On September 30th, the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) turned down the request by the Postal Service for an exigent price increase averaging 5.6 percent across all market-dominant products, such as First-Class Mail and Periodicals. Although current law cape increases in these products to the inflation rate, the PRC can consider rate increases beyond the cap if the Postal Service has been affected by “extraordinary or exceptional circumstances.”
In this decision, the PRC agreed with the Postal Service’s contention that the economic recession was an exceptional circumstance, but it ruled that the Postal Service did not show how the exigent rate request was due to the recession. The ruling also tied cash flow problems the Postal Service currently faces to current laws that require prefunding of retiree health benefits. An OIG study found that the Postal Service has been overcharged $75 billion in its funding of pension liabilities, an amount that could be used to fund current and future retiree health benefits.
Loading ...In a statement addressing the PRC’s decision, Postmaster General Jack Potter expressed disappointment. However, he said that the PRC’s acknowledgement of the large financial risk caused by the prefunding payments for retiree health benefits was encouraging. The statement notes that the Postal Service is still reviewing the PRC’s decision and determining its course of action, but it lists areas for legislative relief to keep the Postal Service viable.
October 1st was the start of the new fiscal year for the Postal Service. As the Postal Service enters 2011, what do you think its next step should be?
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1st Where ever there are foot routes on residential areas. Install mail boxes curb side. Create all driving routes as much as possible. Business cluster boxes and some park and loop areas are ok…BUT FOR DAME SAKE CREATE ALL DRIVING ROUTES IF POSSIBLE> you will save money right there. 2nd cut back on buildings Managment Supervisors, Postmasters. The bread and butter of the business are the LETTER CARRIERS, MAIL HANDLERS, TRAILER DRIVERS, CLERKS, (if any changes need to be made they need it quickely) because the Postal Service is a dying breed. A thing of the past.
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#2 Offer reasonable incentives to get cross the board management and craft out. The PO should offer $25,000 and five years added to your retirement. That would clear out a lot of folks….also management should aligned it s mainstream approach-put the excess on the workroom floor to do some real work…ex. 4hrs office work and 4hrs on the workroom floor, as an clerk or mailhander..cut out overtme..SAVE MONEY
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Trim the fat and Pork get rid of over the top managers that don’t care about the mail and stop footing the bill for Senior Managers health bills..Fix the problem of far too many EEO/Labor Relations complaints…This is too costly when many cases are awarded through the administrative procedure process…Start aking like the United States Postal Service is a business and not managments privately owned business…
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The Post Office is THE most inefficient organization ever. They feel they have a monoploy on “mail” therefore customer service is non-existant. I just paid $35 to send a small package “guaranteed” delivery by the next day; the package was sent to the correct post office, where it sat on a shelf instead of being delivered to the correct addressee. Now, I have to FIGHT to get my refund. I WISH FedEx would start a regular mail delivery system. I will NEVER use USPS for anything besides snail mail.
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When is that no Saturday delivery going into effect. USPS could just extend it to no postal service on Saturday for all postal workers.
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One more time -I’ve been a rural carrier for 7 years with the last 4 months as a 204b. Almost everyone in the postal service works harder and more efficiently than in any other business I’ve worked in (including non profits, superior courts, albertons, hospitality, and private business). The supervisors and postmasters are necessary and most are just trying to do what they’re told and get the results HQ wants. And therein lies the problem. Most upper level management are so far removed from craft that they do not even realize that they are implementing procedures that are archaic and getting results that are not acheiving their goals. Many of the ideas I read here were ones I have thought and can prove will work. Here are ones involving shipping since that’s what we do:
1. Implement what so many employees suggested-modern vending machines that work and automatic weight and scan machines that customers can utilize without waiting in line that weigh and/or scan their parcels into the mailstream.
2. Make the scans reflect useful information which can be accessed easily by customers and shippers – isn’t that what they are for. For instance, why are the carriers scanning anything not delivered or notified as Undeliverable as addressed and then leaving clerks to scan them as forwards, no such number, insufficient address or whatever. Even worse carriers don’t have to scan pickups at all so nobody knows when and where the mailpiece enters the mailstream.
3. Let customers and shippers choose whether they want the shipping information accessed easily. Don’t assume, as we do now, that everyone wants that info kept secure. They don’t-they all want to be able to access their information easily. Let them opt in or out of privacy at the time they pay. It wastes an enormous amount of time for customers, shippers, carriers, and supervisors to wade through the process of finding out what’s really happened to their shipment.
4. (And I’ll stop here but the list is endless). Figure out what everyone wants and give it to them if you can. Customers want accurate and simple to understand info showing exactly how they can benefit from USPS. Let people pay bills through usps with cash for a $1.00 fee and have it posted immediately to their account (I call it imail with each participating company having a scan mark like an eye).
Finally it’s important to note that there is a small window of opportunity before other companies or agencies provide what we cannot and become the communication link between people, business, and government that we are supposed to be. Thank you.
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