USPS ends Saturday delivery (as of August)

here

This will start in August and will not affect packages.

But I hope it's not a harbinger of the decline of something that I believe is essential to our country.

 

No big deal for me personally, since I mostly just get junk mail through USPS. Most of my bills and other important documents come electronically, and since our nieghborhood has locked mailboxes in a central location, I normally don't even pick up my Saturday mail until Monday night.I can see how it could be a problem for others though.

 

Getting junk mail issn't essental to our country, which is what the USPS has mostly become.

Technology has surpassed the need of an government agency to deliver slips of paper wrapped in other slips of paper to every house in the country, and the only reason their package delivery is up is because of the internet.

People just aren't writing letters anymore.

 

Yeah, outside of junk mail (majority of which seems to be credit card offers), it's really just bills. Bills and then birthday/christmas/mother's day cards.

Biggest loser in this whole announcement is probably Netflix, although they've been trying to get out of the DVD portion of their business for a while. Directly affects their delivery and turn-around times, though, making the service slightly less valuable.

 

Should've cut out service during one day of the work week as well.

 

If, for some reason, the country starts hurting because of no Saturday delivery, then it will start up again, back by popular demand; people would pay to bring it back.

In other words, there's nothing to worry about. There's no jeopardy to our national security, and no slippery slope.

The sky is not falling.

 

Gays get married, no Saturday mail.

Coincidence? I think NOT!

 

I have been saying for a while eventually we will cut down to and odd and even delivery schedule. The major stopping point would be a few hundred thousand postal workers suddenly on unemployment in time for the next election cycle.

USPS City Letter Carrier Branch 24.

 

I don not envy you in the current economic climate.

 

I can't say I am 1) sorry, or 2) surprised to hear this.

 

This is true, but its also important to point out that the USPS is only a government agency in name. They are entirely self-sufficient and not supported by tax dollars. The only benefit they get to being a government agency is the ability to put mail into a box that is required to be installed on your property (or, in most new neighborhoods, in a collection of boxes somewhere down the street).

 

^ True.... a fact most people do not know. What most people do not know, either, is that the conservatives in Congress a few years ago put into law a requirement that the Postal Service must put enough money aside in the next ten years to pay for their projected workers' benefits for THE NEXT 75 YEARS. YES! .... All WITHIN the NEXT TEN YEARS! Money to be put aside to fund many future workers who are not even born yet!

What business do you know that could handle that type of demand on their profits/budget? It seems like a plan to cripple and kill the Postal Service so that FedEx or UPS (and even Walmart is considering getting into the act!) could benefit by taking over the service. And guess how FedEx and UPS and Walmart would show their appreciation to the Congress members who are working to bring about the demise of the Postal Service? And guess what would happen to the millions of dollars that had gone into this fund to take care of retirement and health benefits? That is a big enough $$$ fund that some Congress members would surely decide could go to a "better" use.....

Also, Congress does not allow the USPS to do anything to be too innovative or competitive with the other delivery services. How is that fair?

Ben Franklin set up the Postal Service and it still works for a lot of people, especially folks in rural areas (like where I grew up) and helps out the elderly. Get Congress to quit trying to hogtie and kill the USPS, so it can work for those who need it, even if the service ultimately needs to cut out Saturday service and downsize to a size that is reasonable considering the realities of the newer means of communicating.

Otherwise, maybe we should use this philosophy for other businesses and institutions. Anyone want to start paying NOW for the costs of retirement and other benefits needed by our military as projected out for the next 75 years?

 

No, they're a government agency pretty much all the way since they're governed directly by Congress. This entire weekend off proposal isn't going to happen unless Congress approves it.

Also: they're in the constitution.

 

My own situation that I do not especially welcome...

a. I receive my mail very late in the day, near 5pm. In effect, after the close of business for that day.

b. No Saturday mail.

c. No Sunday mail.

d. So many holidays are artificially pushed to the Monday after the weekend, no mail that day.

e. Tuesday mail arrives but, as I said, near 5pm for me and too late for close of business day.

So with all these factors, any given three-day weekend (there are quite a few) I'll likely be in a position where if I don't get it Friday, I won't be able to do anything with it until Wednesday. That's not too cool.

Yeah I know, a PO Box, but come on.

 

I literally receive zero mail that I care about, short of the occasional holiday card from my grandma. I'll be okay.

 

Well I thank you for the membership. Star Wolf himself has put the kid through school and his parents have old fashioned pensions for life. With the last contract which was forced upon us by binding arbitration a couple of weeks ago and my seniority financially this probably doesn't effect me at any greater rate as I have preparred myself for. However I might be forced onto another route.

At this point we have no ideal how it we will cut staff, and staff Saturday parcel runs. And to do so will be in violation of the just arbitrated contract. The PMG thinks he can act because some services are being offerred on Saturday's and he may be thinking it will be easier to get forgiveness then permission from Congress who has the entire federal budget at its borrowing limit just as the Postal Service is.

 

Really, if they end bulk mailing they could probably solve a large number of their problems when it comes to workload. But, yeah, ending Saturday deliveries makes sense.

I don't use much mail either I have one or two bills I think I still pay through the mail and that's it.

 

Ending junk mail would destroy the USPS, not save it. Where do you suppose the biggest chunk of reliable cash COMES from? It's not Aunt Hazel sending you a $10 check for your birthday using a 44 cent stamp. Those mass mailer companies spend a shitload, constantly, to put that junkmail in your mailbox...

Yeah, it creates more work, but it's also paying for the workforce.

 

It used to be that "junk" was carried to supplement the first class letter mail. Under the assumption that we were going to the address anyway. Because of their route order prepared packaging and acceptance of a lower standard of service business and non profit mailers were given a reduced rate. Today however it is the "junk" which is the only predictable work load which can be planned and managed should the service choose to do so. However lately overall volume has dropped to the point that everything is shoved out as it comes in cause peaks and valleys in delivery operations.

A big problem today is that parcel volume has spiked but the service is not staffed or equipped to handle it. Especially with the customer wanting parcels scanned at every step in the distribution process. The service has transitioned from a letter delivery service to an advertisement deliver service and is now trying to change into a parcel delivery service. least there are 400,000 added to the unemployment rolls. However the logistic chain is built on picking up a letter, that no longer exist, from anywhere and sending it anywhere, where the receiver has already opened his email.

So far this has caught the union flat footed. I still haven't received an appeal for more contributions to the PAC. To the normal receivership of our PAC money there will be two messages pushed, save the union, heavily minority, member jobs. To the other side stop a government "czar" in this case the Postmaster General from ignoring the law and setting his own policy thus setting a precedent which other czars will follow to deny the will on Congress.

The PMG meanwhile has sent out a video saying this will happen, but no word about how the routes can be reassigned in compliance with the contract in such a short time period. And what will happen to the now excess 15% of the carrier force, almost all of whom have made the six year mark of service thus have lay-off protection.