USPS Employees Weigh In On Future Business Model
What will the future business model be for the U.S. Postal Service?
The Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006 requires the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to complete a study on the future business model of the Postal Service by 2011. But due to the Postal Service’s precarious financial situation, GAO is planning to produce its report of the study in spring 2010, according to the USPS.
Before the GAO document is released next year, the USPS released a report titled, “Assessment of the U.S. Postal Service Future Business Model,” which can be found in its entirety here.
According to USPS officials, constraints imposed by current laws and regulations make it nearly impossible for the Postal Service to successfully respond to the combined effects of the economic recession, the diversion of mail to electronic alternatives, and the statutory requirement that it pre-pay $5.4 to $5.8 billion every year through 2017 to a future retirees’ health benefits fund.
Already, many postal employees have left comments about the Postal Service report on the www.postalnews.com Website. The comments are revealing, to say the least.
Here is a sample:
“Nothing is ever going to be addressed until they do something about the overwhelming amount of management personnel who are making way too much for what they do. Get rid of 50% of them and problem solved.”
“There is no future business model for the Postal Service. The days of hand-delivering paper made from trees using gas guzzling machines is over. In an instant a letter can be sent from one part of the world to the other with only a few electrons. The Postal Service is obsolete and finished.”
“Save a lot of money getting rid of higher management they don’t need.”
“How do you hire people from the outside to plan the future of the USPS? It is like hiring a nursery school teacher to plan the future of a state pen. These people haven’t got a clue. There is tons of physical labor in the USPS, something outside people don’t know how to do. This is where our costs come in. Why do we still have carrier route flats and why are parcels now coming in bags? The only way the PO can survive is if they get rid of all the physical labor on the workroom floors. They can never get rid of the mail man labor unless you hire robots.”
“Future business model … carriers hiding behind 7-11 for two hours instead of three … problem solved!”
December 2nd, 2009 at 9:36 pm
Finding the solution: Year after year the employees of the USPS continue to give great service processing mail, working parcels, delivering mail and working the window bringing in the revenue. Yet, year after year it is management who continues to manage us deeper and deeper in the red. Until you start at the top forget it.
December 4th, 2009 at 12:04 am
One writer states that we will never get rid of the mailman until robots deliver the mail. Anyone over the age of 30 should stop and think about that comment. There will never be a need for robots to deliver the mail house to house because all of us brilliant people went out and bought the robot and it is sitting on our desks right now, it’s called a personal computer. That’s the robot that is delivering the mail letter carriers used to……The postal service has one option and only one option and that is to evolve into a small package and retail packaging product business…..or it’s doomed to go the way of many other great institutions of yesteryear.
December 4th, 2009 at 2:54 pm
Consolidate more of the tiny rural PO’s, like the four that are within 10 miles of where I am sitting.
Branch out into other services/products. Other posts in the world sell insurance, cellphones, etc.
And retire a bunch of management.
December 4th, 2009 at 4:13 pm
There are numerous things & ideas the postal service could do to save money. Yes, I agree with other posts here, we no doubt have too many chiefs, not enough braves. As anyone who has been paying attention lately can tell you, the postal service desperatly wants to cut mail delivery to 5 day service. Thus, they have no desire RIGHT now to trim costs. Keep the higher costs and this will work towards their plan of knocking off one day of delivery. However if they really wanted to save a few bucks, consolidating stations right down the road from another is a start. Do we really need 30 different stamps made each year. I say 5, and maybe only make what you need, not millions of extras that you end up shredding anyway. Allow local purchasing folks to buy locally at sales prices, not that great GOVERNMENT rate we receive. Especially airline tickets, we get ripped off so bad by EAS buying the GOVERNMENT rate tickets.The list is endless, yet nobody is listening.