After posting the news article Behind the Scenes changes may be coming to post offices PostalReporter.com received the following information:
The relocation of carriers to nearby cities is called “Delivery Unit Optimization” . This will cause affected carriers and some clerks to be excessed. Some clerk and supervisor positions will be abolished. The residual clerk work in the losing office could also be contracted out to a Contract Postal Unit or Community Post Office (see www.usps.com/postalhistory/_pdf/StationsBranches.pdf).
What is the Delivery Unit Optimization Initiative?
Delivery Unit Optimization (DUO) is a cross functional effort to streamline Delivery and Post Office Operations.
By identifying savings opportunities in operations we better position our offices for current success and future change.
Savings Opportunity Areas:
Function 4 Operations
● Complement
Office Level (Postmaster/EAS)
Facilities
● Lease
● Custodial
Transportation
● Trips/Frequency
Candidate Offices:
Grouping of post offices within 10-15 mile radius
Serviced by the same processing facility
Facility Capacities
● Excess workspace in at least 1 office
● Sufficient parking
Current Staffing
● EAS/Craft
“Hub”
● Receives delivery operations
“Post Offices”
● 9 routes or less
● Transfers delivery operations to parent office
● Retains retail window operations
● Retains post office box operations
Participating USPS Districts
Capital, N New England, Alabama, Fort Worth and Central Plains
Mike Gallagher, APWU Eastern Region Coordinator sent out the following information:
…regard to the effort we have been making in regard to our discovery of a management program (Delivery Unit Optimization) that is being implemented without any discussion with our APWU headquarter representatives.
This initiative will not only impact carriers but will have a substantial impact on clerical employees and lead to a rash of 1.6.B. cases in my estimation.
Albany District management met with some of our Locals last week to inform them that they are going to centralize a considerable number of carrier operations into one facility, the clerks will follow the operations (via excessing) and the residual remaining work in the former offices (box mail, window) will be performed by the PM of the office.
John Dirzius, APWU Northeast Region Coordinator sent out the following information:
Delivery Unit Optimization Initiative
Back on July 22, 2010 our APWU Local Leadership in the Albany District alerted NBA Pete Coradi, Eastern Regional Coordinator Mike Gallagher, and myself to a meeting scheduled by the Albany District to discuss the implementation of the Delivery Unit Optimization Initiative. In fact, this District had already completed the process of identify potential delivery units that could be consolidated.
I immediately contacted the Area as no one in the Northeast Region had any information on this newest management initiative to consolidate delivery units. Once again management failed to provide any advance notice or information to the APWU relative to this program. I further requested that there be an immediate meeting at the Regional/Area level prior to any meetings with our locals at the District level.
Brother Gallagher pursued the issue at the national level only to discover that no advance notice or information was provided to our national office as well.
In response to our collective effort President Burrus immediately sent an official inquiry to postal management relative to this initiative. This is another management “experiment” to consolidate operations and eliminate our jobs! As the presentation states…”this is a collective effort to streamline Delivery and Post Office Operations. Saving opportunities areas are Function 4 complement.”
APWU President William Burrus’ letter to John Dockins:
I am in receipt of the Delivery Unit Optimization Program which was presented as a Management Association Briefing. My records do not reflect that APWU has been
informed of the program or provided the power point presentation.
As this program may constitute a new initiative affecting APWU represented employees as referred to in Article 170f the national agreement, the union insists that
we have a voice in the development of the program.
Please respond on this matter to APWU Executive Vice President Cliff Guffey at your earliest convenience.
The post office needs to make changes that is for sure.
Sending someone from OPS support with no personality and no answers to questions, is an absolute disgrace. Remember all the focus we are spending on VOE well when a “suit” walks into your office looks at you and says this is an “easy one” and then “is not at liberty” to discuss the future of a full time clerk or two ptf clerks….expect nothingless than poor VOE scores.
Do not go into do a “study” and then have no timetable to offer to the loosing or gaining offices…..
Can not wait to retire!
Three offices in my District have just got the word that they will be consolidated into other offices. I’m all for consolidating if it is going to save the Post Office money but this is not always the case. One office has just signed a new 5 year lease with a no termination clause, will use an additional 360 miles a week and the level 18 Postmaster will be left in the office to run the window while the office itself is dow-graded to a level 11. Where in the world is the savings there?? Long-term perhaps but nothing immediate. Two offices will be moving into a current level 20 office with nine routes and this will add nine more routes in this building. The current Postmaster has already stated that they will not fit but the MPOO doesn’t agree. I wish we could all get together ahead of time and sort through this instead of leaving it all up to an MPOO who doesn’t always think everything through. We all know we need to save this organization and consolidation is inevitable. There just has to be a little more input from management before this is done.
Right now, what I see is Postmasters and OIC’s (representing middle management) are shuffling themselves around internally like a shell game to build their resume’s. As far as office consolidation is concerned, there are two offices that could be consolidated into a single facility in terms of carrier operations (which could reduce clerks further). Flats have been reduced greatly which has eliminated much of the cost-effectiveness of the Flat Sorting System now being implemented.
As far as the unions are concerned, they’re just trying to help as many of their membership as they can deal with the current situation.
The APWU which represents clerks is being squeezed by both technology (automated sorting) and consolidation (Post Office Facility Closings) and the recent reduction in volume (a little of which has returned recently).
The NALC, which represents city carriers is facing some of the same reductions due to the impending Flat Sorting of magazines and advertising mail.
Rural Carriers, represented by the NRLCA, have already seen their pay reduced due to the reduction in mail volume, which, in-turn effects the salaries they get paid for their work.
In my opinion, some office consolidation and stopping the investment in Flat Sorting could go a long way in cutting costs without cutting the quality in service due to the reduced volume overall and Flats (magazines and Catalogues) in particular.
Jack’s the ONLY one making sense these days…..change with what’s going on, or lock your doors & go home! The major screamers today are the very people who are corrupting the USPS…the unions! Once you realize that, the better off you’ll be!
I was a union rep…they don’t care about you little people…they just want your union dues! They live better than you do…trust me!
I know there’s a “t” in district. Sometimes I type too fast
cont…Today, Nationwide changes are made without any input from anyone outside the Distric of Columbia. What works in Alaska won’t work in Key West. The PM has no power in their office. What distric says is what is done, and those orders change by the day. My major was English grammar. The memos from the higher-ups are a disgrace to our language. If the internet is killing the Post Office, it’s killing it from the inside out. Before the internet; if a memo wasn’t important enough to “write” and send by inter-office mail, there was no memo. Corruption doesn’t help either. Must go now.
Jack, Humor and sarcasim aside, I agree 100%. …been in six offices; large and small, as casual, ptf, ftf, reg, both clk and carrier since 1973. Decades ago, the PM had the power to budget their own office. When craft made a suggestion to improve productivity, it was tried. The service was staffed by mostly ex-military and those that had mechanical reasoning. The silly attempts of today to save time or money wouldn’t have gotten off the ground because, all could see the drawbacks before it was tried….cont.
Look guys, management did not
invent the Internet. I agree we
need get rid of a lot of management,
take care of this pre funding and deal
with the overpayment situation.
The problem I have is that so
many postal workers don’t realize
that we have to make significant
changes to our business. We lost
over one billion a month last quarter,
and no matter how you try to spin it
we are in deep trouble. The postal
service is becoming more irrelevant
everyday and we still act like were
the only game in town. We change
or we die, it’s that simple.
“DUO, ” If it doesn’t have and acronym, it won’t work.
mismanagement initiative to destroy usps must be stopped by congress before it’s gone! Potter must be thrown out on his rear because he doesn’t have a clue.
It’s remarkable how many ways that management will try to deceive their employees and lower the service levels to the customers that they swore to protect. Who is behind “Doomsday” Jack Potter? Who are the people that are pulling his strings, that are trying to kill the Postal Service?
When is the Congress going to say enough to the attempted dismantling of the nation’s most trusted agency?
When????????