The presort discount system, created decades ago, turned over large sections of postal operations to private companies, for private profit. The Postal Service gives companies like Pitney Bowes and other large mailers huge postage discounts, or “corporate welfare,” to presort letters and packages before entering them “downstream” in the postal network. These discounts vary based on how much sorting work the presort companies undertake (how much postal worker work they replace). This “last mile” strategy guts postal processing facilities and bypasses postal truck transportation. Today, private companies sort roughly 80 to 90 percent of all letter mail volume before entering the postal network. Likewise, private parcel “consolidators” presort the majority of parcels delivered by the Postal Service, with many being entered directly at the delivery unit, bypassing nearly the entirety of the Postal Service’s transportation and processing networks.
The Postal Service has fully endorsed, promoted and accelerated this presort and last-mile strategy for decades – until now.
As recently reported in the press, Postmaster General DeJoy has announced the first step of changing course. The Postal Service is in the early stages of eliminating the deepest of several discounts where package consolidators sort to the Destination Delivery Units (DDUs) and five-digit presort.
“This is a welcome early step in the right direction,” said APWU President Mark Dimondstein. “The presort system has been killing our jobs, diverting needed revenue for the USPS, and enriching the private sector at our expense. We hope this is the first step of many to reverse course regarding the presort rip-offs and bring more work back into the USPS to be performed by unionized postal workers.”
According to the news coverage, some of these prospective changes will bring more revenue into the Post Office and place more parcels further “upstream” into the Postal Service’s distribution and sorting facilities.
APWU national leadership will continue to monitor these developments and their effects. We will continue to urge postal management to shrink these corporate welfare schemes and re-invest in postal workers, the postal network, and our unrivaled ability to provide quality and affordable services to the mailing public.