Update: Senator Coburn attaches Amendment to Bill striking Requirement for 6-Day Delivery
Amendment 68: “This amendment would strike the rider in the bill that requires 6-day mail delivery, thus allows the Postal Service to manage their own operation accordingly.
February 6, 2013
WASHINGTON- House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif., and Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Ranking Member Tom Coburn M.D., R-Okla., sent a letter to leaders of both chambers of Congress supporting today’s announcement by the United States Postal Service that in August it would shift from its current delivery schedule to a six-day package, five-day mail delivery schedule. Issa and Coburn are the top Republicans on the respective House and Senate Committees with jurisdiction over USPS.
“This common-sense reform would save the Postal Service more than two billion annually,” wrote Coburn and Issa. “In his recent inaugural address, President Obama spoke about the need to find real solutions to our nation’s problems. Supporting the US Postal Service’s plan to move forward with 5-day mail delivery is one such solution worthy of bipartisan support.”
Since 1984, Congress has annually imposed an over $2 billion unfunded mandate on USPS to deliver six days a week. Coburn and Issa ask House and Senate leaders of both parties to work with them to ensure no such restriction is reintroduced when the FY2013 government funding resolution expires at the end of March.
The letter also notes that “President Obama has repeatedly called for moving to 5-day delivery of mail, most recently in his FY 2013 budget.”
You can read a copy of the letter here.
February 6, 2013 Letter to Congressional Leadership
Next year (Sept. 2014), 13000 smaller town post offices will have undergone PostPlan, which means they will have the hours will be reduced to between 2-6 hours per day. A vast majority will be 2-4 hours per day and these Postmasters will be Riffed (Reduction in Force). Why is it that the PMG continues to say that we have a no-layoff policy? Is there a difference between being Riffed and being laid off? I think not!! What do you have to say to that Mr. Issa and Mr. Donahoe? Ah………..I’m still waiting for your answer.
The only reason Congress has voted to force the PO to deliver on Saturdays is clearly based on political favors they owe to the unions. Nothing more…nothing less. The majority of the public doesn’t want Saturday delivery and the overwhelming majority of carriers want weekends off. The union never solicited their input even though they take their dues money. This is not about a loss of jobs because it will create additional Mon-Fri positions. The PO will still work Saturdays and will still deliver packages on Saturdays. So, if the public doesn’t want it and the carriers don’t want it what is left? The politicians and the unions! But, then again, isn’t that always the case? 2012 elections saw the highest amount of political contributions (payoffs) by unions ever. So…do ya think this is just Congress returning a favor? Me thinks so!
The Postal Service has already made over $42 billion in payments to the United States treasury for pre-funding future retiree health benefits. This is an amount far greater than the 15 billion the Postal Service has borrowed from the same government. Therefore, the Postal Service has been in fact borrowing its own money from the United States government!! Additionally, the $42 billion figure doesn’t even include the CSRS or the FERS overpayments amounting to billions and billions more. The simple fact is, without the pre-funding mandate from 2006 the Postal Service would have an enormous excess of cash on hand.
When will the union GESTAPO morons on here understand that This crisis is NOT going away and the sooner it is dealt with the better. sure you can point fingers at congress, and call all the names you want, but the problem REMAINS. even IF they returned pre-fund, fact is you STILL have a DEFICIT. NOW WHAT? Keep the status quo? Remember, it was the TE/CCAs who got hosed in this last arbitration,(no thanks to the unions,) and these new agreements will be up sooner than you think. If the USPS’ financial picture does not improve by then, it just MIGHT be the rank and file taking the hit NEXT time….Then who will you blame?
When will it stop? Middle class jobs leave this country everyday. As a postal worker I try to take pride in what I do for the American people, just like serving in the military. All any body wants to is privitize the postal service. What will happen to the American people sense of security that is inherent with the postal structure. When cheap labor is brought in there is no sanctity of the mail any more. Just steal its only an minimum wage job. Every Congressman and Senator gets free political mail so now are they going to pay for mailing their political mail, I don’t think so. So once the cheap easy mail is gone how many fee’s will be charge just to do a simple on line bill pay? Its easy to say get ride of it when you don’t use it.
Congress should all resign immediately.You are no longer needed!With all the information available to the average citizen we should represent ourselves we could do no worse than what we are getting now!Congress is in the pocket of the lobbiest and trying to sell the middle Class out!
Issa SUCKS!
Stop the mandatory pre-funding of retirees, give back the overpayments and keep your hands off the P.O.! Why don’t you take some of the hundreds of billions of dollars spent on (2) unfunded wars that went to connected companies associated with defense and give it to the post office. Aren’t the people of the United States and their mail service as important as the people in Iraq and Afghanistan? Issa where are your priorities? I guess with defense contractors and not American citizens. Darryl Issa actually said that he “wants to put in cluster boxes for mail delivery for every address in America” so that there is no longer home delivery of mail. EVERYONE in America in every neighborhood and town would have to go to a centralized location to wait in line to pickup their daily mail. His statement is a matter of public record in case anyone wants to dispute it! Is that really a postal SERVICE? Send Issa back home to California before he can do any more damage!
Daves comment is obviously written by a postal EXECUTIVE and is an effort to try to legitimize wage reductions. Postal management and certain rich congressman will not stop until the can reduce postal wages to MINIMUM WAGE! We barely make enough now to have a lower-middle class standard of living and our benefits are poor by most standards. The general public does not know this and is definately not being told this by people like Darryl Issa. We should make the same wages and benefits afforded to Congress for the hard work we do. What has Congress done lately? Issa is simply on a mission to try and eliminate a large labor union in order to benefit the wealthy even more. California voters: please vote him out of office and send him home. Although he would probably stay in Washington and be on some sort of payroll after leaving office to try and benefit the rich and steal from the poor!
Darryl Issa is a perfect example of the wrong direction this country is heading and the widening of the gap between the rich and the working class. Mr. Issa is trying to privatize the postal service so that his mega-rich friends can buy up its valuable real estate at rock bottom prices without even an open bidding process in most cases.They would also buy up the lucrative parcel delivery section and leave the unprofitable letter mail as a taxpayer expense. The postal service has been a cash cow for congress for a long time without taking taxpayer money. The taxpaying public needs to understand what a couple of congressmen are trying to do to a system that is an obligatory service for the general public for the benefit of a few rich Wall street investors. Issa needs investigated by the F.B.I. and then fired!
Pack Mule and Sandy need to get a job at Walmart. SCABS!!
maybe a little drunk
I will not be delivery packes on sat or sun the can kiss my bic white ass
Never should of bargained for “No lay-off” would have alleviated many issues. It disrupted the natural flow.
The main source of the financial problem facing the Postal Service right now is a 2006 Congressional requirement that the USPS pay off 75 years of retiree health benefits in 10 years (enacted when the Postal Service enjoyed peak revenues). That costs the Postal Service $5 billion a year, and it’s the cause of the huge deficit that the Postal Service has incurred over the past four years (about $20 billion). If it hadn’t been forced to make those exorbitant and unnecessary payments, the Postal Service would be running in the black right now. If Congress would fix this immediate problem, the short-term “crisis” would be solved and the Postal Service could look to long-term ways to deal with the Internet effect. That might involve expanding the products and services it offers (the way post offices do in Europe), and it should also mean less outsourcing. Right now, the Postal Service “contracts out” $15 billion a year to private corporations for work that in many cases postal workers could be doing. It doesn’t make sense to outsource all that business and then say there’s not enough work for postal employees. The Postal Service wants to reduce its workforce from 670,000 to 425,000. Why put a couple of hundred thousand people on the unemployment line or push people onto their retirement pensions before they’re ready? The Postal Service has helped a million families rise into the middle class. Why kick so many of them out of it? How’s that going to help the economy?
The Postal Service is trying to make the brick-and-mortar post office an anachronism by moving postal retail into Wal-Mart, Staples, CVS, Sam’s Club, and supermarket chains. That’s basically a mode of privatization, and I don’t think the American people realize yet that their post offices are being taken away from them. As for the “post office” in the larger sense — the Postal Service itself — that’s hardly an anachronism. It’s a $70 billion a year business, and while it may be running in the red because of the recession and the health care pre-funding problem, the Postal Service isn’t going anywhere. Even with increased use of the Internet, the mail business is going to be a vital industry for years to come, and that’s why the privatizers want to get their hands on more of the USPS business. They are basically trying to steal the post office — and the postal system — from the American people. So what would I say? Wake up, America, you’re getting robbed.
One glaring example of the lack of corporate owned media coverage of the Post Office is the current plans to close and/or consolidate mail processing plants. The Postal Service admits that if they are allowed to proceed with consolidating mail processing operations, the first class mail that is currently delivered the next day will instead take two to three days. The Postal Service does not intend to reduce the cost of a first class stamp to match the reduction in service. The delay in service problems will be even greater for those in rural areas. This is a dramatic, inappropriate, and unnecessary reduction of service to the American people that should be on the front page of newspapers and the headlines of television news. Corporate owned media coverage reflects the interests of their owners.
Five days now! Do away with nonessential holidays..ie President’s Day..Martin Luther..Columbus Day. If the holiday should fall on any day during the week (M-F) then work Sat. Times are a changing and the PO has to change too! We are not exempt!
What will happen to the u stringers
I agree — we need 6 day delivery BUT residential delivery should be 3 days max! A carrier can deliver rt 1 on M/W/F and rt 2 on T/T/S with a floater for the 6th day.
pack you got it..only union folks dont..they may have to work elsewhere if they dont like whats going on
Has anyone even thought about the cost of the overtime that’s gonna be needed to deliver the mail on Monday? As it is now, Monday is the heaviest day in the office I work in. If we cut Saturday delivery, cost of overtime is going to outdo the savings. And what about if Monday is a holiday? Tuesday will be murder. I have not seen one thing showing they’ve tried to cut costs. We’re already shorthanded on clerks, costing lots of OT for the carriers. Only thing we’re not short on is management and ancillary personnel. Too many people walking around carrying clipboards, not mail. If the job doesn’t involve touching the mail, get rid of the position.
Prediction: a budget will not pass and Govn’t will shutdown for 30 days.
2 billion savings is a fallacy. It will be a 3 billion loss in the first two years, Issa knows it that’s why he supports it. Americans are being taken for another ride again.
I commend Dave on being informed on this issue however I disagree on reducing to five day mail. I don’t think many people really think of the COST of going to 5days. They focus on the immediate savings but I see UPS and FedEx poised to rush in and capitalize on no Saturday mail and if it’s so wasteful why are they chomping at the bit! Besides once the Postal Service begin to reduce service where will they stop. Also the PMG says he’ll still deliver on Saturday it will only be packages. How will that happen? Their must be employees to distribute packages, drivers and vehicles to deliver and even managers. That will cost money. Where is the cost savings. It will be pennies in comparison to what the service needs to remain viable. Also I have yet to hear the PMG say he’ll include Priority mail and medicine. Some priority can be considered flat mail and not a package. Same with medicine. Most medicine isn’t even first class mail.
The way I see it, congress must intervene. I am NOT talking buy out here. They have to begin by on focusing on the pre-funding of benefits for retirees for 75 YEARs into the future to be payed off in 10 YEARs. This requirement is beyond crazy. The Service must pre-fund for employees not even hired yet! Are they kidding. No other company government OR private is required by law to do this nor would they ever even do this on their own. This must be fixed!
Okay so it is also suggested the Postal Service should offer early outs and hire employees at a cheeper wage. I would say this is dangerous. Take a look a UPS. Within about 2 years all drivers are at the top of their pay scale. The reason for this high wage to to provide security for whats delivered to the customer. Do you really think it’s wise to pay these employees less for the same service. Look at Mexico post. Try to send something of value to a friend or family member and see if they get it.
Finally remember that this is the Postal SERVICE. It provides a service to the citizens of the United States. This network is vast and inclusive. With all the digging I’ve found that without the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006, the Postal service would still be on sound financial footing.
Kudos to Sen. Coburn and Rep. Issa. They seem to “get it” that contrary to union blather, the Postal Service faces MANY hurdles, declining volumes being one of them, and to ignore the obvious is dooming the USPS to failure…
Wake up people Issa is got plans for the usps! The employees for the USPS are the back bone of America. They work in rain-sleet or snow delivering mail to every home in the U.S. in rural areas to the people who depend on receiving that letter whether it be a birthday card, medicine or their bills. Wonder why we the people keep putting these people back in office. They don’t leave in the real world.
Maybe thats why they are always make the wrong choices for the american people and can not take care of their daily duties that they were elected by the american people to work together keep America proud and properous! How many people really lose their jobs by going to 5 day mail delivery? A lot more than they are telling!
Dave, the most any early can pay is $25,000. This is not much more than was offered the last time. There is enough teeth. The situation of everyone is different. After 1984, Federal workers are under the FERS. The amount of CSRS is quite low at this time. This new retirement system is more cost effective. In fact, both CSRS and FERS are overfuned pensions for postal workers. There is a supplement added to retirees before 62. Congressman Ryan WI, wants to get rid of this. This will cause most to wait until the age of 62. No incentive will push retirement. The biggest cause of the postal debt is the 2000 PAEA Act. This was brought about in the early 2000’s. The amount of career employees in 2006 was 700,000. We are just above 500,000 and expected to settle at 400,000. How much $$$$ is really needed for FUTURE HEALTH BENEFITS FOR FUTURE EMPLOYEES which will be less employees then ever.
Of course these two job killing, union busting…never held real jobs in their lives hacks would applaud this. I cant belive people like this who thrive on killing the working class contiu=nue to get elected from their state….people must wake up and get rid of neanderthals such as these two!
This guy is a douche.. plain and simple.. he only wants the PO dismantled so he can get his hands on parts.. Ross another Douche too. the PMG is in bed with these 2.. we need to crush all of the PO’s Upper Management and replace with people who have Carried Mail…
Funny how Issa puts the finger on the USPS, but can’t get the government’s finances in order!
losing 40 million a day does not sound like the result of delivering mail 6 days a week instead of 5. sounds like mismanagement to me. – gary meier WgN
The 5 day a week plan is a start in the right direction. Leaving priority mail and mail with medicine exempt to this move indicates a willingness and concern for the American people. With continued cuts coming to alleviate the financial strain comes a certain amount of protest from the general population and the employee’s of the postal service. It would be ideal for the postmaster general to strategize and detail his plans in a statement to the media allowing people concerned about specific mail delivery area’s impacted an opportunity to be informed of the alternatives in place easing the speculative. Unfortunately, one must still have concerns about whether it is enough. The postal service still has a high number of employee’s at top step grade salary and will need a continued influx of new hires at half the hourly rate. In May 2015 the contract with the clerks (APWU) will expire with another round of negotiations starting. This would be a perfect time to offer an early out that has enough teeth in it to spur a prominent number of retirements. The postal service has offered monetary early outs in the past of $15,000 disbursed over two years, this hasn’t reached the initiatives they set to reduce the workload and staffing. What would undoubtedly contribute to
reaching these initiatives is the offering of years to an early out package. Civil service represented clerks started back in 1983. What this says is by the end of this contract in the year 2015 the least amount of years these clerks would have is 32. The postal service should make every effort to explore this option. A 2-3 year offer in years should be enough to reach the goals set forth by the postal service allowing them to hire new clerks as they see fit at a much lower pay scale and without having them under the civil service retirement plan. The financial savings of this approach far out weigh the cost of this plan and will continue to reveal itself in relationship to life expectancy in retirement. Also realizing that full survivor benefits to be received are 55% of the original amount.