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September 28, 2011

Postal Workers Hold Nationwide Protests Against Cuts, Funding-Mandate 
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Postal workers held rallies across the country on Tuesday to back
legislation that would repeal a benefit-funding mandate they say lies
behind the Postal Service's financial woes. A 2006 law has forced the
USPS to become the only agency required to fund 75 years of retiree
health benefits over just a 10-year span. The American Postal Workers
Union says the requirement accounts for 100 percent of the service’s
$20 billion in losses over the previous four years, without which the
service would have turned a profit. A Democratic-backed measure before
Congress would undo the mandate. Republicans meanwhile are trying to
push a bill that would establish an unelected board to overhaul the USPS
and likely force mass layoffs. The postal workers' union says protests
were organized Tuesday in every Congressional district.



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