TOPICS
TOPICS
Stopping Saturday mail delivery could mean layoffs for USPS
If Congress eliminates Saturday mail delivery to help the cash-strapped U.S. Postal Service, then layoffs are a possibility, a top USPS official acknowledged to House lawmakers on Thursday.
"I can't say or guarantee that there wouldn't be layoffs," said Jordan Small, USPS acting vice president, during a hearing of the House Oversight and Government Reform Federal Workforce, Postal Service and District of Columbia Subcommittee. Small added that he hoped personnel cuts could be made through attrition and the service's temporary workforce, which handles many of USPS' Saturday deliveries.
"We certainly understand that change is difficult, and we're aware of changes that would occur with employees," Small said. "There is a cushion available through the temporary workforce and attrition to try to ensure that there is not a dramatic effect on our employees."
USPS also gave the subcommittee a list of 677 post office locations to be studied for possible closure or consolidation. Small said the closures could lead to staff relocations and cuts through attrition, but would not result in layoffs.
The Government Accountability Office earlier this week placed USPS on its list of federal programs at high risk of waste, fraud or abuse, because of its financial woes. The service has been hit by a reduction in mail volume, the pressures of the recession and what some claim are unrealistic demands for funding future retirement health benefits.
USPS officials have said they do not think they will be able to make a scheduled $5.4 billion annual payment to the Treasury Department's Postal Service Retiree Health Benefits Fund, as required by a 2006 postal service restructuring act. The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Thursday passed a bill that would give the service some relief by reducing payments and increasing USPS' borrowing limits.
Lawmakers and USPS officials agreed that even if the bill easing retirement benefit payments is enacted, broader reform is necessary. Despite the possibility of layoffs, USPS officials urged lawmakers to consider legislation to move from six to five days a week delivery.
"As you know, the Postal Service has alerted stakeholders to the fact that mail volume levels can no longer sustain six days a week delivery," Small said during his opening statement on Thursday.
Small emphasized that USPS' suggestion is to eliminate Saturday as a delivery day, but keep post offices and post office boxes open.
Union leaders who represent mail handlers and carriers said during the hearing that while layoffs are not yet on the table, some members face "de facto" layoffs through relocations or drastic reductions in hours.
COMMENTS
- The 5 day work week is a good idea but we already have too much mail waiting for us on Monday. I suggest that we make some of the customers get off their butt and walk to the street. That's right people curbside delivery. Now I understand that this can not be done in some areas and elderly would have to be an exception. There are some of the stations here in mobile that could cut their staff in half if you forced curbside delivery. We have one route called birdville(low income housing) that not only are the boxes on the home you have to walk up 3 steps for each one. Now I know what your saying "3 steps oooohhhhhh" but if birdville was made to go to curbside delivery it would cut the time to deliver the route from 8 hours on the street to 3 hours on the street and if you went to cluster boxes it would cut the time to 2 hours to do what takes 8 hours now. And we have the downtown district that whines that we can't put curbside boxes up because its the "historic district". Now I know we would still lose some carrier jobs but at least we would still have Saturday. As is on Monday I have an hour and 45 min of extra work waiting for me (I have a lot of businesses on my route) but how much more time would it take to add the rest of Saturday to that we would be trying to catch up all week and right now I have to use Saturday to deliver what gets cut back during the week. Sorry to ramble but losing a day just might end up killing us unless they spread the routes out. (yea right like management is going to do that.) john pastuszek Posted November 3, 2009 11:27 PM
- So much has been said about the negative things of the PO and the carriers. Has anyone considered how difficult the job is? Who our there would deal with the conditions the average carrier faces each day(people who leave out unchained dogs right when the mail is coming, freezing rain, sub-zero conditions) Yet your mail is delivered each day. My husband in a carrier and I am amazed by some of the stories he tells me. Someone actually called to complain that he delivered their mail after we had 18 inches of snow because that meant they had to walk to their mail box. Some people are never happy. Reducing mail delivery would cause more unemployment. In this economic climate is that what we really want to see? Don't like your junk mail?, throw it away. Believe it or not some people actually look forward to it. I agree, most of the PO problems stem from management, streamline that, it would be of tremendous help. Jan Mayszak Posted October 29, 2009 8:50 PM
- "The usps business model?" I would agree that it doesn't work. But it has nothing to do with delivering mail 6 days a week. I think the real problem lies in the amount of supervisors/bosses there are. Do we really need a 6-figure salary person being in charge of 2 other 6-figure salary people? Do we really need a supervisor for every 5.7 employees? Add in the fact that they sign over their common sense when they complete ASP. The latest directive from our MDO.....NO FULL STACKERS. I actually had a supervisor tell me that it's better to have late trucks at dispatch than have full stackers. Because more than 4 full stackers meant that his boss would get an email from her boss. Am I the only one who thinks that isn't right?? Ken Massingale Posted October 22, 2009 12:42 AM
