The Postal Service began implementing POStPlan a couple of weeks ago, and in a post last week we reported on problems that had already begun to emerge: surveys sent only to box holders, meetings scheduled during the workday, using the post office lobby as the meeting place. A few more news reports have come out, and several people wrote in about … Read More
POStPlan implementation: The surveys go out, the trouble begins
Last week the Postal Service began notifying citizens across the country that their post office would either have its hours reduced or be closed completely. Reports from the field indicate that the Postal Service will not be rolling out POStPlan in a very gradual way. It appears that any post office with a postmaster vacancy will be reviewed immediately, and … Read More
An Open Letter to Senator Collins: It’s time for a new vision of the Postal Service
[A few days ago, former postmaster Mark Jamison wrote a letter to Senator Susan Collins of Maine, urging her to exert her influence in Congress to change the direction of the Postal Service before it's too late. Mr. Jamison can be reached at Mij455@gmail.com, and his contributions to Save the Post Office are archived here.—Ed.] Dear Senator Collins: I am … Read More
To NSA or not to NSA? The Valassis Question
BY MARK JAMISON I would earnestly warn you against trying to find out the reason for and explanation of everything…. To try and find out the reason for everything is very dangerous and leads to nothing but disappointment and dissatisfaction, unsettling your mind and in the end making you miserable. — Queen Victoria to her granddaughter Why would the Postal … Read More
Trouble ahead: The PRC gives POStPlan a green light
Last Thursday, the Postal Regulatory Commission issued its advisory opinion on POStPlan, the Post Office Structure Plan, and the Postal Service isn’t wasting any time implementing its plan to reduce hours at 13,000 post offices. On the same day the PRC published its findings, the USPS Postal Bulletin published changes to three operational manuals, laying out the details on POStPlan. According … Read More
On behalf of infrastructure: Rethinking the postal environment
BY MARK JAMISON It's been four years since the Great Recession began to take its toll on postal revenues, and we appear no closer to a resolution to the crisis than when it first arose. Of course, if one looks at it from an historical perspective, the Postal Service has faced an existential crisis since 1968, when the Kappel Commission issued … Read More
Dateline Danville VA: The VP visits, the USPS cuts hours at the PO
On Tuesday of this week, Vice President Biden told a largely African American audience in Danville, Virginia, that Mitt Romney wanted to put them "back in chains" by "unchaining Wall Street." Republicans jumped on the VP for playing the race card, Romney called the remark "reckless," and the story was all over the national news. There's another story coming … Read More
What can Brown do for you? Congressman Ryan’s UPS Express
Congressman Paul Ryan, who may be our next Vice President, hasn’t had much to say about the U.S. Postal Service. He has a statement on his website about the agency’s financial problems, but it basically just nutshells the bills put forward by Darrell Issa and Stephen Lynch. The only thing of substance in the statement is Ryan’s rejection of the … Read More
Got Mail? Go get it — the Postal Service has other plans
In its never ending search for ways to cut costs and reduce the deficit, the Postal Service may have come up with a real money-saver: stop delivering the mail. One of the biggest expenses incurred by the Postal Service is delivering the mail to your door or your curb. It would be a lot cheaper if they just put the … Read More
Postal Service posts a $5.2 gazillion loss, begs to be put out of its misery
Yesterday the Postal Service released its Form Q3, the financial report for the third quarter of the fiscal year. The headlines wax poetic: “No more mail? US Postal Service begs Congress for help; warns it could go insolvent by next year” (NY Daily News) "Postal Service unstoppable in rain, snow. But red ink?" (Christian Science Monitor) “Postal Service reports $5.2 … Read More
The Road to POStPlan: Breaking down the postmaster retirement numbers
Yesterday the Postal Service provided an update on how many postmasters have chosen to retire thanks to the $20,000 incentive offer. Nearly 3,800 retired as of July 31, and about 300 will be retiring at the end of August and September, bringing the total to 4,100. (The numbers are here.) The Postal Service did not provide a list of the … Read More
Another POStPlan post office hit with suspension, gets the fifth option
The Postal Service has closed another POStPlan post office by emergency suspension. The Postal Service’s reassurances to the Postal Regulatory Commission that it wouldn’t be doing that don’t seem to count for much. A few days ago, we noted the emergency suspension of the post office in Helen, Maryland. It’s on the POStPlan list, set to be downgraded to … Read More
By Default or Design: The Demise of the Postal Service
BY MARK JAMISON, FORMER U.S. POSTMASTER Default. It’s an ugly and dangerous word. It gives the impression that the individual or enterprise attached to it has utterly failed. It implies defeat and irresponsibility. The news media use the word with relish. Like a car crash, a hurricane, or a murder, it sells newspapers. Combined with the word “bailout,” it’s … Read More
Fork in the Road for POStPlan
The Postal Service has assured the Postal Regulatory Commission on several occasions that it would not use lease problems or staffing issues to close POStPlan post offices by emergency suspension. Yet even before the implementation of POStPlan has officially begun, that seems to be exactly what’s happening. In Helen, Maryland, the post office is set to be reduced to two … Read More