Mailers Perplexed by USPS Decision to Move Forward on Postal exigency Request
Filed under: mailers, postal, postal news, rate increase, usps
The following has been sent by the Alliance of Nonprofit Mailers, the Association for Postal Commerce, the Direct Marketing Association, and the Association of Magazine Media to the Postmaster General of the United States regarding the Postal Service’s decision to move forward with a postal exigency request.
We are perplexed. In your presentations to the mailing community in recent months, we have heard you say repeatedly that you do not want an exigent price increase; an exigent increase will not occur; and mailers should budget for 2012 price increases at the CPI level, because a larger increase would be self-defeating due to its negative effects on mail volume. Simultaneously, however, the Postal Service has continued to file pleadings and signed statements with the Postal Regulatory Commission in Docket No. R2010-4 claiming that the Service still seeks a $2.3 billion exigent increase.
Under the current circumstances, the only prudent course for mailers is to assume that the Postal Service is still seeking Commission approval of an exigent rate increase in this docket, and that an increase approved by the Commission may very well be implemented by the Board of Governors. As long as the Postal Service’s exigent increase request remains in active litigation, the Commission must consider the request and issue a decision on it. Moreover, if the Commission ultimately authorizes any part of the requested increase, any portion of the authorized increase not implemented by the Postal Service could still end up as banked rate authority—rate authority that would force your customers to plan for above-CPI postage increases for the next five years, and adjust their mailing plans accordingly.
For these reasons, the mailing industry must continue to oppose the exigent rate request as long as it remains pending before the Commission. The resulting litigation will force both the Postal Service and the mailing community to divert precious time, energy, and resources to litigating an increase that you profess not to want – time, energy, and resources that would be far better deployed constructively collaborating to solve the Postal Service’s financial problems and pushing for Congressional action in our common interest. Further, the continuing pendency of this litigation—and the mere possibility that mailers may face an above-CPI rate increase in 2012 or 2013—has cast a pall of uncertainty over the industry’s budgeting and mailing plans. This business uncertainty almost certainly will cost the Postal Service mail volume and revenue.
These harmful consequences can be easily avoided. If you do not want an exigent increase and you do not want mailers to plan for one, withdraw the case. Actions speak louder than words.
Unless and until the Postal Service publicly withdraws its formal request for Commission approval of exigent rate increases, mailers must assume that the Postal Service is serious about seeking them. For the good of the Postal Service and the mailing community, we urge you to pull the exigent request.
source: PostCom.org
National Association of Presort Mailers Hires Retired USPS Manager as Executive Director
Filed under: mailers, postal, postal managers, postal news, press releases, usps
The National Association of Presort Mailers announced today that Robert Galaher has accepted the position of Executive Director for the association starting August 1, 2011. Bob recently retired from the United States Postal Service after 37 years of dedicated service. Bob has always been a change agent for the Postal Service. Starting out as distribution clerk, Bob moved up the ranks to Manager of Business Mail Acceptance, where he was responsible for the oversight of the national acceptance network processing approximately 12 million mailings yearly with $36 billion in annual revenue. Most recently Bob worked as Manager of Special Projects responsible for developing a plan to identify business and technical solutions to modernize the mail acceptance process, and develop a strategic vision and tactical roadmap for the Mail Entry and Payment Technology organization.
Rich Gebbie, President of NAPM said “Bob brings an invaluable set of skills and experience with business mail acceptance along with a real passion. Bob’s knowledge and experience will be a great asset as NAPM continues to work actively with the USPS and the mailing industry to develop a new intelligent Streamlined Acceptance process.”
The current NAPM Executive Director Joel Thomas will be retiring after many years of dedicated service. Rich said “NAPM thanks Joel for his leadership and guidance and we wish him the best in the years to come.”
source: National Association of Presort Mailers
House Subcommittee holds hearing on mailing industry May 12
The House Subcommittee on Federal Workforce, U.S. Postal Service and Labor Policy has scheduled a hearing entitled “Where Have All The Letters Gone? – The Mailing Industry And Its Future” at 9:30am Thursday May 12, in room 2247 of Rayburn House Office Building.
Witnesses
Dave Riebe
President of Logistics and Distribution
Quad/Graphics
Jerry Cerasale
Senior Vice President, Government Affairs
Direct Marketing Association
Rob Melton
Vice President of Specialty Paper
Domtar
Todd Haycock
Director, Postal Services
3i Infotech, North America
Burrus: Something is wrong with this picture
Something is wrong with this picture. The union agrees to reduce wages in the amount of 24% and we declare victory. Over a career, each employee will receive more than $200,000 less in wages and retirement and we call that a win.
And what will postal management do with this windfall ($3.4 billion)? Will they pay on the Congressionally imposed health fund? Will they pay back the money borrowed so they will have room to borrow more? Will they invest in safety so they will not have to harass injured employees? No, you guessed it. They will increase the rate discounts, the very same rates that the Rate Commission found exceed the cost avoided at the previous salary.
If that is a win, I hope you retire before we suffer a slight loss.
In solidarity,
Bill Burrus
USPS To Offer Business Mailers Three-Percent Discount On First-Class and Standard Mail
The Postal Service filed a notice with the Postal Regulatory Commission to temporarily adjust the prices for its market-dominant products, First-Class Mail and Standard Mail. This adjustment will take effect at 12:01 AM on July 1, 2011, and expire at 11:59 PM on August 31, 2011. The change will provide commercial mailers an upfront three percent discount on the prices for First-Class Mail and Standard Mail letters and flats, which include a mobile barcode inside or on the mailpieces. Read more
OIG: USPS Fails to Justify 19 Types of ‘Worksharing’ Discounts for Big Mailers
In a report issued Dec. 23, 2010, the USPS Inspector General’s Office (OIG) echoed what the APWU has been saying for years: Worksharing discounts for large mailers mail are too high.
The OIG’s study (Report Number MS-AR-11-001 [PDF]) echoed the results of a March 2010 report by the Postal Regulatory Commission [PDF], which concluded that in many cases the Postal Service grants discounts to large mailers at a rate that exceeds the costs the USPS saves when it accepts pre-sorted mail.
The OIG found that the Postal Service’s “justifications for 19 workshare discounts that exceed avoided costs by approximately $104 million were not supported by detailed documentation.”
The OIG also concluded that the revenue loss may be even greater because “Postal Service cost avoidance models may not accurately reflect avoided costs for workshared mail.”
The APWU has long contended that the discounts are excessive and deprive the USPS of hundreds of millions of dollars in much-needed revenue. The union has also pointed out that excessive discounts violate the Postal Service’s obligation to provide “universal service at uniform rates” for all postal customers, and are illegal under the 2006 Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act (PAEA), which stipulates that postage discounts may not exceed “postal costs avoided.”
APWU President Cliff Guffey praised the report’s conclusion and called for an end to excessive discounts. “I am pleased that the USPS Inspector General has confirmed that many worksharing discounts fail to meet the standards established by federal law,” he said. “I am troubled, however, that the OIG has soft-pedaled its criticism of the methodology the Postal Service uses to determine cost avoided. The APWU has demonstrated time and again that the USPS can process mail in-house for a fraction of the cost at which discounts are set.”
“As we have said many times: Workshare discounts improperly reduce postage costs for big mailers at the expense of the USPS and undermine the Postal Service’s ability to serve citizens and small businesses in every American community.”
Noting that more than 80 percent of the mail the USPS delivered in FY 2008 received workshare discounts totaling $15 billion, Guffey called for more comprehensive analysis of the problem.
“The big mailers have an army of lawyers and lobbyists that pressure the USPS and the Postal Rate Commission to retain and expand these excessive discounts,” he said. “It’s time for the new Postmaster General to eliminate these giveaways.”
source: APWU News
PMG Potter Honored With Lifetime Membership In Mailers Group
Postmaster General Jack Potter is an official lifetime member of the Mailers’ Technical Advisory Committee (MTAC).
The group — which includes representatives of more than 100 commercial mailers and mailing associations — extended that honor to Potter at its quarterly meeting this week, as members recognized the PMG for his career-long support and dedication to the mailing industry. Potter will retire from USPS Dec. 3.
“Stay the course,” Potter told the group. “The mailing industry works very well as a team. If anything, we need to work together even more closely now than 20 years ago when I first attended an MTAC meeting.”
Potter said the Postal Service and mailers have strong successes to build upon. “Our strengths are our people,” he said. “People are the mainstay of our organization and people are the heart of the mailing industry. If we stay together as a group, I see much progress in the future.”
DPMG and COO Pat Donahoe, who will become PMG when Potter retires, also addressed the group, committing to mailers to continue to improve service — which in fiscal year 2010 reached record levels, despite declining mail volume.
“A major goal of mine is to make a better customer experience,” said Donahoe. “Dependability, reliability and service on the one hand, and positive customer experience on the other — those things together, along with increased visibility, give us real opportunity to grow the top line.”
Donahoe said the Postal Service will focus on becoming leaner, smarter and faster; realigning operations to match the steadily declining mail volumes predicted for the coming decade. He also outlined other business strategies for USPS going forward, including strengthening the business-to-consumer channel.
source: USPS
Pitney Bowes Offers New Tabletop, Dual-Head Tabber System for U.S. Mailers
Filed under: mailers, postal, postal news, press releases, usps
STAMFORD, Conn., August 23, 2010 – Pitney Bowes Inc. (NYSE:PBI) today announced it is offering a new tabletop, dual-head tabber system for U.S. mailers. The Pitney Bowes W360 Multifunction Tabber System provides several tabbing applications and stamp affixing in one solution to help mailers meet the latest United States Postal Service (USPS) tabbing regulations and efficiently prepare letter-size self-mailers and booklets for delivery.
The USPS requires that letter-size self-mailers and booklets – mail not placed in an envelope – arrive at the Post Office properly sealed and tabbed to allow for smooth processing in sorting equipment. Mailers who take advantage of this can work towards qualifying for automation discounts. Self-mailers and booklets that do not comply with USPS standards for tabbing and sealing will be considered nonmachinable and assessed at higher postage prices.
The W360 Multifunction Tabber System can simultaneously apply up to 1.5″ adhesive tabs to the top and sides or opposite sides of the mail piece in a single pass, to help meet USPS regulations. The system can also apply up to three USPS stamps in a single pass for added flexibility.
“Self-mailers and booklets can be a highly effective way to connect with customers and prospects to help increase sales leads, quickly communicate offers, news and information, and build customer loyalty and retention,” said Debra Thompson, vice president, marketing, U.S. Mailing, Pitney Bowes Inc. “Our new W360 Multifunction Tabber System enables organizations to properly prepare letter-size self-mailers and booklets to help qualify for automation discounts, while offering increased productivity and flexibility to meet a variety of applications.”
The W360 Tabber System can apply up to 25,000 tabs per hour for single tabs and handles material up to 1/4″ thick for flexible material handling. An optional conveyor stacker equipped with an optical sensor communicates directly with the system to organize and collect output, and pauses when the stacker is full.
The Pitney Bowes W360 Multifunction Tabber System can tab a variety of documents and materials including newsletters, educational offerings and communications, pamphlets, letter-sized booklets, double postcards, wallet-sized booklets and promotional coupons. Tabs are available in a variety of sizes and can be clear, paper or translucent.
About Pitney Bowes:
Celebrating its 90th year of innovation, Pitney Bowes provides software, hardware and services that integrate physical and digital communications channels. Long known for making its customers more productive, Pitney Bowes is increasingly helping other companies grow their business. Pitney Bowes is a $5.6 billion company and employs 33,000 worldwide. Pitney Bowes: Every connection is a new opportunity™. www.pb.com
Major Mailers Make Billions, But Demand Postal Worker Pay Cuts
Burrus Update #14-2010, Aug. 3, 2010
In their ongoing effort to shift wealth to the richest Americans, conservatives continually attack the pay and benefits earned by average workers. Over the past 20 years, the transfer of wealth has been dramatic. Despite significant increases in productivity, workers’ real wages have declined, while salaries, bonuses, dividends and “golden parachutes” for executives have skyrocketed.
A recent glaring example was the demand that auto workers agree to lower their wages — which were established over 50 years of often turbulent struggle — purportedly to enable American automobile plants to compete with foreign car manufacturers. The most outspoken advocates of union concessions were the opponents of healthcare reform, even though the costs related to employee health insurance that are included in the price of American-made automobiles exceed wages. Evidently, those who preach “efficiency” to justify low wages are selective in demanding it in other circumstances.
This holds true for postal costs. Those who demand worker sacrifices turn a blind eye to the $10 billion in profits earned by major mailers from worksharing.
Mailers’ Alliance Attacks
Recently, the Alliance for Affordable Mail launched an attack on postal workers’ pay and benefits. The Alliance, an association of large mailers that opposes a proposed postage increase, says that workers should endure a reduction of 33.9 percent of their pay and benefits.
As the press reports unprecedented profits by corporations with virtually no job creation, the Alliance points to the competition for low-wage employment and suggests that all workers should follow suit. This is the private-sector model that the association refers to in a
motion [PDF] before the Postal Regulatory Commission, which must consider the USPS-proposed rate hike.
The Alliance demands that postal management attack employee wages and benefits to bring them in line with non-union workers, many of whom are forced to accept any employer demands simply to remain employed. In anticipation of union resistance to demands for concession bargaining, the Alliance and its supporters have pushed regressive legislation that would guarantee their preferred outcome. (The major mailers support legislation that would require arbitrators to consider the financial health of the USPS when ruling on postal contracts. Arbitrators routinely do so, but requiring it as a matter of law is intended to tip the scales in management’s favor.)
A Mythical Model
The most egregious example of this attack on craft employees is the Alliance’s comparison to a mythical private-sector model of efficiency. Do these ivory-tower executives truly believe this bull, or are they attempting to pull the biggest scam since the Bernie Madoff debacle? The citation of the efficiencies of the marketplace is no more than a myth. Have they forgotten the scandals over the Defense Department’s purchase of $500 hammers and $300 toilet seats — from the private sector?
Closer to home, we have the “workshare postage discounts” of 10.5 cents offered to the private sector to affix five-digit barcodes. The free-market ideologues would have you believe that laissez-faire capitalism will correct such abuses on its own.
Postal Pay, ‘Gives’ and ‘Takes’
Well the truth is somewhere in between. Capitalism — including the opportunity for mailers to make billions of dollars in profits at the expense of the U.S. Postal Service — is the greatest generator of effort and ideas; but adherence to a model of efficiency based solely on low pay is seriously flawed. Despite the wage disparity between union-represented postal employees and employees of mail pre-sort houses, postal employees are far more efficient and productive — and we are worth every cent of the wages and benefits we bargained for.
If our members’ wages were based on the same factors used to determine workshare discounts, their pay would be off the charts. Can you imagine a wage rate for postal employees at 10.5 cents for each five-digit barcode? As you may recall, I have made a standing offer to Postmaster General Potter to set postal wages at the discounted rate. If the USPS avoids costs of 10.5 cents when private-sector mailers apply the barcode, it makes sense that postal employees’ compensation should equal this “perfect model of efficiency.” To be competitive, I have offered to take one tenth of a cent less.
The collective bargaining process produces “gives” and “takes” from all parties. Pointing out provisions that benefit labor without acknowledging the benefits management enjoys gives a distorted picture. These ideologues overlook the fact that our contract grants the Postal Service the right to hire non-career employees at a rate of pay set by management, and to deprive these workers of any benefits whatsoever; the right to furlough unprotected employees; flexibility to modify handbooks and manuals midterm, and to subcontract craft work. These and numerous other provisions of the negotiated agreements balance the demands of management and labor. The Alliance would strip the union of the provisions benefiting the workers while leaving intact management rights that were agreed to as quid pro quo (this for that).
Collective bargaining addresses the demands of competing groups and results in agreements that all parties pledge to abide by. The suggestion that one party should agree to abrogate key features of such an agreement while the other retains its benefits demonstrates that the spokespersons for the Alliance know nothing about the process of collective bargaining.
I respectfully suggest that those who have pre-determined conclusions about the outcome of postal contract negotiations temper their expectations. In a free society, collective bargaining leads to compromises that reconcile the demands of the employer and the employees to create mutually beneficial agreements.
William Burrus
President
PostCom Responds To APWU Article On Mailers
The Postcom.org EdNote below is in response to this article from APWU President William Burrus.
[EdNote: Well, the last I checked, it wasn't mailers who were sitting idle in holding rooms refusing to do work because contract agreements said they didn't have to. Talk about 'immeasurable' damage. And, the last I checked, those who pushed for PAEA ultimately included the USPS and postal employee groups. It wasn't PostCom who was sitting at the White House on the day of PAEA's presidential signing. At the time of PAEA's enactment, the chairman of PostCom, Vincent Giuliano, was strenuously objecting to the health pre-funding provision. Oh yes, I also remember it was the Postal Service's mantra that it could live (as it claimed it always had done) within the bounds of inflation. The APWU President's sense of historical revisionism is without equal. ]“