Sen. Carper Reacts to USPS Job Cuts
WASHINGTON – Today, Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.), Chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management which oversees the U.S. Postal Service, issued the following statement regarding Postmaster General Patrick R. Donahoe’s plan to eliminate 7,500 administrative, supervisory and postmaster positions:
“Postmaster General Donahoe has a daunting task before him – he must find significant, effective means to streamline the Postal Service and he needs to do it quickly. Current projections show that the Postal Service may be left without the resources necessary to operate by the next holiday season. Major changes must be made so that taxpayers aren’t left to bailout this struggling, but salvageable, institution. I have said it before and I’ll say it again, we need to think outside the box when it comes to identifying solutions to prevent the Postal Service from going broke and every option needs to be on the table. This plan to make the Postal Service more efficient by reducing unnecessary positions certainly fits that criteria and is something that I think we should take a serious look at. This announcement also shows that all stakeholders – including top managers – will need to feel the impact of the tough decisions that will need to be made in the coming months. I look forward to working with Postmaster General Donahoe on this and other proposals to reform the U.S. Postal Service and put it on more solid financial footing.”
Sen. Carper has been a leader in Congress on the effort to reform and modernize the U.S. Postal Service. As Chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, he has held several hearings over the last year exploring the financial challenges facing the Postal Service as well as the ways to best address them.
On Sept. 23, 2010, Sen. Carper introduced comprehensive postal reform legislation, the Postal Operations Sustainment and Transformation (POST) Act of 2010. The POST Act sought to address the financial problems plaguing the Postal Service by proposing a comprehensive set of reforms including: easing postal employee pension and retiree health costs; addressing postal employee wages and benefits; allowing partnerships with state and local governments and giving the Postal Service leeway to close post offices, market certain non-postal items and eliminate Saturday delivery.
as england goes so does the u.s they privitized the royal mail and now its our turn…they say when the english parliment meet george washinton never happened!! prepare for the new world order… vote for ron paul!!!!
In our P & DC, excessing within the installation has occurred, seasonal casuals are still here as of January 22, 2011, doing the work excessed employees did, AND managers are doing craft work. ??? USPS, come on, where is the loyalty AND cost effectiveness with that? Casuals hired during peak season, ok. yes, needed…still here doing craft work is added payroll while excessed employees are looking for work…still on payroll. Mangers doing craft work…at their rate of pay? Shows (not much management work for this many managers to do) AND still short on craft workers because they have been excessed out of clerk to custodian…So I agree, cut the top level jobs, BUT if you instruct craft on who the “go to” person is within each district to address problems not within our current reach, we can operate the place. All I get from my supervisor is copies of approved or disapproved 3971’s. Nothing else. He tells me, “Don’t ask me!” I use better judgement and old fashioned common sense. If Im not sure, I’m looking up a number for a qualified district person. Or a credible co worker first.
The Postal Service is still a great thing. going to my mailbox is still a thrill, even with phones, laptops, ipads…..! It is a tremendous value!
They need to market more effectively,
cut down office numbers.
cut out the antiquated job of local Postmasters….really, they still pay them almost double what ONE carrier makes!!
I use e-mail daily, but it would be a travesty to think that in 10 years I may not be able to send my grandmother a postcard!!!
Let’s help this organization become better not make it into another hated government agency…..Just another marketing idea to start with!!
cut mismgt by 50%. make nepotism illegal in postal mismgt! stop mismgt bounus scam….what private company do you know who gives out bounus money when they lost $8.5 billion in 2010? make corrupt congress do its job! Postmaster General position should go to an “outsider”!
this is a shell game. Overpayments, health ins prepayments, possible govt bailout, all of it is a sham. There’s NO MONEY ANYWHERE! IF you want to plan ahead, i suggest you buy canned food.
Again there is nothing wrong with the postal service, the books have been cooked ever since the postal reform act of 2006, the only reason the P. service has lost money is because of the ridiculous funding of future retiree health benefits, this doesn’t happen anywhere else in the federal workforce and in hardly ant private companies. Also the government has between 50 and 75 billion in over payments made by the postal service into the csrs pension fund. That money has to be put into the operational budget of the usps to wipe out all debt and pay off the future health benefits and then use what is left over to help push some of the older csrs and others out the door, after that is done higher some more people”wht a novel idea put some people to work” these people will be paid at a lower rate with less benefits and more flexibility. A win win all around what the hell are they waiting for!
A little truth from one of these senators would be nice!
Can anyone shed some light on the big overpayment that is due back to the Postal Service (or is it?). How come noone ever talks about that? Wouldn’t that repayment help tremendously?? I must be missing something!! @ santa cruz–that is something that should have been done a very, very long time ago!!
We’ve had a useless PM driving around watching carriers driving about town lately, but when the weather turned a little cold and snowy, she was nowhere to be found. Nor do any other of the priceless managers dare to leave their comfy warm offices.
I suppose this shows who’s really essential to the business and who isn’t. I doubt a single citizen can name one worthy contribution, much less a carrier or clerk, that came from a manager. If good ideas are implemented, they’re stolen from craft.
If Congress is going to cut salaries and benefits they should set an example and start cutting their own salary as well as their staffs, Being in Congress shouldn’t be a career, Most of them are wealthy when they get elected ( isn’t it amazing how much wealthier they get while they are “taking care of the people’s business”)
@santa cruz, Right on!! but that will never happen they will just move them worthless managers some where else, and find a way to get rid of the REAL people who get the MAIL OUT! watch what happens where they put all of them.. and To: (SHAWNRIFF) yes management (PMG POTTER) has run the USPS in the ground and then jumped ship, he knew what he was doing/did to the USPS and didn’t care, but he GOT HIS “BIG RETIREMENT CHECK” and left all of us SUCKERS to fend for ourselves, but sell it to a FOREGIN COUNTRY ARE YOU NUTS?
the way the post office is going, why don’t they just sell it to an arab country or have the chinese take over the post office.
IT’S ABOUT TIME MANAGEMENT AND SUPERVISORS WHO PUT THE USPS IN THE MESS IT IS IN TODAY STOP GETTING BONUSES AND START FEELING THE IMPACT OF LOST JOBS!
The Regan Era began the dismatling of the USPS. Through the Bush Brothers, Clinton and now Obama has a letter in his posession with which he will most likely make a paper airplane out of. Every regulation has been “streamlined” including the privatization protections and monopolies. The Postal Service has been stripped of it’s ability to provide a sustainable and universal service for it’s patrons. The end is near for the USPS and we all know it.