USPS Urges Unions to Allow Layoffs of 220,000 Employees

Facing a projected loss of more than $8 billion for this fiscal year and a projected need to reduce its workforce by 220,000 employees by 2015, the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) has begun contract negotiations with the National Association of Letter Carriers, AFL-CIO (NALC) and on Aug. 30 with the National Postal Mail Handlers Union (NPMHU). The two unions represent 247,000 of the Postal Service’s 560,000 career employees.