e-Team Report, June 21, 2013

Biased Report Calls for USPS Privatization

Yet another conservative think tank has come out with a study calling for the privatization of all postal operations except delivery.  In a June 2013 report titled “Postal Reform for the Digital Age,” the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) put forth an extreme plan where USPS would only keep its monopoly on last-mile delivery while opening up collection, transportation, sorting and processing of the mail to private interests.

To make this dangerous proposal a reality, the authors of the study call upon Congress to “give USPS the authority to close post offices, sorting facilities and other facilities, to layoff postal workers, and to choose how many days a week to deliver mail.”  These flagrantly anti-worker proposals are cut from the same cloth as the destructive policies put forth in Rep. Darrell Issa’s latest postal reform bill.  It should come as no surprise to learn that Rep. Issa serves as an honorary co-chair of the think tank.

Customers Notice Delays in Mail Delivery as P&DCs Close

As processing and distribution centers around the country are closed, customers and businesses are noticing delays in mail service.  Facility closures often results in mail being processed far from its origin, which can lead to delivery delays.  If you believe you have experienced delays in mail service due a plant closure, please contact the APWU Legislative & Political Dept. 

For more on customers impacted by P&DC closures, please click here.

Time to Capture Lost Opportunities

The USPS Office of Inspector General recently evaluated General Service Administration (GSA) contracts to provide high-volume delivery services for federal agencies. The federal government spends hundreds of millions of dollars each year for mailing services and the vast majority of contracts for these services have gone to the Postal Service’s competitors, primarily UPS. The investigation revealed that competitors have consistently captured more than 98 percent of shipping revenue through GSA contracts.

One of the challenges cited in the report is the lack of 2-3 day guaranteed express delivery products, but the report is not all bad news. The OIG estimates that it is possible for the Postal Service to generate over $34.8 million during the 2013 and 2014 fiscal years with some strategic changes.

Instead of looking at ways to dismantle the postal network and the excellent service that we can provide, it is high time for the Postal Service to look at improving service and growing revenue. 

To learn more about the OIG report, please click here.

Capitol Hill Post Offices Are Slated for Closure, Rep. Issa Praises Announcement

The Postal Service has slated three post offices in the Capitol Building for closure this August.  While savings from the closures would have little or no impact on USPS’s financial crisis, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) praised the announcement, calling it “symbolically important.”  This isn’t surprising since Issa wrote to Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe last year urging the USPS to close the offices.  Several members of Congress have decried the closings that will take place in the Capitol building and the Rayburn and Cannon House Office Buildings.  It’s clear that even post offices used by Congress are not immune from the result of the financial crisis they created.

 For more the closure of Capitol Hill post offices, please click here.

The Postal Service and Privacy

Following recent revelations about government programs for the surveillance of email and telephone calls, some have speculated that those interested in privacy would begin making greater use of the Postal Service.  To read an editorial in Forbes expressing such a viewpoint, please click here.