US Postal Service

[vetbass]

the post office would be just fine if it werent for the 2006 republican lame duck congress requiring 75 years of employee pensions and health care to be pre paid in a 10 year period--yes i said 75 years--what business pre pays 75 years of anything in advance--this was passed in an effort to bankrupt the postal service

this is nothing more than the repubs way to try to privatize mail delivery and line the pockets of ups and fedex who are very big donors to the repub party by the way

[DJD]

the post office would be just fine if it werent for the 2006 republican lame duck congress requiring 75 years of employee pensions and health care to be pre paid in a 10 year period--yes i said 75 years--what business pre pays 75 years of anything in advance--this was passed in an effort to bankrupt the postal service

this is nothing more than the repubs way to try to privatize mail delivery and line the pockets of ups and fedex who are very big donors to the repub party by the way

I'm not above reading about your point of view and how you came to this conclusion. Is there some link or document that you can refer us to? A simple decision by Republicans did all this damage? Sounds kinda like a bomb being tossed.

[vetbass]

I'm not above reading about your point of view and how you came to this conclusion. Is there some link or document that you can refer us to? A simple decision by Republicans did all this damage? Sounds kinda like a bomb being tossed.

Ed Schultz has done several detailed stories on the postal service on his show--and yes i know the right will throw a fit about Ed Schultz and Msnbc

You can look up the law on google or whatever that was passed in 2006--i believe it was called the postal accountability enhancement act

http://www.workplacebullying.org/2012/08/03/usps-2/

[cade0224]

The United States USPS has been in financial trouble for many years. It is only getting even worse. Part and parcel to the issue is the annual $5.5 billion payment the agency makes to its retired workers health fund and the currently due Postal service fund payment is going to get defaulted on.

[RoadToad]

Geo, you're right that the gov't doesn't divert money from the USPS (at least I see no evidence of that), but you're omitting something important - the real cause of their insolvency, as stated in your link, and it IS Congress's fault:

"Fredric Rolando, president of the National Association of Letter Carriers, notes that the onerous health payment for future retirees -- something not required of any other government agency or private business -- is to blame for much of the post office's red ink. He faults Congress for mandating the payments in 2006, saying they force the post office every year into a "panic mode that absorbs energy and resources" rather than focusing on longer-term innovation."The word 'default' sounds ominous, but in reality this is a default on the part of Congress," Rolando said.In 2007 and 2008, the Postal Service initially had profits of roughly $3 billion but fell into the red after making the health payments. In more recent years, it has suffered annual losses of $2 billion to $5 billion even after factoring out the health payments; by 2016, the mail agency expects to lose $21.3 billion a year, of which $5.8 billion will be caused by that payment."

This is because of the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006 (PAEA), which obligates the USPS to prefund 75 years' worth of future health care benefit payments to retirees within a ten-year time span – a requirement to which no other government organization or private business is subject. THAT is what is breaking the back of the USPS.

[MrSplitshot]

In more recent years, it has suffered annual losses of $2 billion to $5 billion even after factoring out the health payments; by 2016, the mail agency expects to lose $21.3 billion a year, of which $5.8 billion will be caused by that payment."

While the prefunded health care is undoubtedly a huge chunk, USPS still lost $2-5 Billion in recent years, not including it. Projecting to be loosing $15 Billion a year by 2016 not counting the health care payment.

It's obviously a loosing proposition. If it were a private business it would have long ago been scrapped with those kind of losses, or bought for pennies on the dollar by someone who knew how to turn it around and make it profitable. It's only alive because it's the government.

That's not at all a reflection of the postal workers that work hard everyday. That's a reflection of piss-poor management and leadership and innovation. Huge surprise from our government, I know.

Now, compare that to UPS. My company holds tire contracts with UPS in several states and we have even hired a couple of their employees to help us get better in our processes. They analyze every minute detail with service and productivity in mind...no excuses. Their culture is one of precision and innovation. For example, they did time studies recently that determined their package car drivers burn 5-10 minutes a day cranking the ignition on and off in their trucks. So, they invest in keyless ignition that will be going into the trucks so that they automatically start and stop as the driver enters and exits the cab...because they know that 5-10 minutes of time saved per day across thousands of drivers equates to more packages handled, with better efficiency, and ultimately more profit.

When one of their trucks blows a tire in one of the states where we handle their tires, we have 1 hour to be on scene...regardless of where it is in our geography. WE PAY THEM for every minute we go over. That means we have tire banks across the geography that we can get to fast, wherever our service truck guys happen to be. It's very lucrative for us, but it also means that UPS doesn't take any crap and top priority is get the package to the customer fast, no excuses...because those kinds of things keep them ahead of the competition.

They have also saved 10,000,000 gallons of fuel since 2004 by eliminating as many left turns as possible in their routing.

Do you think the culture of the USPS is pushed through the organization like that from the top down?

[DJD]

Ed Schultz has done several detailed stories on the postal service on his show--and yes i know the right will throw a fit about Ed Schultz and Msnbc

You can look up the law on google or whatever that was passed in 2006--i believe it was called the postal accountability enhancement act

http://www.workplacebullying.org/2012/08/03/usps-2/

Ok I understand that happened. I never knew that even existed. Wonder why they were singled out? Also wonder why they are being opted out of Federal Healthcare Plans and going to private insurance? Like the author stated it's fixable if only it didnt involve a political solution.