Press Release
Feb 11, 2013
U.S. Rep. Grace Meng (D-Queens), joined by virtually all members of New York’s Congressional delegation, this afternoon sent a bipartisan letter U.S. Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe blasting his decision to eliminate Saturday mail delivery and demanding that he reconsider the plan.
The correspondence, spearheaded by Meng, is signed by Reps. Michael Grimm (R-NY), Nita Lowey (D-NY), Jose Serrano (D-NY), Bill Owens (D-NY), Timothy Bishop (D-NY), Yvette Clarke (D-NY), Joseph Crowley (D-NY), Eliot Engel (D-NY), Chris Gibson (R-NY), Richard Hanna (R-NY), Brian Higgins (D-NY), Steve Israel (D-NY), Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), Peter King (R-NY), Daniel Maffei (D-NY), Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Sean Patrick Maloney (D-NY), Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY), Gregory Meeks (D-NY), Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Charles Rangel (D-NY), Tom Reed (R-NY), Louise Slaughter (D-NY), Paul Tonko (D-NY), and Nydia Velazquez (D-NY).
The letter contends that by ending Saturday delivery, the Postal Service is ignoring the intent of Congress, shrinking their business model and profit opportunities and complicating the House and Senate’s efforts to continue with comprehensive and bipartisan postal reform.
The text of the letter is below.
The Honorable Patrick R. Donahoe
Postmaster general
U.S. Postal Service
475 L’Enfant Plaza Southwest
Washington, D.C. 20260
Dear Postmaster Donahoe,
As New Yorkers, we write to express our opposition to the United States Postal Service’s (USPS) plan to terminate six-day mail delivery. While we understand the financial difficulties facing the USPS, we expect you to adhere to the intent of Congress, avoid weakening the Postal Service’s business model, and allow Congress to work on comprehensive Postal reform. Your plan will have negative and far-reaching consequences for postal employees, companies and consumers who need to be able to rely on six-day delivery being there when it’s needed.
The USPS’ decision to implement five-day mail delivery service violates the clearly-stated intent of Congress for the last three decades to continue six-day delivery. Since 1983, Congress has expressly stated that the United States Postal Service should maintain six-day delivery. Your attempt to violate Congress’s intent for the last thirty years is an unwise decision. Instead of working with us on this issue, it appears you are attempting to ignore the democratic process.
Not only does your decision violate thirty years of precedent, but these changes will irreparably damage the trust Americans have placed in the Postal Service. By diminishing your standards, the USPS will be made vulnerable to competition and continue to contract its business model rather than expand it. At a time when the Postal Service should be looking to increase revenues and business opportunities, instead, the USPS is headed in the opposite direction and limiting potential business opportunities Companies that rely on six-day mail delivery may opt to explore private delivery services. This could very well mean significant mail volume decreases for USPS and further financial hardship. The Postal Service should look to expand rather than limit the scope of its business.
We are of the firm belief that comprehensive postal reform legislation can be achieved in the 113th Congress. The unilateral measure by the Postal Service serves only to complicate our bi-partisan and bi-cameral efforts. Your decision is an inadequate approach to the long-term financial challenges the USPS faces. In pursuing a piecemeal solution, the Postal Service is only making our task more difficult. As Congress works towards an appropriate legislative solution, we are committed to protecting the six-day mail service that New Yorkers and all Americans have come to expect.
We strongly urge you to uphold six-day mail delivery and allow Congress to do its job.
Thank you for your consideration of this matter. We look forward to a timely reply.
It is discouraging to see the Postal Service in such dire straits and the mismanagement that continues to plague the organization. Not a day goes by that Postal Employees work feverishly to keep this company together. Only to be slapped in the face by so called upper management decisions.
Have the Postmaster General actually taken a good look at the company he was hired to run. With the things I’ve seen in one Postal Area, I strongly doubt it.
We have an ongoing movement of management personnel into a myriad of positions on a temporary basis. And with these temporary assignments comes, perdiem, housing and travel costs. In one District alone, they have had at minimum, 10 District Managers in 6 years. Not only is it this one position in one District, but many positions in several districts. What’s up with that? Can’t we get any stability or uniformity? How can you expect an organization to function properly, if you keep changing employees and their assignments?
What about the waste and abuse that continues to take place? In one Area alone, the AVP scheduled a meeting in a District office they planned on closing at a total cost of no less then $100,000.00. I’m sure these kinds of meetings are happening throughout the organization. What happened to the video conferencing equipment that cost millions to install around the country to eliminate travel? Guess it was close to the end of the year and they needed a Postal paid vacation.
Now we are requesting to lower service standards. Does he not realize that we are the “United States Postal Service”? Are we also going to change the name of our company and remove the word Service from it? That’s what we are about, Service and it is the one thing that we have on our competitors. We deliver 6 days a week to every address in the country in a timely manner and now you want to give that up?
What about the waste that continues with the hair brain ideas that are presented from your corporate staff, like changing the name of the Automated Postal Center? I’m sure that cost or will cost millions and for what? So we can fall in line with other company’s? I believe our customers have figured out what an Automated Postal Center is by now and they’ve generated the revenue to prove it.
Why don’t you focus on improving service by changing window hours to better provide to our customers? Most businesses close at 5 or 5:30pm and we close most of our lobbies at 4:30pm. Are you kidding me?
What about the inconvenience for customers to walk into our lobbies afterhours and not be able to by a single stamp because we’ve pulled all of the vending machines out? I have seen the disgust looks on our customer’s faces, because they couldn’t by a stamp after hours. That is far from providing service to our customers. They said the vending machines were old, too costly to repair and weren’t profitable. Well the snack and drink industry have been selling products out of vending machines for a long time and continue to do it. It’s either because they are making money, or they are providing a Service to their customers.
What about getting mail delivered to our customers on a consistent, timely and regular basis? We have carriers on the street until 10:00pm in some areas. Not only is that unsafe, but ridiculous.
We have eliminated thousands of Collection Boxes around the country. Supposedly these were being pulled because they weren’t generating much mail. Well here’s a news flash, there not generating any now. We have carries on the street everyday that pass these boxes and we couldn’t just let them tap the box regardless of how much mail was in it?
We are no longer a service oriented company, but it’s not too late to change.
saving jobs is critical, but my office is so screwed up it will make it less stressful if all have the same day off. We’re working everyday with vacant routes, forcing OT on everyone, even off the list. OT people aren’t working their NS days, ordered from district d*ckheads. Some carriers like to leave their circular mail for their NS day, or call in sick forcing others to their job on Saturday. If everyone has Saturday off then it will be a level field. No more deals with management to get Saturday over the complement. Congress is too busy screwing up everything else, banking, energy, insurance, drug companies to name a few are all paying off Congress to vote their way so they can rape the regular people. There’s so much more I could say, but this 1 last item. Take away leased vehicles from those who don’t need them. If 1 is making 80 to 100k a year, make them drive their own car. I love coming in the morning seeing a government plate. That means someone is here to tell me how to work faster, so they can get a bigger bonus. Most have never carried mail, but are experts. They could do their job by making deliveries more effective. Making mounted deliveries where they should be, NDCBU units for businesses. They piss and moan about times, but they do nothing about it. It’s not fckin rocket science. You want the big money as a supervisor, at all levels, then earn it.
All you union brother and sisters are you kidding me to be in favor of 5day delivery what about jobs that will b lost first its 5day and than who knows.use your energy towards congress who can fix the problem. Worry about the new carriers coming on board. This is worse than the strike get you’re head out of your xxx and focus on saving jobs not losing them
It is amazing how many people confidently spout facts and figures that are dead wrong. For example, the Postal Service does not have 110,000 managers (or mis-managers, if you will). In fact, the Postal Service has fewer than 40,000 managers. and they are not all taking home the big bucks; many work only part time, and in small offices. And speaking of big bucks, the PMG does not make anything close to $550,000. His salary is a matter of public record; you can look it up on the internet. That, by the way, is true of all career postal employees. All our salaries are published on the internet annually. And don’t even think about executive and management bonuses; there’s been no PFP for several years.
In his latest rant retired career union boss Burrus says that the union’s job is to improve conditions of its members and anything else is an abandonment of this responsibility.So…if the masses want weekends off then why all the grief? I don’t see the politicos or union bosses asking the working slob anything. Why? Because it wouldn’t serve THEIR bottom line. And, for anyone that is either told or thinks that any union can stop or determine days off on jobs…read your Article 3 in any contract.
The union big whigs and their political cronnies do NOT speak for postal employees who want weekends off! All these Congressional delegates received dues money from the unions to be in lock step with union hierarchy attempts to protect their lifestyles and coffers. That is the reality of the whole thing. Congress should survey the working slob at the PO and they will find…overwhelmingly…that “WE WANT WEEKENDS OFF”!
My hats off to NY Congress. I work as a mail carrier, and I believe ending saturday delivery would just hurt the Post Office even more, building the business up is the answer. The Post Office just seems to want to manage the business down. I could very well be one of the 35,000 people who could loose their jobs,if indeed we do loose Saturday delivery. So, I say Thankyou go New York Congress for stepping up.
Deborah Hladik
The USPS should be able to deal with the realities of time. Congress should support postal change. The outdated operation mode that was created 235 years ago is outdated and cannot be operated cost effective in todays competitive market to provide services Americans demmand. Congress should do its job in supporting the USPS in restructing to reduce needless operation cost. Politicans present their state of BS address to attempt to get favorable support by management and craft unions. Congress
should be by passed as wasted cost is ignored.
Too many needless small post offices. Rural post offices that are truly rural in remote parts of the country should be maintained. The suburban office that once was a rural
office but has changed due to demographics as some areas have 4-5+ in a 15 mile radius.Many of these offices only provide retail and box services with Postmasters and clerks
at maximumn salary based on length of service. A wasted cost ignored by Congress. Congress can you understand?
5 day all the way. Will save salary and fuel expenses. Yes to 5 day and don’t change your mind Donahoe because most carriers want Saturdays off unless you are living off overtime.
I honestly think its all a show people. The opposite story says FedEx transports USPS mail at a whopping $1.618 Billion dollars per yr. and UPS takes the USPS packages at a whopping $126 million. Both 2012 figures. USPS takes a LOSS of billions per yr. Those companies look good on the books, investors are fat and happy and postal workers are struggling for their jobs. Now, Congress acts concerned, and yes I said ACT. How many of those politicians do you think have stock in USPS competition? They cant make a dime on the USPS, its a government entity that belongs to the American people. But they can dismantle as much of the big business as possible, laying off workers, excess them to all parts of the country….etc. etc….Congress is going to do nothing, they have already proved it, they will continue to create the drama and appearance of being proactive, .. They need your votes for their own jobs…In the end, it is a waste of time.
There’s a whole lotta blame to go around on postal reform. I hate Donawhore as much as the next person, but Congress is just as liable for the mess the USPS is in, as most of these posts indicate. I fear we’re dealing with a superegotistical PMG, though, who listens to nobody. As employees, for the benefit of non postal employees reading this article, we are subject to a couple videos a month from His Majesty with stupid inspirational music and slick graphics announcing the presence of our supposed great leader. He poses in front of a flag, never says anything concrete and generally acts like he thinks he’s a celebrity. It’s compulsory, so we get forced to have to watch this idiot.
His latest video claims that he “hears” us and appreciates our concerns. Bullshit. Who the fuck do you think you’re addressing, Mr. Bigshot? We aren’t all a bunch of ass kissing dumbasses like the ones you and your buddies prefer for management positions. We wouldn’t touch management jobs for all the tea in China.
You had better come off your high horse and accept that the craft is full of very smart and capable people who have various degrees, and could easily manage you out of existence. We prefer however to keep stress levels lower, and value our reputations and friendships too much to throw them away by being supervisors or higher level managers. To do that job your way, it requires back stabbing, lying, cheating and covering up corrupt postmasters, and turning every friend you had against you. It isn’t worth the extra money to lose your respect. Nobody respects you unless they have to. Wake up and realize by continuing your unilateral stubborn methods you will alienate all of Congress, and you will be on the chopping block. I doubt anybody will mourn your removal.
Washington is more concerned with helping other countries and serving there own self interest. Why should they care about the post office?
The senate voted on hr1789 last april and the house didn’t follow up on it,all i kept hearing was wait til the lame duck session and still nothing,congress has been saying they will fix the post office,but this has been going on for years,if i was the PMG i would get reply to the asap,say 2-3 years,just like they do.
You should all get the facts before spouting off. Rep.D. Issa is behind this entire power play. As the chairman of the committee that deals with the USPS, he refused to put two seperate bills up that had over 220 co-sponsers from both sides of the aisle up for a full house vote. Either one of these two bi-partisan bills would have put the USPS on the right course. He then came up with his own bill that evisorated the service. he was able to get one co-sponser. He then tried to push the bill out for a full house vote. Thank God he was unsuccessful in doing so. This asshole and his puppet PMG sole agenda is to destroy the unions and privatize the service.The PMG should be fired!
The PMG should be congratulated! Congress is the problem here, not the solution. If the lame duck legislation which forces the USPS to pay untoward retirement funds into the general fund each year was repealed, the USPS would as usual show its annual profits…Congress is a do nothing congress….We need to work hard to see that those tea party extremists are not relected in 2014. This will be hard to do since all of the contressional districts have been gerrymandered to the advantage of Republicans…We need some distict law suits to correct gerrymandering in the individual states…
110,000 po mismanagers vs 479,000 workers = ratio of 1 po mismanager for 5 workers. that is the problem. PO is on par with LAPD corruption. RIF PO Mis-management by 50%. PMG Donehoe was vetted, approved, & appointed by mao-bamma. silence is one’s consent.
This is not going to save money. If anything, it will be an easy day for most everyone because the carriers will sort the parcels and deliver them, come back to work and goof off till its time to clock out. They get everyone will report to work 8 hrs no matter what. Then on monday they will all get V-time, probably a few hours because they will have all that first class mail that they didnt sort, or deliver on Sat………….so they will have to do all of that on Monday. NO SAVINGS AT ALL. They still have to have a full staff all the way around.
I hope he gets fired for what he doing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Remember that the PMG serves at the pleasure of the President. MY-OH-MY!
Wonder how many of these bozos got COPA donations from the postal unions who’s main concern is keeping their hush-hush golden parachutes aka Officer Only Retirement Funds that were paid for by union dues from the lemmings? I’d be asking questions if my dues were paying for someone else to enjoy. Alas, union members don’t give a crap…they won’t ask questions and will lock step off the cliff behind their union leaders who have parachutes. Keeps paying dem dues bruthas n sistas!
Donahoe makes 550,000 per year. Case closed
It’s all great and dandy a lot of congress is stepping up to put there 2 cents in, but like they say ( your a day late and a dollar short ). Congress had the chance to fix it all before it got to this point. A bunch of 5th graders could of done a better job. Congress should be ashamed of themselves for being so lax on this postal issue. Bottom line is this, Congress should of acted on this before. Common sense rules here now. Like a car almost out of gas, if ya pass to many opportunities to fill up, you will find your self walking to your destination.
Congress had more than enough chances. Now it is our turn. This should have been done long ago. How many of these congress idiots work or do anything on Saturday. Hell, they probably don’t even use the Postal Service
Maybe if Congressmen would give up their right to send ‘free’ mail? I wonder if UPS and FedEx gives them freebies?
congress, don’t like donohoe’s plan? then get of your dead a##’s and fix the problem!
If only Congress would do their job.
you as congressmen and women should oust his ass and put in better management, since when does a figurehead of the usps outrank the senate to do whatever the hell he wants to. time to read your manuals and figure out who is in charge of this trainwreck.
It was reported that we lost 1.4 billion in the first quarter.
1.5 billion was the paper charges to the health care pre-funding, meaning we actually had a profit before the congressionally mandated extortion payment.
The PMG takes matters into his own hands whether right or wrong by taking decisive action and is immediately ripped to shreds by headlines and politicians. It does not matter anymore to these politicians because they have done nothing but get in the way unless it deems suitable for their own means. The Post Office is therefore not suitable to their immediate needs. We begged congress for help…we got nothing…we try to do something and get railed for ‘doing something’. Does it matter? Hell yes it does. Is what the PMG doing the real issue here? Hard choices NEED TO BE MADE. Whether someone who is a clerk, carrier, custodian, MVS, Electronic Tech, manager or whatever, it still needs to be done. We just lost another 1.6 billion in the last quarter. As a Postal employee I care to see that reforms are made so we can move ahead here and now. Anything that makes the business model works is good. Bottom line is RED. We need it into the black and soon.
“We look forward to a timely reply”???? Are you serious?? How about a TIMELY response by Congress to stop the financial downward spiral of the USPS. You idiots drag your feet, not even considering doing your jobs. The USPS has taken the steps to save itself from financial ruin. If you morons cant sit down and consider a solution to this situation, we will do it ourselves.