Postal pin-ups pose for a cause

SANTA FE, N.M. (KRQE) - From mail delivery to modeling, the postman or woman in your neighborhood could be the latest postal pin-up.

The news lately for the postal service hasn't been good. USPS is billions of dollars in debt. Now organizers in Santa Fe have released a calendar to fund a favorite charity and help combat cuts.

"We thought it would be a fun thing to do because there's a lot of nice looking carriers in Santa, Fe," said Ms. January Eunice Naranjo. She and 24 other letter carriers are featured in two separate $10 calendars. The proceeds will go to the Muscular Dystrophy Association and to Committee on Letter Carrier Political Education - the political action committee of the National Association of Letter Carriers.

The committee is battling a bill in congress that would cut service and jobs at USPS in an attempt to pull them out of the red, but Karmela Gonzales, the calendar's creator, says that's not the problem. "We're paying for retirement and pension benefits for people who haven't even been hired by the postal service," she said. A federal mandate forced USPS to pre-fund the health care benefits of future retirees. According to online sources it's legislation that costs the Postal Service more than $5.5 billion per year.

Gonzales hopes pin-ups of artists, body builders and motorcycle moms, all of them mail carriers, will help draw attention to their cause and fund endeavors to reform the legislation.

Calendars can be purchased at the Main Post Office in Santa Fe, at the Coronado Office or by putting a request in your mail box.