Monday, April 19, 2004; Page A18

Sam Ryan ["Postal Pay at a Premium," letters, April 6] said that "out-of-control labor costs," not declining mail volume, are responsible for the financial problems of the U.S. Postal Service.

Far from being out of control, labor costs are falling. The Postal Service has reduced its workforce by 70,000 employees during the past five years. Labor costs as a share of total costs have declined from 86 percent in 1976 to 76 percent in 2003. Contrary to Mr. Ryan's claim, postal employees earn wages and benefits that are comparable to workers doing similar jobs for national delivery companies such as FedEx and UPS. In inflation-adjusted terms, postal wages or overall postage rates have not increased significantly since 1971.

Congress can do many things to help secure the long-term viability of the Postal Service. Attacking the middle-class pay and benefits of postal workers is not among them.

WILLIAM H. YOUNG

President

National Association of Letter Carriers

Washington