MJS68
Member
USPS does NOT use US tax dollars. It is 100% funded by it's sales of postage and services.
Point 1: Unlike the private shippers, USPS does not own it's own aviation fleet.
USPS mail flies on commercial flights, and is entirely based on availability of space. Flights are down 45.9% since March 16.
Point 2: The new Postmaster General has enacted unprecedented, and entirely unnecessary network cuts Nationwide.
Transportation has been cut dramatically. Hasps, Hubs, transfer-points have been reworked and service has suffered. That is a fact.
(Seeing how he has over $10M invested in direct USPS competitors, make of his moves what you will. Quite a conflict.)
Point 3: This year's holiday package volume is far higher than ever before (at least by 35-45% so far).
People who will not be travelling are mailing. We also deliver the bulk of Amazon and UPS packages.
The volume has gotten so high, we have had to abandon the practice of acceptance scanning entirely in our office.
Delivery still gets scans, but the outgoing stuff is too heavy. We don't have the people or the time.
Add to that the cuts in ground transportation and the lack of commercial flights and you have a nightmare scenario. There are entire post offices and district administrative offices shut down because of employee COVID contractions and quarantines.
We have 9 clerks in my office. 4 Distribution and 5 Retail/Admin. 47 carrier routes and one Auxiliary. Our township has a population of 50,000+.
Our seasonal "Christmas Helpers" didn't show up again for the second year in a row. Our window of operation runs from when the first 2 clerks come in at 11pm until the last one leaves around 9pm the next night.
Today 12/14 we had over 14,000 packages (Not even counting letter mail and envelopes). Double our previous single-day record. Most carriers have been working 12-14 hour days, and all the clerks, as well. Six days a week. Some work Sundays too.
The lines at our retail window wrap around our building with social distancing. People have to line up outside.
This is my 20th Xmas at USPS, and by far the worst. The 3 of us in Retail have a workload that was done by 8 people just 4 years ago.
Since they restructured the pay-scale a few years ago, the retention rate of new Letter-Carriers is below 30%. The vast majority resign within 6 months.
you are right they don't take tax dollars, usps gets bailed out every year by the fed. ups and fedex turn a profit how come the usps can't. you are right about the retention rate of letter carriers, in the city i'm in we always have new carriers and the ones that have been there awhile are saying to hell with it i'm done.