TOPICS
TOPICS
Congress in no rush to cut mail delivery
Despite the U.S. Postal Service's persistent financial distress, Congress appears unlikely this year to approve the postmaster general's cost-cutting proposal to eliminate Saturday mail delivery.
"There's no political will to do it right now," said Jerry Cerasale, a lobbyist for the Direct Marketing Association, a trade group of businesses and nonprofit organizations that relies largely on mail to communicate with customers. "The only way that you'd really see it happen is if the dire financial straits of the Postal Service continue well into the future."
As they have every year since 1983, House and Senate appropriators stipulated in the fiscal 2010 spending bills covering the Postal Service that it must deliver mail six days a week. There were no attempts to change the language in the Financial Services Appropriations bill before it passed the House in July. The companion bill in the Senate awaits floor action, but so far there has been no groundswell of support for cutting back on mail delivery.
But House and Senate lawmakers have not completely abandoned the idea of a shift to five-day delivery. Chairmen of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and House Homeland Security subcommittees that deal with postal issues -- Sen. Thomas Carper, D-Del., and Rep. Stephen Lynch, D-Mass. -- have said lawmakers should keep the option on the table.
The urgency to make drastic changes in mail delivery waned significantly last month when Congress passed a one-year fix to relieve the Postal Service of having to make a $5.9 billion advance payment to its retiree health fund.
Also hurting prospects for a cutback in mail delivery is a continuing dispute over how much money the change could save.
Postmaster General John Potter, who proposed five-day delivery in January, contends that ending Saturday delivery could save his agency up to $3.5 billion annually. But a concurrent estimate by the Postal Regulatory Commission put projected savings at $1.9 billion.
Unions representing postal workers have lobbied heavily against the slashing of Saturday delivery, arguing that the move would not only cost jobs but would create a void that would be filled quickly by private services such as United Parcel Service and Federal Express.
"It would be the beginning of the death knell," said Drew Von Bergen, spokesman for the National Association of Letter Carriers.
COMMENTS
- The financial woes of the USPS...are caused by the idiots running the USPS. Bonus (PFP) are being paid to management, who don't have the skills to operate a kool-aid stand...without bankrupting it. Starting with a 39% pay raise, then freezing wages...the PMG at his finest. The Postal Workers and Letter Carriers have cut over $600 MILLION dollars in hours. Management hours have gone up $101 Million. Wonder why we are in financial trouble? Talk to the letter carrier, who is being forced to work his non scheduled day...not because he wants to...he is being forced. You folks that think we have it made...need to work in our place for a month, just to see the conditions we are forced to work under. I have quit much better jobs than this. Scott J. Maschek Posted November 4, 2009 4:31 PM
- Six days' volume in five days means MORE routes will be created and so all current T-6 carriers will have routes. But even so, closing the offices one day will definitely still save big bucks. If people don't understand that closing one day can save a business money they need to take Econ101! The majority of postal workers are already off on Saturday. Many stations are already closed, most of the ones open are open short hours. 204-b's run the stations that are open. Why? I suggest every postal employee work that day, ALL managers and clerks and desk jockeys, if they think it's so essential. mnm Posted November 1, 2009 9:15 AM
- The NALC and APWU can't see the forest for the trees. They are worried that eliminating Saturday delivery will cost jobs to be lost. Sorry but I really don't care. They are worried about the T-6 carriers, basically, who cover the days off of 5 different routes. So, rather than have 1 employee for every 5 unemployed, they would rather have all 6 unemployed in the future, if the USPS continues to lose money like it is. Typical unions, fight for one person while the rest suffer instead of looking at the BIG picture and doing what is best to save the jobs of 85% of their membership rather than fight for the 15% that will be effected. As far as Fed-Ex and UPS delivering on Saturdays if the USPS were to shut down Saturday delivery, that is ridiculous. If there were any profitability to it, they would have been trying to go after that part of the market already. They are leaking red ink as much as the USPS is so, taking on Saturday delivery would be the death knell for them since they would operate at such a huge loss to do so, they would go under. Any smart business person would realize that, rather than making inane statements. Besides, the moral boost to the employees that would then have every Saturday and Sunday off like "normal" people would be a plus to productivity. I feel that the majority of NALC members live in a bubble and have no clue, nor desire, to make sacrifices for the good of the service. Steve Posted October 31, 2009 11:39 AM
