USPS lost $658 million in February
The US Postal Service losing streak continued in February, with the agency reporting a loss of $658 million, bringing the year to date loss for the fiscal year to $1.8 billion. The agency continued to aggressively cut employee work hours, which were down 12% from the prior year. That translated to a 7.3% decrease in wages and benefits. (The savings are inflated by 3-4% because 2008 was a leap year, so there was an extra weekday compared with 2009.) Revenue, meanwhile was down 12.8%. The slide in revenue accelerated from January’s 11.8% decline, but that number is also slightly inflated by the extra day in SPLY.
The sharpest drop was in standard mail, down 22% from February 2008. The decrease meant that there was actually less standard mail than first class in the system for the month, reversing recent trends. First class mail volume was down 12.7% compared with last year. Year to date, the USPS has processed about 11 billion fewer pieces of mail than it had at this point a year ago.
Non-personnel expenses were down 12.2% or $167 million, led by a 15% drop in transportation costs and a 14% decline in supplies and services. Information technology expenses increased by 26%, or about $7 million.
(Monthly financial results are unaudited and subject to change. Volume numbers are derived from permit data and statistical sampling. The sampling portion of the RPW system is designed to be statistically valid on a quarterly and annual basis.)
March 31st, 2009 06:13
So we continue to lose~ No Suprise here.
We have 4-7 Managers standing around with hands in their pockets, hiding in new offices, only to come out when craft hits the streets.
We need to get back to the basics of “Delivering the Mail”.
Eliminate 75% of the sales, advertising (who brag how much they earn and travel),and the Obese human wastein district at 100K each.OMG!
We are civil servants not a CEO paid company. Management should make a little more than craft.Not millions in bonuses.
President Obama needs to get hands on, and send our fat-cats back to craft, for their own health if nothing else.
March 31st, 2009 06:18
Get a Plan B. Its that simple.
March 31st, 2009 07:22
Right on Ralf. Sales and advertising people in our Area that make more than a 100K should be gone. This is absolutely insane. First off we have a monopoly on 1st class mail so all they can really do is try to keep existing customers and promote other services. Don’t we have 4 or 5 retail people at the Districts to do this? Don’t we have sales associates at our PO’s to do this? Marketing has grown exponentially over the years into Bulk Mail, Retail, BDT, Sales, Advertising etc. but our revenue keeps going backward. Why do we need all these extra well paid employees. For every 100k + employee sitting at a desk somewhere could be 2 additional clerks in the field providing real service to our customers. That’s how you keep the business.
March 31st, 2009 07:41
Mr. Potter should look at all of himself and the fat cat hacks that he has at all levels. Don’t take it out on the rank and file only. The fat cats should take a look of themselves. How embarassing and shameful Mr. Potter is. He talks about financial problems, yet takes a fat bonus for himself. For what. LOL
March 31st, 2009 08:11
At a recent RAP session, it was stated that the letter carrier craft is down 40,000 jobs since 1983, the APWU was down 100,000 jobs since 1983, but we still have the same number of postmasters … You do the math … Less postmasters and less managers means more operational revenues for the post office … You can only squeeze an orange so much until all the juice is extracted … Management is one big orange that hasn’t been squeezed yet
March 31st, 2009 08:30
With all the enthusiasm for cutting management, perhaps the craft level employees of the postal service would also agree to performance standards? Is there a letter carrier who doesn’t depend on overtime to support his or her lifestyle, regardless of mail volume? Is there a letter carrier willing to pivot on “undertime” for an 8 hour day – yeah, right. If craft employees could be trusted to perform to the level of (declining) mail volume, you would certainly be able to eliminate supervisory oversight! Oh, happy day!
March 31st, 2009 09:02
Well, Doubting Thomas, if we imposed performance standards, many of our curent supervisors wouldn’t be supervisors, like the 85k supervisor who sits in her back office day in and day out. As my hard-working 204B put it, why should she retire when she gets all that dough doing nothing?
March 31st, 2009 09:22
Yes Mr. Doubting Thomas. There are plenty of letter carriers that do not depend on overtime. 12 out of 14 in our office are NO on the ODL to be exact! You see, we are not greedy employees. We are FORCED to work over time to pay your way as you sit on your butt and do nothing all day! We would much rather have our time off! How about you doing some pivoting and earning a living for a change? Our Postmaster makes 85,000 per year, comes in at 8:30 after the carriers have left the office leaving a supervisor 204b and a postmaster to manage 4 clerks…..no waste here huh thomas!!!!!! By the way…do you get your day off??????????
March 31st, 2009 10:11
Once again, the NALC has lost jobs, the APWU has lost jobs, but there is the same number of useless postmasters … We lost millions in February … If you do the math, the money can be saved by consolidating management jobs and abolishing ‘management’ positions, thereby eliminating repetitive functions, since no decision is being made locally now anyway … That’s just my humble opinion
March 31st, 2009 10:18
Doubting Thomas, the only performance standard that I use is a ‘fair days work for a fair days pay’ … Most letter carriers are not able to perform to management’s performance standards because most supervisors are too dumb to count or measure or can’t make a honest decision to save their jobs without asking the Postmaster … Once again, no decision is being made locally anymore … There is no more need for front-line supervisors, especially when FSS is fully implemented and there is no longer any office time … Good day to you sir
March 31st, 2009 10:35
Although I agree that there are some managers who abuse the system just as some craft employees do, I do not agree that management should make only a fraction more than craft employees. Those of us that work hard and take our jobs seriously have much more responsiblity than a craft employee. I am not saying that craft employees do not work hard, because most of them do. What I am saying is that pay should match the level of responsibility. It is comments such as those that I have read here that contribute to the problems that exist in the Postal Service today. Aren’t we all in this for the same reason? Let’s get rid of the negative attitudes and perform as a team. With the right attitude we can get through this together.
March 31st, 2009 10:45
Postmaster, once again I am not saying that there are not hardworking managers or Postmasters out there, quite the opposite … But you have to agree that the whole organization is top-heavy in management NALC 40,000 jobs lost APWU 100,000 jobs lost Postmasters 0 jobs lost … This is a trend that I hope congress will address before curtailing the true service that letter carriers perform on a daily basis to five days a week … You’re right, we must work together, but all too often, management lays the blame on craft employees and assumes no responsibility for its own follies … This is understandable because of the nature of the Postal SErvice beaurocracy, but it is this beurocracy that is the heart of the problem … Eliminate managers, consolidate Postmaster positions, and streamline operaitons …. This is what will transform the postal service, not cutting service, eliminating craft work hours, or hiring new regional district managers … You can take that to Congress
March 31st, 2009 10:59
Postmaster, in regards to your comment about pay rates, how about if we allow an outside firm to assign a ‘market value’ to the services that managers perform on a daily basis … Let’s see, the average manager at Walgreens probably makes 35,000 per year … Is your responsibility any greater than the manager at Walgreens? Do not make the mistake of comparing your services against a craft employee
March 31st, 2009 11:26
My rural carriers get paid for evaluation and are done in 5 hours a day. Come back at 1 and are gone for the day. I am still there till 4:30 and arrive a 6:30. We get paid salary and have to put in 9 for 8 a day. I love my job and would not want any other job. However, do not say we do not work. My office brought in 120,000 in Revenue last year. Not bad for a level 16 office. I also must work the window while I sort mail for the carriers. I do this alone. There is no time to sit around and do nothing. Comparing other jobs to PM jobs is apples to oranges. We are the only appointed job in the USPS. THe rest of the EAS are more likely to go away. Not that we cannot lose our jobs. But it is highly unlikely it will happen.
March 31st, 2009 11:38
Postmaster, it sounds like you are doing a lot of craft work, something that the rural carrier or clerk union should possibly grieve … Also, The difference between rurual and city carriers is that rurual carriers do have evaluated routes while city carriers do not
In terms of the likelihood that postmasters will lose their jobs, back in the 1970s we did not have individual postmasters … All operations were managed from an outside location, which saved the USPS money and time … This is the direction that the post office is likely to be going … congress will be demanding change, and you can be quite certain that the Union will aggressively fight to ensure that the American people will enjoy the same service from career letter carriers and clerks that they have enjoyed in the past … I’m merely suggesting that some positions in the Postal Service, namely the unit Postmaster, can be consolidated and duplicitave functions reduced, by controlling management staffing levels … Once again, this is what will transform the Postal Service, and you can take that one to the bank
March 31st, 2009 12:17
It is not clerk work because my office has never had a clerk. It has always been a PMR. Now my sorting and distribution takes about 2.5 hours on mon and 1.75 during the week. Not enought for any clerk to want to work. This work is postmaster work actually as defined in our work description.
March 31st, 2009 12:19
Actually, you are incorrect about Postmasters. My office started in 1952 and has had a PM 4 PMs since then. THey all were appointed and not called anthing else but PM.
March 31st, 2009 12:29
You state that you typically spend 1.75 hours per day sorting and distributing mail … You also state that you work the window … These are all craft functions, not postmaster functions … A grievance should be filed and at a minimum, the rural union should ask for a cease and desist … Functions can be combined to make a part-time or a full-time job … It is certainly not management’s function to sort and distribute mail or to work the window … Career letter carriers apply for and take tests, called the civil service exam, for these jobs … These services may not be appointed, other than through the civil service exam … Stop me when I’m lying
March 31st, 2009 12:32
Going back to the numbers, maybe this is the reason why the APWU has lost 100,000 positions since 1983 … Managemetn may not work craft functions, and local unions should at a minimum file a grievance
March 31st, 2009 14:38
What a mess- everybody pointing a finger at each other. Kinda of like the Titanic going down and everyone complaining about the ice-machine not working! The employees for the USPS did a great job last year. It is the economy that has put us in this position, which was brought to us by George Bush and his rich fat cats that used our country like pirates boarding a yacht filled with naked women. There is plenty of blame to pass around.
March 31st, 2009 15:01
I took the test also. City carrier for 10 years. Then was selected and appointed as Postmaster. No Political appointee here, just hard work.
March 31st, 2009 18:06
Yep lots of postmasters because they go with the post offices. There was some plan years ago where as a tinytown postmaster left, the postmaster job was to be taken over by the closest bigger post office and a level 6 or 7 clerk in charge was put in. The name remained but it became a station. Also some post office windows were to be put in malls to match the mall hours and they were supposed to be staffed by eas to avoid all the night shift and overtime issues.
The only way to streamline the post office is to franchise it.
As always all the solutions are a “race to the bottom” blaming unions, management, upper mnagement,internet, government interference and bulk mailers prices while somebody somewhere watches his Cayman Island bank account go up another few million when the post office gets raffled off to the highest bidder
March 31st, 2009 20:48
It is not the crafts or postmasters that should be asked to leave the postal service, it is at the district and headquarters in DC that is weighting down the PO. EX-Postmaster General “Carvin Marvin” said it best: If you don’t touch the mail you are of no use to the postal service. Potter has done nothing except add to district and DC headquarters employment rolls.
March 31st, 2009 21:51
Postmaster,
I would rather have my carrier job than yours any day! A level 16 isn’t worth the headaches. Not that there’s THAT many headaches that goes with a level 16! Plus I probably make more $$$ than you do. I have a bigger headache than you from having to put up with idiot managers and even more idiot upper management decisions. Those people don’t have a clue how to run a company. They are proving that!
March 31st, 2009 22:07
Wake up postal employees both craft and management. Keep on bitching and complaining about each instead of
providing service and you will find yourselves on Congress’s doorstep and the NALC and APWU will be faced with the same problems as auto workers.
To the person that compared the salary of a Manager at Walgreen verus the salary of a USPS manager,Are you willing
to compare department store clerk salaries to postal clerks? and the letter carrier salary to the newspaper ?carrier
March 31st, 2009 22:47
Guys, I’ve been sounding off on the “interesting methods” introduced to management for two months now. First on email every Friday afternoon then I moved it to a blog. As A Postmaster, it is almost embarrassing to stand before the hard working men and women I spend everyday with and instruct them to backtrack on missort DPS, and then to take missorts, (off their routes) and deliver them. How stupid does the company look as three vehicles deliver to the same block throughout the day? EXFC is so important that we are to begin mandating no carrier hit the street until the hot case is clear. I got guys casing three routes and taking a couple hours to do it. What will this do to the runner hitting the street 45 min after BT. Next I am told will come No OT Mondays. Big in SF right now. Will this be followed by no chance Tuesdays? I’m to the point now where I’m convinced those above my boss would do a far better job running my office from two hundred miles away. they have all the answers. Four star Generals Miles from the Front sending the company to its grave. But I’m still fighting to keep us afloat. I’m also blessed with employees unlike anywhere else I’ve been. Pride in their Performance.. And dedicated to the company providing their livelyhood for decades.
March 31st, 2009 23:09
The other thing nobody seems to want to really look at is the need for managers and craft employees to honestly work together. Any Forum I stumble across I see the same thing, “Idiot Supervisor” and “Postmasters with their bonuses”. People comment on “Lazy Carriers”, “Worthless Clerks ” and of course the incompetent DM’s , VP’s, and so on. I haven’t issued discipline in two years, my employees follow my lead because they trust me in turn my supervisors and I support their judgement and respect their input. Few PM’s agree with my style, but we sure get the work done and its a comfortable environment. Management needs to get past this feeling of entitlement and Craft must abandon the notion of going to battle with their supervisors. Anyone wondering, 48 employees 2.6%SL for the year, running around 5% OT 3.5% under TOE. We all have a role in the offices success. And we know disagreements will occur. If we violate the contract we pay, if employees are in the wrong we take corrective action to fix the problem. If we can’t agree, the shop steward and I throw darts in my office. 301 winner decides what we do. I know I must be the Postmaster of Fantasyland, but when will the masses realize if we don’t work together, we all will lose? backdoorreport.blogspot for a little humor in the form of a PM saying whats on all the area PMs minds.
March 31st, 2009 23:27
my only problems I have is the managers from above. When I see the stupid emails from the same old people every day, I do not even open them. I hit the delete button. I tell my employees I am to keep them out of trouble than to try to get them into trouble. Postmasters do have a heart. You have to not forget where you came from. In my case a city carrier. Stayed in the NALC for 4 years after becoming a Postmaster. I believe in the union cause up to a point. I do not want us to end up like GM. I believe we can survive if we work together. If we do not I Believe my EAS and union brothers will start to lose their jobs. I am fortunate to be a Disabled vet and will be the last to leave if we go under. HOwever, I wish that nobody will get to that point. When others start losing their jobs in a RIF, it might be us next.
April 1st, 2009 10:44
relax everyone ! we are in a depression ! so the mail volume is down , in a few years we will not be in a depression , and the mail volume will be back up ! the postal servoce has been around for well over 2 hundred years and will be here for another 2oo plus years ….. this is only temporary !
RELAX !!!!!!!!!!
April 1st, 2009 13:22
PM’s Boy,
What this company needs is a LOT more managers, upper and lower, to have the same plan as yours. I agree 110% with the way you handle your employees. And you DO get more respect AND production from them when you treat them like you do. Kudos to you!
April 1st, 2009 14:32
We need to worry more about the do-not-mail program that California has passed. Without companies able to indice consumers to spend money we will stay in a depression The argument that BBM mail is hurting the eco is not valid. Trees are renewable
April 1st, 2009 19:12
http://prc.gov/Docs/62/62782/Monthly_Financials_for_PRC_Feb09_Final.pdf
Take a close look at page 4. City delivery workhours for February decreased by 10%, mail processing decreased by 17%, customer services/retail decreased by 16%, rural delivery decreased by 8%, all others decreased by 8%. They still are failing to decrease management hours to appropriate ratios. In fact, at this rate there must be an even higher percentage of EAS than before our financial freefall. Unreal… they better cut the “fat” faster than this if we are to survive.
April 2nd, 2009 19:50
As I said before and I will re-iterate, all postmasters/managers should get a Wage Earnings Compacity Report, but not just based on the one put out by the DOL, but one that is based on workers doing similarly situated jobs in the private sector … As I said before, most managers would earn about $35,000 per year salary … I reject Postmaster’s argument that he/she has more responsiblity … Perhaps he/she does in his/her office, but in most offices, a supervisor or postmaster can’t make a decision … They all have to check with someone else … I know this because I’ve tried to resolve grievances … Most supervisors lack the balls to make a decision … You find that in some companies in the private sector, but mostly in the ones that went backrupt
April 2nd, 2009 19:58
There is nothing wrong with honest work at Walgreens, but then again there is nothing wrong with being a postmaster … Please explain to me how the two jobs are different … Make no mistake about it, I consider myself a newspaper delivery person, Postmaster, but the value of my work does not depend on how many workers I exploit or how many hours I can squeeze … I understand your pressure, but it is wrong for you to do craft work … Someone should file a grievance, especially in this day and age, where there are so many non-managers who may lose their jobs … Just because you take pride in your work does not mean that it is not taking away from the good brothers and sisters of the APWU … You should not be allowed to run the window and sort mail in the morning … By definition, a postmaster’s job is to manage the post office … Your job duties should not permit you to do craft work, no matter what the circumstance
Stop me if I’m wrong or lying, but I don’t think that I’m either
April 2nd, 2009 20:02
Haha, guttaluvmanagement, I’ve figured out what you are – a 204B … Hopefully, if you’re a letter carrier, than you’re part of the union
April 3rd, 2009 11:51
Mailing Services vice president David Shoenfeld no longer works for the Postal Service. An official announcement will be forthcoming:
saving the usps $220,000 plus… 3 more VP’s will save $1million/year in compensation and benefits.
April 3rd, 2009 20:42
NALC Bro, Huh? I used to 204B off and on for 5 years, and OIC. But all in all, Ive been a city carrier for 20 years. Casual, TE, PTF, Reg. And yes I’m in the union. I’m not understanding your perception. I wasn’t saying that we need more mgrs. Only more who know HOW to manage and treat people with dignity and respect.
April 4th, 2009 11:43
its good to have a forum to be able to sit and vent.
i completely understand each unique angle and point of view.
personally i am a union mail processing clerk in the second largest mpo in my state.
as i have no bid jiob i am unnassigned reg.
all bitching aside, i have never seen as many people on every tour in each craft working almost seemlessly and selflessly to get the mail out. its a cross between an ant farm and a fine swiss watch. amazing to behold.
my hats off to the handlers clerks 204b’s and even mdo’s.
the efficiency levels seem to increase even as anxiety levels climb by the day.
hard pressed to find a more thorough dilligent and generous bunch than MPO 46802
April 6th, 2009 20:46
i have been in the postal service for 12 years in 3 different cities…have done all jobs including 204 b….1 solution would solve a lot of problems…..get rid of unions…it creates lazy workers who ARE NOT afraid to get in trouble or lose their job…there is nothing wrong with facing discipline for not performing.having a union handcuffs supervisors from getting rid of bad workers…i bet the auto workers are the same way…the UAW is too strong…poor production for the good pay = the company losing money over time…i said this would happen 10 years ago to the post office…..here we are…
April 7th, 2009 17:38
Now is the time to eliminate saturday don’t you think it’s a good starting point..Well what’s another 600 million in aplril..I guess this company can afford it.. Wow wonder what a real company would do here..What a joke this place is..It’s embarrasing
April 18th, 2009 22:56
Listening to the rants on this page are no different than other sites. Unfortunatly, it speaks volumes about the Postal service.
NALCBrother, I really feel sorry for you. Your viewpoints are so one sided, and you are open to nothing. You can’t even get it through your head that a Postmaster has the right, as well as responsibility to do this work.
Compare an EAS employee to a Walgrens manager??
Really??
I suppose you would be willing to work for Walgrens clerk dollars…
IMHO here is the blueprint for the USPS’s future.
Each employee will be a mailhandler 2 hrs a day, a clerk 2 hrs a day and then a carrier for 4 hrs a day…
There is not enough work for all of us…
We will have to deal with it….
April 19th, 2009 21:20
Spare me your pity, ICareAboutUSPS … What work does a postmaster actually do? Because my postmaster does her grocery shopping on work days. Is this the level of responsibility that you speak about. I’m not one sided – I just see the misuse and abuse of government power, in the form of government waste … I’m sure that there are hard-working postmasters out there – I don’t mean to generalize … But I think that the majority of those who get this position are unqualified to flip burgers in a restaurant, let alone run a business, and that in the ‘real’ non-postal world, they would be Walgreens workers, not postmasters … Me, I have no illussion that my job is different from a clerks job, but then again, I haven’t been insulated from the real world for twenty-plus years in the postal service … I know what legitamate industries demand from their management and workers … Without a master’s degree, you wouldn’t be able to make what postal managers make … Postmasters should count their blessings that they have a job with the Postal Service, insead of constantly devaluing the job that letter carriers do on a daily basis
April 20th, 2009 19:23
Dear Postmaster–I spent many years earning my full time position as a carrier I used to work sick –work over evaluation–change days off etc…to accomodate our last lazy-lying PM. Our evaluated hours have been cut to the bone.I am thankful for my pay and benefits. I earn my pay while my PM talks on the phone–or yucks it up with the underworked/overpaid clerk. Teamwork would be great—-if we had a team leader. Management likes to complain about the overpaid–lazy carriers—but you won’t find any of them willing to go out in the snow–rain–or heat to “earn” their keep. BTY–if you do work 9 hours a day—you are the exception–
April 20th, 2009 19:35
Smalltownworker–Problem with eliminating the union—-there are 2 lazy lying managers for every milker or slacker carrier. I had no involvement with our union for the first 10 years of my career. I got an expensive lesson on the dangers of not knowing your contract. Our former PM lied and cheated and stole to create a full time position for his most special friend. USPS pays for the benefits and we supplement the salary. Without the union, carriers would have no protection from managers who lie, cheat, or abuse carriers. Anyone else out there taken a “beating” for making a manager “unhappy”?
April 25th, 2009 21:33
I agree. I started with no intention of joining the union. I am a good worker and I thought I wasn’t going to waste the money on a service I didn’t need. Boy was I wrong! Management found every way possible to mess with the new PTFs. I just hope someday there will be accountability for both bad managers and bad workers. 1 bad carrier or clerk can change public sentiment against us. Most of management is a joke. Those that do try to do a good job usually get cut off at the knees by the higher ups. Management gets caught committing crimes and are moved around at the same pay – workers get arrested. They wonder why it’s and us against them mentality.