May 16, 201412 yr The Contract with the Postal Workers Union hasn't done them any favors...The USPS must pre-fund retirement benefits for employees 75 years into the future...basically paying today the retirement benefits of workers that won't be born for another 20 years or so. Pre-funding retirement benefits 75 years into the future at a staggering rate of almost $6 Billion per year has crippled the USPS as far as ever being profitable or even breaking even. Postal Service is delivering stability despite prefunding mandate - The Washington Post The Postal Service Can't Afford Unions | Cato Institute It is union contracts that prevent the proper rearrangement of the work force to reflect the financial situation that faces today’s Post Office. “Limitations on the workforce mix of full-time and part-time postal employees and workforce flexibility rules contained in contracts with USPS’s unions are key detriments of how postal work is organized and, thus, of its cost,” the GAO report said. “USPS officials told us that as mail volume declines, it would be more efficient to have a much higher proportion of part-time workers than is currently available under existing agreements,” the report continued.
May 16, 201412 yr I'm so sick of people taking shots at the post office. They have been tasked by Congress to perform a specific job and they do it REALLY well. And they do it despite Congressional Republicans doing everything in their power to prevent them from doing it well. It's always a Republicans fault...I'll bet that's why the Postal Workers Union Support them so strongly each election. It's because the Republicans must have pushed through the ridiculous pre-funding mandate that dictates retirement benefits are paid 75 years in advance...cause you know the GOP does everything the unions want.
May 16, 201412 yr UPS has a contract with USPSwhere they actually pay the post office to deliver some of the smaller packages shipped through them. I believe FedEX has a similar contract. So regaurs who you ship through the post office may end up delivering it anyway. When you look at shipping options look for "sure post" and "smart post" and stay away from those options if you do not want USPS delivering. At UPS, depending on volume, up to 1/3 of our packages are sent through surepost. It adds no less than one extraday to delivery. I am sure the numbers at FedEX are similar. t is odd that as an amazon prime customer your package ended up in surepost or smartpost though, usually the amazon prime packages are loaded on the trucks at ups. Amazon standart d shipping usually runs through surepost. Correct, the majority are deliveries that are going to truly rural addresses.
May 16, 201412 yr The sooner the USPS goes out of business, the better. I am an Amazon Prime customer and earlier this week, UPS handed off the delivery of one of my orders to the local Post Office. I rarely write reviews but I gave both items a single star and explained that I don't pay for two-day delivery just to take my chances on the US Postal Service losing my orders. A good friend of mine sent some important documents to India that his parents needed for a visa application. He paid to have the package delivery expedited. The Post Office lost the package and it took them days to figure out where it was seen last. He had to cancel an appointment at a US consulate that he had made for his parents months in advance. The Post Office does not do its job well. I have not mailed anything in years. If it is worth having something arrive at its destination, then it is worth sending in Fed Ex, IMO. Unless it's a framed NCAA championship jersey.
May 16, 201412 yr Unless it's a framed NCAA championship jersey.Point taken. But Fed Ex is safer than Emery Express, at least for UK merchandise.
May 16, 201412 yr Different story. Has nothing to do with UK. FedEX loses Russ Smith Jersey Yeah, I caught that as soon as I posted and then corrected myself.
May 16, 201412 yr It's always a Republicans fault...I'll bet that's why the Postal Workers Union Support them so strongly each election. It's because the Republicans must have pushed through the ridiculous pre-funding mandate that dictates retirement benefits are paid 75 years in advance...cause you know the GOP does everything the unions want. That "ridiculous pre-funding mandate" was put on the books by the Postal Enhancement and Accountability Act of 2006. It was enacted by a Republican Congress and signed by President Bush in order to "ensure that the Service's finances were accurately represented in the budget." I agree with you, the rule is ludicrous and as far as I know, no other government agency is required to do a similar accounting. Some estimates have suggested that the Post Office could be running a surplus of up to a billion dollars in recent years without that insane rule. They also have all sorts of other dumb restrictions such as a ban on shipping wine and liquor. I'd say it's a conspiracy to discredit one of the most successful government assortments in American history, but the Congressional efforts to dismantle a successful public service are about as secret as a steam calliope. It's a manufactured budgetary crisis to give. Congress political cover to mismanage the USPS into ruin.
May 16, 201412 yr That "ridiculous pre-funding mandate" was put on the books by the Postal Enhancement and Accountability Act of 2006. It was enacted by a Republican Congress and signed by President Bush in order to "ensure that the Service's finances were accurately represented in the budget." I agree with you, the rule is ludicrous and as far as I know, no other government agency is required to do a similar accounting. Some estimates have suggested that the Post Office could be running a surplus of up to a billion dollars in recent years without that insane rule. They also have all sorts of other dumb restrictions such as a ban on shipping wine and liquor. I'd say it's a conspiracy to discredit one of the most successful government assortments in American history, but the Congressional efforts to dismantle a successful public service are about as secret as a steam calliope. It's a manufactured budgetary crisis to give. Congress political cover to mismanage the USPS into ruin. I've literally heard it a thousand times - "anything liquid, fragile or hazardous".
May 16, 201412 yr Author If the government told that restaurant they could only charge fifty cents per item but they had to keep the same food quality and service standards they currently have then guess what? They would lose a ton of money. That is the predicament of the USPS. True they are burdened with a system unlike almost any other entity...but again it can't be a good business operating billions and billions of dollars in the hole. Problem is if they could charge $1.25 for a letter to be sent tomorrow, I don't think that would solve their problems.
May 16, 201412 yr ^ It's not a business, it's a public service. It gets treated too much like it's a business because of the foolishness that came from spinning it from a cabinet department into the quasi-independent government agency we have now. UPS and FedEx are crushing the post office because they took away the money-making areas of running a post (packages) and have left the post office to deal with all the unprofitable things that Congress mandates them to handle.
May 16, 201412 yr True they are burdened with a system unlike almost any other entity...but again it can't be a good business operating billions and billions of dollars in the hole. Problem is if they could charge $1.25 for a letter to be sent tomorrow, I don't think that would solve their problems. I was going to respond, but then I saw this post... ^ It's not a business, it's a public service. It gets treated too much like it's a business because of the foolishness that came from spinning it from a cabinet department into the quasi-independent government agency we have now. UPS and FedEx are crushing the post office because they took away the money-making areas of running a post (packages) and have left the post office to deal with all the unprofitable things that Congress mandates them to handle. That says it all. They are good at what they do, but we cannot lump them in with private sector businesses and judge them on financial statements. Better to just look at it as a government service and be thankful we aren't paying $4 to mail a letter.
May 16, 201412 yr But now, look at what we have...the package carriers that are for profit are relying on whom to deliver to remote areas and deliver small packages/envelopes? The USPS.
May 16, 201412 yr To fix the USPS the following needs to happen... 1. They need to stick to what they are good at...delivering letters. This isn't a business so quit trying to complete with businesses. Drop the parcel deliveries. Get rid of the blue boxes all over town that someone has to empty every day. If you want to mail a letter put it in your mailbox or take your butt to the post office. 2. Go to 4 days per week delivery. Monday - Thursday. 3. Make sure the Union contracts make sense for the tax payers. If they don't fix them. 4. Set the price of stamps accordingly. For the postal service to be losing money is criminal. I don't care whose fault it is, it needs to be fixed. $1.9B in one quarter? Are you freaking kidding me?
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