Leid Stories - 05/14/15

U.S. Postal Service Activists Decry ‘Reforms’ and Property Auctions

Revelations: Continuing the Discussion on the Donald Sterling-NBA Debacle

The U.S. Postal Service on May 9 issued one of the gravest reports in recent years on its fiscal health—a 2014 second-quarter net loss of $1.9 billion; liabilities of $64 billion exceeding assets of $42 billion; and a 4-percent dip in its main revenue generator, first-class mail. It was the 20th time in the last 22 quarters that the agency posted a loss, and a bipartisan congressional committee has been working on a menu of drastic “reforms.”

Union activist David Welsh says the U.S.P.S. and Congress continue to ignore the extreme and unfair financial burden the federal government has placed solely on the agency—a mandate that it fund 75 years worth of retirees’ health benefits with current payments, amounting to $5.5 billion a year for the next 10 years.

Jacqueline McCormick, executive director of the National Post Office Collaborate, reports on efforts to halt the sale of historic post office buildings and other property—part of its $85-billion real estate portfolio Congress is recommending it sell to raise revenue.

Leid Stories continues with yesterday's discussion, "Revelations: The Brutal Truths Behind the Donald Sterling-NBA Debacle."