The Post Office is one of the few government agencies which traditionally does not lay off workers. Until now.
There's talk of cutting more than 200,000 jobs and closing up to 300 distribution plants nationwide. One of those plants is in South Bend, and that has hundreds of local employees ready to fight back against what they feel is unfair.
"This country simply can not afford to not have a Postal Service," says Dr. Jim O'Rourke, a Notre Dame University management professor.
"I think people forget how important the mail is, it's a national treasure," says Mary Dando with the United States Postal Service.
"We have seen a lot of things happen haven't we, a lot of things. And we're still here. And we intend to be here for years to come," says Tony Flora with the South Bend Area National Association of Letter Carriers.
Flora is a 30 year letter carrier himself. He's not happy with the proposed cuts on postal jobs and distribution plants, especially in South Bend, where nearly 300 employees would be out of work or transferred.
"It's what's bound the nation together for 200 years, it's an essential feature of any democracy and it's an essential feature of our economy," says Flora.
That feature is on the verge of default, with close to $20 billion in debt.
But Flora argues, that's a manufactured crisis, "In the past four years, the Postal Service has actually had an operational surplus of about $700 million dollars."
"It's clear that this becomes a mathematics exercise, if the revenues out of a postal office do not exceed it's costs, than it becomes a candidate for closure," says O'Rourke.
Here's the problem: Unlike other federal agencies, the postal service has to pay over $5 billion to prefund retirement benefits.
"And that's what's caused that $20 billion dollar deficit over the past four years," says Flora.
They have to make that payment by September 30th.
And they say they won't be able to.
Dando says either way, the service needs to be more efficient.
"As any other business would do, we're looking at a better use of our space, our staffing, and our transportation," says Dando.
Cuts have to be made, otherwise, "To let that universal network crash, would be a disaster for the country," says Flora.
Flora says he has hope, and he has history to back him up.
No cuts to the U-S Postal Service were made...even during the Great Depression.
To raise awareness of the current situation, N-A-L-C is planning a rally this Tuesday.
Supporters will meet at the Post Office on Michigan Street in South Bend at 4 pm.
