Obama’s FY2013 budget calls for eliminating a day of delivery starting in January
Feb. 13, 2012 — President Barack Obama today released his budget for Fiscal Year 2013. Of specific concern is the call for giving the USPS the authority to reduce mail delivery service from six days a week to five as soon as early as January 2013.
“Eliminating Saturday delivery is a counter-productive proposal that would degrade services to the public and to businesses, threaten the viability of the Postal Service itself, and begin to dismantle the universal network that has served the country well for 200 years,” NALC President Fredric V. Rolando said.
“Among those who would be most affected are residents of rural communities, the elderly, those who need medicines or other goods on weekends, not to mention small businesses, which are open weekends and need to send and receive financial documents—and which create two-thirds of all new jobs. Eliminating Saturday delivery would pose additional costs on all who are compelled to contract with expensive carriers. Taxpayers wouldn’t save a penny, because they don’t fund the Postal Service; USPS earns its own money by selling stamps and services.
“Even from a strict business standpoint, cutting Saturday delivery is a nonsensical proposal. Sacrificing 17 percent of service to save 3 percent of the budget is not a rational business formula. This would only drive customers away and further reduce revenues.
“In particular, it would jeopardize the Postal Service’s ability to capitalize on the growing business of delivering the goods that people order online. Increasingly, the Postal Service is providing last-mile delivery of those packages for UPS and FedEx, because its universal network allows it to do so more efficiently.
“Last week’s quarterly financial statement by the Postal Service illustrates this perfectly. Postal Service Chief Financial Officer Jim Corbett announced a net operating profit of $200 million delivering the mail in the first quarter of Fiscal Year 2012, an impressive performance the CFO said was in part ‘driven by strong growth in online merchandise sales’—up 7 percent over the first quarter of the previous year. That shows the potential for growth offered by the Internet.
“The best day to deliver those packages? Saturday, when people are home.
“The real financial burden facing the Postal Service is not in providing first-class service to the public, but rather the congressional mandate that the USPS—alone among all government agencies and private firms—pre-future retiree health care benefits for the next 75 years and do so within a decade. The resulting annual payments of $5.5 billion account for more than 85 percent of all the Postal Service’s red ink.
“Last quarter, the $200 million operating profit turned into massive red ink largely because of the $3.1 billion in pre-funding charges the Postal Service reported. This is a problem that Congress created and that Congress could fix immediately.
“It’s unfortunate that President Obama has bought into the postmaster general’s push to start to dismantle the universal network, and we will work with our friends in Congress, our customers and our allies in the business community to strike this proposal from the budget before it comes up for a vote.
“The president deserves credit for addressing pre-funding in a short-term manner in his budget, but this is a long-term problem that requires a durable fix.
“The U.S. Postal Service remains the most-trusted federal agency in the country, six years running. It provides the most affordable postal service in the industrial world. It is the centerpiece of a $1.3 trillion mailing industry that employs 7.5 million Americans in the private sector, jobs that depend on a robust Postal Service. At a time of mass joblessness, we should not put those jobs at risk needlessly. Congress needs to do its job by removing the crushing burden of the pre-funding payments so the Postal Service can continue to serve the public. H.R. 1351, which now has a bipartisan House majority of 228 co-sponsors, addresses this issue—and Congress should vote on it. In the Senate, S. 1853, a postal reform bill, recognizes the value of maintaining six-day service and moves to make that service level the law.”
via NALC
Hey, remember, the republicans hate everything Obama does. If he says get rid of 6 day delivery, they won’t vote for it. Maybe there is a reason for this. Also, remember, there is not one republican bill that will do anything positive for postal workers. Pick your poison….
I like riding in cars….
Why can’t Obama butt out.
Then again? these are politicians?
Issa has been spotted riding his motorcycle in the rain.
It is a smart move by the White House knowing how much the GOP hates everything he does and will do the opposite.
A bunch of them are lining up now to save 6 day service…check mate
“Who the hell names their kid Mitt anyway?”
A morman?
the alternative is privatize, as issa recommends. pick your poison.
remember, it all started with wall st. thank your congressman.
THE SMALL FEED THE BIG
THE BIG FEED OFF THE SMALL
IF NOT FOR THE SMALL, THE BIG WOULD BE SMALLER.
EVERYONE HAS TO WORK TOGETHER
WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THE FOUNDING FATHERS?
THE SEED WAS PLANTED. THE USA WILL REMAIN THE BEST POSTAL SERVICE IN THE WORLD.
@1st Cav 229th AHB You do realize that noone outside of your unit gives a damn what unit you’re in? You’re THAT proud of your dime-a-dozen unit to use it as your name? Get a life, soldiermonkey. And noone’s going to let that over-religious azzclown Romney anywhere near the Presidential pedestal. Who the hell names their kid Mitt anyway?
have you dopes had your fill of the radical marxist kenyan’s hope & change mantra. cut to the chase……..at church on Sunday the Catholic priest said not to vote for his loser communist again……I second the motion. screw goofy/morris and the rest of the demonrats.
Romney 2012!
Ty 5 day delivery is necessary and justified due to decreasing volume and cost increasing. Would just like to suggest Wed. as it is in middle of week and Mon. holidays is irrevealant as to workload.
How do you like him now ?
Degrade service to the public is a real joke. The public has little concern as to receiving advertising mail on Sat.. 98% PLUS of mail received on Sat. is bulk business advertising mail commonly reffered to as JUNK MAIL which has no reveLance TO ANY ISSUES AT HAND.. The agrument by union and management unions is that eliminating the wasted expense could hinder receiving prescriptions and parcels. The prescription agrument is not reality as delivery time is 5 days and if time is of essence national chains such as CVS,Kroger. walgreen
.AND OTHERS FILL PRESCRIPTIONS SAME AS medco.. Should time be of essence parcels should be mailed Express or Priority where an extra charge is paid for a dedicated delivery time. Unions try to sway politicans as to something American public deserves and reality times have changed and messaging and communication is electronic instant message not ppppppwriting a message purchasing a postage stamp for delivery to a physical address in a 1-3 day time frame.The laws of supply and demand creates a negative return for postal services as the demand has decreased and will continue to decrease resulting further loss of revenue and products to create new revenue has not yet been introduced. In order to continue USPS services cost must be reduced. Eliminating vehicle-fuel cost from 302 days to 250 days and reducing delivery operation cost would result in massive monatary saving.
Oh darn …bla bla bla you are a moron
Maybe if the unions would back the USPS instead of fighting all the time they may get something done. Their focus is to have as many greivances as possible to get more money for their members. The unions are not worried about the issued at hand….they are only worried because their membership is getting smaller and smaller and they are making less and less money. After all the union leadership already has weekends off.
this explains why the USPS isn’t hiring City Carriers. NALC needs to put their money where their mouth is.
Gee Rolondo, lets get behind Obama again at election time…..
Yes Saturday would be to most the best day to eliminate–but think about this every monday there will be 3 days worth of mail to process in walk sequence for the poor carrier (they already get 2 days worth) and let’s not forget when there are Monday holidays then there is 4 days worth of mail to process in walk sequence. It will cost alot in overtime to get this mail delivered especially at the plants to the processers as well as the carriers therefore the savings won’t be as great as they predict. If done in the middle of the week when volume is low there would be far more savings. This is about saving money not what’s best for the businesses–they all get major discounts to mail their mail (even the first class mailers like the utility companies get postage discounts). It’s the average american that has to suffer and pay the 45 cents to amil a letter that once the PMG changes the service standards those 45 cent payers will get worse service than the junk mailers who get to mail their stuff for 9 cents.
I think to save money leave Saturday alone (due to Friday’s business closings being a heavy mailing day due to being closed on weekends) and take a weekday and process only first class mail holding out the 3rd class junk mail then this day the processors would be only sorting and walk sequencing first class mail for the next day delivery. That less volume day/night for the processors could be a part time day (under 8 hours) they could very easily incorporate this into their new Non traditional plant bids making that weekday a 4 hour day and adding the other 4 hours into 2 other heavier days that they usually require overtime due to the large volume and the same goes for the carriers the next day.
Ex: Take Tuesday and make Tuesday afternoons and nights the 4 hour day for the processors (or 8 hour days but manning 2 machines versus 1 due to the lesser volume because your only sorting first class mail and no standard junk mail that day eliminating some 8 hour bid days for some) you save the hours at the plant including the night differentials and then the next day at the stations for the carriers. This way the businesses that are open Mon-Fri would get their important first class mail and people would get their medicines and the like 6 days a week as it is now. Right now on weekends any business that is closed on Sat. their mail gets held overnight at the plants and then re-ran on Saturdays to put back in the walk sequence mailstream for Monday delivery–how productive is that running the mail over and over? There would be savings here with mid week part time schedules if management would just plan it properly accoriding the volume records. Why should the mailers get all the discounts and advantages for peanuts and the american public pay the higher rate of 45 cents and get less service??
Ruby wasn’t all wrong!
Your nuts ruby. By by Saturday delivery
Yeah that makes a lot of sense close during the workweek instead of Sat. when 90% of people and workplaces are closed. Forget it all policymakers have gone on record saying SATURDAY will be the day of NO MAIL delivery. P.S. DUMBASS
The 1351b H.R. Bill need to be addressed like the 2309 and S.1789 bill has. This 1351 bill will do more for the Postal Service remaning a vital part of this country and keep hundreds of thousands of american workers employed. Postal workers are appealing to Preas. Obama to lobby for the plight of the Postal workers as he did for General Motors! If the mail is to have 5 day delivery, Saturday is definitely not the day not to deliver it. I would suggest Wednesday, Tuesday is the lightest maiil volume of the week. Why can’t Postal mamagement recognize. Congress get off of your duss and make sensible decision that will keep citizens working, and do not vote to increase the amount workers are paying for their pension. Hold the companys accountable for emplyees retiree pensions!