December 16, 2009
The Honorable John E. Potter
Postmaster General & Chief Executive Officer
Unites States Postal Service
475 L’Enfant Plaza, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20260
Dear Postmaster General Potter:
Thank you for sending me the engraved albums highlighting the newly issued commemorative stamps. I ask that in the future you refrain from sending me such items.
I find it irresponsible for the Postal Service to provide members of Congress such personally engraved albums when the Postal Service reported last month a net loss of $3.8 billion for the most recent fiscal year following losses totaling $7.9 billion in 2007 and 2008. As you know, these losses have led to
the Postal Service borrowing $10.2 billion from American taxpayers. Additionally, the Postal Service announced earlier this week that 170 post offices across the country remain under consideration for closure and previously discussed reducing mail service to five days a week.
Until the Postal Service no longer owes American taxpayers billions of dollars, I request that you refrain from spending limited Postal Service resources on unnecessary items such as engraved albums showcasing commemoratives stamps for members of Congress and instead focus on moving the Postal Service to fiscal solvency.
Sincerely,
John McCain
see picture of stampbook http://twitpic.com/tskd2
Let’s have a manager in the back of van for a few days, doing a minute-by-minte analysis of the carrier; let’s have bar-code scans at every sixth or seventh NBU to time your route and heaven help you if a client comes by to converse with you; see the wrath of Zeus befall you if a rest break goes even a minute over. Welcome to 1914 and the assemblyline- one supervisor for every 7-9 workers. Welcome to the working ranks of the United States Postal Sweatshop.
Senator, make everyone retire at 55 or at least pass the same physical every year. Not once and done. Institute drug testing. That’s completely unbiased. Managers, supervisors, clerks, and carriers at least a couple thousand would have to find a new way to support their habit not by generating overtime by working or walking slower. Most of the abusers that I work with can’t afford to retire because the overtime isn’t factored into their retirement. I’ve never chosen that route for my family. Even if you changed the law instead of working 9-10 hours on their route now they would work 12 to get to the overtime level. Miraculous since their route didn’t get any bigger and they have less mail it takes longer. I do my job go out, come back and go home. I enjoy spending time with my family. Shake it up, maybe when you only call out FMLA for the Nebraska home games and there isn’t a steward to protect you then you can watch the real workers get it done.
how about this one. OSHA strongly recommended changes within my facility. Our management is not abiding by OSHA’s rulings because they consider them to be mere recommendations and nothing more. so here we have an instance where management does not want to spend money to ensure the SAFETY of it’s work force. the USPS has also cut it’s employee incentive program, where supervisors could input employees for bonuses in recognition of work well done. at the same time, corporate USPS is wasting money on lavish gifts that benefit no one. (spit in OSHA’s face, take it out on the employee.)(postal management rules….. all hail general (oops i mean) king potter.)
How financially sound is it to have an employee drive over 60 miles total and over 1.5 hours to bring one FC postcard or three FC letters from a plant to an AO?
The postal service could probaly solve their financial problem if everyone from the top to the bottom would take a 1% paycut. If thats not enough than take another 1%. But that would be too easy! Management is expecting way too much of their employees!!!!!!
Really?? The same senators that get thousands of dollars a year in perks. I agree with USPS wasted funds but I dont think the kettle calling the pot black is a fair assessment either. These are the same people who when Congress was first initiated was supposed to be for the people by the people, and they were part time. They had other jobs. Now they have their own agendas, their own drivers, and insurance like no other. So really?
Right on John…..now get a committee together and supena all of L’enfant Plaza to tell the truth…
Sir, The senator is right of course. But that is the thinking in postal managment, nothing is too frivolous or too expensive to blow money onexcept when it involves an employee. When an employee retiresnot only are they no longer given a gold watch, but management will no longer even but them a retirement cake ! Mr Mccain should be made aware of the bonuses, house buying for managers (at an average loss of thirty grand each ), the alleged business dinners of thousands of dollars, the management to employee ratio of about 1 manager for every eight employees, when private business is averaging 1 manager to every 25 employees, the unaccountability of managers at any level for the morale of the workforce, integrity of regulations, or any semblance of customer service. When will the Postal Service go back to delivering mail in the daylight again ? In most business plans there are silver linings, in the Postal Service there is usually a skid mark.
I wonder how much this little gift giving to Congress cost the USPS ??????
USPS wouldn’t have to barrow 10 Billion if the great minds(some may use diiferent adj) in Congress wouldn’t have force USPS to pre-fund retirement. No private business or ANY other agency(including Congress) is required to prefund. SO PLEASE Mr. McCain get off your high horse about American tax dollars. I am sure the USPS waste money in several fields, but most likely no more than any other business. To date, I am unaware of any $500 hammers or $700 toilet set.
You created the mess with pre-funding then want to point fingers. Thank You
Finally, someone hit the nail on the head! I don’t care for the Honorable Mr. McCain either but, he is right on this point. It’s not the little indians (doing the work). It’s the big chiefs (making the decisions). Really screwing thing up. Management themselves fight each other and never look at the big picture. They are only concerned with that little stretch of time on that tour of responsibility and will ‘stab’ another supervisor in the back to make ‘numbers’ sway that way!
They, (Management) believe that any money they have or don’t have is there for there own enjoyment which leads to someone making another assinine move like this one.
I don’t like John McCain but he’s right on this one.
They (Managaement) believe that any money they have or don’t have is there for there own enjoyment which leads to someone making another assinine move like this one.
I don’t like John McCain but he’s right on this one.
I could not have said it better myself. Management is DEFINITELY the problem. We (the essential work force) do the SAME job every single day. We do NOT need to be given any kind of instruction. 3/4 of our managers here in DENVER are ex cons, have had more than 30 YES 30 EEO’s filed on them and continue to manage. Our top manager sits in a desk all night and bitches on a radio. He is HORRIBLE. There is NO way to Terminate these jerks. His whole job ( The MDO) is to sit at a desk with a list of zones and use a pencil and mark of when the zone is clear after bitching to his supervisors. Come on Now!!!! WTF Potter WAKE YOUR ASS UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!11
When I talk to my carrier or his/her friends (also postal employees, I am constantly amazed how each can qoute to the day, whe they’ll be eligible for retirement at age 55 (not ONE wants to stay a day longer). AND EACH ONE attributes it to Mickey-Mouse micro-management. Want to Post Office to be solvent, or at least several billion-dollars less in the red? Immediately axe ten, twenty, thirty-thousand (or more) managers!!!!!
Thank you Senator McCain, I couldn’t have said it better myself. As a postal employee I can tell you that there is much more waste going on than on just these books. Postal mismanagement and incompetence is causing much of the postal deficit, but no one is addressing (no pun intended)this issue. The Board of Governors and or Congress needs to clean house of these inept management types and get people into positions that can get us back on track. The general population is getting spoon feed by postal bureaucrats that it is the labor costs (the workers) that are causing the financial hardship. Hogwash!! It is poor decision making and poor management.