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Welcome to the 480-481 Area Local Website

This website is primarily intended for you, the member to get information and to learn more about your Union and the labor world around you. Any suggestions you have for added features are welcome, just drop us a line or give us a call.

This web site is also designed to provide the Stewards of our local with certain resources they can use to better represent our membership.

Your web site will be updated frequently so you can find more timely information than can be found in our monthly newsletter.

You can contact any Local Officer by clicking on the link on their web page. You can find links to a wealth of resources regarding your postal employment, the labor movement, veterans’ issues, and pending legislation.

Consider this your one stop shop for the labor organization that works for you! Welcome to your web site and please visit it frequently.

In Solidarity,

Your Executive Board

APWU Warns Members:
Beware of Risks in USPS Campaign For Voluntary Transfers to Letter Carrier
APWU News Bulletin 01-2012, January 13, 2012
PDF | View on APWU Website

The APWU is warning union members of risks associated with a management campaign to encourage career Clerk, Maintenance and Motor Vehicle Craft employees to volunteer for reassignments to the Letter Carrier Craft.

In a letter dated Jan. 3 [PDF], management notified the union that it will mail a letter to all career employees in the three APWU-represented crafts (and employees in the Mail Handler Craft) touting the benefits of voluntary reassignments to the Letter Carrier Craft.

But there are disadvantages to the voluntary reassignments - which management is not divulging to employees.

Seniority:

When employees transfer voluntarily to another craft, they begin a new period of seniority.

Limits on Excessing:

The APWU negotiated strict limits on excessing during bargaining over the 2010-2015 Collective Bargaining Agreement [PDF]. As a result, employees in crafts represented by the APWU cannot be excessed beyond 50 miles.

Our brothers and sisters in the National Association of Letter Carriers are currently bargaining with the Postal Service over the terms of their contract, but, as of now, the USPS is not bound by these limits for employees in the Letter Carrier Craft.

Protection Against Layoffs:

The 2010-2015 Collective Bargaining Agreement between the APWU and the USPS includes a Memorandum of Understanding that grants protection against layoffs [PDF] to all regular workforce employees that were on the rolls as of Nov. 20, 2010. Our brothers and sisters in the Letter Carrier Craft do not currently enjoy this coverage; their protection against layoffs applies to Letter Carrier Craft employees who have accrued six years of “continuous service.”

The APWU asserts that once employees obtain protection against layoffs, they retain it. However, the USPS disagrees with the union’s position and contends that once employees transfer from a craft represented by the APWU to a craft represented by another union, they lose the protection against layoffs granted by the Memorandum of Understanding.

According to the Postal Service’s reasoning, employees with less than six years of continuous service who transfer to the Letter Carrier Craft could be subject to layoffs. The APWU has a pending national-level dispute [PDF] challenging management’s interpretation. However, until the dispute is resolved, employees who voluntarily transfer (or are involuntarily reassigned by management) may be in jeopardy.

The loss of seniority and the potential for excessing and layoffs are not abstractions, the union points out. The Postal Service is planning workforce changes with the goal of eliminating tens of thousands of Letter Carrier positions.

“Transferring to another craft is an important decision,” said APWU President Cliff Guffey. “I encourage union members to think long and hard before they make such a major change. And I urge employees to be aware of the risks as well as the benefits when management promotes the transfers as a great opportunity.”

Union Launches Petition Drive To Save America’s Postal Service
APWU News Bulletin 121-2011, October 28, 2011
View on APWU Website

President Guffey is asking APWU members to collect signatures on a petition [PDF] to Congress urging senators and representatives to oppose plans to close post offices, shutter mail processing facilities, and drastically degrade service to the American people.

Download Petition [PDF] Download Flyer [PDF]

In a letter [PDF] to state and local presidents dated Oct. 26, 2011, President Guffey wrote, “It is urgent that we bring as much political pressure as possible to bear against the Postal Service’s plans to dismantle its network of processing, distribution and retail facilities.”

In addition to the petition, the letter includes a flyer [PDF] with the message, “ Closing Post Offices & Mail Processing Centers and Cutting Service is Wrong.”

“No company can grow or even maintain its business by cutting its service. But that’s exactly what the Postal Service is proposing to do,” the flyer says.

In July, the USPS announced plans to close 3,700 post offices; in September, management announced plans to close 252 of approximately 460 mail processing centers.

In early October, the Postal Service posted a notice in the Federal Register announcing its intent to revise service commitments, eliminate overnight delivery of first-class mail and change two-day delivery to three days.

The proposed change in service standards acknowledges what the Postal Service has repeatedly denied: Slashing the mail processing network will result in drastic cuts in service to the American people.

“Reducing the scope and quality of service will not restore the Postal Service to health. It would likely drive mailers away and therefore worsen the Postal Service’s financial problems,” Guffey said.

“If every APWU member filled up one petition, we would have nearly two million signatures,” the letter notes.

The APWU is requesting that locals act at once to make this petition drive a success. Completed petitions should be sent by Nov. 14 to:

Save America’s Postal Service
American Postal Workers Union
1300 L Street NW
Washington DC 20005

The national union will make sure that House and Senate members receive petitions collected in their districts or states.

Congressman Gary Peters, Co-sponsor of HR 1351 attended our October Union meeting to address the bill and pledge his support of Postal Employees and our current struggles with Congress.

Please click on the link to see how to make comments in regards to the Postal Service’s proposal to relax service standards:

http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2011-09-21/pdf/2011-24149.pdf

480-481 Area Local Members, if you have not already please contact your legislators now! Proposed legislation will affect you if passed.

Make no mistake about it you and your Union are in the crosshairs.

If you choose to sit back and see what happens hoping that someone else will do it for you then you are gambling with your job, benefits and your family’s future.

Time to get up, stand up and speak up!
Save America’s Postal Service

House Panel Approves Postal ‘Destruction’ Bill
Amendment Prevents Bargaining to Limit Layoffs
Union Vows Fight to Save America’s Postal Service
APWU News Bulletin 24-2011, October 14, 2011
PDF | View on APWU Website

The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform approved an amended version of the Issa-Ross postal bill on Oct. 13 by a vote of 22-18. All but one Republican (Rep. Todd Platts of Pennsylvania) voted in favor of the bill; Democrats voted against it.

The APWU has denounced the bill, H.R. 2309, as a “reckless assault on postal services and postal employees.” The bill demands that the USPS implement $3 billion worth of cuts in post offices and mail processing facilities in a two-year period. It also would reduce “door delivery” by 75 percent.

In addition, the legislation would gut collective bargaining: An amendment adopted by the committee prohibits postal unions and the USPS from negotiating protection against layoffs.

Bill Guarantess Layoffs

The Postal Service announced in August that it wants to reduce the workforce by 220,000, and is seeking authority to lay off as many as 120,000, including tens of thousands of military veterans. H.R. 2309 would authorize layoffs; the wholesale elimination of post offices and mail processing facilities demanded by the legislation virtually guarantees that massive layoffs would take place.

The bill also would empower a new “solvency authority” to unilaterally cut wages and abolish benefits.

“This legislation would destroy the Postal Service as we know it,” President Cliff Guffey said. “It would lead to drastic cuts in service to the American people, and it would pave the way for privatization of this crucial public service.

“The bill violates fundamental principles of our nation: fairness, the right of workers to engage in free collective bargaining, and respect for seniority,” he said.

“The APWU will continue the fight to save America’s Postal Service,” Guffey said. “We will be joined by our brothers and sisters in the other postal unions, veterans, senior citizens, and communities that rely on a robust Postal Service.”

Other Amendments

In addition to the amendment that would prevent bargaining over layoffs, several other amendments were adopted: An amendment offered by Rep. Dennis Ross (R-FL) would remove postal employees from the federal injury compensation program and would require the USPS to develop a separate program for workers who are hurt on the job. It also would force disabled employees to retire as soon as they are eligible.

An amendment offered by Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) would permit the Postal Service to eliminate up to 12 delivery days per year rather than requiring an immediate abandonment of Saturday delivery. An amendment offered by Rep. Ann Marie Buerkle (R-NY) would limit to 10 percent the number of rural post office closures.

An amendment offered by Rep. Bruce Braley (D-IA) to evaluate the impact of layoffs on veterans was adopted. The amendment was introduced in response to an ad sponsored by postal union and VoteVets, a prominent veterans’ organization, decrying the layoffs of tens of thousands of veterans that H.R. 2309 would cause. The ad appeared in Washington publications that are widely read by lawmakers on Oct. 12 and 13.

“Two of the adopted amendments were clearly regressive,” said APWU Legislative and Political Director Myke Reid, referring to the prohibition on negotiating limits on layoffs and removing postal employees from the federal injury compensation program. “Some of the others may appear to improve the bill,” but they just “nibble around the edges” without changing its basic character, he said.

“If passed, H.R. 2309 would be a disaster for the USPS and for postal employees.” The bill must be passed by the full House and Senate and signed by President Obama before it can become law, he pointed out.

“H.R. 2309 fails to address the fundamental cause of the Postal Service’s financial difficulties,” Reid added. The bill does nothing to correct the requirement to pre-fund the healthcare benefits of future retirees, which forces the USPS to fund a 75-year liability in just 10 years, he said. No other government agency or private business is required to make these payments, which cost the Postal Service approximately $5.5 billion annually. The bill also fails to address billions of dollars in USPS overpayments to federal pension accounts, Reid noted.

GAO Report as a Backdrop

An Oct. 13 report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) that rejected the findings of the USPS Office of Inspector General (OIG) and the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) regarding USPS overpayments to the Civil Service Retirement System served as a backdrop to the deliberations. Two independent actuarial studies performed at the request of the OIG and PRC concluded that the USPS has overpaid $50 billion to $75 billion into the account, due to a faulty funding formula.

The OIG and PRC provided a vigorous rebuttal to the GAO report, and Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-MA) called it “terribly flawed.” Nonetheless, at the hearing, Rep. Buerkle and Rep. Pat Meehan (R-PA) cited the GAO findings and voiced reservations about their previous support for H.R. 1351, the bill postal unions are supporting.

The APWU issued a statement denouncing the GAO report, calling it “seriously flawed.”

“Fortunately, there are many in Congress who reject this discredited report and will continue to tell the truth about the need for reform and fairness on this issue,” the union said.

“The report was clearly designed to undermine support for H.R. 1351,” Reid said, “so APWU members will have to make sure members of Congress remain steadfast in their support for this important legislation.”

H.R. 1351 would help provide the Postal Service financial stability by allowing the Postal Service to apply the pension overpayments to the pre-funding obligation. It would provide the USPS with financial stability it needs to modernize and adapt to changes in communication.

The bill, introduced by Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-MA), has 226 co-sponsors – including 29 Republicans. The number of co-sponsors is significant because it represents a majority of the members of the House of Representatives; nonetheless, Rep. Issa has refused to allow it to come up for a vote.

“I am deeply disappointed that Rep. Issa would thwart the will of the majority and prevent Congress from debating a bill that has wide bipartisan support,” Guffey said. “But he will not be able to stop the American people for long!”

Cliff Guffey on C-SPAN:
Save America’s Postal Service

The Real Cause of the Postal Crisis:
Ed Breaks It Down On MSNBC

APWU Television Ad
This APWU TV ad will air on CNN, MSNBC and Fox.

Issa’s ‘Postal Destruction’ Bill Passes House Subcommittee
Bill Would Authorize Layoffs, Force Out Senior Employees First
Unions Keep Pressure On, Urge Members to Join Sept. 27 Rallies
APWU News Bulletin 22-2011, September 21, 2011
PDF | View on APWU Website

A bill that would destroy the Postal Service as we know it passed a House subcommittee on Sept. 21 by a vote of eight to five, along party lines. Republicans voted in favor of the bill; Democrats voted against it. The bill, H.R. 2309, was co-sponsored by Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and Rep. Dennis Ross (R-FL), chairman of the postal subcommittee.

Prior to the vote, Rep. Issa amended the bill, which he first introduced on June 23, to include numerous provisions that are even more controversial than those contained in the original version:

The amended version includes a provision to grant authority to a newly-established control board to carry out layoffs, in spite of any provisions in collective bargaining agreements that might limit them. In addition, it says that employees who are eligible for retirement must be laid off before employees who are ineligible, and dictates that retirement-eligible employees with the longest service must be separated first. The new language also forbids the payment of severance pay to retirement-eligible employees.

The new version of the bill continues provisions from the original that would empower a newly-created “solvency authority” to unilaterally cut wages and abolish benefits.

The amendment doubles – from $1 billion to $2 billion – the value of mail processing facility closures mandated by the bill, and it continues the provision found in the original version which requires $1 billion worth of post office closures. The new version also includes many changes to mail delivery, such as a requirement to reduce “door delivery” by 75 percent within two years.

In addition, the amendment includes several changes that would negatively affect workers who are injured on duty, including one that would cut the monthly compensation of totally disabled employees from 66.66 percent to 50 percent, once they meet the age and service requirements for retirement.

Democrats on the subcommittee argued strenuously against the bill and offered several amendments of their own; all of them were defeated by the Republican majority.

APWU President Cliff Guffey denounced the bill. “This is a brazen attempt to dismantle the United States Postal Service and render it ripe for privatization,” he said. “It is a blatant attack on unionized workers.

“The bill does not address the cause of the Postal Service’s financial crisis. It does nothing to correct the requirement to pre-fund the healthcare benefits of future retirees, which forces the USPS to fund a 75-year liability in a period of just 10 years,” Guffey said. No other government agency or private company is required to make such payments, which cost the USPS approximately $5.5 billion annually. “The bill also fails to address billions of dollars in USPS overpayments to federal pension accounts,” he noted.

“The Postal Service is a critical part of our economy. It is the center of a $1.2 trillion industry that employs 8 million people, including printers, mailers, and other businesses that rely on the Postal Service,” Guffey said.

“The post office is where the flag flies across America, and it is an integral part of our national life. Yet the bill would destroy this great institution – shutting thousands of offices, slashing service, and punishing workers.”

Guffey called on all union members to participate in rallies set for Tuesday, Sept. 27, to Save America’s Postal Service. Events are planned in every congressional district across the country, as part of a campaign by the four postal unions to win support for legislation to avert a collapse of the nation’s mail system.

The APWU is working with the National Association of Letter Carriers, the National Postal Mail Handlers Union and the National Rural Letter Carriers Association to organize the activities. (Please send high-resolution photos of your event to sdavidow@apwu.org.) To find the location of the rally nearest you, visit www.SaveAmericasPostal Service.org.

The unions are urging support for H.R. 1351, which was introduced by Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-MA). The Lynch bill would prevent the financial collapse of the USPS – without closing thousands of post offices, eliminating hundreds of mail processing facilities, delaying mail delivery, laying off 120,000 workers, cutting postal workers’ pay, or ending collective bargaining rights.

H.R. 1351 would allow the Postal Service to apply billions of dollars in pension overpayments to the congressional mandate that requires the USPS to pre-fund the healthcare benefits of future retirees.

“We are fighting for our lives,” Guffey said. “I urge every APWU member to attend a rally, and to ask his or her member of Congress to support H.R. 1351.”

Postal Unions Join Forces To Save America’s Postal Service
Rallies Set for Sept. 27 in Every Congressional District
APWU News Bulletin 20-2011, September 8, 2011
PDF | View on APWU Website

The APWU has joined forces with the three other postal unions to designate Sept. 27 as a day of action to Save America’s Postal Service.

saveamericaspostalservice.org

Together, the APWU and the National Association of Letter Carriers, the National Postal Mail Handlers Union and the National Rural Letter Carriers Association will rally in every congressional district in the country to build support for H.R. 1351, a bill introduced in the House by Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-MA).

“With the USPS’s dire financial situation making headlines, and a battle raging in Congress over what to do about it, postal workers must take action now,” said APWU President Cliff Guffey. “I urge APWU members to work with our brothers and sisters in the other postal unions to organize the rallies. We must let every U.S. representative know that we need their support.”

The Lynch bill would prevent the financial collapse of the USPS – without closing thousands of post offices, eliminating hundreds of mail processing facilities, delaying mail delivery, laying off 120,000 workers, cutting postal workers’ pay, or ending collective bargaining rights. It would allow the Postal Service to apply billions of dollars in pension overpayments to the congressional mandate that requires the USPS to pre-fund the healthcare benefits of future retirees. No other government agency or private company bears this burden, which forces the Postal Service to fund a 75-year liability in 10 years – at a cost of more than $5 billion annually. Without the mandate, the USPS would have shown a surplus of $611 million over the past four fiscal years.

Unfortunately, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), the chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, has another idea. Word on Capitol Hill is that Rep. Issa is blocking consideration of H.R. 1351.

Instead, Rep. Issa has introduced a bill that would destroy the Postal Service as we know it. His bill (H.R. 2309) would do nothing to correct the cause of the USPS financial crisis: It would do nothing about the pension overpayments or the pre-funding requirement. But it would establish a “solvency authority” with the power to unilaterally cut wages, abolish benefits, and end protection against layoffs. It also would create a board that would order $1 billion worth of post office closures in the first year and $1 billion worth of facility closures in the second year. If H.R. 2309 is enacted, thousands of offices throughout the country would be closed.

At the same time, the Postal Service is proposing legislative changes that would authorize management to lay off 120,000 workers and that would remove postal employees from the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program and from federal retirement plans.

Pass H.R. 1351 NOW

Contact Your Legislators H.R. 1351 Co-sponsors

At the rallies on Sept. 27, the unions will be asking legislators to co-sponsor to H.R. 1351, the bill that would restore financial stability to the Postal Service. The legislation has 193 co-sponsors, including both Democrats and Republicans. Where lawmakers have already signed on, the rallies will thank them for their support and ask them to pledge to do everything in their power to ensure its passage.

Each union has volunteered to be responsible for specific congressional districts, and locals have already begun designating District Leads for various locations. The District Leads will secure permits (where necessary), contact the media, and make other arrangements.

The unions have developed a common Web site to provide information about the rallies, which will be held from 4-5:30 p.m. A complete list of rally locations will be posted on the site by Sept. 16, which will be updated often. Visit saveamericaspostalservice.org for the latest news about the Sept. 27 rallies.

Countdown with Keith Olbermann 09-09-2011
Signed, Sealed, Indebted, with Allison Kilkenny

USPS Seeks Legislation To Allow Layoffs, End Federal Benefits APWU News Bulletin 17-2011, August 12, 2011
PDF | View on APWU Website

APWU President Cliff Guffey has condemned Postal Service legislative proposals that would permit the USPS to layoff 120,000 employees and remove postal workers from the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program and from federal retirement programs.

“This is a clear attempt to abrogate our contract and destroy postal collective bargaining,” Guffey said. “Crushing postal workers and slashing service will not solve the Postal Service's financial crisis,” he added.

The Postal Service's “Mandatory Stand-Up Talk” [PDF] to employees made its proposals sound almost harmless: Management said, “The Postal Service is reviewing with Congress additional ways to improve our workforce flexibility as we adjust the size of our networks to meet operational needs and the changing marketplace.”

However, a “discussion draft” [PDF] of proposals for Congress reveals the Postal Service's goal: By 2015, the USPS intends to reduce the employee complement by 220,000, and projects that 100,000 jobs will be eliminated by attrition. “In order to eliminate the remaining 120,000 career positions... it is imperative that we have the ability to reduce our workforce rapidly,” the document says. [Click here to view a “discussion draft” of USPS healthcare and retirement proposals - PDF]

But postal employees are not the cause of the USPS financial crisis, Guffey said. “The USPS economic crisis is the result of a provision of the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006 that requires the Postal Service to pre-fund the healthcare benefits of future retirees – a burden no other government agency or private company bears.” The mandate requires the USPS to fund a 75-year liability over a 10-year period and costs the USPS more than $5.5 billion per year. Guffey also pointed out that “the federal government is holding billions of dollars in postal overpayments to its pension accounts.”

“Congress must address the cause of the USPS financial crisis so that postal workers can continue to serve the American people and the USPS can continue to act as an important engine of the U.S. economy,” he added.

“There are some in Congress who may support these proposals,” Guffey noted. “But we will not allow the hard-working men and women of the U.S. Postal Service to be made the scapegoats for the outrageously poor judgment of Congress in instituting the pre-funding requirement.

“Congress created this mess,” he said, “and Congress can fix it.”

Take Action Now!

Contact Your Legislators H.R. 1351 Co-sponsors

Guffey also said it is absolutely urgent that postal employees contact their U.S. representatives and urge them to support H.R. 1351 and to oppose H.R. 2309.

H.R. 1351 would address the cause of the USPS financial crisis without cutting pay and benefits, eliminating collective bargaining rights, or slashing service, the union president said. The bill, introduced by Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-MA), would allow the Postal Service to use billions of dollars in pension overpayments to meet its financial obligations – including the Congressional mandate to pre-fund the healthcare benefits of future retirees.

On the other hand, Guffey said, H.R. 2309, introduced by Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) and co-sponsored by Rep. Dennis Ross (R-FL), would do nothing to correct USPS overpayments to its pension accounts and do nothing to correct the congressional mandate that requires the USPS to pre-fund the healthcare benefits of future retirees.

H.R. 2309 would empower a board to unilaterally cut wages, abolish benefits, and end protection against layoffs; create a commission to order $1 billion worth of post office closures in the first year, and $1 billion worth of facility closures in the second year, increase employees' costs for healthcare and life insurance, and eliminate the right to bargain over these crucial benefits.

Postal Jobs, Pay, Benefits Threatened by Congress APWU News Bulletin 14-2011, June 29, 2011
PDF | View on APWU Website

The Postal Service is in danger of financial collapse, and could close its doors as early as July 2012. A battle is raging on Capitol Hill over what to do about it, and one thing is clear: Our jobs, our pay, and our benefits are in jeopardy! Two very different plans are under consideration in the House of Representatives.

House Resolution 1351

A bill introduced by Rep. Stephen Lynch (MA), the ranking Democrat on the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, would address the cause of the USPS financial crisis without cutting pay and benefits, eliminating collective bargaining rights, or slashing service. H.R. 1351 would:

• Allow the USPS to use billions of dollars in pension overpayments to meet its financial obligations – including the congressional mandate to pre-fund the healthcare benefits of future retirees.
• Leave workers' collective bargaining rights intact. It would make no changes to wages, benefits, or protection against layoffs.

House Resolution 2309

H.R. 2309, introduced by Rep. Darrell Issa (CA), the Republican chairman of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and co-sponsored by Rep. Dennis Ross (FL), the Republican chairman of the Subcommittee on Federal Workforce, U.S. Postal Service and Labor Policy, would:

• Do nothing to correct USPS overpayments to its pension accounts.
• Do nothing to correct the congressional mandate that requires the USPS to pre-fund the healthcare benefits of future retirees. (No other government agency or private company bears this burden, which costs the USPS $5 billion annually.)
• Force postal workers to make up the difference:
  • Ensure that Postal wages are “comparable” to the private sector. (Rep. Ross claims postal employees enjoy a “compensation premium” of 34%.)
  • Empower a board to unilaterally cut wages, abolish benefits, and end protection against layoffs.
• Create a commission that would order:
  • $1 billion worth of post office closures in the first year, and
  • $1 billion worth of facility closures in the second year. Would that include your office or your facility? Would that wipe out your job?
• Increase employees' costs for healthcare and life insurance, and eliminate the right to bargain over these crucial benefits.

Rep. Issa says his bill is designed to avoid a “bailout,” but the USPS doesn't rely on taxpayer funding, and doesn't need a bailout. As noted above, the federal government is holding billions of dollars in excess postal payments to FERS (Federal Employees Retirement System) and CSRS (Civil Service Retirement System).

It's Time to Act!

“The choices are clear,” said APWU President Cliff Guffey. “But the word on Capitol Hill is that Chairman Issa won't allow Rep. Lynch's bill to come up for a vote!

Contact Your Legislators H.R. 1351 Co-sponsors

“APWU members must let their U.S. representatives know that we adamantly oppose H.R. 2309 and that we urgently support H.R. 1351.

“We must demand that Rep. Issa stop blocking H.R. 1351,” he added.

“We can't win the battle to defend the Postal Service and protect jobs without you! We are asking local union officers to organize APWU members to visit their U.S. representatives to discuss our concerns with them,” Guffey said. “If you don't hear from your local officers, ask them why.

“In the meantime, I urge you to call Congress to voice your opposition to H.R. 2309 and your support for H.R. 1351.” The phone number for the Capitol Hill switchboard is (202) 224-3121.