What They Had to Say

In the past few days several major news publications have printed articles or editorials about the plight of the USPS.  All three agreed that major changes need to be made in order for the Agency to survive.

The Federal Times reported on PMG Potter's visit with Congress and his requests they allow five-day delivery, a large rate hike in 2011, post office closures, staffing cuts, and changing the way retiree health care benefits are financed.  The Times doesn't feel Congress will give these measures much chance because big mailers are against the rate hike, legislators don't like closing post offices or shortening the delivery week, and unions balk at staffing cuts. 

In an editorial for the March 10th edition of The Washington Post, they speculated that Congress is running out of time to save the Postal Service.  Approaching the limits of its federal credit line, the USPS must change drastically or go bust.  The article stated...."To really transform the Postal Service needs congressional action.  Some 26,000 of the Service's 32,000 post offices lose money.  Many of them should be closed and converted to kiosks or merged with big-box retail stores.  But federal law forbids closing post offices just because they operate at a deficit.  That needs to change.  So does the rule mandating service six days a week, though the USPS will have to find creative ways to serve those mailers for whom Saturday delivery is still a must."

Finally, The Post  addressed the issue of labor/management relations by saying..."Management and labor must aggressively tackle uncompetitive wages, benefits and work rules - including no-layoff clauses that cover most personnel.  Here to, Congress can help, by ordering labor arbitrators to take the Postal Service's financial health into account during the collective-bargaining process that begins later this year."

For the March 9th issue of The New York Times it was stated that in order to survive, Congress must allow the USPS to cut some services, close some post offices, and make other sensible changes.  Congress should retain oversight to ensure that all Americans still have reliable mail delivery.... Post offices in rural areas and other hard-to-reach places should not be closed and the Service must also work with other government agencies to ensure that people who receive crucial mail - such as Social Security checks - on Saturday, receive them on Friday rather than Monday.  The Times said the annual contribution to the fund to pay for future retiree health care beneftis should be reduced.  Also, they said that all Americans should not have to rely solely on private businesses for anything as fundamental as mail delivery.  That means Congress has a choice:  It can give the Postal Service some more flexibility to run like a business or it can start subsidizing it to the tune of $10 billion-plus a year.  The paper votes for flexibility.

Who is Kidding Who?

Lets get real.  For the past many months we have been hearing how the Postal Service is going down the toilet financially.  The people at USPS headquarters continue to put much of the blame on the cost of labor and the need to reduce expenses.  They brag about the numbers of employees who have left the service, either by retirement, resignation, or removal.  So, would it not be appropriate to look at employment figures and see who is taking the brunt of the decline in employees, and who might be speaking out of both sides of their collective mouths?

USPS Employee Statistics 2000-2009

                                                                    2000            2009          %

USPS Headquarters (w/OIG)                         2943            3966          +34.76%

USPS Field Support (w/Ins. Service Field)     9756            7046          -27.77%

USPS Supervisory Totals                               64918           52484        -19.15%

USPS Craft Employee Totals                          708324         558693      -21.12%

Wow!  Even though total Postal Service employment has decreased by 164,775, the number of Headquarters bosses has gone up 1023!  That sure is leading by example.

These are the USPS statistics for that period, so it would be most difficult for the Big Boss to dispute the figures.  How can you need to increase your staff over 34% when you have decreased your working employees by almost 23%?  You go to Congress begging for financial relief (which we agree is needed), yet you cannot find a way to cut your own staff?

It is way past time for Congress to step in and order a complete, outside investigation into how the Postal Service is run - from the top down.  Someone must be held accountable for the descrepancies shown on this page.  WHY ISN'T THIS BLATANT OVERKILL OF HEADQUARTERS EMPLOYEES IMPORTANT? 

Open Message to PMG Potter

President's Note:  Received this response to "You Heard It From the Top".  Spot on.

Dear Mr. Potter:

As a proud retiree with thirty years service with the United States Postal Service, I must take exception to your statement "Ten years ago, it took 70 employees one hour to sort 35,000 letters. Today, in that same hour, two employees process that same volume of mail."

What you failed to mention is that the two employees processing the same amount of mail in an hour do so with the aid of a $750,000 mail processing machine and that those employees running such machines were simply moved from one previous mail sorting operation to another.

With 430 letters per tray, 16 employees could comfortably sort 35,000 letters of sectional center facility mail in an hour, not 70 as you stated.

In a proficient operation, 4 employees could manually work 35,000 letters comfortably during the outgoing mail processing operation between midnight and 4:15 AM.

The same 4 employees who run the two machines valued at $1.5 million have simply moved across the mailroom floor from one operation to another.

I wish to invite you to our mail facility as to witness first hand the value of postal workers practicing the time honored mantra "A fair days work for a fair days pay".

I believe such a personal visit would greatly heal the disconnect between postal officials in Washington D.C. and those in the field.

Sincerely,

Retired 30 year employee/APWU member

You Heard It From The Top

Recently two of the top executives of the USPS spoke publically about the future of the Postal Service.  On February 28, 2010 PMG John Potter was published in the Washington Post authoring an article entitled "Five Myths about the U.S. Postal Service".  Here are some of the things he said:

⇒ Congress reimburses the USPS for free mail for the blind and absentee-ballot mailing for overseas military personnel.  Otherwise, we have not received taxpayer funds to support postal operations since 1982; in fact, though we're often described as "quasi-governmental," we're required by law to cover our costs.

⇒ Ten years ago it took 70 employees one hour to sort 35,000 letters.  Today, in that same hour, two employees process that same volume of mail.  Though the number of addresses in the nation has grown by nearly 18 million in the past decade, the number of employees who handle the increased delivery load has decreased by more than 200,000.

⇒ In the last quarter of 2009, on-time overnight delivery of single-piece first-class mail was at 96% for the fifth straight quarter, an agency best.

⇒ According to the Federal Trade Commission, as little as 2% of identity crimes occur through the mail. Theft of a wallet or purse is responsible for 5% -- meaning your documents are safer in the mail then they are in your pocket.

⇒ Last year, we recycled more than 200,000 tons of paper, plastics and other waste -- the equivalent of saving 1.67 million barrels of oil.

⇒ Although stamp prices have increased about 33% over the past ten years, this increase is in line with inflation.  By comparison, private carriers raised their prices by as much as 60% between 1999 and 2009.

⇒ On March 2, we are releasing our plan for future financial viability and greater business flexibility -- a plan that will keep the Postal Service thriving for years to come.

On February 26th the Chief Financial Officer of the USPS, Joseph Corbett, was interviewed by CFO.com.  Some of his comments included:

♦ The Service lost $3.8 billion in 2009, $2.8 billion in 2008, and $5.1 billion in 2007.  Those losses "have placed unprecedented demands on our operating liquidity".

♦ At the same time the Agency must prefund its retiree health benefit plans by $5.5 billion on or before September 30 and pay $1.1 billion in workers compensation bills to the Department of Labor by October.

♦ We really had to understand where our cash was at the end of each month and where it would be at the end of the year to make sure we were liquid.

♦ The downturn has been a catalyst for change.  When mail volumes dropped so quickly, we had to rally the troops and find ways to take more hours out of the organization very fast.  We also had to find creative ways to reduce our cost basis and look at diversifying our revenue streams throughout.

♦ Our fiscal year 2009 cost savings totaled $6 billion, including a reduction of 115 million work hours, or the equivalent of 65,000 full-time employees. We've been able to take out overtime hours and implement a hiring freeze; we have not actually laid off people.  We don't expect to be able to make the same level of cuts this year, but we do have a goal of taking out over 90 million work hours in 2010.

♦ We're working closely with Congress and the administration to come up with a way that we can return to profitability in two to three years and begin paying down our debt without costing the U.S. taxpayer a nickel.

♦ Right now, we're extremely heavily regulated and as a result have difficulty reacting to the market.  We have an $8 billion (in sales) package business that is totaly competitive.  We're the third player in the U.S. market. behind Fed Ex and UPS.  The rest of our business, roughly $60 billion is primarily mail -- advertising mail, standard mail, and first class mail.

♦ We'd like to be able to go from six-day delivery to five-day delivery.  That would allow us to save over $3 billion a year and start to return us toward profitability.

♦ The cost of health benefits and other benefits that our employees enjoy - if we are able to get increased flexibility from our union workers -- over 500,000 of our employees are union employees -- that starts to save substanial amounts a year.

There you are.  Top postal management on the future and what needs to be done to keep the Postal Service viable.  See much concern there for employees or their future?  The only organization concerned about you and working to keep you from becomming a casual is the Union.  Think about it.

We Don't Make This Stuff Up!

Update: The owner of SG Print and two postal employees have been indicted on fraud and bribery charges in this scheme.  The indictment alleges that the company owner paid the Festus Postmaster $20,000.00 and an employee $10,000.00 for assisting in the scheme to lie about the number of pre-canceled stamps used and to falsify the postal forms decsribing how many used.

SG Print & Mail, a company near St. Louis, Missouri bilked the Postal Service out of $2.9 Millon according to testimony in a federal court plea hearing.

The assistant U.S. attorney said that employees and the company owner underreported the amount of mail sent out. The company is advertised as a "full-service printing and direct mail advertising business".

The case surfaced after and employee pleaded guilty of mail fraud with unnamed "others".

We wonder how many other direct mail businesses could be involved in activity like this?