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StumblePostal service outlines possible Saturday cuts at Las Vegas meeting
U.S. Postal Commission Chairwoman Ruth Goldway oversees a public hearing Monday at Las Vegas City Hall. The hearing is the first of seven across the country, during which the commission will listen to testimony about the possibility of switching to a five-day delivery week.
Monday, May 10, 2010 | 7:01 p.m.
Beyond the Sun
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The U.S. Postal Service might cut Saturday delivery in an effort to help close a projected annual loss of $7 billion. Las Vegans on Monday were the first in the country with a chance to voice their opinions about the proposal.
Cutting Saturday services could save $3.1 billion in the first year and as much as $5.2 billion a year by 2020, officials said.
The Postal Regulatory Commission held its first of seven public hearings Monday afternoon at Las Vegas City Hall to discuss the possibility of eliminating Saturday deliveries and collections.
“We wanted to find a region of the country where there had been vast distances and new growth,” commission chairwoman Ruth Goldway said of the decision to choose Las Vegas as its first site for a series of public forums across the country. “Las Vegas is new and the fastest-growing city in America.”
Under the proposal, post offices would stay open on Saturday, but home and business deliveries would cease.
Commission members will gather information at the seven meetings, then present their findings to Congress in October, Goldway said. The commission isn’t taking a position on how to solve the Postal Service’s budget problems.
“This proposal is one of the most significant changes ever presented to the commission,” Goldway said.
The Postal Service delivers about 165 billion pieces of mail each year and is funded through its sale of services, as opposed to taxes. But during the Las Vegas forum on Monday, people who rely on Saturday services said cuts would be harmful.
Rich Griffin, vice president of the Nevada State Association of Letter Carriers, said having services available only five days a week could be disastrous.
“We are a service, and unfortunately, the Postal Service forgets that,” he said.
If Saturdays are cut, Griffin said he worried some people in rural areas and the elderly – who might not be able to drive to post offices – might see delays in getting vital mail, such as medications or unemployment checks.
Tom Underkoffler, director of logistics for Medco Health Solutions, which has the nation’s largest mail-order pharmacy operation, said Saturday would be the worst day for deliveries to be cut because so many customers are home on weekends.
He called the proposal “degrading service to cut costs,” adding that two consecutive non-delivery days could hurt those who need medications in a timely manner.
Omar Gonzalez, regional coordinator for the American Postal Workers Union, said he was speaking Monday on behalf of 250,000 members of his union.
“The mail will be deliberately delayed,” he said. “We think that the public deserves full service.
Gonzalez continued: “It’s a spiral to the elimination of the Postal Service as we know it. If the Postal Service goes, the country’s in trouble.”
Susan M. Plonkey, vice president of sales for the Postal Service, said the economy and increased use of digital mail services have created a need for cuts. She said the proposed cuts would position the Postal Service for years to come.
“It can help us to provide the important services well into the future,” she said. “We feel that this is a small price to pay.”
The commission will hold six more public hearings, with locations in Chicago; Dallas; Sacramento, Calif.; Memphis, Tenn.; Buffalo, N.Y.; and Rapid City, S.D.
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No bills on Sat.or Sun.nice.
Unless we all wish to forever foreswear the use of e-mail, the USPS in its present form is doomed to extinction.
Save another $7 Billion and cut Wednesday as well. Urgent mail all goes FedEx already and if you get mail M.T.T.F. missing a day in the middle wont hurt a thing.
It just makes the carrier insert more unwanted mass junk mails on Thursday.
The post office should be closed on Monday. Then they can eliminate the holiday pay for most of the Federal holidays.
They should also charge the full rate for all the junk mail that is sent daily instead of the "bulk rate."
And while they're at it why don't they charge the U.S Senators and congress members the full rate instead of just a signature?
Techology changes things, and people have to accept that.
We don't send telegrams or use the pony express anymore. Home newspaper deliver is probably going to become a thing of the past pretty soon as well, so I am not sure why anyone feels the need for 6 day a week mail delivery when there is email, direct deposit of checks, on-line bill payment, etc.
If somebody is relying on 6 day a week mail delivery for medications then that is screwed up in the first place!
Well Here is the way I see it...
1. If I don't need by friday, I won't need it over the weekend anyway..
2. If you mail stuff using the USPS you should KNOW to mail it early enough to not get caught short.
3. If you want it there on time, use the Fed Ex
program. ( they guarentee there work !)
4. privitize the USPS, and see how much work gets done(in a shorter amount of time.)
NetFlix
Who cares..I usually need great strength to rip my mail out of the 6" X 12" box anyways. I only check it twice a week at best. I get local utility bills and thats about it. Everything else I do is paperless / online and I'm sure I can have the utilities go paperless too. I just don't want the hassle of making up new passwords on the computer that require all these special characters. I still like the grocery store ads though..although I think club cards need to be discontinued and everyone should pay what price is advertised, card or no card.
Netflix - good point.
We should subsidize the postal service for billions per year so people can get their DVDs on Saturday.
or not ....
I like no mail on Saturday. If you also take Wednesday too they will come back with a 4 day 10 hour shift and it will defeat the purpose. Kill the Saturday. It will be enough. Freeze hiring also. Layoff some managers too. Plus no bonuses.
i work there, and if the public could see how they run things, you would see there in business to go out of business. compete with fed ex and ups and get out of bed with them. lose the managers who hold only a radio and dont do anything.make it easier for buinesses to work with you would be nice. but they(usps) make it a pain to deal with them. to many cheifs there. not enuff indians. fire some fat cats, hire more workers.
We should of had 4-5 day delivery years ago. You can't compete with UPS and FED EX. I would also cut the benefits (Health, retirement, vacation)
Netflix better reduce my monthly subscription rate if I'm missing a day to get Iron Man!
I would say to start with reducing retirement.
Who cares?
Here is a great example of a Union getting in the way of cost savings and productivity.
The lackey above makes the comment.... "disastrous".... please... typical union garbage.
I didn't realize that the sleazebags at SEIU were giving pointers to the postal union... hmmm.
People are so quick to jump on the band wagon to appease these dolts. Letting the USPS off the hook for historical services because they are only capable of running it into the ground only opens the door for continued mismanagement. Drag them out on the carpet and hold them accountable for their actions or lack of. They raised the price of stamps in 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009 and yet still are running in the red. There will never be enough increases and days off for the existing USPS Management to survive. It's time for a major lashing of the bureaucrats and administrators in charge of the USPS in addition to mainting current or better service levels at a stable price.
Did you ever see the movie 'Other Peoples Money'?
Same thing here. Nobody much uses the Post Awful to mail letters anymore. E-Mail is the most popular way, plus texting. People pay bills online now. A lot of people have utility bills automatically deducted from their checking accounts. The USPS seems to be relegated to delivering grocery store ads. They lost the parcel business 40 years ago. They are the buggy whip business of the 21st century.
I get enough bills monday through friday, please drop the Saturday delivery, there is no earthly reason for it anyway.
Probably costs the Postal Service millions in overtime.
I had to get a payment out to L.A.on a Friday to be delivered on Saturday. UPS quoted me $50 overnight with a delivery guaranty on Monday afternoon-which could have been to late. USPS charged me $15 at the main station and had it delivered 24 hours later on Saturday.
hey sincity, privitize the post office and you'll be paying $2 a stamp to halliburton. bunch of union haters as usual, your the same group who allowed all our jobs to go overseas, please move over there, your so unamerican little boys who'd flee this country so fast if a draft was ever brought back.
So far Email can not deliver medicine or packages ordered on line. The USPS has very affordable rates including flat rate priority 2-3 day delivery. They even provide priority boxes free. Many people rely heavily on coupons delivered in the mail. Saturday is the day more people are home to receive packages and letters so important that they need a signature. The USPS is not supported by tax dollars and is generating sufficient revenue to continue 6 day universal service to one of the largest countries in the world at the lowest rate. The problem is with improper calculations of payments to retiree health care and the civil service retirement funds. The other Federal agencies have not been paying their portion of this retirement fund and the USPS was over charged $75 billion. How many companies do you know that could have $75 billion (that's billion with a b) off the top and still be in the black. The answer is to fix this problem, not to put tens of thousands of people in the unemployment line and tear down an institution that has served this country well during good times and bad.
For those who think they will be able to go to PO and get their home delivered mail or even Saturday Mail think again. It wont be available. You will be able to access the retail services (ie buy stamps, mail out packages etc). As for waiting for retirement, you dont know what you are talking about. If the retirement was so good more postal employees would have taken the early outs offered over the last couple of years. After 20 years of service the retirement is less than 50% of take home pay. Who is going to retire then go find another job to make ends meet? The USPS needs to get rid of Bonuses. The USPS pays out tens of millions of dollars each year for willful contract violations so that managers can make their "numbers" and get their bonuses. In other words the USPS pays out twice for the same work. If they would only honor the agreement that they agreed to. As for Saturday being an overtime day for carriers that is not true. Carriers carry five days a week unless there is a need for overtime. Privatization of the Postal Service is not the answer. Cut the fat where the fat needs to be cut, do away with management bonuses in the years when operating in the red, have congress treat postal service the same as other agencies when it comes to prefunding healthcare for retirees etc. and last of all leave the SERVICE in the UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE.
For years UPS and FedEx have screamed whenever First Class postage have increased that the First Class mail paid for itself and it was subsidizing the junk mail and parcel post rates.
So what is it? Are the projected losses by the USPS actual operating losses or a accounting shift where certain mail classes are under priced and the difference in under pricing to compete with UPS and FedEx is carried as a loss? But in actuality there is no loss, it is covered by overpricing First Class mail.
USPS Carriers usually work a 5 day week. The 6th day would be covered by part timers/casuals or others who cover vacations and such. So overtime due to working a 6th day is normally not an issue.
Time is money. It takes the same amount of time to sort a #10 First Class envelope as a reduced rate #10 envelope.
Is your Las Vegas mail still sorted out of Phoenix, AZ?
I work for the competition.