Observation about the US Mail

Personally, I think everyone just moves too fast these days. Everyone wants instant gratification. There is nothing coming through the mail that I can’t wait an extra day or two for. Granted things getting lost and delayed by weeks are the exception, but anything I get by mail is non urgent. Even typical bills provide enough time to reply by mail. Slow down people, you will live longer!

 

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My mother retired from the post office and she would bring home stories about workers who seemed like they were just there to collect their paycheck. After she retired she continued her union work because the family needed the good medical coverage provided.

I worked as a seasonal one year and can confirm the work is mind numbing. Which is why there are people who work there love the money but not the work. It's like assembly line work.

But the problem right now with money is primarily because the government mandated the USPS has to prefund pensions, not only for those working now, but future employees. Now that's a deal!

When my seasonal work came to an end we were given a chance to train on those letter sorting machines. And even though I knew I wouldn't get paid as much, I went back to my old bus boy job!

 

The saying "going postal" didn't come from nowhere! LOL.

 

It's time for congress to repeal the law requiring the post office to fund its pension plan for 75 years out. That law requires USPS to fund its pension for people who haven't even been born yet in an attempt to crash them so it can be privatized.
Oops, are these facts too political?

 

He's right. The issues with the system have been there for years and really decades. They've never had to care about fixing them or being more cost effective because they always just get a bail out. Letters have been on the decline while packages have been on the rise and the package contracts they have are a joke with how much they under charge in them.

 

That's a myth that has been disproven countless times. It's the line the higher ups push to cover for themselves and to say it's not their fault when begging for billions. Really basically all the myths about the pension being why they lose money are false and just an attempt to shift the blame instead of fixing the problems. They've repeated the myths so much many people started to believe them

https://www.forbes.com/sites/ebauer...sions--some-key-myths-and-facts/#7c61257647f5

 

To date the USPS has never had a taxpayer bailout, and does not currently use any taxpayer money. It has been totally funded by it's own sales. This is the first time they have asked for any taxpayer money. Compare that to the taxpayer bailouts for airlines and car manufacturers.

 

Every corporation practically in America begged for money from the government for the pandemic and got it. But when the post office needs some money after being affected by the virus it's suddenly a bad thing?
Makes zero sense.

 

You are asking politicians to make logical sense for the good of the people.

It makes zero sense if you don't bring politics into it, which we can't do here.

 

Yes they have, they got one this year 10 billion worth and now want more. Their bailout in the form of a loan is the same form many of the other bailouts are that everyone complains about.

Like with bailouts for other industries reforms need to happen as part of getting the money otherwise you are just going to keep giving them more and more and more as time goes on.

That's not true at all, they've been asking for money for over a decade now.

 

I live in Athens, Greece and have regularly corresponded with dealers and collectors in the US since the 60's. I have also received a huge amount of printed matter from the US which has been the pride and joy of my Numismatic Library. I can recall very few cases where letters or catalogs were lost in transit and I regret to say that most of these incidents have unfortunately been proven to be attributed to the poor performance of the Greek P.O. It is inevitable that something will sometimes will go wrong and my humble opinion is that we should respect and feel grateful of the vast majority of the United States Postal Personnel that work hard to serve us and on the whole do a great job for which they should be justly proud.

 

The 10B loan is available now, but they haven't taken advantage of it yet.




https://www.reuters.com/article/us-... postal service as part of coronavirus relief

 

I agree with this 100 %. USPS is top heavy with management, and the amount of micro managing is ridiculous. They also need more freedom to manage their workforce and get rid of the under performing employees.

 

Agreed, though the firing part is probably not realistic. I do think they do a good job overall, but need to refocus off of letters which decline every year. Their drop shipment contracts are really bad overall especially when they are the only player in the game in many rural areas and they need to drop their insurance rates as well. I say the insurance just because they really don't lose much overall but their high rates have allowed private insurance to really take it over and many people just will not insure something with the rates they have. Obviously more changes need to happen and it's not a simple problem, but they are all long overdue

 

This is true, because they are installing new faster machines. You have to take out the old machines before you can install the new ones.

 

I have not heard a thing about the installation of new faster machines. It makes no sense since these machines are letter sorters not package for flat sorters, and the volume of letters is declining, so you have machines doing a more then adequate job....why replace them. Even if you were going to replace them......why remove them before the new ones were ready to install.....especially when there is an impending influx of letters in the form of election mail and Ballots coming soon.

 

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You are correct sir.

 

When mechanical machines are old they break down. When machines are old and break down, parts may no longer be readily available to make repairs. With parts no longer available, the machine gets replaced. Newer machines run more efficiently and require smaller footprints. Cutting down on electrical requirements would be one way the Postal system could cut costs. The reason they would remove any old machines is to change the layout of the sorting floor to accommodate the new machine. Also the contractor removing the old machine may not be the same contractor installing the new machine.

I had to work in one of the largest postal sorting facilities in the U.S.. The building's roof had collapsed due to Harvey and inadequate roof drainage. The roof collapsed in on the sorting room floor. This was about 20,000 square feet of sorting space, where all the machines were damaged from water. The Post Office removed all these damaged machines before getting the new ones. They had to, because construction equipment was moving in. It didn't even cause a blip in the mail getting delivered.

The Post Office could cut costs by making changes in their approach to delivery. In my subdivision everyone has a mailbox street side at the curb. It would take the postmen(plural) less time to deliver if there were community mailboxes. Less gas, less wear and tear on vehicles and less postal workers delivering mail. In one of my buddies area, the mail is still delivered by the postman with a canvas bag, walking door to door. That is real efficient in 2020.

 

I would appreciate your comments as a postal worker, but as a rural client who has seen the results of your supposed cost reduction approach, it generally just results in changes away from U.S.P.S., as is believed currently occurring.

As the past design engineering leader who occasionally over-saw the postal plant requirements, the equipment was appropriate, heavily constructed to absorb constant jams from improper packaging, relay logic that could be trouble-shot by minimally educated operators, with simple replacement components. The KISS approach! Todays' equipment, similar to our appliances/vehicles, is inexpensively designed for the frugal buyer, with circuit boards from elsewhere, and designs to resist deformation when new, purchased from the least expensive foreign source.

Criminals love delivery locations to be combined, with delivery at times when the client may not be available. I lost appreciable "mail" to "gangs". Designed/built a tamper-proof custom box with stand which they destroyed with heavy-equipment by run-over. Replaced with a base 8' deep, they exploded the box. I decided they won, all mail would be delivered to a P.O.Box, to which sellers often won't deliver, employees learn to recognize "value" and business activities, and occasionally delivery is unreported. Now have boxes/addresses in multiple states, and use alternate shipping, always providing optimum shipment insurance, warning customer of potential delivery problems, etc..

I have multiple postal employee relatives, and the thanks-giving updates have been enlightening. Postal changes are believed inevitable, but that Union is believed to be virtually invincible. Look at the gift proposed by congress for current conditions/performance.

JMHO