The U.S. Postal Service denied yesterday that its workforce is bloated or overpaid in a message to mailers explaining its position on the proposed exigent rate increases.
"It's being suggested that we wouldn't be in this fix if management had dealt with a bloated, overpaid postal workforce," said the e-mail sent to members of Postal Customer Councils, which was nearly identical to an item posted on USPS's Web site.
The Postal Service "was able to reduce its career workforce from an all time high of 802,970 in 1999 to today’s 588,561, while focusing on improving service and growing postal products," the message said. It then went on to undercut that argument by pointing out that it has had "a 20 percent loss in mail volume in three years."
Not impressed
The Postal Service's customers will not be impressed by those numbers. In a private-sector organization, such a rapid decrease in volume couple with major investments in productivity would lead to job losses of more than 27% over an 11-year period.
A business wouldn't pay people to do nothing or to do work manually that could have been done by an idle machine -- especially if many employees could be coaxed into retirement with a fairly small incentive. And you wouldn't keep hearing stories about how the organization's operations were overrun with supervisors who added little value and spent most of their time filling out reports.
"Some are asserting that the current price increases the Postal Service has proposed are somehow illegal," the email said. "On average, the proposal calls for a 5.6 percent increase, clearly permissible under the 'extraordinary or exceptional circumstances' clause of the law."
But the message didn't explain why the law has a price cap if the Postal Service can just violate that cap by saying, "Gee, we can't make our budget." Mailers know what happens in their own organizations if they're not making budget and sales are decreasing -- and it ain't a price increase.
Again, why are the job losses being viewed in an 11 year window? An accurate report would deal with job losses within the last 3 years - where a vast majority of attrition occurred.
ReplyDeleteFactually, the USPS was experiencing huge growth until 2007 -
And, the inconvenient truth is that the USPS has made money in 3 of the past 4 years, absent the idiotic pre-funding requirement - oh wait, who voted for the PAEA?
There are to many layers of management, too many Vice presidents. How many support people are there? You should start cutting people that don’t handle the mail. PMG Potter and some of the top people have received big pay increases and sweat hart pension deals!
ReplyDeleteThe truth of the matter is that those craft that deal directly with the public are the ones working the hardest and the ones that always get the worst rap. The fix is getting rid of all the bloated upper management positions and supervisors that are not needed. Carriers and clerks have been downsized and carriers have taken on more territory and still contin ue to be the ones they look to to see where else they can cut. Perhaps its because the fatcats are afraid they may be next. Start the cutting of those that are o verpaid and that really have no idea what happens on the street on a daily basis. The stupid ideas that come down from of top just cost the Postal service more money that they say they don't have and further the loss of morale in the people that actually earn thier money.
ReplyDeleteIt's always the people that NEVER have done the job, that say that they are over paid. How many of them are out there when it is 90 degrees, or 10 degrees? NONE. They won't even leave their homes.
ReplyDeleteService is our ONLY product. That is why 80% go to salary and benefits. Local school systems put 90% towards salaries and benefits. Close the plaza, and we will get back into the black.
our manager is here half the time , other half out shopping. 1 supervisor talks on the phone to his boy lover all afternoon. i could go on and on but anymore and all will know location. this is just 1 office , imagine across the country. like a ex govenor of mass said the fish rots from the head down. the workers know what to do but management in justifying thier jobs just slow the whole process down . my guess is that easily 50-60 percent of management should be let go. BLOATED,BLOATED,BLOATED WITH NOTHING TO DO !
ReplyDeletewe are a labor intensive company.
ReplyDeletethat is what we do, deliver mail. we should have most of our costs in labor.
i agree, while carriers are working their butts off, (no breaks, no lunch, no bathroom), layers of supervisors are added to micro manage, and fill out ever increasing reports.
potter, how did your countrywide no cost loan go? i understand that the bankcard mailings cost us untold millions. but you got a great house.
Get rid of the 204b program.... and you will see where the real work is done, and where the REAL waste exists!
ReplyDelete