Postal Service changes threaten public rights

I've heard recently the Postal Service has been telling customers they have to move their mailboxes to a centralized delivery point and they won't have delivery to their house or business. Well, it ain't true.

You cannot be forced to change what is called your mode of delivery if you don't want to. I should know, I'm a retired letter carrier and I worked for 37 years in Iowa City. The Postal Operations Manual is the controlled document about this sort of thing, and it says specifically ... the post office can solicit, ask you to change to a centralized delivery mode, but you don't have to agree to the change unless you want. If you want to go along and make the change, the Postal Service still has to acquire your written consent.

No doubt the Postal Service needs to cut its costs, but it is in such a financial condition because Congress requires it to pay $5.5 billion a year to the Treasury, not because it isn't making money selling stamps and delivering our mail. Last year the Postal Service made an operational profit over $400 million.

Let Congress fix the problem it has created and don't try to take away service from the people who pay for it.

Joe P. Miller

Iowa City