Published: April 2012

Call for Postmaster General Donahoe’s resignation

Consumer Action joins Ralph Nader in a critical broadside highlighting fumbles by USPS leader.

Consumer Action has signed on to a letter written by Ralph Nader calling for Postmaster General Donahoe’s resignation. Several other consumer non-profits joined him in this letter, including Public Citizen, the Gray Panthers and Essential Information. Consumer Action has been actively involved in consumer advocacy around postal issues for several years.

"Nader's letter does an admirable job of pulling together all the issues surrounding our failing postal institution that frustrate so many Americans," said Linda Sherry, Consumer Action national priorities director. "In the letter, Nader charges the Postmaster General Donahoe with 'actively presiding over the demise of one of our country’s greatest founding institutions.' Donahue's idea of a fix is to raise first class stamp prices and let the citizen mailer bear the burden of saving the post office while he gives junk mailers a free ride."

In December 2011, Congressman Peter DeFazio (D-OR) called for the Obama administration to fire Postmaster General Donahoe. From the House floor he said, “This guy, this so-called postmaster general, should be fired because of a lack of any imagination or initiative…He’s proposing the death knell for the great United States Postal Service.”

In the letter, Nader drew attention to the fact that, if the U.S. Postal Service was not required by Congress to prepay retiree health benefits of the next 75 years by 2012, nearly 80 percent of the USPS’s deficit would be eliminated. Nader stated that this is “an imposition unheard of in either the corporate world or by any other government agency.” He continued by pointing out that the federal government even owes the U.S. Postal Service $80 billion in overpayments that the USPS has made to two retirement funds, the Civil Service Retirement System and the Federal Employees Retirement System.

Yet, Nader notes, the Postmaster General remains virtually silent on these issues. Instead, he says, the Postmaster General makes “the case for shutting rural post offices, slashing 150,000 postal employees’ jobs, ending Saturday delivery, and extending delivery dates as if they do not produce a spiral of decline and loss of customers who will not come back.”

“In a phrase, you are not up to the job!” Nader concludes.

 Click here for a copy of the letter.

Lead Organization

Ralph Nader

Other Organizations

Public Citizen | Gray Panthers | Essential Information

More Information

The Nader Page (http://nader.org/)

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