Mail Fail: USPS May Fire 35,000 Postal Workers

Got a box full of letters? Tough. (Flickr user Trish Mayo)

The Post Office, rapidly becoming one of the country's most endangered creatures, continues to dwindle on the brink of existence today, with word coming from Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe that he plans to slash jobs for some 35,000 postal workers.

Earlier this month, the Donahoe said that post offices would be killed this winter unless Congress got its acts together ASAP, but now he's apparently changed his tune, saying the Postal Service simply cannot wait for Congress to quit dilly-dallying. He is attempting to close 252 post offices around the country, a move which would put 35,000 out of a job and add a day to the time it takes to deliver much of the mail. "We are not going to sit back and do nothing," he said. "Congress and the administration know the gravity of the situation."

There are close to 500 post offices "targeted for closure," half of them in the next three months. If they do go under, the Postal Service could save $3 billion a year, though they're still facing a crippling $9 billion budget deficit. Donahoe, in the meantime, insists that everything is going to be okay, okay? "The Postal Service still is a critical part of the American economy," he said. "We are not going out of business." We'll see about that when we get an angry call from Grandma Lois in Boca claiming she never got our thank-you card.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jamie Feldmar in News on September 16, 2011 11:37 AM

Comments [rss]

taracorinne

The rural delivery people are going to feel the brunt of this. A lot of folks in the boonies rely on the mail to get important items like prescriptions (as the nearest pharmacies, especially ones that carry expensive medicines like Gleevec, may be hours away).

It's rather sad.

Nos Feratu

The USPS was created by decree of the Second Continental Congress of 1775. It was never intended to be a for profit service. The purpose of the Postal Service: "The USPS is legally obligated to serve all Americans, regardless of geography, at uniform price and quality. In other words it keeps all Americans connected regardless of location, or economic status.

The current bunch of whores in Washington have set up the Postal Service to fail so they have a pretense to sell it off to Fedex or UPS. What happens when mail delivery becomes a strictly for profit business? How about no more rural delivery because it's not profitable? No more delivery to poor neighborhoods......not profitable. Pricing structure that bases fees on distance.....no more flat rate service.

The result will be to further alienate and disenfranchise a large percentage of our population. That may be good for short term profits, but at the expense of social stability. All you zealots who worship at the alter of the free market should think this through a bit more...........you just might get what you're praying for...........get it good and hard.

spiv

this will give new meaning to the term going postal - 35K mailmen fired in one day, wear your body armor if the doorbell rings!

Peanut_Butter

I think they usually go postal back at the workplace.

souper_crackers

I read a remark from someone at the USPS a while back that he was considering opening outposts in places such as Walgreens--whatever happened to that? That would be a brilliant idea; the reason the USPS is floundering like so many other places is that they haven't changed with the times very well. I'd love to be able to mail things/buy stamps from some place I also have a reason to go to, and my post office branch is one of the worst places in the world. Also, Walgreens and their ilk have better hours.

YouandWhoseArmy3D

The Post Office is not in trouble. A Bush Era law was passed that says the USPS has to fund it's retirement program for the next 80 years, within the next few years. Needless to say, funding the pensions of employees that don't yet exist (something no other private company has to do) has strained USPS to the breaking point.

BottomlessChips

It's all Bush's fault.

When he funds government pensions, he's at fault. When Democrats do it, they're awesome and we should find money elsewhere to pay for it.

longacre

Also, the reason FedEx and UPS are profitable are because they were built from scratch to make money, whereas the post office was designed as a government agency.

randomtransplant

Arn't FedEx and UPS profitable? Do they lobby the USPS in any way? Did they lobby the fed at any point?

Are we cutting post offices while subsidizing their business models, or do they truely pay for the USPS services they profit from?

Couldn't they raise the cost these private-company shippers pay to use USPS, and retain the jobs & services to citizens which were never expected to be profitable at any point in the last 230-some years to begin with?

Are they closing post offices just so the business world can save a couple cents on deliveries?

Unkle_Bob

The USPS is not allowed to raise rates at will - FedEx and UPS can. Additionally, FexEx and UPS are not required to deliver to all addresses everyday. The USPS must, by law, no matter how rural.

Simply put, FedEx, et all have much, much more freedom than the USPS.

longacre

Not sure what subsidies you're referring to. USPS doesn't move any FedEx or UPS packages.

FedEx does have boxes at post offices but USPS doesn't touch them. That's a marketing thing that FedEx pays USPS for. Also, USPS does subcontract the transport of conventional mail because they don't have their own planes, and one of those contractors is FedEx.

randomtransplant

So I had it backwards? Thanks.

In that case, how much is Fedex charging the Fed?

Its just kind of weird that this half-privatized agencies boss is so gung-ho about scaling back. Either they didn't realize they were about to default, or nobody wanted to do anything about it before it was too late. This whole lay-offs thing seems kind of contrived.