Government affairs

Today, the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs (HSGAC) held a hearing on USPS Board of Governors (BOG) nominations. There are four upcoming vacancies on the BOG, two Republican and two Democratic. HSGAC considered only three nominations: William Zollars and Gordon Hartogensis, both Republican nominees, and Val Demings, a Democratic nominee. Unfortunately, the second Democratic nominee, former Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh, removed himself from consideration.

Zollars previously served on the BOG in a term that expired in 2022. He is the former Chairman/President/CEO of Yellow Transportation, Inc., a freight and shipping company. Prior to that, he served as a senior vice president of Ryder Integrated Logistics and as general manager and vice president of the Midwestern region of Eastman Kodak. He also served on the boards of Cerner, ProLogis, CIGNA and the National Association of Manufacturers.

Hartogensis started his career on Wall Street. In 1993, he built a supply chain and logistics startup, Petrolsoft Corporation, that was later acquired by Aspen Technology, where he served in a leadership role until 2002. He then founded a customer relationship management software company, Auric Technology, which was sold to Telnorm in 2011. He has since served as an investor and advisor to several technology startups in cybersecurity, immunotherapy, streaming video, fintech, and artificial intelligence. Most recently, he served as the Director of Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation from 2019-2024.

Demings is a former member of the House of Representatives and unsuccessfully ran for a Florida seat in the Senate in 2022. Prior to her work as an elected official, Demings served as a social worker and police officer. In 2007, she was appointed chief of the Orlando Police Department, where she served until 2011.

While HSGAC is expected to advance these three nominations as early as next week, NALC does not support their confirmations at this time.