Re: No one wants to hear this

What will happen after the 10 years you predict as USPS' future? Who will deliver the credit cards, ballots (more jurisdictions are moving to voting by mail), newspapers (more newspapers are moving to delivery by mail), census forms, direct mail advertising (which has a greater return on investment that any other type), etc.? Not FedEx or UPS. They simply cannot compete. USPS delivers more in 2 days than they -- combined -- deliver in a year. They simply do not have the delivery capacity and -- increasingly -- use USPS for their "first and last mile." In addition, they charge $20+ for service available from USPS for 44 cents. The Postal Service will survive, because we deliver unparalleled service, at an unbeatable price, continuing to earn the highest trust of our customers, and because we are willing -- and able -- to adapt to the circumstances in which we find ourselves.

Re: No one wants to hear this

Actually, the USPS will survive because it is backed by the government and taxpayer funds which means it has a bottomless pit of money to cushion these ongoing losses.

Re: No one wants to hear this

Then how come it's 3.8 billion in the hole?

Re: No one wants to hear this

Is it possible that the profitable first class mail volume is going down and non profitable other classes of mail are going up. If this is the case, then the post office cannot survive without subsidies or a raise in price to deliver non first class mail.
My question is what other classes of mail, other than first class, are profitable?
My second question is if this is the alleged trend, then how will the post office respond?

Re: No one wants to hear this

Congrats and thank you "peon". You obviously get the big picture. HUD Manager and atom smasher, you are just like the rest of the blow hards that do not have the knowledge required to make informative posts. The USPS receives zero -0- tax dollars for operational expenses. Go ahead and keep deluding yourself that somehow your taxes pay for the USPS just keep it to yourself. Yes we have to make changes, but don't think for a moment that our losses are not directly tied to the economy. And if it comes in the form of curtailing delivery to just 5 days then that is what it takes. No one wants to talk about the possibility of lay offs but that is a direct and necessary albeit unfortunate result. We are the ONLY self sustaining gov’t org and it is ludicrous to make statements like “Have all USPS employees pay what other Federal employees pay towards their health care.” We are not like other federal employees. In fact we are like the red-headed step children of the gov’t when it comes to benefits because we are NOT tax dollar subsidized. In all fairness though it should be mentioned that the costs most employees in the USPS pay in regards to health care are determined by their collective bargaining agreements which are legal and binding contracts. Is .44 really that outrageous to send a letter from Alaska to Hawaii or California to Maine? When was the last time you bought anything of any kind of value for .44? Quit your bitching!! It is an outstanding value for an outstanding service!

Re: Stop Saturday Mail

If you're waiting for a check, medications, package or special greeting, you 'need' Saturday mail delivery. If your two sisters are carriers, they better look out when the new contracts come up in 2010. By going to 5-day delivery (already being planned by HQ), this means lay-offs of @100,000 employees including carriers, TEs, rurals, maintenance, clerks, supv. (But not top-heavy, high-salaried mgmt in D.C.) It's a domino effect. A self-supporting govt agency, the USPS is the only delivery service that reaches every address in the nation. The Postal Service receives NO tax dollars. And not all of the benes of other federal employees (different pay schedules, different leave rules, etc.) We should charge more than .44 -- look at your bills to see if your bank is paying first class rates. When a Post Office is closed, everyone rallies to have it remain open. I worry every day if I'll still have a job to retire from. Does your federal agency still use the mail?

Re: Stop Saturday Mail

I want Saturday deliveries. If something does not come on Friday, I would prefer to get it on Saturday rather than Monday.
Also, we get many notices on Friday. It is better to mail them and have them picked up on Saturday rather than Monday.