The Washington Post Gets it Wrong, Yet Again NALC Legislation and Political Action “Without this pre-funding requirement, the USPS would be profitable—so it takes either willful misrepresentation of the situation or startling lack of knowledge to ignore it.” –National Association of Letter Carriers In Thursday’s (January 27) Washington Post, the editorial board tackled the issue of the Postal Service’s finances, suggesting the solution is to close branches. By choosing to focus solely on this issue, they missed the big picture. Not once during the editorial is there a mention of the burdensome pre-funding requirement imposed by Congress and the possible solutions for maintaining a viable Postal Service. In an era in which information is available 24-7 through news networks, the Internet and other media vehicles, it is important that content is factual and fair. NALC did not hesitate to respond to the Post’s misguided editorial. To read the editorial as well as the NALC’s response, click on the links below. Washington Post editorial. NALC's response. Wall Street Journal article.

CVS Caremark: Cutting Day of Delivery Not the Answer: NALC.org Thursday, (December 9) CVS Caremark, the largest pharmacy health care provider in the United States, wrote an op-ed published in The Chicago Tribune about the harm the elimination of Saturday delivery would have on their business and customers. The op-ed noted that on Saturdays alone, CVS Caremark receives 100, 000 prescriptions which it seeks to fill within five business days. Getting rid of Saturday delivery would slow down this process and hamper the Postal Service’s share of delivering prescriptions. Those who would be affected are the vulnerable Americans who live in rural areas, seniors and those who do not have easy access to a pharmacy. Slowing down the delivery of these vital medications would encourage CVS Caremark and other mail-order prescription services to rely on other carriers for delivery services. This could result in reduced business for the USPS, increases in health care costs in general and detrimental health effects for consumers waiting for their prescriptions. The proposal to eliminate Saturday mail delivery is a wrong, knee-jerk, short-term solution to a long-term problem. The editorial rightly calls for conversations on a long-term solution to focus on fixing the broken business model of the Postal Service instead of killing needed service and losing business. To read the article, click here.