for more, let me bring in mark, the president of the american postal workers union.s tonight. what is going to happen when these 82 facilities are going to be shut down. they are going to be reduced. congress didn't do anything about it. there were attempts by some to reverse this. what is the postal service going to be like in rural america after the first of the year? >> well, the plant closings go through. it is obviously going to leave more diminished and more degraded services. and at a time of the holiday season we're all reminded how valuable this national treasure called the national post office is. and our christmas seasons will never be the same of along with the plant closings, the postal service is implementing on january 5th, you understand the radar, the people need to know about this. they're implementing the way in which mail will be processed for everybody in this country. whether you're in a city or town where these plant closings are taking place. there will be no more overnight first class mail. everything else will be pushed back ask slowed down

host: market was seen with the american postal workers union, he is their president. first call for him, todd from 10 -- kentucky, independent line. caller: good morning. i am interested in how you would assess the cost of providing these services. the postal service is not, as you said -- it is a break even institution, it is actually losing a great deal of money in terms of getting additional substitute these -- subsidies from taxpayers. i would like you to discuss that. service runsstal on zero tax dollars. that is important for people to know area -- to know. it operates by the user paying postage. it is a system that is working well. in terms of assessing costs of new products. the postal service does sell money orders. they talk on a small fee, i cannot tell you what is right now, i feel like it is $1.35, they can be small reasonable fees attached to financial transactions if the post office was to go into the postal banking. transactions would be fair to the customers, as these money orders are, and it would ring revenue to the post office. they would be perform

she is a steward for the american postal workers union.2005, she submitted this memo about an employee who suffered a seizure at work. three witnesses said 45 minutes after the incident no emergency personnel had been contacted. a supervisor dismissed them saying it's just a seizure. go back to work. >> when you see someone hurt, bleeding, passed out, the proper response is to dial 911 and then inform your supervisor, not the opposite way. >> reporter: months later, debbie's memo became part of a national grievance citing multiple incidents of delayed medical treatment including a worker who became temporarily paralyzed and other whose emergency help was delayed 45 minutes. they are speaking out after sam's death to expose how long they've been fighting outdated rules that prevent employees from calling 911. >> do you think this policy makes sense? >> it makes sense. >> reporter: this is a communications manager for usps in northern california. he says the policy is intended to get help on the scene quickly and allows postal police to dire

. >> president of the american postal workers union, great to have you with us tonight. >> thank you. >> it is unnecessary that we're going through this. congress can do something about it. that's "the ed show." >> good evening. thank you for tuning in. we start tonight with breaking news on president obama's historic move to reset relations with cuba. 50 years after the severing of diplomatic ties, it is a monumental achievement. overall decades cold war policy designed to damage the regime of fidel castro. today president obama said, it is time for a new era. >> today, the united states of america is changing its relationship with the people of cuba. in the most significant changes in our policy in more than 50 years. we will end an outdated approach that for decades has filed advance our interests and instead, we will begin to normalize relations between our two countries. through these changes, we intend to create more opportunities for the american and cuban people and begin a new chapter among the nations of the americas. >> the new policy includes establishing a u.s. embassy in

she's a steward for the american postal workers union. in 2005 she submitted this memo about an employee who suffered a seizure at work. three witnesses said 45 minutes after the incident, no emergency personnel had been contacted and a supervisor dismissed them saying, it's just a seizure. go back to work. >> when you see someone hurt, bleeding, passed out, the proper response is to dial 911 and then inform your supervisor, not the opposite way. >> reporter: months later debbie's memo became part of a national grievance citing multiple instants of delayed medical treatment including a worker who became temporarily paralyzed and another whose emergency help was delayed 45 minutes. mealy and perry are speaking out after sam's death to expose how long they've been fighting out-dated rules that prevent employees from calling 911. >> do you think this policy makes sense? >> it makes sense. >> reporter: augustine is a communications manager for the usps in northern california. he says the policy is intended to get help on the scene quickly and

she's a steward for the american postal workers union. in 2005 she submitted this memo about an employee who suffered a seizure at work. three witnesses said 45 minutes after the incident, no emergency personnel had been contacted and a supervisor dismissed them, saying it's just a seizure, go back to work. >> when you see someone hurt, bleeding, passed out, the proper response is to dial 911 and then inform your supervisor, not the opposite way. >> reporter: months later, debby's memo became part of a national grievance citing delayed medical treatment, including a worker who became temporarily paralyzed and another whose emergency help was delayed 45 minutes. neely and terry are speaking out after sam's death to expose how long they've been fighting outdated rules that prevent employees from calling 911. >> do you think this policy makes sense? >> it makes sense. >> reporter: augustine is a communications manager for the usps in northern california. he says the policy is intended to get help on the scene quickly and it allows postal pol

she is a steward for the american postal workers union. in 2005, she submitted this memo about an employee who suffered a seizure at work. three witnesses said 45 minutes after the incident, no emergency personnel had been contacted, and a supervisor dismissed them, saying it's just a seizure. go back to work. >> when you see someone hurt, bleeding, passed out, the proper response is to dial 911 and then inform your supervisor, not the opposite way. >> reporter: months later, debbie's memo became part of a national grievance siting multiple incidents of delayed medical treatment, including a worker who became temporarily paralyzed and another's whose emergency help was delayed 45 minutes. neely and perry are speaking out after sam's death to expose how long they've been fighting outdated rules that prevent employees from calling 911. do you think this policy makes sense? >> it makes sense. >> reporter: augustine ruiz is a communications manager for the usps in northern california. he says the policy is intended to get help on the scene qui

american postal workers union president joins us. we'll also take your phone calls and look for your comments on facebook and twitter. beginning live at 7:00 a.m. eastern on c-span. >> c-span 2 providing live coverage of the u.s. senate floor proceedings and key public policy events, and every weekend, booktv, now for 15 years, the only television network devoted to nonfiction books and authors. c-span2, created by the cable tv industry and brought to you as a public service by your cable or satellite provider. >> coming up next, the annual lighting of the national menorah in washington, dc. then a pentagon briefing with rear admiral john kirby, and later, the head of the air national guard talks about the ewan's role and operations. tuesday marked the first night hanukkah, and the national menorah was lit on the ellipse. the ceremony included ranks by vice president biden. >> you know, the word "hanukkah" relates in think view to ceremonies and celebrations like this one. but the word "hanukkah pay has roots in hebrew and the same w

houn will talk about payday lenders and regulations mark diamondstein president of the american postal workers' union outlines schedules taking place in january. we will take your calls and you can join the conversation at facebook and twitter. washingt "washington journal" is next. ...