The Mailers Council, the nation’s largest coalition of mailers and mailing associations, has published a new white paper that warns of United States Postal Service insolvency without significant new legislative reform. The paper suggests other non-legislative steps to avoid collapse of the nation’s postal system.
The white paper is available on the Mailers Council’s website.
According to Mailers Council Board of Directors President James R. O’Brien, “The mailing industry, and the nearly nine million jobs it represents, and every American who depends on a reliable, affordable postal system, need Congress’ help now. Our research shows that recent legislation offers only temporary relief of the agency’s financial problems. Without more significant measures, such as those outlined in our white paper, the Postal Service will soon be unable to meet its financial obligations.”
The Postal Service was recently put back on the General Accountability Office’s High-Risk List, a reflection that the agency’s future is in jeopardy. It ended FY 2009 with a net loss of $3 billion and is expected to report a nearly $7 billion deficit for FY 2010. Mail volume declined by approximately 26 billion pieces in one year. Next year, the Postal Service will be close to its statutory borrowing limit of $15 billion, with no sign of being able to repay these funds anytime soon.
Legislation approved on September 30 gave the Postal Service a one-year reprieve from the large annual payments required to prefund its retiree obligations. However, because of staggering declines in mail volume, changing communication patterns and the ongoing recession, the USPS may be unable to pay its bills or its employees by the end of FY 2010.
The Mailers Council’s white paper offers these recommendations for addressing the Postal Service’s problems:
- The Postal Service needs to be allowed to reduce its head count.
- It must be allowed to close unneeded facilities and consolidate its retail network.
- The Postal Service needs greater control over compensation.
- It should be allowed to adjust its pre-funding schedule for retiree health benefits when economic conditions dictate.
- An arbitrator should consider the financial health of the Postal Service when making a decision in the collective bargaining process.
- The Postal Service should complete its study of five-day-a-week delivery and fully present its findings for further discussion.
The Mailers Council is a coalition of corporations, nonprofit organizations, and major mailing associations. Collectively, the Council accounts for 70% of the nation’s mail volume. The Mailers Council believes that the USPS can be operated more efficiently, supports efforts aimed at lowering postal costs, and has the ultimate objective of containing postal rates without compromising service
Every recommendation was anti-union. That is what big business does. Now do what WE are suppose to do. The 2010 mid term elections are coming up. GET INVOLVED. Just asking your immediate family members to consider voting Democrat would turn the 2.5 MILLION active federal employees into a hammer for pro-worker causes. Count the federal retirees & spouses and it would come close to the numbers public mouth pieces for big money command (yes, like crack-head Rush). That is the only time your single voice counts. When shouted out IN UNISON!
Seems to me that the mailers are scared that they may have to pay more. Why is it that labor is always to blame. Why not look at how much management gets paid and to do what?
WHY is the The Post Office required to pay the entire military pensions of the thousands of “retired veterans” that they employ???
UPS isn’t…Fedex isn’t.
No business is paying for the Pensions of any retired military employees now in their employment, expcept for the Post Office. WHY??
Allow the Post Office to give that burden back to the
Treasury Dept. It’ll save’em $$Million$$
Interesting that one of the trustees of the mailers counsel is the president and CEO of Pitney Bowes. From their web site (psigroupinc.com)
“Pitney Bowes Presort Services is the leading outsource provider of mail presort services for First-Class and Standard Class automated mail in the US. We’re a trusted work-share partner of the United States Postal Service®, processing more than 14 billion pieces of mail annually.”
14 billion pieces. Think he has a stake in reducing USPS capacity. USPS is a non profit entity. Labor costs obviously would make up the major share of operating costs. USPS operates for the good of the country. Pitnet Bowes operates for profit alone.
Bloat of employees? Get real. Our plant is so understaffed right now, nothing is being done correctly.
Who does the Postal Service Serve? Big mailers or the American people..?
The service needs to be able to get rid of the bloat of employees.
It needs to consolidate its network on processing and distribution centers.
It also needs to drop the mailing houses big cost reductions and process this work in house to utilize the excess capacity they now have. Why give these discounts when there is way more processing capacity to do the work?
Until someone has the Balls or Ovaries to stand up and speak out about the bloat of excessive Management on the payroll instead of zeroing in constantly on the Union represented work force, no significant change will happen. You just can`t have all these positions of high paying 6 figure salaries in VP of do nothing/ make work and change the model. Too many Chiefs for fewer Indians. Can anyone spell Redundancy?
Let’s see, does the mailing council have something to gain by having less postal employees?
how about the mailing council keeping their comments to themselves… typical arrogent corporate right wing lunatics attempting to impose their will on the ever-shrinking middle class. how about like the previous poster said, less discounts for big mailers to ensure the working class AMERICANS KEEP THEIR JOBS, HOMES AND FAMILIES VIABLE!!!!
How about the Mailing council staying out of the collective barganing process. It’s none of their business.
Address the layer upon layer of needless management and their perks. Potter compensated more than the President of the USA? I am waiting to see the amount of bonus money to be given out DESPITE LOSING BILLIONS.
How about the mailers council advocate limiting discounts to mailers to be, at maximum, equal to the amount of cost avoided by the Postal Service. Meaning a first class letter with an 11 digit barcode gets a 1.5 cent discount instead of 10.5 cents. That would help out the finances alot more than these suggestions.