Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe and members of the Postal Headquarters leadership team updated leaders of NAPUS, League of Postmasters, and NAPS on the financial condition of the Postal Service today. The overall financial picture of the USPS remains bleak, as First-Class mail volume continues to decline, with a current net loss of $5.6 Billion, and a year-end projected loss of $9 Billion.

Following the financial briefing, presidents of the three postal management associations requested time to discuss the impact on Postmasters and other supervisory personnel who may be impacted by the recently announced discontinuance study of more than 3,500 postal facilities. NAPUS President Bob Rapoza asked if impacted Postmasters would face layoffs and he was told that while the possibility of some layoffs may exist, the Postal Service has an obligation to provide the same protection for all employees and they would do everything possible to find landing spots for Postmasters.

Postal leaders committed to consider RIF Avoidance and Voluntary Early Outs (VER) as part of the process to reduce the need for layoffs. USPS Headquarters officials said they were committed to maintaining a good working relationship with the management organizations and would include them throughout the process.

Postmasters whose offices are on the Discontinuance Feasibility Study list are reminded that the current procedures could require several months before a post office could actually be closed. The Postal Service has introduced proposed revisions to the Discontinuance timelines which would allow the closing of a facility within 138 days, but that recommendation is not yet effective.

Postmasters who may be impacted by the Discontinuance Feasibility Study should remember that some of the offices on the review list may not be closed. Impacted Postmasters are encouraged to check the NAPUS website for updates on what will happen if their office is scheduled to be closed.

Charlie Moser

July 27, 2011

via NAPUS.

The USPS will have to reconsider its decision to close the Observatory Station located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, according to a ruling handed down last week by the Postal Rate Commission. The station was closed in June of this year, prompting protests by local residents and Pennsylvania politicians.

The USPS had argued that the PRC did not have jurisdiction over the decision to close the unit, because it was not a “post office”, but a “finance station”. The PRC found otherwise, ruling that while the station might not technically be a post office as defined by the USPS, it was clearly the intent of Congress to protect such units from arbitrary closing.

The ruling concludes:

The pleadings indicate that the Postal Service began the closing process by obtaining customer input to ensure that it would maintain a satisfactory level of service to the public in the Observatory Hill area.  It appears, however, that although the Postal Service started that process, it never completed it.  To comply with the Congressional mandate of §§ 101 and 404, the Postal Service needs to complete that process with respect to Observatory Finance Station by evaluating, among other things, input from affected citizens, and reaching a conclusion on whether a satisfactory level of service will be maintained.  This obligation is heightened when the public is confused about the status of the Postal Service’s actions and about the status of their right to be heard, particularly when that confusion is caused by the contradictory statements of the Postal Service.

Order Denying Postal Service Motion to Dismiss