Hatch Act
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* Your editorial on the “repeal” of the Hatch Act (June 2) missed the point entirely. First, legislation currently before Congress does not call for “repeal” of the Hatch Act, only reform. The Hatch Act was originally enacted to protect federal employees from political pressure to support certain candidates. The Times misinformed the public by telling us that we would be “the losers” (as a result of) “political campaigning by mail carriers.”
The Hatch Act creates a second-class group of citizens. It tells all federal and postal employees that they cannot run for any partisan political office or publicly support a candidate of their choice even while they are off-duty. Hatch Act reform would change this. Reform would allow federal and postal employees to run for partisan political office or support a candidate of their choice on their own time. Reform is both timely and necessary.
In addition, your editorial misinformed the public by stating that taxpayers pay the salaries of mail carriers. This is simply not true, nor has it been for many years.
JON GAUNCE, President
Tri-Valley Branch No. 2902
National Assn. of Letter Carriers
Chatsworth
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