Earlier this year OIG recommended that USPS outsource mail processing operations. OIG had reasoned that several countries have already turned over their operations with success. But a paper commissioned by OIG tells a vastly different story.
As the Postal Service continues to address its difficult financial situation, some have argued that overall efficiency would improve if the Postal Service were to focus exclusively on the first and last mile (collection and delivery). While the introduction of workshare discounts has led to private industry taking over a portion of the middle mile – mail processing and transportation – allowing private industry to take over the entire middle mile warrants close examination. We therefore asked Dr. John Panzar, an expert in postal economics, to look at the economic implications of the Postal Service abandoning the middle mile completely and focusing exclusively on the first and last mile for the letter and flat market.
Dr. Panzar finds that the Postal Service’s mail processing plays a vital role in ensuring the efficiency of the postal sector, even in the absence of economies of scale in mail processing. In other words, Dr. Panzar maintains that if the Postal Service abandons all mail processing and transportation of letters and flats, overall efficiency will decrease. Worse, the Postal Service would experience a loss in profits, and mailers would have to pay higher prices. In fact, the only parties benefiting would be the private providers of mail processing, but their benefit would be less than the combined loss to the Postal Service and mailers.
The parcel market, which is different and requires its own focused attention and stylized model, will be addressed in a future white paper.
Read more: The First and Last Mile Strategy: A Critical Assessment | Office of Inspector Genera
OIG should,ve done a study on how much the PO should hav charged for these services without losing money or work
How about the OIG do a study and audit of the bloated,redundant management and EAS numbers and the number of managers at headquarters doubling since Donablow became PMG? Of course they know it will be ignored by him and Megan,but at least it will be out there for everyone to see.
The OIG is on the pad. That’s obvious. Outsourcing sorting will be a nightmare. The clerk/mail handler craft will be decimated, and the quality of sorting will be even worse than it is. I must admit I like the idea of charging bulk mailers more, a lot more, but not at the expense of tens of thousands of jobs.
And I agree with “obiewan” – we may be slipshod sometimes but nobody else could possibly do the work any better. They’d get idiots who barely passed high school who were druggies, illiterates and other types you normally see in fast food restaurants and other minimum wage jobs where brains are not a prerequisite.
When the letter carriers went on strike in 1970 the National Guard tried to deliver mail, but they failed miserably. Not their fault, of course, but the management and the country found out in a hurry that not everybody can just slip in and do the work.
Delivering and maintaining a route, especially one with apartments, duplexes, dormitories, etc., is hard work. We have to keep a lot of information in our heads, and don’t have computers to store it. Not to mention physical wear and tear. I’ve had three surgeries since 2008, two hernias, one hiatel repaired when I also had stomach surgery and gall bladder removal at the same time (good times), shoulder surgery and still have problems thanks to 30 years of wear and tear. But I take pride in my work, and if we get a labor force of a bunch of idiots, service will bottom out for sure. Somebody needs to investigate the GAO and BOG for starters. Nothing will change unless Congress passes laws or an independent body is formed to oversee everything postal that is immune to bribes and pressure from rat fink corrupt managers.
We never learn from our mistakes? Remember Emory?
Well the USPS outsourced the priority mail to Emory. They did such a bad job, the USPS had to break the contract with Emory and reclaim the mail.
Remember Hurricane Katrina and 9/11? The USPS delivered the mail after these two major disasters, but UPS and FED-X did not. Can you imagine what would happen if the USPS outsources the priority mail during a major crisis….it would stop!
As I sit here and read this story, I’m absolutely appalled regarding the subject matter. Between the OIG and Postmaster Donahoe, there isn’t going to be a post office left in America. Instead of destroying the USPS, why don’t they get their shit together and think of some smart business solutions that would generate revenue. Cutting services, delaying mail and shutting down processing plants is certainly a path to self-destructing the USPS. What the hell are these people doing? Hopefully the new PMG will get the USPS back on track. But I seriously doubt it. Most likely she comes from the same mold as Donahoe.
The OIG should go after all Supervisiors, MDO’S that break the Contract and cost the Postal Service Millions of dollars in Grievants…But I guess they do not have the BALLS…. When I was a clerk I made an extra $45,000 in back pay, OT Grievants, suspensions….I can not make this stuff up folks…..