By Jamie Partridge
Despite telling local KATU news that it’s “just an idea.. we’re not really pushing for it…it’s just a discussion… they’re just talking about in Congress” , the Portland District of the US Postal Service is indeed soliciting property owners and managers to “convert” from at-the-door to at-the-corner “cluster box” mail delivery. And the local letter carriers union is fighting back.
According to Jim Falvey, president of the National Association of Letter Carriers, branch 82 (Portland-area), “the Portland District has instituted a program that involves the solicitation of property managers and/or owners whose location has multiple delivery points. One example was Royal Villa, a fifty-five and over retirement community located in King City near Tigard, with about 250 door-to-door deliveries. Postal management solicited the property managing firm and offered to install cluster boxes free of charge and maintain them at no cost. In return the postal service wanted to eliminate door-to-door delivery.” Postal management does not have to ask or even inform the residents that this “conversion” is going to occur, if they get the cooperation of the manager or owner of the property.
Falvey was incensed to learn that residents of Royal Villa, many of whom are elderly or frail, would be forced to walk some distance in the wind, rain, snow, ice, dark and other dangerous conditions to retrieve their mail. And of course, he was angered that letter carrier work would be reduced and jobs eliminated. Alerted by a local mail carrier, who found out through a manager’s slip of the tongue, the union president contacted Royal Villa’s property manager and convinced her to stand up to the postal service offer of free mail boxes. Falvey was also ready to knock on doors at Royal Villa, if the property manager had decided to go with “conversion.”
The letter carriers union, both locally and on a national level, is mobilizing to fight cluster box conversions, which would change the one-third of deliveries now at-the-door and eliminate 80,000 mail carrier jobs (http://nalc.org/news/latest/12062013_soliciting.html) The postal service, according to a recently released Government Accountability Office report, could save up to 55 percent per delivery by converting from at-the-door to cluster boxes. The Postmaster General Donahoe, President Obama, and committees in the House and the Senate, led by Representative Issa and Senators Carper and Coburn, are all proposing legislation to allow this service cut, based on an alleged postal financial crisis. Congress itself is responsible for the postal “debt”, through a 2006 mandate to pre-fund retiree benefits 75 years ahead. Without this mandate, the postal service would have been profitable.
At their state convention, the Oregon State Association of Letter Carriers (OSALC) resolved to fight for at-the-door delivery which “facilitates quality service, such as individualized parcel and bulk mail drop and pick-up locations” as well as “residential customer contact, which protects the health and welfare of neighborhoods, especially looking-in on the frail and seniors.” Business customers also benefit from at-the-door delivery, as contact with letter carriers facilitates appropriate shipping and receiving opportunities. The OSALC also noted that “cluster box mail receptacles are less secure than at-the-door and are more often targets for mail thieves” and “mail is more likely to accumulate day-to-day and more likely to be dropped on the ground, leading to litter problems”
Following the lead of Canadian postal workers, who are also facing the elimination of at-the-door delivery OSALC is encouraging local branches to mount campaigns to inform business and residential customers about the dangers of ditching door delivery. Fortunately, postal regulations require that property owners or “owners’ associations” or “managers” approve, in writing, the conversion from at-the-door delivery. Unfortunately, the USPS can insist that any new housing, where delivery has not been established, can be forced to receive mail at a cluster box.
Active letter carriers “must not engage in campaigns for or against changes in mail service,” according to postal regulations. However, their labor unions, retirees, and community allies are not so restricted. Taking a tip from the Canadians, local unions plan to contact media and elected officials for support.
Jamie Partridge is a retired letter carrier and an organizer with Communities and Postal Workers United
Source: Jamie Partridge via email May 23, 2014
Now is the time to move on cluster and curbwid boxes. We can’t wait another winter. These articles admit it will cost less and be more efficient. We certainly will end up like Detroit…
when do you know when post office management is lying? when they start talking.
if it saves money and benefits the USPS then the Union is against it if it means less carriers…. its all about the Union lining its pockets…… offer the early retirements and adjust routes accordingly and no carriers will lose their jobs- this should be the focus of the Union but they will never agree with anything…..around and around it goes….. still be talking about the same thing a year from now….. its actually getting quite comical really
if all us carriers agree that closing on saturday and curbside is the best for the usps and for our jobs why do we keep paying union dues..we need to stop..they do not have our back at all
Terry, Who did you vote for? You will get what you voted for. Because Obama and Issa both support cluster and curbside delivery along with 5 day delivery.
terry your route needs to be all po boxes..if safety is a real concern you should push for it..but the rest of us would do very well with all curbside..like most of us have..we should all have the same postage…no one should be so special that we walk up and put mail in their house or on their property..the union needs to man up and push for our safety of curbside before we all get out…i will not be in the union next year..they do nothing for us who pay the dues
I live in minneapolis and if i have curbside or clusterboxes then I will need either a police escort for cluster box delivery or i can kiss my mail goodbye if it is curbside delivery. You people that live in cozy suburban areas that you can leave your door unlocked in car and house shut the Frick up as you have no clue what city life is really like. We have people breaking in their homes and robbing them as they walk and getting in and out of cars and even while parked in the car. The thieves are many here and very bold indeed. Yes, i live here by choice but don’t tell everybody that the suburbanites get to decide for all. We have it different than you in living in the city. Maybe you would like to volunteer to get one’s mail at a cluster box you fricking idiots. The thieves are stealing whole cluster boxes in california. It’s easy to give a one sided view when you no nothing about the other side. Come live here and tell me that it is a good idea you fricking idiot. Home delivery only in the large cities and large being over 200 thousand people and then maybe you can win your view over but once you get over that number then you will find that home delivery is the only way to go.
Jamie you look like you lose again. Most people here are like me support cluster boxes and curbside. No more slip, trip and fall. Will save USPS a fortune in workers compensation.
The union should be telling resident to write to congress and ask that postage be raised to $1.00 so they can keep their door delivery. If that’s what they want then they should pay for the service.
Dear common sense.
Do you really think there is the possibility that dog attacks will go up because carriers are standing in a public area outside any dogs “territory” putting mail in a box rather than walking into each dogs home territory and rattling some box on their owners house? You truly have no understanding of canine behavior.
On a park and loop route the CCA is going to have to drive down the street looking for the house to deliver the parcel to anyway. They will have to do this before or after they deliver the mail as parcels don’t work well in satchels. One walking trip down that street while they are busy fingering mail and trying to find where on the next house the delivery box is located won’t make them that much more familiar with where particular addresses are. It is unlikely to lead to any significant difference in the accuracy of parcel delivery. Besides most of the parcels will be left in the parcel lockers next to the CBUs. This will make USPS’s parcel delivery much more efficient and could allow it to dominate the ever growing parcel business.
Those of you fighting the end of walking mail delivery ought to at least use reasonable arguments. Captn Jack and san have the right idea. Fight for curbside delivery. Curbside delivery, at the property line, 2 mailboxes to a post, is nearly as efficient if not more so than CBUs and much more convenient to the customer and mail carrier. (though probably not practical in high crime areas)
amen mailman
CBU’s are more efficient, allowing the USPS to save time, which in turn will help us to be profitable one day. It is foolish to allow some to get house delivery when others have mountes (curbside) or CBU’s. That doesn’t count the slips, trips, and falls on walking routes. Dogbites will also go way down.
the union should be pushing for curbside so we can not go to clusters….that would be good for all…but oh no they havent a clue and they will loose it all
old people already walk to the street for mail…and we can certAINLY DELIVER PARCELS TO DOORS…u union folks who want to keep door to door have no regard for those of us that pay dues..we should all get out of the union..they do nothing for us at all..and as far as our pay…most folks that do what we do get paid more than us…
NALC only gives a crap about their jobs.
All the union wants is your dues…the union is pathetic….curbside will be great it will allow people to work till they want to not because they cant…….5 day is the way….
No cluster boxes for old people but curb delivery is fine. Door delivery needs to go away except in special circumstances.
Door delivery should be dropped, people can walk to the end of there driveway or a cluster box. If they (physically) can’t the post office will still deliver it to there door. The people who get the mail delivered to their door DO NOT pay for their extra service. Either make every delivery door to door, end of the drive, or cluster boxes. Make it equal service for all.
do it! they used to make routs smaller when you got older. now they make them longer on the road thanks to d.p.s. and f.s.s. and office time! see if you want to be on a walking route for 7 hrs. plus down time!!
mailman hate clusterboxes,not being able to load the bag with 35lbs or go up and down icy steps or have a dog try to bite you,i went from a park and loop route to a clusterbox route,my back and shoulder don’t hurt anymore and i use less sick time because of it,if i bid off my route the 6 park and loop guys will be all over my route
Where my quality door delivery in rural America? oh thats right there is no equality in service accross America. All unions are only concerned about the union not survival of the business… just look at Detroit and the UAW economically forcing companies moved to right to work states. If you want door delivery then pay for it . How many steps times 6 days per week figure a time factor longer sidewalks cost more
We all know what happens at these boxes. Mail blows out and carriers are focusing too long in one spot and become targets of more beatings or dog attacks.
The other problem is we are targeting the parcel business now and though the regular may know where the houses are, what about the newer employees or CCA’s who do not? Watch how fast we lose parcel business because parcels are not being delivered to the correct homes.