Senate Takes Up Postal Service Reforms: Sanders’ Provisions to be Added to Bill
WASHINGTON, April 17 – The Senate today voted 74-22 to take up legislation to modernize the U.S. Postal Service. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) led a group of more than two dozen senators who pressed to make the bill stronger.
“Today’s vote clears the first of many hurdles that we face in our effort to save rural post offices, mail processing plants and the jobs of tens of thousands of postal workers,” Sanders said. “It’s a step forward but we have a very long way to go.”
The managers’ amendment that Sanders helped write strengthens the original bill by including the creation of a blue-ribbon commission to help the Postal Service develop a more entrepreneurial business model which could substantially increase revenue. A “chief innovation officer” would be created to oversee the development of new postal products and services to improve the Postal Service’s financial position.
“I hope we can agree that the Postal Service needs to change and become more entrepreneurial. I hope we can also agree that in the midst of a terrible recession it makes no sense to downsize the Postal Service by tens of thousands of workers, slow mail delivery service and devastate rural communities by closing their post offices,” Sanders said.
Under the managers’ amendment, the Postal Service would be required to maintain regional overnight delivery standards. As a result, the Postal Service would be required to keep at least 100 mail sorting centers open that are now scheduled for closure.
The Senate bill also was reworked at Sanders’ request to make it harder to shut down rural post offices. Before closing a post office, the Postal Service would have to take into account the lack of access to the Internet, broadband, and cell phone service, among other factors, and it could not shut down a post office if the Postal Regulatory Commission, an independent body, disagreed with its decision.
Saturday mail delivery would be maintained for at least two years. At that point the Postal Service could end Saturday delivery if it can demonstrate that cutting service would be the only way to achieve long-term financial stability.
The amended bill looks a little better than the original, with hopefully less people getting fired. Plus, it looks like it’ll make it harder for the Postal Service to close offices unilaterally, and since we all know the real objective by the Headquarters, mainly selling out to privatization in exchange for big bucks to run or ruin the private industry, having somebody watching over these criminals is an absolute necessity. Donohoe must go. Now. As far as management being morons, it’s partially true. I do try to judge each one as individuals, and the current “boss” of mine is nobody’s fool.
To be fair, there’s a lot of craft people that are dumber than lampshades. Stupidity is plentiful at all levels of the Postal Service and where you the non-postal employee works, too. I have always warned my fellow employees to never automatically assume that a person was stupid simply because he or she was in management. That’s a good way to get burned.
What our big problem is is corruption. Replace those who would ruin the Service with those who understand it’s a Service, not a private company trying to make the Fortune 500.
FULL DETAILS BELOW!
1997 PP 01-2012 TOTAL TOTAL
STAFFING STAFFING %
% CHANGES CHANGES
FROM FROM
1997 – 2012 SEPT-DEC 2011
USPS HEADQUARTERS IMPACT
SENIOR MANAGEMENT STAFF 1,949 2,753 41.25% 0.29%
INSPECTOR GENERAL 101 1,118 1006.93% -0.45%
FIELD SUPPORT STAFF 8,666 6,644 -23.33% 0.50%
TOTAL HEADQUARTER’S LOSSES SINCE 1997 10,716 10,515 -1.88% -1.88%
MANAGEMENT (LOCAL LEVEL) IMPACT
GM / PM / INST. HEAD 26,256 21,921 -16.51% -1.31%
SUPERVISOR / MANAGERS 35,708 24,689 -30.86% -1.57%
PROF/ADM/TECH-FIELD 11,369 4,530 -60.15% -0.90%
POSTMASTER RELIEFS/LEAVE REP. 12,687 8,768 -30.89% -4.05%
TOTAL MANAGEMENT LOSSES 86,020 59,908 -30.36% -1.80%
CAREER EMPLOYEE IMPACT
APWU – CLERK/MAINT/MVS/NURSES 336,422 194,269 -42.25% -1.66%
NPMHU – MAIL HANDLERS 59,147 46,200 -21.89% -0.85%
NALC – CITY CARRIERS 234,033 181,883 -22.28% -1.03%
NRLCA – RURAL CARRIERS 49,957 65,509 31.13% -1.02%
TOTAL CRAFT LOSSES (CAREER EMPLOYEES) 679,559 487,861 -28.21% -1.26%
NON CAREER EMPLOYEES
CASUAL & PSE EMPLOYEES 32,615 25,336 -22.32% 93.74%
NON – BARGAINING TEMPORARY 774 2,212 185.79% -2.08%
RURAL SUB/RCA/RCR/AUX/VAC 54,834 49,569 -9.60% -1.55%
T.E.’S – TRANSITIONAL EMPLOYEES 26,789 13,969 -47.86% 0.67%
TOTALS FOR NON-CAREER EMPLOYEES 79,561 91,086 27.80% 14.49%
Since Congress may pass a bill for the United States Postal Service within days or weeks, everything should be out to show what is happening to the USPS. Why does the USPS continue to be TOP HEAVY, while our local stations, branches and processing plants are consistently being short staffed and on the consolidation or closing list. The USPS Headquarters Executives, seek to dismantle the Postal Service for their own selfish reasons.
Please look at the information provided below and feel free to share this information. This Information was provided by the United States Post Office and is the actual On-Rolls information ending PP 01-2012.
From September 2011 to Pay Period 01-2012 the USPS added Headquarters and Field Support Management Jobs while all other career USPS jobs decreased. Maybe the loss of Career Jobs and the hiring of non-career employees are allowing for more high paying jobs at the top.
Here is the breakdown from the dates listed above:
USPS Headquarters +7 Employees (+.29%)
USPS Field Support +33 Employees (+.50%)
Inspector General -5 Employees (-.45%)
Local Management Jobs -1096 Employees (-1.80%)
Career Employee Jobs -6236 Employees (-1.26%)
Non-Career Jobs +11,525 Employees (+14.49%)
DOES ANYONE ELSE THINK, “WHAT IS GOING ON HERE???”
USPS managers need to go back to Jr High vocabulary class. The word regular has been misinterpreted to mean show up every day. That is not what congress meant when they said maximum degree of regular service. There is not a maximum degree of showing up. You either show up or you don’t.
In this case, regular means usual. Congress meant that rural post offices would operate to the maximum degree in the usual way.
They also misuse: “steady decline” when numbers go up and down it is not a steady decline.
They misuse “several years” when refering to two.
They think a 60 mile radius is a “short radius.
They should be fired!
Send your Senators a message urging support for the S.1789 by CLICKING HERE. This will take 20 seconds.Provides incentives to eligible postal employees (up to 100,000) to retire
ACT NOW: Send your Senators a message urging support for S.1789 CLICKING HERE.
Forward this message to your colleagues, relatives and friends too and urge them to send the same message to the Senate to ACT NOW.
Hey Mr. Smooth……Managers are people too! Sure, maybe they are not the most competent or sharpest tool in the shed, and yes maybe unqualified for the position they hold and are very much overpaid! Yes they probably slithered their way up the ladder by making it harder for the Real Workers. Who will sit or stand like a Cardboard Cutout acting like they are engrossed and engaged with their responsibilities looking pensive and busy? Huh? Who will press the buttons and enter all that data that was already recorded at the PLant? Who will take all the credit for things they had absolutely nothing to do with? Yes my friend, our Managers! So please…..don’t call them Morons!
they also need to really look at cutting Management down like 50% we don’t need all these morons!!!