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Nati Harnik / AP
Mail carrier Zack Wyscarver delivers mail in Omaha, Neb., Monday. Unprecedented cuts by the cash-strapped U.S. Postal Service will slow first-class delivery next spring.
By Jonathan Fahey, Associated Press
NEW YORK — Utility bills are paid, legal briefs are filed and the Christmas shopping all gets done online. But for magazines, clothing catalogues and movies, the mail still matters.
For some mail-dependent businesses, quick and cheap first-class mail service from the U.S. Postal Service is still the best way to reach prospective customers and subscribers. And for many, it's still an important way to get paid.
The Postal Service, which has been losing money for five years, said Monday that it is shuttering more than 200 mail processing centers, adding at least a day's wait for many first-class deliveries. The news was met with concern and frustration from some businesses — and shrugs from others that long ago stopped relying on the post office.
"It's less of a disaster than it would have been 10 years ago, but it'll be a cash flow crunch for some companies," said Todd McCracken, president and chief executive of the National Small Business Association. "It'll be longer to get your invoice, and longer to get a check back."
First-class mail is supposed to arrive at U.S. homes and businesses in one to three days; about 42 percent of it arrives in one day. The cutbacks will back up deliveries to two to three days; periodicals could take up to nine days.
Cookie Driscoll of Fairfield, Pa., designs and sells decorative animal stickers to gift shops. She uses the Postal Service for almost all deliveries because prices are low and predictable, and delivery is fast. She also receives most of her income by paper checks through the mail.
"The trickle-down effect of this is going to be frustrating," she said. "It's not going to put me out of business but it's an irritant. Every time small businesses turn around we get hit with something else."
The change could represent an operational headache for L.L. Bean, which mails 250 million catalogues a year to sell outdoor clothing and equipment. Now the company knows the day its catalogues will arrive in homes, and it can put on extra staff at call centers on the appointed day. It won't be able to do that anymore.
"We are increasingly concerned about any proposal that would degrade the level of service such as greater variability in delivery deadlines," said Carolyn Beem, an L.L. Bean spokeswoman.
Most Netflix customers who subscribe to the company's DVD-by-mail service watch movies on the weekends and should still be able to return movies Monday and have new ones on Friday, according to Michael Pachter, an analyst at the investment firm Wedbush. But other users will notice a delay, he said.
Netflix — one of the Postal Service's biggest customers, with expenses of up to $600 million a year — has repeatedly warned in regulatory filings that any Postal Service cutbacks that delay its DVD-by-mail deliveries will make it more difficult to keep subscribers happy. And, with encouragement from Netflix, customers are already abandoning mail service for movies delivered online.
But for many companies, the changes will have no effect. Some have already stopped relying on the Postal Service, moving online for billing or to overnight companies FedEx Corp. and United Parcel Service Inc. for critical deliveries. First-class mail volume is 78 billion per year, down from a peak of 104 billion in 2001. It is projected to drop by roughly half by 2020.
The healthcare company Medco said in a statement that it did not expect the postal changes to have a major effect on its business, although the online drug distributor used the Postal Service to send most of its 110 million drug shipments last year.
Keith Ashmus, an attorney at Frantz Ward in Cleveland, said his office can now file pleadings and motions electronically, so it sends far less mail than it used to. Documents served by mail are allowed three days to arrive, which means there will still be enough time for delivery by first class even with the changes.
In some cases, magazine publishers and other bulk mailers who drop off shipments at processing centers that remain open may be able to get their materials delivered the next day.
A spokesman for the MPA-the Association of Magazine Media, a magazine trade group, said the changes may cause printing and transportation problems for weekly publications.
The service changes will almost certainly send more business activity online and to FedEx and UPS.
David Ross, a transportation analyst at investment firm Stifel Nicolaus predicts the new business from postal cutbacks will stem the losses FedEx and UPS saw in overnight document deliveries during the recession.
The 28,000 job cuts announced by the Postal Service likely won't make a big difference to the economy or job market, economists say. Private delivery companies will probably get more business as the Postal Service cuts back.
"It adds to the fear about higher unemployment and inadequate job growth," said Jonathan Basile, an economist at Credit Suisse. But when the cuts are spread over several months, in an economy with about 140 million jobs, there won't be a large impact, he said.
Postal Service employment has been declining for years. The service has cut more than 30,000 jobs in the past year, the government's Friday employment report showed.
Postal Service employment peaked at 909,000 in 1999 and has declined steadily since, falling to 612,400 last month.
NBC's Tom Costello reports on the changes in store at the Post Office.
Leave a Comment:
A major player in the demise of the USPS would seem to be its employees union. Undoubtedly, as a union-negotiated benefit, postal employees pay about 25% less than regular federal employees for the very same health insurance--the USPS of course picks up the difference. Not coincidentally, at this very moment the USPS is about to default on a $5.5B payment to the US Treasury for health benefits. So in no small part, the blame for upcoming service degradation caused by closures and layoffs can ironically be laid directly at the feet of their union.
First thing is to quadruple the price of "junk' mail. I think they call it by a nice name like Bulk Business Mail.
99.9999% of all "junk" mail goes straight into the landfills of the nation.
Nothing like funneling all your forests into the landfills by way of the US Postal Service. Nice legacy.
.
there shouldn't be any public sector unions anyway, private sector i can understand because those unions understand you cannot bite the hand that feeds you, something public sector unions seem to forget.
It is what it is. Gridlock will not help in Washington!
No private company is required by the government (under ERISA) to fully fund their retirement benefits UP FRONT to a 30-yr time horizon. Why would you expect to fund something like that for every new employee that walks in the door? Why wouldn't you expect to pay over time like the premiums for a life insurance product? The well-advertised $5.5BILLION shortage is largely due to the size of the upfront charge for these payments. Without it, it would be possible to make them run in the black with only minor changes.
And, it is easy to see that you did not BOTHER to notice that employment in the USPS has dropped by 300,000 over the past 12 years (about one third) while mail volume only dropped by 25% in about the same time frame.
God forbid we make some well needed adjustments to the bloated salaries and benfits of the Postal Service. They'll just cut back on service to customers and even throw some of their fellow workers under the bus to save their fat paychecks. Typical government operation.
However, Larry, the USPS will be reporting a record loss of $14.1 billion this year. It is true they are being required to put the 5.5 billion upfront to fund their pensions, but as you can see their business plan is suffering and losses are continuing. So in reality funding pensions will be very hard to do when they are losing billions. As it is, the USPS is a buggy whip. People are being encouraged, or frankly forced to do business on-line.
brandon4 Have you ever been a union member or have you ever been a worker in the "public" sector? The main service that a union in the public sector provides it's members is protection against mistreatment of the workers by management. I have worked in the public sector and was a union member. After 27 years in the USAF I was shocked by the harassment and mistreatment of workers by supervisors and management in the US Postal Service. I had to file several grievances using the union. Postal Service management, for the most part, has little or no concern for the rights of the workers and do not care about abiding by the contract that they have signed. Once after I had worked for almost 6 years to earn seniority to get on day shift, 6 AM till 2:30 PM and had been on day shift for about six months the manager decided he wanted to change everyone reporting time (according to the contract he could make a change of no more than 2 hours either way without meeting with the union and working out the plan so he could change my hours to start as early as 4 AM till 12:30 PM or as late as 8 AM till 4:30PM). That was not in his game plan so he abolished everyone,s job and reassigned us. I had a shift of 5 PM to 1:30 PM After filing a grievance the union was able to get me back my shift of 6 AM till 2:30PM. The shift that I had earned in the first place. Many Kiss A$$es were given great shifts in violation of the contract agreement While some of the best workers who had seniority ended up with terrible shifts because the Manager did not like them sometimes because of something that had happened when the manager had first started as a worker without seniority. In the opinion of almost everyone he had progressed to management very quickly not based upon his abilities but because he had an uncle in management. Very normal in the Postal Service. I wonder how many of you would stay in such an employment without a union to fight for you. BTW that manager was fined several times by the Department of Labor for violations of law.
Maybe in your frame of mind, Kissa**ers are really the ones who do their job without griping.
Boa; that is why we need one Federal Health plan that doesn't favor one group over another. The only people who dislike a Federal plan for health benefits are those who already have it good, and not because they did something better or worked harder, it was gifted to them just because of where they work. If you don't like the one size fits all health option then it should be out of your pocket to upgrade it, not something you can negotiate. A Right wing friend of mine didn't like his health plan through work so he bought his own.
The only people rump smoochers fool is them selves. Some bosses are so insecure that they seek out rump smoochers - birds of a feather flock together. retired40; that comment makes no sense. Insecure bosses are always looking for reasons to fire or demote those who stand up to them - that is what made me work harder - so they would look like a fool trying to fire their most productive employees. After years of trying my boss gave up and looked for weaker prey - even then I would intervene and go with his new targets to upper management and set things straight - the harder that punk (who got to management due to marrying the boss above hims daughter) tried to screw people the more pleasure I took in putting him in his place. I would have been one of his victims if I wasn't in a Union.
John-1970924 - You didn't perhaps work at the USPS Monmouth P&D facility in NJ, did you? Your experience sounds quite a bit like my mother's career with the Postal Service.
I'll go without Saturday delivery if they'll lay off another 100,000.
Pro america you should change your name to AGAINSTamerica you are wanting 100,000 hard working Americans to lose their jobs. Wonderful way to improve America's economy. Anyone who wants 100,000 Americans put out of work is definitely against American workers and looking forward to the destruction of our economy.
Proamerica- I would go without delivery on saturday if they would lay your silly hindend off. Don't care where you work. That is if you even work.
John-
If the USPS were eliminated completely, do you know what would happen? We would have a short delay until private business took over, taxpayers would be spared billions of dollars, and private sector jobs would be created.
"Hard working?" Have you ever been in a post office?
John... "Hard working"? You may want to reconsider that statement. Post office jobs appear to be mundane, simple, and hardly require "hard work". I can only imagine how "hard" the executives work if their post office clerks are any example...
I would bet the average 7-11 clerk works much harder than the vast majority of postal workers.
So John I think u use the terms "hard working" loosley. Plus I guess you support taxpayers continuing to subsidize workers that are not needed to provide a service we dont need just to keep them employed ? You sound like a liberal politician.
So true, Atlas.
apparently you have never walked in the shoes of a mail carrier...many if not most of the applicants never even pass the tests , and some of the ones who do actually pass the tests dont even make it on their 1st day, they walk out. unless you have 1st hand knowledge of how difficult the job is then you should not be making blanket statements like that. Try delivering the mail in sub zero weather, icy rainy etc. or in the desert when its 115 degrees and the mailboxes are hot enough to blister your skin, the whole time with customers complaining about too much "junk mail" and why you are so late..etc etc...also try being a part time employee with NO benefits whatsoever, and everyone just assumes you are making big bucks....its just not the case, so many people are so quick to make assumptions and accusations and have no true idea of the reality that many of the workers face. Yes there are those who are sucking the system dry, and are deadbeats, i would hope that karma would come in to play for those..but please dont just lump all postal workers into your dump em all they are all lazy and or incompetent basket. I know of many VERY hardworking postal employees that actually care about customer service, and work VERY hard at what they do. just a thought ..just remember that someone out there may say the same things about you without knowing the FACTS.. its just not fair to ASSuME anything!
From whence? Taxpayers don't pay for the post office. That's why when congress decided to take all their money away, they have to stop offering services.
Thanks been there for a sane and honest description of the majority of USPS employees.
You mean they can get Slower??????
Of course they can. But to do so would require they go backwards.
Two to three days to get a letter from one coast to the other for only $0.44 is too slow for you?
or a package that gets shipped via USPS for $6 and only takes 4 to 5 days vs FedEx/UPS that costs $12 and takes 10 - 12 days.
And they wonder why they are losing money ... I feel no sympathy for U.S.P.S. or U.P.S. ... I live just south of Tulsa, Oklahoma and can order a package originating in Kansas. From Kansas in will travel through Oklahoma to Texas, sit for a day then travel to Okla. City, sit for a day then to Muskogee and then onto my home. Instead of giving my packages frequent flyer miles (lol) they could truck straight to the area within 3 hours.
It's sad that so many people are clueless about USPS =/
A letter costs 44 CENTS and gets delivered in 1-3 days. A small package (up to 14 oz) sent first class costs ~$3.
UPS Ground costs $15.48 and takes 7 days..... Three day service is $25.08.... (I used zip codes for a ~2500 mile trip which isn't even across the US)
And people complain that the USPS is too slow?!?!?
They could double the cost of a stamp and it would still be a bargain compared to any of the alternatives. maybe the USPS should close for a couple months just so people can realize what they're missing =/
The same happened to the Car Companies with the UAW jobs Bank which kept people on regular pay that were not working and just had them stay home. This was as high as 50,000 people and it did Bankrupt the companies,( 70,000 a year per employee) The unions are not governed by data they are all about the politics of getting elected!
super; its been awhile since you checked up on that stuff, isn't it...lmao. GM did away with that in February of 2009 as part of the Federal bailout. Ford is in negotiations now with the Union and they have a two tiered pay system with the lower tier making $16 an hour and are not full time employees.
The average wage of an auto worker is $28 an hour and their work force is close to half of what it was.
If the auto makers did go bankrupt they could get out of their agreement with the UAW on Job Banking policies. They might face legal claims by the workers but in this day and age the Courts don't let you file group claims - so it would be out of each individual employees pocket to file a claim.
I'm all for reform of the Postal Service, my only concern would be for those who can't get to a Post Office during the week. As an old laborer there was no way I could get to the Post Office except for Saturdays - why should anyone else be able to run errands during the work week?
Maybe if Bush and his republican goons would not have required the Postal System to set aside enough money for pensions until the year 2075, then the post office would not be doing so badly. No other agency had to set aside that much money for retirement. Another way the republicans are trying to break unions.
Amy, the USPS will be over budget next year by 14billion, that is about 9billion more then the 5billion they need for the healthcare funds so how did the Repubs create that loss?
UAW Well, if you are required to put away $5 billion for the last 5 years or so, and have to have money for operating expenses, it doesn't leave you very financially viable. Bush and his republicans required them to put this money aside for 70-75 in the future. Why? To bring down the post office and their unions. Republicans will do anything to break the unions. Look at Wisconsin. The post office is still a deal. Where else could you mail a letter for just 44 cents. I can't imagine what it would be if it was privatized!
BOA38; Please quit blaming the unions. The real blame lies with Congress. A law passed in 1986 requires that the USPS fully fund the retirement funds for (if I recall) 75 years into the future. No private business or other government agency has to do this. It is this 5.5B payment that the USPS cannot pay. In fact, from the news reports I have seen, the retirement funds have a HUGE surplus.
Good pay does not need a Union to take the peoples money and institute slow work practices
An intelligent voice among the uninformed. Yes, Congress is responsible for the 6 year tailspin in the Postal Service, beginning in 2005 when they mandated the Postal Service to pre-pay retirees health benefits. These are benefits for employees 60 years in advance......ones not even hired yet. No surprise that President Obama discovered that Congress has been dipping into these funds. Yes, there is a surplus of funds in this account, Mr Obama said it had to be used to pay for early-out retirement for current employees. Congress needs to be out of the business of the Postal Service, let the Postmaster General run the USPS. The Postal Service doesn't receive tax monies so why is Congress involved?
Why would you fund retirement benefits for someone who has not even been BORN yet?!
Wait until Congressional franking gets hit by slower deliveries. Members of both houses are used to franking a "newsletter" timed to hit on a particular day when some action is to be taken. Now their timing will get all screwy. They only have themselves to blame!
Shachar: the $5.5B is to fund future retirees HEALTH insurance coverage. Again, this massive sum is in large part the result of postal workers getting a HUGE break in the portion of their health care costs that they themselves pay--thanks to their union. Such benefits are not enjoyed by regular federal employees and retirees.
Let's put the blame where it belongs; the requirement to fund retirement for 75 year came from a Republican in CA. This same Republican just happens to have had a large donor who's company had the contract to manage said fund for the post office.
Different day, SOS.
the first thing that ought to go is congress's free mail benefits. Let them pay fedex prices.
Just like Social Security all these retirement funds have is IOU's from Congress as they have spent all the money on pet projects and the wars.
The USPS will be over budget next year by 14billion, that is about 9billion more then the 5billion they need for the healthcare funds so how did the Repubs create that loss?
I do think the Postal Service should be trimmed and then taken over by the government. Hamilton would faint that the Postal service was not owned by the government!
Grocery stores too.
If we were not in the McCain and Graham wars we could save 4 trillion dollars and take care of the Postal Service and protect our Borders. Stop the Bush Tax cuts for the rich and save 3.7 trillion from future debt!
YES!
Please check the name on the latest business and rich tax cuts
It will read "BARRAK OBAMA" not bush. Approved and implemented by your savior...
I hope some American Company makes their Trucks they use to deliver the mail?? Anyone know??
Super X The Postal delivery trucks are as follows: the majority of the ones the Post Office uses were designed for 25 years of service and are General Motors running gear with an aluminum body. They were manufactured in 1987 to 1994 and their life expectancy was changed to 40 years a few years ago. The next group of postal delivery vehicles, known as FFVs for fixable fuel vehicles are ford running gear with an alumina body. and were made in 2000 and 2001. In 2003 the postal service bought a lot of Dodge caravans which are straight off the show room floor caravans with cages in them to secure the mail. These Dodges are the least useful of all the vehicles as they are not well suited to carry lots of packages are for the letter carrier to lean out the right side window to deliver mail. All of the large trucks that the postal service uses are standard use trucks of whatever size is needed. All are made in America. There are lots of sedans that the postal service buys for other usages. I have never seen one that wasn't made in America although I haven,t seen them all. I was a mechanic working on postal vehicles for 12 years from 1999 to 2011 when I was no longer able to continue working because of my injuries in the USAF. I was injured badly in Vietnam but was able to work until early this year when I started becoming unable to stand up for long periods.
Many here have questioned my comments about "hard working" post office people. Well I've seen it inside and out as most of those complaining have never "Walked the Walk" but think they can "Talk the Talk". I served 27 years in the service and retired as a SMSgt. I was in Vietnam three times transporting explosives. After my service I opened my own auto service garage for six years and then went to work as a vehicle mechanic for the Postal Service. As most of you know mechanics use an industry wide flat rate to decide how long is allowed for any repair. I did have a break in my service and worked as a Volkswagen mechanic at a dealership and can tell you that most good mechanics can work faster than those established times although on some jobs even the best mechanic losses their A$$ on some jobs. I would rate Postal mechanics as a bit better than the run of the mill mechanic you encounter but on the vehicles that they have they are about the best that you can find based upon working on the same type of vehicle over and over. In the shop that I worked I saw that almost all the mechanics almost always far exceed in beating the allowed times. This is usually done without any prodding from supervision. Of course in any work group you always find a slacker or two. The postal mechanics receive NO extra pay for doing more and most do it as they feel it is their job to excel. I witnessed this same dedication to duty among most other postal workers. I know little about the job of the clerks that you are waited on in the post office but I do know that management always puts roadblocks in the way of workers making their job slower and more time consuming than needed. I would never want to be a clerk with a supervisor breathing down my neck and angry customers demanding more and more.
For those who are wishing for the Postal Service to close I invite you to wrire a one page letter to "Aunt Mary" all the way across the US and go to the local FED Ex or UPS office if you can find it Or better yet call them to come to your house and pick up that letter. See what it cost to get that letter delivered. Then complain when you pay the US Postal Service to come to your house and pick it up and get it to Aunt Mary for less than 50 cents. REMEMBER the U S tax payers pay NOTHING for the Postal Service
I really think that any American who wants to take 100,00 jobs form other Americans be it public or private jobs is as Anti-American as Osama Ban Laden and all Alquda TERRORIST.
WE NEED TO SUPPORT ALL AMERICANS and get off this Anti-American BS of dividing us up as to race, sex, religion, sexual orientation, or political beliefs.
Thank you so much for your great post. I am one American who appreciates your service in war and at the USPS. Thank-you. You sound like the definition of a hard-working American.
boa38, you are a fool. Get your facts straight! Former President Bush signed into law a requirement mandating the Postal Service pre-fund future retirees health benefits 75 years in advance and make all payments in just 10 years! The Unions had nothing to do with this. Congress and the former President made this mess, so they should be made to clean it up!
No union and get efficiencies of 75,000 less people and improve the absentee rate from 12% to 2%
laying off people is not going to help the economy either though; it is a catch 22.
I would gladly pay $1.00 to mail a letter.
Roger
Thank you for trying to put this into perspective because many on this board would like to see people lose their jobs, private industry take over delivering the mail and then those same people will be the loudest whiners when the cost of mail skyrockets.
Roger, yeah and they wouldn't have to pay $5.5B if the postal worker's union hadn't managed to get USPS workers health insurance for a pittance of what regular federal employees have to pay for identical coverage!
boa38, that still doesn't justify having to prepay benefits for employees that have yet to be born.
Roger they do not want to clean this mess up! What "They", the Republicans elected to office, want is exactly what they have been telling us all alone and that is to STOP ALL Government jobs and services. The fact that it may cost Americans far more to do that has no bearing on the subject. When I was a Mechanic at the Postal Service rather than hire more mechanics (we were about 13 mechanics short) or pay us over time they would send some of our work out to other non-Post Office garages. As a lead mechanic at the very top of the pay scale for the Post Office I made almost $200 a day. Time and again for the work that I accomplished in my eight hours the Post Office would pay over $2500 labor for the same job. So much for saving money doing away with government workers. BTW for the full 12 years that I worked there we always had work and if it slowed down at all we cleaned up or fixed up the shop. Little or no waisted time.
Absentee rate at the Postal Office 12%
Proof? URL please.
Larry,
Glad you asked for their proof. I looked it up and it's actually more than 15%.
http://www.uspsoig.gov/foia_files/HM-AR-10-001.pdf
deleted - posted in incorrect thread
In our U.S. constitution, it states that the Congress is responsible for setting up the Postal Service. So, the founders of our country believed it was important to have fast and reliable correspondence. Even the Romans believed this - the idea of having mail delivered through snow, sleet or rain, is from the Roman culture. So, I think we need to look at this issue deeper, and realize that the mail service, the roads, the bridges, the ferries, the train rails, the internet, laying of fiber in the ground, building of shipping ports (expensive shipping cranes), and maintaining navigable rivers (i.e. Mississippi), have been all heavily subsidized by our government. Why? Because he/she that can communicate the fastest, and most reliably, and ship the goods the fastest and the cheapest, always wins. Fastest communication means more contracts to fill. Shipping goods quickly and cheaply means more goods sold in the shortest period of time - greater demand. So ... if we can spend a billion dollars a day in Iraq, we can surely shore up the postal service debt of 6 billion. We need to do things that create jobs, not destroy them.
Absolutely. Good post.
You're right, to a point.
Constitution says: To establish Post Offices and Post Roads;
However, the government can provide for the same service at higher levels of efficiency. How so? By privatizing it. The USPS is set up to be revenue neutral. What does that mean? That means that postal managers are going to spend everything they can toward the end of the year so they don't lose portions of their budget the following year. It's not fiscally responsible.
Atlas, my concern is if by privatizing the delivery of mail, will it mean that areas (Rural)of delivery that don't make profit will not get service? And if rates will be higher for the non-profit making areas of delivery. I can bet that service will not be universal to all. In other words, profit being the name of the game, If one lives in the outlands, they'll have to pay more. I don't think privatization is the way to go. I believe that Congress has to allow the USPS to run like a business and turn a profit. There's too many constraints placed by Congress. Trim the over-staffed folks in DC who earn six-figures and do nothing. The bottom line is the USPS wants the pre-funding back and Congress has spent that. While I'm at it, I like the Unions, Big business has its lobbyists, Labor should have theirs too. I'll take the heat for being a Union member by those who aren't, I pay my dues and enjoy the benefits of being Union. I'm willing to bet very few posting here would turn down a Union job. I sure as hell didn't!!
AtlasWillShrug, I've worked in the private sector for decades, and all of the for-profit companies I've worked in have a similar pattern of spending their budgets before the end of the year so that, not only do they not lose it, but they also don't get a smaller budget the next year (since they clearly didn't need it this year).
When I worked for the State of Oregon we had to use everything in the budget by the end of the fiscal year or the next budget was short by what wasn't used. It's surely not just the post office. Absolutely many rural areas will lose service causing difficulties especially for seniors and the disabled who depend on the USPS for their medication delivery. Most of the private companies will not go to many rural areas so the people that benefit the most and have the least resources will likely just have to go kick rocks for all the government cares.
RIGHT, let's blame the employees for the financial problems. The problem lies directly with the 75 year retirement fund crap which I bet most of the union employees would agree gotta go!! pUT THE BLAME WHERE IT BELONGS, CONGRESS, SENATE AND THE WHITE HOUSE. Should every person across this country in private or government employment say oh, well, I have too good of ins. and retirement package so I will volunteer to go ahead and pay 25% more of my salary into it and give my employer a break. Well, if the pols in D.C. do it first and agree to no benefits after leaving office, then maybe..But I guess its o.k. with some of you that 28,000 more people will be soon standing in the unemployment and food stamp lines and the bail-out bum banks can have some more homes to foreclose on and vehicles etc..to repo. I think as of 8am Dec. 12th 2011 every person employed by USPS should walk out and stay out until Dec. 26th 2011. THEN maybe..finally people will really see how much we depend on them and the govrnment may finally pull their heads out and see they have to make some much needed changes. I hope they do it and those of you who want to see them gone have a Merry Christmas when your gifts don't arrive. I was in my local post office in Keizer, OR this afternoon. The very nice postal worker told me that the distribution center in Salem, OR is one scheduledto be shut down. I believe this center is the hub for two oregon counties at least and those two counties have very large rural areas that will be severely effected by this. WAY TO GO USA! WAY TO GO, DOWN HILL FAST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It's illegal for employees of the USPS to go on strike.
They just don't go to work! 12% absentee rate. 75,000 efficiencies if work rules abandoned
I am relieved to see that there are a few sane people left in the US. Most of the comments are from deranged republicans, and it is embarassing to have their ignorance on such public display for all the world to see. When they reap the rewards of their actions, I'll not shed a tear, or lend a hand to them.
Who said anything about a strike? By, the way it's not illegal, theres a process for it. Depending on area, workers could be suffering from heat stroke, frostbite, dog bite, etc..Ever heard of the "blue flu".? Could'nt postal workers catch something like it too????????????????
Businesses will adapt or fail. Personally, I would be thrilled if junkmail on Wednesdays went away, but that is the USPS primary source of money right now I am betting.
You made a good bet. It most certainly is not from us sending a letter cross country for $0.44.
No one has mentioned how to solve all of our problems. GOP ticket Palin/Quayle. If they won, we wouldn't even be concerned with how long the mail took. Also, how does one change their log in name?
I think you have to get rid of your whole account and start over.
Go to your newsvine page and click the "report bug". A page will come up with a drop down menu feature to change your name or domain name.
The answer is pretty simple. We the people need to demand that the federal government change the rules for USPS so that they can run in the black STEP #1 get rid of the 75 year retirement funding that has to be paid in ten years time. USPS is set up to fail by the US government, in's not rocket science.
I think this is something none of the people writing will have any influence over at all thus good nite
Why?? Write, call, stop by, and/or picket at your state representatives office, e-mail the PRes. check on-ine. There are pettions to be ound regarding this issue. Why does this crap happen, because the government doesn't think we care enough to stand up and demand decent government. The question each person needs to ask themselves, do I care? or, will I bitch ut do nothing??????????????????
Let the public sector unions fund their retirement the same way the rest of the working class does - 401K. It's time for both public and private sector labor unions to wake up and smell the coffee.
Yes, the 30 year experiment with an entire generation of Boomers trying to navigate their way through the ever-increasing volatility of the markets by themselves have created a generation of luck multi-millionaires lounging in Hawaii. Not!
Self-directed investing (while it has worked for a dedicated minority) has been a disaster. If the goal was to create retirement security for as many people as possible, this little experiment clearly FAILED.
Based upon the latest work from Kahneman on human economic decision processes, this was bound to happen.
Do you have any idea what the original purpose for unions was?? Simple version=protect exploited workers. Read some history.
I used to use first class mail...then they offered priority for quicker service, 3 day..now priority is basically first class and slow. Had a priority letter take 9 days to go from Florida To CA...the service sucks.
Then one can suggest you should have drove it to Florida yourself ;-) Good luck!
LOL. I used to pay extra for "Air Mail".
Larry then one could suggest, if you are going to correct my posts, at least speak correct English, this is America. "You should have driven it to Florida Yourself" If you had take the time to even read the post the letter originated in Florida. What an idiot!
Uhh..does this mean that my Nitro's sent via the VA through the U.S. Postal service may come 3 day's late?..lol. Oh well, they're trying to kill off us old baby boomer Vet's anyway, See ya'll in the next life!
The USPS needs to get smart and close the vast majority of post offices. Many other countries have successfully moved contracted out their neighborhood postal services to supermarkets, who staff the centers on contract. This has resulted in huge, huge savings. The USPS has visited some of these countries and has agreed that it's the only viable plan to return to profitability, but they seem unable to make it happen. If they want to stay relevant, they need to do something drastic like this -- otherwise they will just be swallowed up by the Internet and e-services. Way to go USA. We used to set the example for the rest of the world -- now we can't even manage to create a sustainable postal service. We need to eliminate the two party system!!!
This is because the USPS has no power to do this - they have to get Congress to approve it.
The USPS doesn't want to be paying 75 years of health insurance in advance but they have no choice.
This has been said over and over and over again but some people have difficulty with comprehending it.
Quick note folks. Though you might pay your bills online, you might still be hit with the change. I pay online through my credit union. Not every vendor has an electronic payment system. I know this because my credit union shows a 5-day pay window indicating a check is generated and mailed to the vendor. I'm expecting to see that window expand to 7 days with the first class postage change.
On a different note, I expect to see the Congress allow the USPS to skip the retirement fund payment for the next two years. There's a significant portion of the population who won't use the internet to pay their bills. Whether it's an economic issue or an age issue, they'll prefer to use checks or money orders to pay their bills. Additionally, there's are large portions of the country that just don't have access to high speed internet and rely on the USPS. Congress should be extremely careful about upsetting those folks. To them, the USPS isn't some faceless entity full of bureaucrats. It's a lifeline to the outside world.
For many in small rural areas the local post office is the hub of the community. Example: Elsie Nebraska, last I knew population 300 not counting the surrounding farmers. My mothers' cousin took over his parents farm when they retired. His wife worked at the post office and in time became Post Master GEneral. Everybody knew everybody and it was a nice feeling as a child to visit my grandmother in Elsie andgo to the post office. Don't know if it's still there but if it is will probably be one that gets shut down closing one more community door and a step closer to being like impersonal cities.
And we say we are a United States of America. How can this be so, with two, three parties throwing fit's at each other over b.s. money. United my arse. The pride is there, the people are there, the government is freakin psycotic at the very least. It won't be long before the crap hit's the fan, and then there will be another revolution, and with it will come a resolution. I guess they just don't get it.
There's a third party? I'll believe it when one gets in the Oval office.
I say if you don't like the government change it. The government is suppose to be working for us the 99% not the 1%
The government should be working for the 100%.
I say its time for another revolution cause the government is obsolete even George Washington said I believe this rule of government will last only a 100 years yes its been longer but it still failed
Wonderful union employees.
All they want is more money, less work, and more time to not get it done in.
Unions have had their day and now are nothing other than legal extortion of employers. time for them to go the way of the dinosaurs.
Non - Believer 123, If you were a blue-collar worker I bet you probably wouldn't turn down a Government Union job, hell I didn't! Like I said earlier, Big Business has their lobbyists, Labor has theirs, the Union. Employers are nothing other than legal extortion of employees!
Now we'll have the day of the corporations. They own congress at the state and federal level (most republicans, and some democrats, too). They are providing legislation for congress to pass (ALEC) that helps only corporations. We are becoming a facist nation. You know one of the first things Hitler did was to get rid of unions, and vilify teachers. That sounds very familiar to what the republicans are doing. I want to see this country run by the people, for the people. Not by the corporations, for the corporations.
Just one more indignity for the American people to bear thanks to our inept (corrupt?) Congressional "leaders".