Letter to Congress Template - NALC Branch 78

Letter OutlineNALC members are frequently called upon to contact theirrepresentatives in the Senate and House of Representatives toexpress positions on legislative issues affecting the United StatesPostal Service or the National Association of Letter Carriers. The mosteffective way to do so is to mail or fax a personal letter to yourrepresentative and senators. Some tips for doing so follow.1. In the first paragraph of your letter state your position (active orretired letter carrier), It will be helpful to our efforts if you alsostate that you are a member of the National Association of LetterCarriers, how many individuals you represent if an electedunion officer, and what area you represent.2. In the second paragraph state the purpose for your letter. Besure to ask for some specific action from your member ofCongress. For example, I am writing to ask that you cosponsorH.Res. 137: Expressing the sense of the House ofRepresentatives that the United States Postal Service shouldtake all appropriate measures to ensure the continuation of its 6-day mail delivery service.3. In the third paragraph, give some very brief background on theissue and the best arguments in favor of your position.Additional information about all NALC’s legislative objectives is

available at NALC.ORG or by contacting your local union officeor our Washington legislative office.4. In the fourth paragraph, reiterate your request for action by themember of Congress.5. In the fifth paragraph, thank the member of Congress for theirconsideration of your opinion.6. Ask for a prompt response from the member of Congress orSenator.7. Mail or fax your letter to your representative and/or senators.

Letter OutlineYour nameYour addressToday’s date\The Honorable (insert name of Representative or Senator)U.S. House of Representatives (or United States Senate)Washington, DC 20515 (or 20510 for Senators)Dear Representative (or Senator) ______:Paragraph 1:Identify yourself as a constituent and a member of NALCBranch ____ .Identify the bill number you are concerned with andwhere it is in the process (in subcommittee,full committee, or up for a vote in the full House orSenate).State your position on the bill. Indicate whether you areasking your Representative or Senatorto support or oppose the bill.

Paragraph 2:Ask what position the Representative or Senator has onthis issue.Explain why the bill is important to you.Tell a personal story to illustrate the effect the bill’spassage or failure would have on your life.If applicable, explain what service that the USPS presentlyprovides would be in jeopardy (forexample, universal service at uniform rates) if the billpasses or fails.Paragraph 3:Restate your position and the actions you want theRepresentative or Senator to take.Thank the representative for his or her attention to thisissue and ask for a response stating hisor her position on this bill.Sincerely,Your signatureYour nameNALC Branch ____

Sample LetterWe strongly oppose action on postal reform during thelame-duck session of Congress. Both of the House andSenate bills, H.R. 2309 and S. 1789, are deeply flawedmeasures designed to downsize (Senate) or dismantle(House) the USPS—at a cost of tens of thousands of ourjobs.Unfortunately, the current Congress still has work to dobefore it adjourns and we have no time to rest. The lameducksession of the 112th Congress has begun and it’sclear that both active and retired letter carriers still have alot on the line. Budget talks that could affect the PostalService and our retirement and health benefits are nowtaking place between President Obama and the leaders ofCongress. We also learned this week that the chairmenand ranking members of our committees in the House andSenate are meeting behind closed doors to negotiate a“compromise” postal reform bill before the end of the year.Press reports indicate that Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT), theretiring chairman of the Senate Homeland Security andGovernmental Affairs Committee, is proposing toimmediately suspend letter mail delivery on Saturday butretain parcel delivery six days a week. Billed as“compromise,” it still would eliminate 25,000 city carrier

jobs and drive more business away from the PostalService by undermining the value of our service.Moreover, stand-alone parcel delivery would not begenerally profitable on Saturdays if parcels were notdelivered along with letters and flats. This is not acompromise at all, nor would it secure the future of thePostal Service since it does not address the crushingretiree health pre-funding burden.