In October 2024, the U.S. Postal Service announced proposed changes to how it collects and distributes outgoing mail that would lengthen the delivery service standards for much of the country’s First Class Mail. Before implementing the plans, the Postal Service is required by law to seek an advisory opinion from the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC).
The PRC issued its advisory opinion on the case on Friday, Jan. 31, strongly criticizing the Postal Service’s plans. The PRC found that the USPS’s plans were based on defective modeling and “overly optimistic” cost-savings projections. The Commission was particularly concerned that the Postal Service had not adequately considered the “significant, negative impact of these changes on rural communities across the country.” The PRC opinion warns that the USPS’s plan would result in significant downgrades in service, particularly affecting rural America, and that any cost savings associated with the changes may not be worth the serious impacts to the country’s mail service.
The APWU participated in the PRC review, submitting testimony from a witness and filing a brief. The APWU witness summarized comments of more than 9,500 postal workers and more than 48,000 others who submitted a view on the proposals to either the Postal Service, the Board of Governors, or to their members of Congress. The overwhelming majority of commenters noted they were concerned about the impact of slower mail service to themselves, their businesses, and their communities. The effort to generate public comment was led by the APWU and our allies in A Grand Alliance, and the Commission appears to have taken the public comments seriously.
In its brief, the APWU underscored the impact the proposed service standard changes would have on rural communities. Once again, the PRC relied on this analysis in finding that the changes will have a “disproportionate impact…on rural communities” The PRC went on to warn the Postal Service to reconsider its proposed changes, on rural American in particular, to avoid imbalances that could violate the law, which prohibits the USPS from making “any undue or unreasonable discrimination among users of the mails.”
“The PRC’s thorough analysis of management’s proposal shows that postal management is out of touch with the needs of the mailing public. The APWU is proud to have stood with the public and stand up for the good service that every community deserves,” said APWU President Mark Dimondstein.
“The ball is now in management’s court to address needed changes in the postal system in a way that improves service, not slows it down,” said Dimondstein. “Postal workers and the public have shown we are ready to keep fighting for quality and reliable mail service.”
