WASHINGTON, March 30 — The Postal Service today took its case for five-day delivery to the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC).
The Postal Service is required by law to seek an advisory opinion from the PRC any time a nationwide change in service is proposed. Today’s filing begins the PRC review.
A report accompanying the request notes, “The Postal Service does not take this change lightly and would not propose it if six-day mail service could be supported by current volumes. There is no longer enough mail to sustain six days of delivery.”
The five-day delivery proposal is part of comprehensive plan announced March 2, “Delivering the Future,” a roadmap intended to bring certainty to a viable Postal Service well into the future and to help it recover from dramatic losses in volume resulting from electronic diversion and exacerbated by the economic recession.
The five-day report notes, “Ten years ago, the average household received five pieces of mail every day. Today, it receives four pieces and by 2020, that number will fall to three. Reducing street delivery to five days will help rebalance postal operations with the needs of today’s customers. It also will save more than $3 billion a year, including reductions in energy use and carbon emissions.”
Postmaster General John E. Potter said it was important to stress that the proposal dealt only with Saturday street delivery and that Post Offices will be open on Saturdays, access to P.O. boxes would continue, Express Mail would be delivered seven days a week and incoming mail would still be processed.
“It’s five days of delivery, six days of service and Express Mail seven days a week,” Potter noted adding that postal processing operations would continue on a seven-day schedule.
In addition to a review by the PRC, it’s also necessary for Congress to refrain from enacting legislation that would require the Postal Service to generally deliver mail six days a week after the end of fiscal year 2010.
The Postal Service report can be found at http://www.usps.com/communications/five-daydelivery and the request for the advisory opinion can be accessed at prc.gov.
A self-supporting government enterprise, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that reaches every address in the nation, 150 million residences, businesses and Post Office Boxes. The Postal Service receives no direct support from taxpayers. With 36,000 retail locations and the most frequently visited website in the federal government, the Postal Service relies on the sale of postage, products and services to pay for operating expenses. Named the Most Trusted Government Agency five consecutive years and the sixth Most Trusted Business in the nation by the Ponemon Institute, the Postal Service has annual revenue of more than $68 billion and delivers nearly half the world’s mail. If it were a private sector company, the U.S. Postal Service would rank 28th in the 2009 Fortune 500.
SOURCE U.S. Postal Service
Been a carrier for 32 years. Way too many carriers dragging their asses and slowing down to avoid a route addition. Is a huge problem. The present route adjustment system favors lazy deadbeats that don’t want to work.
End the present route adjustment system is responsible for the financial problems that we have. What happen to Equal work for equal pay ?
Some routes are bigger than others why ? a hand full of carriers per office are honest and their routes get more route additions than the deadbeat carriers.
Mail carriers slowing down to avoid a route addition must come to an end. You are killing the post office–your job–and your pensions. Jose a carrier for 32 years from Illinois. Also a U.S. Marine … Pick up the pace deadbeats out there.
On the topic of layoffs, first to go are casuals, followed by TEs. After that are career PTFs and FTRs (yes FTRs) w/ less than 6 years hired after the ratification of the most recent contract in order of total time in service. Got to admit, Mgmt is doing an excellent job of selling 5-day. A couple months ago, there was no way it would happen. Now folks on the street see it as a foregone conclusion. In fact, the public would rather have less delivery than fewer offices. When you lose the people you lose the Congress.
Not enough volume to support six a day work week, but enough to support gps systems in vehicles, how is this possible
This plan wasn’t “filed” with the postal regulatory commission, a news report I saw said it was send via email. Guess they didn’t have a stamp to mail it.
Let’s face the facts,mail volume is down! And who’s fault is that—E-MAIL!!! Does management make mistakes, yes. Is the NALC always right, no. But this time management is NOT making a mistake and the NALC is WRONG! Since revenue is down and we’re not getting any tax dollars to bail us out , it stands to reason that something has to give and that something is Saturday. Hopefully USPS can achive this through attrition and nobody but TE’s will be laid off. It ‘s rough for TE’s but they were hired as temporary employees after all. If this saves Regular jobs and PTF career employees then thats a good thing.
Postal recovery starts with the crafts: carriers, clerks, mailhandlers, and maintenance. Let us do our jobs without tying our hands behind our back. The crafts want to do good work, but we are micromanaged to death. We are the ones who bring in the revenue by providing great service.
I’ve heard, and I don’t know if it’s true that they will lay off part time employees, I would assume TE’s first, then PTF’s. The regulars will not be laid off and will fill postions made when people retire. They must have one hell of an early out planned!
Second trips because the plant can’t get it right. Look at the money the Postal Service pays to take out one to four pieces later in the day. Customers wonder what the heck is this carrier doing. Budget cuts need to start with Potter’s salary and cycle down throughout the Postal Service. Five day delivery means some major contractual changes that are not going to happen overnight.
Last year, Jack Potter made almost EXACTLY what I expect to make…for my entire career.
Just a thought.
Raise the postage for now will be one solution , the problem is that USPS should already forcast the decline of mail volume years ago, the leaders ( all promoted from craft) did not have the fore sight and do nothing to prevent this,its too late now. and some of the USPS mangement policy need to be changed to keep -up with the world.
Cut Tuesday, not Sat. Better yet, don’t cut anything except managements inflated salaries!
ISNT IT FUNNY THAT THE POST OFFICE HAS TO GO TO A FIVE DAY WORK WEEK TO LAYOFF CARRIERS,BUT IF THEY JUST DID A LAYOFF LIKE OTHER NORMAL COMPANYS DO GUESS WHO WOULD GET THE AX FIRST YOU GUESSED IT SUPERVISORS AND MANAGMENT DONT BELIEVE IT THEY ARE PROTECTEING THEMSELVES BY CUTTING OUR JOBS. ALL THEY HAVE TO DO IS OFFER A EARLY OUT AND LAYOFF THE PTFS AND TE’S AND DEMOAT MANAGMENT OH IM SORRY THEY ARE UNTOUCHABLE SORRY.
Cut the fat from the top, that’s the whole problem!!!! starting with PMG POTTER!!!! We are way to TOP HEAVY!!!!! WE COULD LOSE HALF OF THE TOP AND I”LL BET NOBODY WOULD EVEN NOTICE THEY WERE GONE THAT”S HOW MUCH WE NEED THEM….
I want all of you slugs to pick up the pace or I will eat your lunch for you
One has to remember. This change affects us (carriers). It does not affect them (management). And this is why management could care less what happens to our jobs, our mortgages, our families, and our well-being. It’s always been about them and them only. Management will continue to pat themselves on the back for a job well done, supplement their high incomes with more PFPs even when money is being lost hand over fist. For all of the extra annual revenue brought in as a result of the “Customer Connect” program it wasn’t management who brought in the revenue, it was the carrier. Management just spent it foolishly.
Carbon emissions if thats really a concern then quit sending mounted routes to the street with 3 or 4 bundles where we spend 1 to 2 hours more a day on the street then necessary. The difference between being prepared before we go to the street and not is a make believe savings to justify the millions spent on DPS and FSS.