The following information is from a mailer via APWU:
During the course of 2013 and 2014 the Postal Service plans to close hundreds of locations. The first phase began in July 2012 and involved 48 facilities. The USPS halted closures during the busy mailing season of September through December 2012, but resumed the first phase closure plans in January 2013. For 2013, a total of 82 consolidations are planned, 18 of which are accelerated from Phase 2 of the plan, scheduled for early 2014. Five new consolidations were added to the original plan, while there are an additional 58 facilities currently under review for potential acceleration from the Phase 2 plan into 2013. The USPS again plans to halt the closures after July 2013 for the busy mailing season through the end of the year, and then resume Phase 2 in early 2014.
The graphic below shows the planned consolidations and closures for 2013 by month and by postal area.
I don’t believe the postal service is going to go private.I think they are going to continue what they have been doing. If I want to mail a letter or package, I call the post office on say a Monday and the letter carrier picks it up on Tuesday. I just think they are closing down the offices. There is no need for them. They deliver boxes free of charge to you and they pick them up as needed. They bring stamps and stamped envelopes tp your door and pick them up there too. It’s cheaper for them and more convenient for you.
i have worked at the service 31 yrs. i am union. but i can see both sides of an equation. before 06 when we were basking in volume nobody saw what was coming. we bought machines like they were candy just to say we had the most. the service has bent over backwards not to lay anybody off. the need to stop sat. delivery is due to the 40% decline in volume. the need to consolidate is the same. duffy looks at the situation with tunnel vision. no sat. del. consolidation less union members. thats a reality when sales are down. now they have hired the new pse and the mha at a lower wage saying that was our problem. maybe but the other problem is and heres that equation the managers there are paid way to much to watch me work. why do you need somebody to watch a person move an object from pt. a to pt. b. you would think they were prison guards watching inmates. its a comedy. prison guards dont make nearly what they make. so i would hope that the entry level for a supervisor would correspond with the entry level of the pse and mha. for the good of the service its only right.
leave postalservice do what it has to do to make money.
UPS and FedEx want the gravy. As others have said, they will not deliver to the unprofitable rural areas. Dennis, Pitney Bowes is one of the largest companies poised to take over mail processing only. They lobby for privatization in order to benefit. UPS doesn’t deliver where they do not want to. I know because I live in a rural farm community. No amount of complaints through proper channels has helped. The end result of privatization will be skyrocketing postage, unskilled workers paid sub-standard wages with no benefits (as Pitney Bowes currently pays their sorters), the loss of security of the mail, and most importantly the return of the burden of delivery to the US taxpayers, as well as the cost of running what post offices are left.
As a postal employee I see waste daily. Work is contracted at a much greater cost than it would be in-house. Contracts are made with suppliers to purchase items at higher costs than prior sources. Meanwhile management continues to grow in numbers to supposedly manage fewer employees. Where would the oversight of Pitney Bowes, UPS, or whatever company took over processing of the mail?
The losses are not always what they seem either. Most of the past PMG’s, upper level mgmt. and executives, etc., took positions with outside companies when they left employment with the USPS. However, prior to leaving they were instrumental in establishing the outsourcing that benefitted them in their new employment.
The majority of Postal workers are concientious and hard-working. We truly care about getting mail out and making sure customers are happy. The problems generally stem from unrealistic expectations placed upon us by untrained, undereducated and unprofessional managers.
UPS workers are Teamsters. They make about $30. a hour and don’t pay for their healthcare. And you know what, it is an evil private company that makes money and doesn’t tyrannize it’s workers with threats of plant closures and layoffs.
Privatization is not a dirty word. For most of America, privatization is equated with innovation, competitive pricing, and excellent service.
United Parcel Service, FEDEX, and Pitney Bowes are all companies that operate as private enterprises. They have employees that are paid a salary, provide healthcare, and the option for 401K retirement planning.
The changes unfolding in the $1 trillion mailing industry are not just exclusive to the Postal Service. Other companies in the industry also have to adapt to the impact of technology and marketplace dynamics.
The prefunding of healthcare retirees only exacerbated the Postal Service financial problems. First-class mail volume has been steadily declining since 2006 when the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act was signed into law. Now the Postal Service is losing $26 million a day.
Like the breakup of telecommunications and the deregulation of the airline industries a capitalistic business model can be applied to the Postal Service to reorganize and help it competitively continue to provide mail service customers a viable choice. For the Postal Service privatization is not the only choice, but it never will be the worst choice.
Well if the closings don’t get me the higher electrical rates and the taxes will.
Can you believe the KCP&Light only made a Billion dollars last year and needs price hikes and a utility fee. Since 2006 if you paid $200 a month for electric you are now paying $332.Some how my 1% pay increases over the years don’t add up.
So much for speedy service to our customers
AS for Joe a letter across town will cost $1.08 or more with a private company, just check UPS Or FedX
Ignore that guy. Just another troll.
Leo, private business is not going to want to deliver to rural areas which is not profitable. Priority mail was contracted out in the 1990s to Emery. On time delivery dropped from 90% to 70%. It is hard, physical, factory work. Low wages and poor benefits equals poor performance. In 2006 Congress made the USPS fund 75 years worth of future retiree health benefits in a 10 year window. That is why they are losing so much money. They are paying for retiree benefits for people who have not yet even been born. And the USPS does not receive any money from the federal govt which means they do not receive any of your tax dollars. Thanks
Leo wants to pay $7 or $8 to mail a birthday card to his dear Aunt in West Virginia. Go for it Leo
yea manage a large profit with much higher prices
Why don’t totally shut down? Sell it to private for whom can well manage business.