Those are certainly factors, but mismanagement is also a huge factor. As a former employee I have seen such incredibly wasteful practices there.....you'd never believe it unless you saw it.
Unions are a main reason behind the problems there.
The Unions can't expect USPS to fill vacant positions ( from retirement mainly) that are no longer justified due to lack of mail volume.
There are a lot of unneeded tiny offices still in existence . I live in a tiny town of 6,000 people ( made up of 3 villages or boroughs), each has its' own PO....the land area is small as well, no more than 2 miles between the farthest two, with one in the middle of that.
The unions should be happy to keep the pay for presently unneeded employees ( mostly clerks) and let the vacant jobs go unfilled, without a fight.
Mail is just not needed like it was , even 20 years ago.
Even an 80 year old lady can easily pay her utility bills over the phone with just a checking acct and no computer.
Been working there for almost 27 years as a carrier.
First thing I want to point out is that the main reason you've been hearing this 'Post Office loses 5 billion dollars this quarter' stuff is because our labor contract expired last November.
Of course, it's a collective bargaining contract, and every time it gets close to the end of one (every 4-5 years)- the post office says publicly it is losing money and can no longer continue this or continue that.
Same as any other collective bargaining. R ight now, the process is in arbitration. I point this out, because that is why you've been hearing all this about the PO losing billions every quarter for the last year or so. What really pisses me off is that when these financial 'experts' come on and talk about the PO, NONE of them point out that the collective bargaining situation is behind all the bleak outlook talk about the PO.
That being said, it is a place that has always been managed poorly. Most people start out as a carrier, clerk, or mail handler; and if a person is incompetent at those jobs, they become supervisors. That is were a lot of trouble starts. I heard of some cases where they hire some mangement from outside, but usually the more f.....d up you are, the more you get promoted.
And yeah, right now, most offices are understaffed in carriers and clerks, so if you wanted to...work all the ot you can..never take a day off..never take a vacation, you can probably make about 80-90k on the high end. But all that could change in a hurry. From what I understand, a big issue in these contract talks right now is that the new hires, peope they call TEs (temporary employess) make a decent wage but have no benefits at all. The union is trying to get them on as permanent employees, the po is resisting. Also, the Po wants 5 day delivery and the union is fighting that because that would result in fewer jobs (and less union dues). Most of the people who work there are in favor of the 5 day delivery week.
I think if you aren't familiar with the way the po works, you may have the perception that there is no mail at all and the po is going under. But there is a lot of stuff to deliver. No doubt, the number of letters is down, but there about 10 times more packages (due to e-bay and amazon). Also, a big thing is now how many people get medicine in the mail as compared with just a couple of years ago.
And another thing I think is interesting is when the po was booming a few years back...there was a lot of mail, but a lot of that was that credit card scamming bs. You wouldn't believe how much of that stuff there was.
First thing I want to point out is that the main reason you've been hearing this 'Post Office loses 5 billion dollars this quarter' stuff is because our labor contract expired last November.
Of course, it's a collective bargaining contract, and every time it gets close to the end of one (every 4-5 years)- the post office says publicly it is losing money and can no longer continue this or continue that.
Same as any other collective bargaining. R ight now, the process is in arbitration. I point this out, because that is why you've been hearing all this about the PO losing billions every quarter for the last year or so. What really pisses me off is that when these financial 'experts' come on and talk about the PO, NONE of them point out that the collective bargaining situation is behind all the bleak outlook talk about the PO.
That being said, it is a place that has always been managed poorly. Most people start out as a carrier, clerk, or mail handler; and if a person is incompetent at those jobs, they become supervisors. That is were a lot of trouble starts. I heard of some cases where they hire some mangement from outside, but usually the more f.....d up you are, the more you get promoted.
And yeah, right now, most offices are understaffed in carriers and clerks, so if you wanted to...work all the ot you can..never take a day off..never take a vacation, you can probably make about 80-90k on the high end. But all that could change in a hurry. From what I understand, a big issue in these contract talks right now is that the new hires, peope they call TEs (temporary employess) make a decent wage but have no benefits at all. The union is trying to get them on as permanent employees, the po is resisting. Also, the Po wants 5 day delivery and the union is fighting that because that would result in fewer jobs (and less union dues). Most of the people who work there are in favor of the 5 day delivery week.
I think if you aren't familiar with the way the po works, you may have the perception that there is no mail at all and the po is going under. But there is a lot of stuff to deliver. No doubt, the number of letters is down, but there about 10 times more packages (due to e-bay and amazon). Also, a big thing is now how many people get medicine in the mail as compared with just a couple of years ago.
And another thing I think is interesting is when the po was booming a few years back...there was a lot of mail, but a lot of that was that credit card scamming bs. You wouldn't believe how much of that stuff there was.
They are living in the 90's still. Times have changed and while there is a need for the US Postal Service still and there will always be a need, it will NEVER be as popular again. Too much is done electronically now. It's just more tax payer dollars being wasted and for what? US Postal Service needs to live within its means like any other business. If it means mail delivery once a week in order to make $, then so be it.
The government officials who keep letting this happen should be booted out of office. Imagine what can be done with all that money?
The government officials who keep letting this happen should be booted out of office. Imagine what can be done with all that money?
We still get all of our bills thru the mail also, but we pay them all online so we never do any mailing back. Biggest problem Ive seen is just how much slower the mail is now. Ive been getting Sports Illustrated for years and used to always receive it on Tuesday, Wednesday the very latest. But now Im lucky if I get it by Friday and usually don't get it til Saturday. In fact, here it is Saturday and still have not received it yet this week.
