US Postal Service to close 2,000 offices

[Hannah Bell]

The United States Postal Service announced plans this week to close 2,000 post offices nationwide starting in March. Another 16,000 offices—half of the nation’s post offices—are to be “reviewed”. This comes upon the heels of 491 planned closures announced last December. According to a Washington Post article discussing a computerized system to facilitate these closings, “If plans succeed, the Postal Service could halve its infrastructure by 2020, officials said.”

The 2,000 closings are part of a larger 30 percent cutback in the administrative workforce announced two weeks ago by newly appointed Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe. The cutbacks include the elimination of 2,000 postmaster positions and the consolidation of ten district offices, for a total reduction of 7,500 positions.

The Postal Service has been hemorrhaging money since 2007—an $8.5 billion loss for fiscal year 2010 ending last September and an estimated $6 to $7 billion loss this year. It has responded to this ongoing fiscal crisis by aggressively destroying jobs in every aspect of its operations. USPS Chief Financial Officer Joe Corbett stated last November, “Over the last two years, the Postal Service realized more than $9 billion in cost savings, primarily by eliminating about 105,000 full-time equivalent positions—more than any other organization, anywhere.”

USPS, with a current work force of over 583,000, is the second largest civilian employer, after Wal-Mart. USPS spokesman have stated that they will seek congressional action to change a law prohibiting the closing of a post office solely on economic grounds. Many of these offices are located in rural or suburban areas where access to another office, especially for the elderly, can be difficult. For numerous isolated rural areas the local post office is frequently the only way to send and receive parcels as well as letters.

USPS has also proposed last year the elimination of Saturday delivery. This proposal has been loudly condemned by all four postal unions; however, the contemporaneous proposal to establish a more flexible part-time work force has been met with a deafening silence. The US Postal Service has the largest complement of full-time workers globally, with 87 percent employed on a 40-hour work week.

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2011/jan2011/post-j28.shtml

[derby378]

1. Something tells me the "ghost town" post offices will be the first to go

I know of at least three such post offices in Texas, one of which appears to serve a population of only 26. I'm not saying that I approve of making it more difficult for rural Americans to get their mail; I'm just pointing out where the axe might fall first.

[charlie]

6. That might cost them package delivery as well

The commercial carriers use USPS for the last leg into Podunkville, where they don't have a presence.

[MorningGlow]

17. We lost our post office about two months ago

It had plenty of steady activity and our village isn't a ghost town by any means, but allegedly the P.O. "lost their lease" on the building :wtf: (why didn't they own the building I'd like to know) and instead of finding another place to set up shop (we have quite a few empty storefronts), they moved in with the P.O. in a village several miles away (10 minute drive). However, the teeny weenie P.O. in the very next village two miles up the road is doing just fine. I'm so confused.

[TheMadMonk]

2. Australian model is better. Don't close them. Sell them off as franchises.

Most manage to support a family quite handily in the 'burbs around here.

[Hannah Bell]

3. we already do something similar.

the reason for the postal problem is that the feds require them to turn a profit -- after they gave away all the profitable business to UPS & the like.

usps is now a junk-mail delivery service.

[SpiralHawk]

5. ...a Netflix delivery service

...nice to be needed...


...but those days are numbered as well, as more and more proles stream their video soma...

[naaman fletcher]

10. How did they give away business to UPS? nt

[lib2DaBone]

4. Just another problem emblamatic of our lack of LEADERSHIP in Washington...

.. if only we had a President... or someone in Congress with leadership skills.

But sadly.. we are locked into a "race to the bottom".

[bluestate10]

7. Your analysis is completely wrong.

Barely used post offices should be closed. Why have a post office in some little hick town with a staff of two or three when a larger post office is less than five miles away. People have the choice of using Fedex or UPS, I say let them, then the red staters that live in the regions with the most closures will realize what a bargain "gubmint" was giving their asses.

[SidDithers]

12. Comedy gold...nt

Sid

[Sherman A1]

8. It is a perfect storm of bad decisions & events that led to this

The USPS overall does a superb job for what we pay to send a letter or package. Yet such things as email, internet bank payments, UPS, FedEx have all chipped away at their business over the years. They have not, could not or were not allowed to react to the changes in their market place. Sadly I believe that some local offices should close, but with innovative thinking they could also be combined with other state or Federal offices to cut overhead (rent, heat, a/c, etc) where possible. Things could be done to make adjustments, I just don't see them happening beyond cutback after cutback.

[Tanuki]

15. I've seen lots of post office outposts in rural grocery or hardware stores

I don't know why this couldn't be an option instead of closing down the service altogether.

[Sherman A1]

18. Agreed & Well Said

[Selatius]

9. Who cares if the US Postal Service operates at a loss? It ISN'T a for-profit enterprise.

The Postal Service exists as a matter of constitutionality; it's not there because it exists to make money like it is some private corporation. We specifically pay taxes in order to guarantee such a service.

8 billion loss is small. Why not cut the 800 billion dollar war budget if one is looking for somewhere to save money?

[blondeatlast]

16. Exactly. nt

[lame54]

11. Gotta pay for those tax cuts

[Starry Messenger]

13. k&r

[Scruffy1]

14. The USPS is not losing much money.

The congress saddled it with a five billion dollar per year prepay of retiree health care benefits. No other company does this. Also according to the Office of the Inspector General the USPS has overpaid the Civil Service Retirement system by $75,000,000,000 dollars, mostly after the postal service switched over to FERS in 1982. As a nonprofit the USPS turn over any surplus to the US government. The USPS receives no taxpayer funds at all and is fully self supporting.