(Excerpted from the October 1 Issue of Postal Points)
Politicians do best in situations where they can escape being called on what they’ve said or done or haven’t done, such as when they can make a speech and take no questions. Being in a small group, or dealing with people one-to-one isn’t as comfortable or politically useful.
Nonetheless, here’s a suggestion for what every MFSA member (or every member of the extended mailing community) should do over the next month or so: invite the local politician to visit. The company should explain its business and role in the community and industry, explain its economic value and that it pays taxes, and, maybe most importantly, explain that it has employees who pay taxes and have families – that all vote – as well. Then explain that the survival of mailing industry businesses depends on the survival of the Postal Service. Finally, make the point that effective and comprehensive action to ensure the agency’s viability must be taken; list specifics (read back issues of Postal Points to get those specifics if necessary) and express an expectation that the politician sitting there will support them.
The whole mailing/fulfillment/printing supply chain is billions of dollars in revenue, tens of thousands of small- and medium-size businesses, and hundreds of thousands of employees (with families). It’s more than just the paper companies and their associations, or the printers and their associations, or mailers and theirs. It’s not just the Postal Service and certainly not just its unions. It’s all the parts, interconnected for better or worse, and even though it’s sadly invisible as a whole, it represents a significant portion of the nation’s economy and small business population. Politicians cannot be allowed to ignore that, so it’s incumbent on every member of the industry to do its part, during that brief window of time when the politicians may actually be interested, by telling them what we need them to know.
For
this commentary in it's entirety, as well as additional insight and
information on the USPS today, please read the October 1 edition of Postal
Points, Issue #12-15.