Postmaster General David Steiner proposed the most sweeping service cuts in the history of the United States Postal Service in a May 8 meeting of the USPS Board of Governors.
Steiner’s opening report to the meeting called on Congress “to remove the mandates that ensure the Postal Service loses money: For example, days and levels of service, the ability to close unprofitable offices, and the underpricing of First-Class Mail. If we had flexibility on those three main issues, we could go a long way towards becoming profitable, but the American public would see reduced levels of service and higher rates.”
This amounts to the abolition of USPS as a public service, converting it openly into a for-profit model and setting the stage for its privatization. More than 70 percent of local post offices are unprofitable, according to USPS’ own estimates. Combined with cuts to “days and levels” of delivery service, this would lead broad swathes of the country, especially rural areas, without reliable access to mail.
He specifically singled out the post office’s Universal Service Obligation: The legal requirement to provide all Americans with postal delivery at uniform prices. “Revenues and savings cannot offset the costs associated with the universal service obligation, our ‘USO,’ under the current business model. It is unsustainable.”
The writer here should know that this is “the sky is falling “ speech Steiner gives. Post offices, most likely, are not going to close, but ending Saturday mail delivery is possible and would go a long way toward solvency. What’s troubling is the tens of thousands of managers and EAS employees that have been hired, despite falling volumes. He refuses to discuss it and until this bridge is crossed, congress should give him nothing.
Or the fact USPS used 100 million hours of leave without pay annually to cover the employees that dont come to work.
Thats 20K jobs per year that just dont show up.
Agreed…remember back in 2013 when PMG Donahoe unilaterally told Congress the USPS was going to 5-day delivery? They (and, to a lesser degree, the BOG) shut him down rather quickly. However, today is a much different landscape.
We should have 5-day letter mail delivery and close all 2, 4, and 6-hour post offices.
The simple fact is the mail is going away.
10 years back I would average 5 trays of DPS, 150 parcels a day.
today 2 barely full trays, 45 parcels, No flats at all??
USPS doesn’t have the mail for 6 day delivery!!!
Just cut Saturdays. Offer an VERA to city carriers.
The numbers will look better within 6 months.
Its funny the writer the truth, talks about eas and management. But no word on all the carriers and clerks on owcp who should be fired clears up a lot of money
The postal service doesn’t control OWCP, that falls under the Department of Labor. The discussion centers around issues that the
USPS can control.
I think Iris is a stupervisor??
Maybe a CCA for 3 weeks, then 204b??
I challenge you to go out and deliver a route??
The postal service does control owcp. At amazon they fire people on owcp. At postal office we allow employees to resign who commit owcp fraud.
It is the USPS responsibility to take care of employees who are honestly on OWCP because of work related claims! The USPS problem is paying to damn many Chiefs when it is the Indians that is the backbone!!