{"id":21025,"date":"2022-04-28T09:38:36","date_gmt":"2022-04-28T13:38:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/autosector.com\/?p=21025"},"modified":"2022-04-28T09:38:36","modified_gmt":"2022-04-28T13:38:36","slug":"uaw-nrdc-file-joint-lawsuit-usps-controversial-oshkosh-defense-truck-contract","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/?p=21025","title":{"rendered":"UAW, NRDC File Joint Lawsuit Against USPS Over Controversial Oshkosh Defense Truck Contract | UAW"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Groups: USPS Failed to Ensure Clean Trucks, Good Union Jobs in Multi-Billion, 10-Year Contract<\/em><\/p>\n

Labor, Environmental Groups Demand USPS Halt Purchase Plan, Buy Union-Made, <\/em><\/p>\n

Electric Vehicles to Ensure Public Dollars Contribute to Public Good<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em>WASHINGTON, DC<\/strong> \u2013 A lawsuit filed jointly by the United Auto Workers (UAW) and the NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) Thursday in federal court claims the United States Postal Service (USPS) failed on multiple levels when evaluating and finalizing a contract for next generation postal trucks and demands the agency halt production.<\/p>\n

In the lawsuit, UAW and NRDC highlight USPS\u2019 failure to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) in its acquisition of thousands of postal trucks, referred to as Next Generation Delivery Vehicles (NGDV\u2019s), and failure to consider where, when and how the vehicles would be produced.<\/p>\n

The groups write in the complaint<\/a> that the NGDV contract is \u201cbased on an unlawfully deficient environmental analysis issued after the Postal Service had already decided on a course of action.\u201d <\/em>Furthermore, when pursuing the Environmental Impact statement (EIS), \u201cThe draft [EIS] did not consider impacts from the production, as opposed to the operation, of the Postal Service\u2019s custom-built vehicles. Likewise, the draft did not disclose that the vehicles would be produced in South Carolina or consider impacts related to the location of production.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

The lawsuit comes after months of scrutiny<\/a> on USPS and Oshkosh Defense, the Wisconsin-based contractor that received the contract and subsequently announced plans to move production out of Wisconsin and to South Carolina.<\/p>\n

\u201cUAW members and our partners in the environmental movement are united in a vision for the future where public dollars support good, union jobs and invest in a cleaner future,\u201d<\/em> said Ray Curry, president of the United Auto Workers.<\/strong> \u201cWith this contract, USPS and Oshkosh Defense abandoned the Wisconsin workers that built the company and failed taxpayers with a sham process to evaluate the environmental and community impacts of these vehicles. The USPS\u2019s Next Generation Delivery Vehicle is an opportunity for the Biden administration to reverse-court and make real investments in both a cleaner future and good union jobs The contract as it currently stands fails on both accounts. It\u2019s time to halt production and start the procurement process over.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

NRDC, UAW Continue Unified Demand for Clean, Union-Made Electric Postal Vehicles<\/strong><\/p>\n

The UAW and NRDC joint lawsuit bring together two major organizations united in their demand for public dollars to support a transition to cleaner, union-made vehicles and jobs that support families and communities in the long-term. Environmental groups, including NRDC, have submitted numerous comments on the flawed EIS, which have been backed up by the Environmental Protection Agency objections to the contract<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s be frank: The Postal Service can save money and cut pollution by investing in electric trucks. The Postal Service must undertake the accurate and thorough environmental review it should have done the first time. Its error-filled, flimsy analysis should be returned to sender,\u201d said Britt Carmon, federal clean vehicles senior advocate at NRDC.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the lawsuit, UAW and NRDC publicly:<\/p>\n