The US Postal Service reported a net loss of $677 million for the month of May 2009, creating a year-to-date deficit of $3.4 billion. The share per employee is $1,041 for the month of May alone. If this trend continues, the anticipated loss for 2009 will be $6 billion. Mail volume is down 19.9% overall (first class -16.4%, standard mail -23.9%, package services -17.8%). No class of mail has been spared from a reduction in volume compared to May 2008.
There is no end in sight for what has become a multi-year trend. Personnel cuts, mostly among craft employees, have reduced work hours, but the USPS's top heavy management structure continues to suffocate the organization with its monolithic bureaucracy. There is much talk, but very little action, on significantly reducing the ratio of supervisors to employees.
And there is a sense of panic on the workroom floors throughout the country as employees at all levels witness a steady, measurable and very visible decline in the mail's volume. The service is in the process of 'studying' the feasibility of closing as many as 3,243 stations and branches, which will result in massive protests from customers and Congressional representatives alike. The Postal Service's campaign to eliminate the sixth day of mail delivery is on track since the service launched its trial balloon several months ago to test the public's reaction to such a proposal. To the surprise of many, the public was generally disinterested in the loss of the sixth day, an apparent indication of the USPS's state of irrelevency to the American public. It appears that the Postal Service and its unions are slowly coming to grips with the service's inability to compete with electronic mail, and the time has come for headquarters to take serious action. Meanwhile, top 'management' continues its decades old tradition of endlessly studying the problem and coming up with largely ineffective solutions. And we suspect no one at the top will feel the pain.
This all comes at a difficult juncture in American life which many in the financial press are describing as Great Depression II. While the USPS in May hit nearly a record loss, the federal budget deficit soared to a monthly record of $189.7 billion. It wasn't many years ago that such a deficit for an entire year would have been considered lethal to the national economy. The annual tide of red ink is now close to $1 TRILLION ($991 billion) with four months left in the federal budget year. The Obama Administration is projecting the deficit will total a record $1.84 trillion when the fiscal year ends October 1. That would be more than four times the amount of last year's record deficit.
As the economy continues to unwind, the US Postal Service seems to be watching from the sidelines as its organization rapidly implodes. Let's get serious, folks. Any employee can tell you that the waste, abuse, lack of accountability, demoralization of employees at all levels, sense of entitlement by a large segment of management (including four hour lunches, leave taken without charge, et al), continues unabated. And yes, no matter what the new policies are, money is still being wasted on expenditures that are unnecessary to the functioning of the organization.
Let's hope Mr. Potter and company wake up, and that it's not too late. Where is Carvin' Marvin Runyon when the venerable old US Postal Service so desperately needs him?
There is no end in sight for what has become a multi-year trend. Personnel cuts, mostly among craft employees, have reduced work hours, but the USPS's top heavy management structure continues to suffocate the organization with its monolithic bureaucracy. There is much talk, but very little action, on significantly reducing the ratio of supervisors to employees.
And there is a sense of panic on the workroom floors throughout the country as employees at all levels witness a steady, measurable and very visible decline in the mail's volume. The service is in the process of 'studying' the feasibility of closing as many as 3,243 stations and branches, which will result in massive protests from customers and Congressional representatives alike. The Postal Service's campaign to eliminate the sixth day of mail delivery is on track since the service launched its trial balloon several months ago to test the public's reaction to such a proposal. To the surprise of many, the public was generally disinterested in the loss of the sixth day, an apparent indication of the USPS's state of irrelevency to the American public. It appears that the Postal Service and its unions are slowly coming to grips with the service's inability to compete with electronic mail, and the time has come for headquarters to take serious action. Meanwhile, top 'management' continues its decades old tradition of endlessly studying the problem and coming up with largely ineffective solutions. And we suspect no one at the top will feel the pain.
This all comes at a difficult juncture in American life which many in the financial press are describing as Great Depression II. While the USPS in May hit nearly a record loss, the federal budget deficit soared to a monthly record of $189.7 billion. It wasn't many years ago that such a deficit for an entire year would have been considered lethal to the national economy. The annual tide of red ink is now close to $1 TRILLION ($991 billion) with four months left in the federal budget year. The Obama Administration is projecting the deficit will total a record $1.84 trillion when the fiscal year ends October 1. That would be more than four times the amount of last year's record deficit.
As the economy continues to unwind, the US Postal Service seems to be watching from the sidelines as its organization rapidly implodes. Let's get serious, folks. Any employee can tell you that the waste, abuse, lack of accountability, demoralization of employees at all levels, sense of entitlement by a large segment of management (including four hour lunches, leave taken without charge, et al), continues unabated. And yes, no matter what the new policies are, money is still being wasted on expenditures that are unnecessary to the functioning of the organization.
Let's hope Mr. Potter and company wake up, and that it's not too late. Where is Carvin' Marvin Runyon when the venerable old US Postal Service so desperately needs him?
