The USPS is a heavily regulated monopoly. The US Constitution gives Congress the power to establish (and regulate) the postal system. Congress protected the w

The USPS is a heavily regulated monopoly. The US Constitution gives Congress the power to establish (and regulate) the postal system. Congress protected the workers by requiring their pensions be funded. Alternatively, they could have voted to change the pension to a 401k type system, which they did for the rest of the federal civil service in the late 80s, and which is common in the non-government world. As far as I can tell, the postal workers union wanted this and they got it.