Struggling Postal Service Seeks Wage Concessions

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.inthesetimes.com/working/entry/6468/struggling_postal_service_seeks_wage_concessions/

Wednesday September 22 3:39 pm

By Akito Yoshikane

Two unions representing workers for the financially strapped United States Postal Service (USPS) began negotiations over a new labor deal this month.

Faced with declining mail volume and an unsustainable business model, the USPS is asking for wage and benefit concessions for employees who enjoy better benefits than other public-sector workers. But the steady downturn has already caused many mail service workers to either retire early or have their jobs phased out through attrition. Unions are looking to prevent further reductions.

The USPS began talks with the 213,000 member American Postal Workers Union (APWU) on September 1, followed by initial negotiations with the National Rural Letter Carriers Association (NRLCA) last week. The four-year contracts for both unions expire in November.

There have been workforce reductions for 84,000 employees through retirements, cutting overtime and operational changes, much to the dismay of the NRLCA and APWU, which represents mail clerks, mechanics, drivers and custodians. The APWU says labor costs have been already reduced by 30 percent over the last three years through reduced hours.

Despite delivering half of the world’s mail, the postal service faces a $7 billion shortfall this fiscal year. Four years ago, mail volume peaked at 213 billion pieces. But it fell to 177 billion last year, the largest decline since the Great Depression, and is expected to fall to 150 billion within 10 years.

FULL story at link.

[doc03]

1. They should go to a five day week that would save

$100s of millions maybe billions.

[Crazy Dave]

5. I agree

My life isn't going to change one way or the other without Saturday delivery as all my bills are received and paid online. I mainly go out to the mailbox to clear out all the junk mail and weekly sales flyers.

[customerserviceguy]

2. If it wasn't for junk mail

the USPS wouldn't have 90% of what it does. Step up the postage rates on hand-carried litter, and save a tree or two.

[My Good Babushka]

3. I love USPS

I use it all the time to ship out the custom made gooderies I do at My Good Babushka. Never had a package go missing. I could not afford to ship UPS or FedEx all the time. USPS is a wonderful bargain, and I wouldn't mind if they raised postage a little. I only wish I had more business for them.

[Crazy Dave]

7. We have two drivers

One is great and the other smokes crack I think. Lots of stuff lost or damaged and our complaints never get paid any attention too.

[Hannah Bell]

4. the business model is unsustainable because the privatizers pulled all the real business & left usps

as a subsidized junk mail carrier.

in that preview of other forced privatizations.

[Crazy Dave]

6. The USPS has also privatized many of it's own operations

15 years ago I worked in an industrial park that had two very large postal facilities. One was for bulk mail, the other for re-routing lost mail. Each building had about 200 employees on shift and out of all those 200 were only two to four USPS employees. The rest were independent contractors hired to work 30 hours a week, no benefits, no paid holidays at $6 an hour. Maybe now they make $8.

One thing that happened day after day, one or twice was the cop cars coming to arrest someone from the bulk mail center. Never knew if it was work related or personal but damn...not even a week would pass without someone being taken out in handcuffs.