Hey, did anyone else see this news article?

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28897426/?GT1=43001

I've seen variants of it; have no problem with the concept. 

Shoot, even cutting down to every other day wouldn't bother me at all.

If they do cut back just one day, Id rather they took out Wednsdays rather than Saturdays.

Or cut out Tuesdays and Thursdays and add in Sunday.  I'd like having the post office open all weekend; that is when I have the most time to go to it.

The reports I've read said it probably owuld not be Saturday but mid week sometime.

I'd rather a weekday than Saturdays as that is typically the only day I can get to the post office (if I need to speak to someone that is).  I typically am at work from 7:30am-5:15pm, and my local PO opens at 8pm and closes at 5:15.  I don't have the type of job where I can leave during lunch either, so I need Saturdays!

I for one and many of the people I know don't think they should cut it back one day less. What about all the actual important mail that does get sent out from businesses and stuff, some of my bills (like my cable bill for one) gets to me really close to the due date as it is. If they cut back one day less then that means it takes an entire day longer than it already does to recieve things we all may be waiting on. Same as with people whose pay checks are mailed out to them, like mine is with Home Health, that means it would take a day longer than it does now to get the checks. I don't think it should be done.

[ if they were to do every other day at any point in the future, which i don't see that, it really wouldn't help when it comes to getting something in the mail when you are told "7-10 business days" because they don't count Saturday or Sunday in that. So cutting out any week days would really make it tougher to get things in a timely matter]

First of all, the proposal as I read it is for mail delivery, not for counter service at the post office.  They'd be not delivering mail one day a week, but that doesn't mean the counter won't be open to mail packages.  (I can't see why they'd want to end counter service nationwide on Saturdays -- it's probably one of the busiest days of the weeks.)

I don't have any problem with fewer mail delivery days.

Our PO only does delivery on Saturday's...no service counter at all on Saturday. That's another problem I can think of... Mailing time sheets in to your employment. We can not mail them until the last day we work on that time sheet and they HAVE to receive it within 4 days or our checks are delayed. And mailing our time sheets are the only other option other than taking them into the main office (home health) and I refuse as so do many others to drive to our home office which is 3 hr drive and then 3hr drive back just to hand in a time sheet. We can't submit them electronicly or anything, so to be honest, I think cutting back would hurt in a lot of areas over time rather than help anything.

Great Idea, should of done this qute a while ago!

If, for instance, they cut out Wednesday, wouldn't that make Thursday just as hard as Monday to deliver?  I'm pretty sure my mail lady only delivers oversized mail when the mood suites her.

I questioned one of the counter workers at our post office.  She said they don't tell her much, but she thinks Congress voted against it?  She also said it was likely that if they cut down a day, it would only be for delivery, and not the counter.

I am envious of those who talk about counter service on Saturday.  None of my local post offices have counter service on Saturday.  I would have to drive at least 40 miles to find one open.   .... so, I am all for ending counter service nationwide on Saturday!

The bottom line though is that if they don't cut back on something somewhere then they will keep posting financial losses.  The PO posted a record $2.3 billion loss last year.  That shortfall has to be made up somehow.  I suppose they could raise postal rates to cover the difference, if Congress allows it, but we'd be talking about a major rate increase, not the 4 or 5 cent increases we've previously seen.  Personally, I'd like to see the "junk mail" rates increased before any others.

I don't understand their reasoning.

Consider this:

Currently mail delivers Mon - Sat.  To save money they wish to drop delivery on one day.  Saturday and Tuesdays are the dates being considered (per GMA).  Both of these days are considered "light". 

I believe they should seriously look at dropping delivery on Monday if they must.

It will shift the heavy delivery to Tuesday BUT it will save the most money to drop Monday delivery.

The majority of holidays fall on Monday with exceptions for July 4, Veteran's Day, Memorial Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas and the New Year, etc.

How can you save money when you are paying workers for a day off when if you are normally closed that day you don't have to pay wages and you don't have to pay holiday wages?  Those weeks there will be only four delivery days.

I believe having Saturday delivery and not having Tuesday delivery would not be good for the workers.  Who wants to work Saturday then be off Sunday work Monday and then have Tuesday off?  You cannot plan anything for one day.

If Monday is the day, workers would have a two-day "weekend" of sorts, plus the impact during many of the major federal holidays would be minimal.

Remember, this not only affects mail delivered to your homes, but also items mailed that may be important like legal papers (for those who don't want them there overnight.)   For example, as a Netflix subscriber, I get my money's worth by watching a DVD the day it arrives and return it the next day.  Doing this, I get two movies per week to watch.  With delivery stopping on Saturday or Tuesday, my money won't go as far with this service as I will not be able to get two movies per week.  It could cause a decline in some subscription based services such as Netflix and Blockbuster. 

I understand the desire to save money, but not considering a day because it is a busy day while the day after is not, just shift the busy day.

Myself, I would prefer two days off back to back instead of having to work one day in between.  Just my own opinion.

Food for thought, though.  I have a family member employed by the postal service who has stated that senior personnel in the company were given large bonuses in 2007 because the funds were available and I believe it was something about if the money wasn't spent not as much would be allocated the next year (or something like that.)

If the post office wishes to make drastic changes, they may consider that if this is true and folks catch wind of it, they may get up in arms over increases, etc when it appears funds may be squandered.

I am not sure if this is the case, but it is something to think about.... That or they could have used that money to pay more to those in the lower pay areas....

Typical - pay more and get less.  There was just a goodly increase in Priority mail rates and they have told me the other rates will go up in May.  I ship about a dozen packages a week, triple that during the holidays.  Customers will not accept a delay in shipping - they will expect me to drive to my local service counter but of course they will not accept higher shipping to cover the costs.  Anybody familiar with the eBay star system knows how crucial the shipping speed is.

Boy oh boy is this a rotten idea.  When I was a kid (a long time ago), my grandmother complained that she remembered 2 times a day delivery.  Will our children talk of the good old days when they even delivered at all???

Betsy, on the way to the post office to ship my oversized boxes

I have heard that a lot of small businesses and legal professionals are kicking up about it in our area due to the delay in getting legal papers and such like that. As much mail still goes through the system, I don't see how they can be losing so much, as much as they say, unless...well we won't go there. But I just don't get it, people are having things shipped and mailed all the time, so I just don't get it

The trouble with cutting out Monday delivery is that Monday is the heaviest delivery day of the week.  The carriers would not be able to deliver ALL of the mail that had accumulated for Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday delivery and that would delay the mail which is the last thing they want to do.

...when if you are normally closed that day you don't have to pay wages and you don't have to pay holiday wages?  Those weeks there will be only four delivery days. That's not the way it normally works. If a full time employee gets holiday pa,y then they will get it regardless of where the holiday falls, either the previous or following business day is paid as holiday pay.

I think Tuesday sounds like their best option. If they cut Fri-Mon, then they extend the "weekend" time and important docs could get slowed down quite a bit. If they cut Tues or Wed, then there is only a one day delay before the next delivery day.

How can you save money when you are paying workers for a day off when if you are normally closed that day you don't have to pay wages and you don't have to pay holiday wages?  Those weeks there will be only four delivery days.

Career postal employees get holiday pay for each Federal holiday.  If the actual holiday falls on their day off - then they receive a "designated" holiday, usually the previous workday.  For instance - Thanksgiving is always on a Thursday.  If Thursday is your normal day off - then Wednesday becomes your "designated" holiday.  You receive Wednesday off and get holiday pay for Wednesday. 

Having Monday be a non-delivery day would cause huge problems for all those Federal holidays that fall on Mondays.  Every mail carrier would end up with Saturday as their designated holiday and it would cost the PO much more than they would save to have to bring in a full complement of mail carriers.  At this point - to my knowledge - only DELIVERY services may be impacted.  Window counter services have not been included.

Also - the upcoming rate increase in May will probably only be 2 cents - not 4 or 5.  The PO is restricted in the amount of an increase they can ask for.  I believe it is tied to the cost-of-living figures somehow.  As for the increases in Priority and Express Mail - even the PO employees were taken by surprise.  BUT - considering how much the price of gas went up, I'm sure those expenses were much more than anyone expected. 

The next time you feel like you are paying too much for postal services - check out some of the prices people in other countries have to pay for the same service.  I think you will be surprised to find that the US is sometimes much less expensive for mailing, expecially if you consider the number of miles that a letter can travel for 42 cents and still be considered US mail!

Did anyone catch the story on CBS Evening News last night?

Postal Service hits back at criticism

The head of the Post Office will receive a pay raise as well as an $800,000 bonus (this was authorized by Congress to allow the Post Office to retain quality people, yet they balked at these same types of bonuses for banks).

While I do not agree that banks receiving billions from the government should pay bonuses (because mainly those receiving the bonuses are either directly or indirectly responsible for the poor performance of their company and should not receive monetary compensation in the form of 7-digit bonuses - for what could be seen as incompetence or outright greed).

How do you justify the reduction in services while increasing costs stating the "company" lost $3 billion last year and then reward the person in charge with a pay raise and a bonus more than most of us make in a decade or longer?

I honestly don't get how on earth they can be wanting to stop mail delivery an extra day and then turn around and give this kind og raise, whether it is Head of the Post office or not. There is no way they can possibly save any money what so ever by stopping mail delivery an extra day if they are giving these kinds of raises to any of their employees. Makes not a single bit of sense to me at all. Common sense, if they had any, would be to stop giving all those big pay raises and everything if they really do want to save money. I think they are just wanting to eliminate the extra day of delivery because people are getting too lazy to want to deliver 6 days a week. i could be wrong but that's what it seems like to me when they state these things but then turn around and give these kinds of raises and such. I never have really understood the pay for Holidays when you're not working, no matter what the company is you're working for. As a Home Health Aide, we are supposed to work on all Holidays if they land on our normal working day and we do get a little extra pay, 20 cents an hr is what we get with my company, but if we take that day off, we do not by any means what-so-ever get paid for it just because it is a Holiday.

I suppose I better close my rant now before I go any further as I know that some agree and some don't.

Career postal employees get holiday pay for each Federal holiday.  If the actual holiday falls on their day off - then they receive a "designated" holiday, usually the previous workday.  For instance - Thanksgiving is always on a Thursday.  If Thursday is your normal day off - then Wednesday becomes your "designated" holiday.  You receive Wednesday off and get holiday pay for Wednesday. 

In hard times, it seems that this could be modified that only those who are physically scheduled to work a holiday should be allowed to receive holiday compensation.  The postal service is quick to point out they do not receive any federal funds therefore, in the sake of saving money it seems possible that concessions could be made, much like what is expected of the auto industry union personnel, etc. 

I keep hearing many saying that sacrifices must be made, but not many seem willing to make them.  I would gladly sacrifice holiday pay for days I don't work if my company was operating in the red; especially if it meant I would remain employed.

At this point - to my knowledge - only DELIVERY services may be impacted.  Window counter services have not been included.

Does this mean that if only delivery personnel on routes are impacted that those with mailboxes in the post office will have delivery on the day chosen for delivery reduction?  Lack of details on this means it it is unknown exactly what will be impacted.  It could be physical delivery only, all delivery, transportation of mail, and/or lobby hours.

Most post offices (except those in large metropolis areas) are only open for 1-3 hours average on Saturdays.  Having lived in larger areas and rural areas, I do not remember seeing many open past noon with most openeng between 8:30 - 10 on Saturdays. 

The next time you feel like you are paying too much for postal services - check out some of the prices people in other countries have to pay for the same service.  I think you will be surprised to find that the US is sometimes much less expensive for mailing, expecially if you consider the number of miles that a letter can travel for 42 cents and still be considered US mail!

This is a moot point.  This is not a discussion about what other countries' post offices charge to send communications, it is about the U.S. Postal Service.

The Post Office is a private company (as they frequently point out) to make money.  They must set their prices on what the majority is willing to pay to mail a letter. 

Too many want to point to email as the cause of the decline in the quantity of letters sent, but why not consider that some believe the cost too high?  How many times in the past five years has postage increased for first class letters? 

Understandably expenses are increasing, as they are for everyone else as well.  Those who opt for email over snail mail would not necessarily be mailing more letters if email did not exist.  They may use phone service instead.  Nobody points to cheaper phone rates, free minutes for nights and weekends on cell phones that allow a phone call to get instant access, even to those distant.  How about unlimited mobile to mobile minutes.  Call your buddy's cell for free?   Instead the lion's share of the decrease in letters is put at email's feet.

Then there are the "opt out" lists.  Folks not wishing to receive junk mail can opt not to receive this.  This reduction will also adversely affect the quantity of letters sent through the system.  Who wants to receive "you are preapproved" applications?

Electronic billing.  We do not receive a paper statement (meaning less postal mail) for our internet provider, television service, bank statements, etc.  This also results in a decline of the quantity of letters handled by the mail.  We have the option (or are required) to pay for certain utilities through electronic means, also to the decline of mailed articles.

There are many reasons for the decline in the quantity of mailed articles, raising fees may raise revenue, but eventually it will reach a point where all but those who must utilize the service will opt out of using the system at every opportunity.

Case in point, gasoline.  When it reached a price most were unwilling to pay, they found ways to cut back on usage resulting in a decrese in consumption nationwide.  Most of these fuel savings have remained even though the price has declined from the highest levels.

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I still believe that if the decision to reduce delivery from six to five days a week, Monday is the best.  For all those who don't believe so, what happens on holidays like the one earlier this week, where mail is not delivered on the busiest day of the week?  Gosh, it slips to Tuesday, doesn't it?  So it can and does work already.

How much money could be saved IF it is necessary to reduce delivery to five days, if holidays do not have to be paid.  Holidays that are now paid for but no work is received for? 

I spoke with our mail carrier this morning. She told me that Friday is seriously being considered as the 1 day to give up home delivery if any day is removed. I asked why not Saturday since businesses need to send and receive mail on Friday. She told me that the volumn of mail that a carrier would have to sort to deliver on Monday would be outrageous, and all mail would probably be delivered very, very late with carriers working many overtime hours! It sounded as though if a day is to be cut, it won't be Saturday! She said probably Friday or even Wednesday. I guess we're blessed here because our PO windows are open from 7:30 to 2 on Saturdays. And boy!!! Are they ever busy!!!

I bet a lot of carriers are all for Friday. I'd love every Friday off.

I would love Saturdays off too-but i wouldn't want a 20% decrease in pay to do it!  I think the PM General is blowing smoke to get publicity.  He really wants congress to eliminate the requirement that the USPS pre-fund retiree's health benefits for the next 8 years.  That would save several billion dillars a year and could put the USPS back in the black.