Today’s Announcement will Drive Customers to Private Competitors
( Dec. 5) Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), a long-time proponent of the United States Postal Service (USPS) and senior member of the Congressional committee that oversees the agency, today released the following statement after plans were announced to significantly degrade service and drive customers to private competitors.
“This privatization plan is bad for Americans, bad for businesses, bad for the economy and bad for workers. We can do better than to dismantle the Postal Service and privatize its operations,” said Kucinich.
The plan from Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe would make extreme cuts including the elimination of over 100,000 jobs, lengthening the delivery time for periodicals up to 9 days, and closing thousands of neighborhood post offices.
“These draconian cuts were proposed under the false pretense that the Postal Service is headed towards bankruptcy. We could easily protect the Postal Service if Congress would address the agency’s overpayment into its Retiree Health Benefits program, and allow the USPS to generate revenue in other ways that take advantage of their existing infrastructure and dedicated workers.”
Under the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act (PAEA) of 2006, the USPS is required to prepay retirement benefits for future employees, a requirement that no other government agency has. This will cost the USPS $5.5 billion this year.
“The Postal Service employs the greatest number of veterans outside of the Department of Defense. It provides a living wage and decent benefits for the middle-class. It is a service to be protected, not a resource to be exploited for private profits. As a Member of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, which has jurisdiction of the Post Office, I will fight this proposal,” said Kucinich.
My biggest LOSER fact for the Postal Service ..is WHY do we do all the upgrades and repairs on F@#king LEASED buildings. If I was renting an apartment or business building wouldn’t the Owner be required to do those things. Just like the POP
shuts down buildings we OWN and LEASE buildings 50 to 100 miles away so they ship mail to be processed in the District HQ town. The PO here did $10,000 worth of work to the leased PO building to make it handicap accessable while posting a 60 day closing notice on the front door. DUMB SHITS!
He said it all so well! The Postal Service is a mess and who should we blame? Well, first we should start at the top. These people have become so self-important that they were spending their days at meetings, telecons and sometimes luncheons and “retreat-type meetings.” They are/were always chasing numbers, because that’s what the USPS is all about. Who was actually thinking ahead to changes we all knew were coming? Who was really running the P.O.? (Unless you’re talking about running it into the ground.) The people on the “frontlines,” that’s who! The clerks, mailhandlers, carriers and (sometimes) first level supervisors. Yet, the people who are doing the work are the ones they want to get rid of. Upper management often does everything they can to enlist people who act like supervisors to harass/intimidate/coerce (you name it) the craft employees in order to achieve some ill-gotten numbers so that they can all get their NPA’s (raises) and/or promised/coveted positions in the future. Interesting concept. Interesting that the P.O. that I always loved and was proud of really turns out to be a “good ‘ol boy” network that is every bit as back-stabbing, greedy and evil as the people on Wall Street or a soap opera on TV. Sometimes it truly is Draconian, mean, cruel and evil in nature. Sometimes, working at the USPS is the hardest thing you have ever done, but you do it for your family because you can make a decent living. Maybe you’re a single parent with children and no support from an exspouse. Somehow, you are able to stay out of the already overencumbered social system because you are working at the USPS. It’s all because you’re breaking your back, doing sometimes physically demanding work, with demanding and uninvolved supervisors/managers breathing down your neck. If you ever do get a good supervisor who cares about their people and doing the right thing, the upper management manges to get rid of them because that is not the Postal “philosophy.” Somebody way up there should put their money where their mouth is and get rid of the Machiavellian people running this organization and get someone like those running the Ford Corporation in there, or maybe the dude from Zappos. We need some fresh thinking around this country! We need to mix it up, to say the least.
So typical of the Post Office they will spend $100 to save $10 Examples: contracter broke the PVC drain pipe for the HVAC we needed $10 worth of pipe to fix it. It was approved by the Postmaster, the POOM but declined by the distruct manager so then we end up having $1000 of damage. They pay contractors for stuff the maintenance people do anyway, like snow removal, fixing dock doors, etc Basic supplies like pens, strapping cutters are hard to get so they your job might take 2 hours longer to save for a $6.00 cutter. Clerks at remote BMAU have to drive back to the post office to scan stuff. They send a AMT 200 miles to replace vbelts on our HVAC because we cant get approval to buy them ourselves. They had to close the Nearby Remote encoding center in a rushed 2 monthes beacause they forgot to renew the lease.
This really would be so easy to fix, but since Congress is involved it turns into a federal case. Stop the prefunding, pay those that want to go an incentive, sell other stuff like most other PO’s in Europe do and get rid of 2/3’s of management types.Easy.
A lot of people in this country depend on the PO not just for our services but also the employees of the PO make up a big part of the middle class. Don’t drink the kool aid we’re the largest mover of mail on the face of the planet. We move in one day the same amount of mail that most small countries move in a year. Think of all the small businesses that would be ruined by our demise. Think what UPS and Fedex would charge if we didn’t exist. The small businesses wouldn’t move over to our competitors they wouldn’t be able to afford them. And if they did they’d pass on the higher shipping prices to the customers. So we’d all loose. As for congress, well they have consistantly let the little guy down these last few years. Only a few seem to even care about the workers in this country. What a shame.
And the reason that we keep Donahoe as PMG is what?
After building up parcel post with “if it fits it ships”,and now going to slower shipping this to will go by the wayside,and over to UPS.
“The American public and businesses do not depend on the USPS for personal communication or transacting business.”
To funny Ben..my advice take you head out of your ass.
The best thing on this web site has been the House Dem calling for firing fat boy Donahoes and the rest of his hoe’s.
The American public is going to get srewed over just like they always do, who and the fuck do you think your kidding here Ben.
Donohoe is an idiot!
Ben’s words sound familiar as they are repeated, almost verbatim, on other sites, blogs, etc. He is obviously speaking on behalf of those who would like to see the USPS dismantled and given off (at least the profitable areas) to the highest bidders. Shame on you Ben!!!
Ben,
You are incorrect in saying “The American public and businesses do not depend on the USPS for personal communication or transacting business.”
It is not a requirement for everyone to own a computer or smart phone (although some banks may seem to differ).
My 86 year old mother just about could operate a touch tone phone. Some people depend on mailing their ultility bills, picked up by the letter carrier, even on saturdays when most people are home, and receive prescriptions as well.
Most businesses are closed I agree on saturday but a lot of retail stores depend on time sensitive advertising through the mail delivered for friday, saturday, sunday.
The American people do have other choices but at what cost? If they want affordable univeral service they had better tell their reps in Washington or pay the difference in price.
think about it….this fund for future healthcare which in the year 2006 was for 600,000 employees….the USPS intends to lower its workforce to the total of 200,000 by 2012……..with nearly 40 BILLION dollars already paid into this fund…for only a third of the intended retirees…it seems to me it is OVERFUNDED…..again………CONGRESS is full of crooked evil men.
KUCINICH must be a true politican as he evidently favors a loosing situation that in its present structure the USPS will lose million of dollars. The American public and businesses do not depend on the USPS for personal communication or transacting business. Demand for USPS services and products has declined resulting in loss of revenue and nothing has been initiated to generate revenue.
SAT. street delivery is a wasted cost as individual and business are no longer dependent on USPS for communication. Advances in comminication technology has created instant messaging. This the era of the PAPERLESS COMMUNICATION. The USPS should direct efforts to increase parcel and expedited mail. DO SAME AS FED X;: VEHICLES HAVE ON VEHICLES, GOFEDX.COM OR 1800 FED X.
USPS VEHICLE COULD ADVERTISE GOPOSTAL.COM AND 1800 POSTAL.
Advertise services to generate revenue or operate in same mode and operate at a loss.
The Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act (PAEA) of 2006 smacks of industrial sabotage perpetrated by the Bush administration adding to financial instability, geared toward the collapse and privitazation of USPS. Hmmm…., wonder how much he and his cronies got paid by the lobbists for their underhanded dealings not only related to USPS, but also other facets related to our national well being. Now our president has to suffer the brunt of the nation”s distain for the results of govt policies he had no part of and a congress that seems more intent on seeing him fail than being committed to the welfare of and a service to the American People.
I am sure that there are private companies that would be GLAD to deliver all the political mailings coming up for FREE just like we do.
I am sure UPS and FEDEX will gladly fly a plane to some remote town in Alaska just to deliver mail to some village for the same price as down the block from their location.
If you believe that then Rep Issa will work for free in the Congress.
I agree with Kucinich..
Visit saveamericaspostalservice.org see how you can help
SAVE OUR NATIONAL TREASURE THE UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE
The USPS is a SERVICE to the American People.
The President of the United States Should issue a order to stop payment of 5 billion dollars the USPS has to make into future healthcare fund. After all the ex-president of the USA” Bush” issued the order right before he left office.
I wonder why Bush did such a thing? I will leave the answer to the American people.
The United States Postal service is what binds this country together. to every last mile across the nation 6 days a week.