On the recordApril 25, 2012
Mr. President, let's be frank. The Postal Service is bankrupt and only dramatic action will fix the Postal Service. The problem is labor costs. Eighty percent of the Postal Service's costs are labor. If we look at UPS, it is about 50 percent. If we look at FedEx, it is about 38 percent. Before we close one post office, before we end Saturday mail, before we ask citizens to get poorer services for higher prices, maybe we ought to look at the root of the problem. Even FDR--the biggest of the big government advocates--said this about collective bargaining: All Government employees should realize that the process of collective bargaining, as usually understood, cannot be transplanted into the public service. So agreeing with FDR, I hope my colleagues from across the aisle will agree with their patron saint FDR and will support this amendment that would end collective bargaining. In the interest of time, I will be happy to have a voice vote. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator's time has expired. The Senator from Maine.
