USPS Press release on today’s announcement of organizational changes
With no signs of economic recovery in sight, the U.S. Postal Service is taking bold actions in response to its ongoing financial crisis. Today the Postal Service announced it would be closing six of its 80 district offices, eliminating positions across the country and offering another early retirement opportunity. These actions are expected to save the Postal Service more than $100 million annually.
The six offices closing — located in Lake Mary, FL; North Reading, MA; Manchester, NH; Edison, NJ; Erie, PA, and Spokane, WA — house only administrative functions and will not adversely affect customer service, mail delivery, Post Office operations or ZIP codes. The functions of these six offices will be assumed by 10 district offices within close proximity.
Additionally, administrative staff positions at the district level nationwide are being reduced by 15 percent. More than 1,400 mail processing supervisor and management positions at nearly 400 facilities around the country also are being eliminated and nearly 150,000 employees nationwide are being given the opportunity to take an early retirement.
In the past year the Postal Service has taken very aggressive cost-cutting actions, including:
* Cutting 50 million workhours;
* Halting construction of new postal facilities;
* Negotiating an agreement with the National Association of Letter Carriers that adjusts letter carrier routes to reflect diminished volume;
* Freezing salaries of all Postal Service officers and executives;
* Instituting a nationwide hiring freeze;
* Reducing authorized staffing levels at postal headquarters and area offices by at least 15 percent;
* Selling unused and under-utilized postal facilities;
* Adjusting Post Office hours to better reflect customer use; and,
* Consolidating mail processing operations.
The Postal Service is streamlining operations and improving efficiencies across the board in order to protect its ability to provide affordable, universal mail service. By modifying networks, consolidating functions and restructuring administrative and processing operations, the Postal Service is adapting to meet the evolving needs, demands and activities of its customers.
An independent federal agency, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that reaches every address in the nation, 149 million residences, businesses and Post Office Boxes, six days a week. It has 34,000 retail locations and relies on the sale of postage, products and services, not tax dollars, to pay for operating expenses. Named the Most Trusted Government Agency five consecutive years by the Ponemon Institute, the Postal Service has annual revenue of $75 billion and delivers nearly half the world’s mail.
March 20th, 2009 22:56
This is the end…. my only friend….the end….(Jim Morrison)
March 20th, 2009 23:00
I have often argued that the postal service could have headed off at least a part of the problem it is now facing if it would have adopted the same device that many similar natural monopolies in society use to protect their revenue base. It is a well known fact that the postal service is continuing with universal service to an expanding number of delivery addresses, while delivering fewer pieces of mail. Just begin the process of charging a fee to establish initial service for new delivery addresses; say $100.00 per street address. This will effectly pay down the future costs of funding sortation and delivery of mails in the areas of growth. The second suggestion is that we charge for any and all forwarded mail.
March 21st, 2009 06:15
THIS IS THE START OF THE END [ THE BIBLE]
March 21st, 2009 06:41
THANK THE CREATION OF COMPUTERS, ROBOTICS AND GREED. ITS GREAT !!! LOOK HOW MANY ASSEMBLY LINE JOBS WERE LOST , PHONE OPERATORS, WHATS THAT? MAIL SORTERS VERY FEW NOWADAYS, TOLL COLLECTORS E-Z PASS, SELF CHECKOUT COUNTERS , GAS STATION ATTENDANTS , ATM MACHINES LESS TELLERS NEEDED, MICROWAVES LESS COOKS NEEDED,AND ON AND ON … BUT WE HAVE CHANGE NOW ,SO EVERYTHING WILL BE O.K. IT WILL BE SOLAR JOBS BUT YOU WONT GET PAID ,IT WILL BE THE ONLY WAY TO GET ELECTRIC BECAUSE EVERYTHING ELSE WILL BE CLOSED DOWN. AND THE BEST OF ALL THE DOLLAR WILL LOSE ALL ITS VALUE SO WHAT WILL ALL THE CROOKED AND GREEDY DO THEN?
March 21st, 2009 06:46
To charge for delivery is against the Constitution. The first thing that needs doing is eliminating management incentive bonuses (aka: Performance Incentive) If you take a position that was advertised at $60,000.00 a year, why would you expect more? The Post Master General received salary, benefits package and bonuses totaling $800,000.00 last year. The President of the United States doesen’t make that much. Oh, by the way, Biblicaly speaking, the “beggining of the end” started right after “Let their be light.”
March 21st, 2009 11:53
Greg wrote: Oh, by the way, Biblicaly speaking, the “beggining of the end” started right after “Let their be light.”
It’s THERE, you idiot.
March 23rd, 2009 16:40
This is wonderful news … A slimmer, trimmer, more robust organization that can respond to decreasing marked share and rising costs
March 23rd, 2009 16:42
I enjoy reading how much all the postmasters and managers are making as part of their base … Talk about the need to trim the fat off the giant pig of a post office – this is where we should start
March 23rd, 2009 19:23
Postmaster General’s pay package of $800,000 made for sensational reporting but is NOT true. But if it were it certainly would be commensurate with the responsibility he has in today’s business climate and CEO compensation.
I am a craft employee, have been over 26 years, and have seen many employees, both labor and management, who did not deserve the salary they were (and are, in some cases today) drawing. From the labor side it is the employee who is never moving in a “urgent” mode but just wants to piddle the time away until 8 hrs is met. From the manager side it can be simply “incompetence” or a misfit who is simply politiically acceptable and should not have been put in management to begin with.
Supervisors at the associate office level today (including the Postmaster) are more administrators than supervisors. “Higher-ups” micromanage everything from the District level (or higher).
Much is wrong with the post office. They could offer some financial incentives (i.e. part of your retirement contributions in a lump sum) and you would see a mass exodus.
Dangle a “carrot” or two and you will see a movement to retire.
March 25th, 2009 17:24
Why don’t they start at the top and cut salaries to people who sit in the office talking on the phone(with their friends) and snacking most of the day. Our manager said we go to slow. We need to move faster. During a snow storm in Cleveland, OH this January she moved her butt in the car and drove around yelling at carriers to go faster and told them they should retire. When she has 40 years and won’t retire. Because she sits in an office making 81,000 a year doing nothing but talking on the phone, sits at her desk looking at catalogs for clothing, and pays her (personal) bills, OR shops on the computer for clothing. And then when her packages arrive from UPS at the window counter the clerks have to accept them.
I guess if I sat at a desk and didn’t have to lift or push heavy stuff around all day I wouldn’t have to retire either.
She said the clerks have bad work habits. Some of them are close to her age and they lift and push heavy equipment and know that this is our job and we just keep going.
But none of us do a job good enough for her. Even her supervisors don’t do anything right. I think she won’t retire because she won’t have anyone to yell at anymore.
I have a great Idea to save money. They have area Managers. Then have a station manager be in charge of 2 or 3 stations that are close together. Then keep the 2 supervisors one for the morning shift and one for the afternoon.
This would save the Postal Service 160,000 just with 3 stations. Can’t anyone see this? Then think of a whole city once they grouped everyone together THINK OF THE SAVINGS THE POSTAL SERVICE WOULD HAVE.
Then they would not have so much free time to sit on the phone or they could pay their bills at home like everyone else does. OR SHOP at home!!
March 26th, 2009 12:31
What is your Pension Benefit???
John E. Potter
USPS Pension Benefit
$1,350,318
John E. Potter
CSRS Annuity
30 Years
$2,453,057
H. Glen Walker
FERS Annuity
2 Years
$ 60,702
Patrick R. Donahoe
CSRS Annuity
33 Years
$2,522,570
Anthony J. Vegliante
CSRS Annuity
31 Years
$2,171,701
Mary Anne Gibbons
FERS Annuity
23 Years
$ 815,758