Gov. Branstad today released two letters he has sent to United States Postmaster General Patrick R. Donahoe regarding the United States Postal Service’s (USPS) plan to close rural post offices and processing centers in Iowa. Gov. Branstad has asked Postmaster General Donahoe to consider numerous options as they seek to overcome financial challenges.
“Under the USPS’s current plan, Iowa would see 17.9 percent of our state’s post offices closed, compared to 11 percent of proposed closures nationally,” said Branstad. “I am concerned the Postal Service’s current plan is disproportionate and puts too much of the burden on rural Iowans.”
Branstad suggests there are many options to close the USPS budget shortfall, like having postmasters serve multiple locations, reducing service hours or permitting the Postal Service to sell non-postal products. Many of the rural communities, their citizens and their business owners rely on the services of the Post Offices. Closing the Post Offices would put the communities at an economic disadvantage, stated Branstad.
Gov. Branstad and Lohrville Mayor Donny Hobbs co-wrote a letter to Postmaster General Donahoe requesting a meeting with senior USPS officials. They also encouraged the creation of a commission to reconsider closure recommendations and called for a moratorium on closure of postal facilities.
Additionally,Gov. Branstad co-authored a letter with Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn requesting a meeting to explore all cost saving options that both fits the USPS’s business model and serves Iowa and Illinois’ rural citizens.
“I would like to personally thank Iowa’s entire congressional delegation for voicing their constituents’ concerns to federal leaders,” said Branstad. “Iowans understand the need for fiscal discipline and a balanced budget, but they also believe the Postal Service should consider reasonable alternatives suggested by the people and communities affected by the closures.”
There are way to many Postal Managers.
Reduce the Postmaster position, they do not do any work at all.
Upper level management from PMG Headquarters management down through district levels only concern is self preservation of monatary income-salary whatever the cost in creating numbers favorable to the control group above whom they are direct reports.
Management has no regard for contracts they signed with APWU, NALC, NRLCA,,
Use 204Bs whose mentality is such they would be seen as weak and ineffective should they work with employees and abide by Articles as written
and agreed by all parties..
USPS must reduce employees in all crafts and management levels to maximize automation. Must offer earl outs or continue to operate in the red.
Congress must enforce a business model to meet demand needs for Postal products abd services which are in a decline mode and will continue to decline further as the GO GREEN or paperless is advertised and rewarded by business as well as state and federal government in mandating direct deposit and renewing federal and state license and permits online. E marketing is increasing and will affect volume in advertising mail referred to as junk mail.
USPS must downsize, eliminate wasted cost such as 6 day delivery and failing to close and consolidate community offices and operate cost effective to breakeven.
btw.. commerce dept offering early outs and buyouts.. look at their offer… and follow their lead you stupid bastards… got i hate that place anymore.. didnt always feel that way…
i am with you mojo… been there too friggin long to buy their bullshit. overstaffed from the top down in management and highest paid…. dump at least half of them,,, listen to people that know.. not the assholes looking to save their job. lastly, you want the old clerks, mailhandlers, carriers gone. then offer the early out.. keep the window open.,.. dont give people 30 or 60 days to decide their futures… i do believe that if its offered this time. many will go… if its the full monty at 25 grand.. dont tell us you dont have the money..you do… its already there..everyone knows it.. and the old craft people dont believe you or trust you. .and worse yet. we dont believe in you…. to get us out of the mess you put is in..
110,000 management /’support’ jobs’ and 465,000 clerk and carriers. The only people in the universe that cannot determine whose jobs to cut are management. And they have all those ‘support’ people helping them do their jobs. Fucking sad.
I watched your(postmaster general) video to postal employees at work today. Your ideas are total nonsense. About like the idea of using sedgewicks (?on spelling) to deliver mail or those rediculous three wheelers. Reducing our “standards” and closing sectional centers will cost us more business. People alrady complain about “snail mail”. And the additional costs incurred by the extra hauling will far out weigh any gains. (not to mention the waste of energy and the additional damage caused to the environment from the extra driving) I agree we need to find a solution to the high cost of rural post offices. Perhaps wecan come up with a new type employee. One where a rural carrier from a larger office delivers mail to the small office. Boxes mail and works the window for 2 hours during the lunch break while delivering a rural route out of the larger office. Or , using a clerk from a larger office that drives over there and boxes mail and works the window for 2 hours during lunch hour. Make the offices as small as possible to be as cost efficient as possible. Have rural routes delivered out of larger offices. The five day delivery is the only option mentione I belive is plausible. Huge amounts could be saved. All the post offices need to be made more energy efficient . Solar panels need to be installed and, perhaps, solar tubes. We have a branch office. But, rather than closing it, I would find a much smaller, more energy efficient building to replace it with. If doing that sort of thing would not save enough money, then I would close branch offices before closing rural offices. The post office needs to be concentrating on hiring some of these new pse clerks so that they can eliminate the overtime. Also, management needs to abide by the contracts so that unions won’t be filing grievances. I voted against the APWU contract, it sucks. If the Post Office did not like it, they should not have agreed to it.