I plan on it, and hopefully get it in some op-eds. I want to see us stay open, but the PO badly needs reform,
The worst part is that supervisors have limited ability to make changes to carriers routes. And the older postal emoyees know how to take advantage of every little rule and clause to get maximum overtime and minimum work. Ironically, those are also the ones who are openly anti Trump and bitch about how the PO needs a bailout. But they can never see that they are the reason it needs a bailout!
The union is Very liberal! The postal union has a optional donation fund for political action. Through this fund they pay postal workers so they can take time off to canvas for Democrat candidates. It's also in the contract the union has with the PO that carriers must be allowed to take the time off for canvassing
I agree about raising rates, but disagree about doing away with pensions. Pensions are why I call it one of the last great American blue collar jobs. I don't have a degree and I'm very thankful for a job that pays a living wage and will provide a retirement for me. But I realize that If we workers have this benefit, than we need to advocate for the kinds or reforms that make the PO sustainable. I absolutely wouldn't want a bailout without a reform to the unions system.
I totally agree! And I'm sure there are more rates that should be changed. But I don't know enough about that side of things to give any true insight. But as a carrier I see all the day to day inefficiencies. Having had worked in private sector for all of my life before joining the PO, I was blown away by how its run intenally.
That's a good question. Those are done for packages to show where they got delivered. But letters aren't scanned at the house. I'd love to See the use of letters for private correspondence have a resurgence. Why let Google see what we're writing to each other?
It's mixed. Like most places, the leftists are the loudest. I assume anyone who doesn't join in the bitching about Trump is a Republican which is over half
Those pictures are taken by the sorting machines. But what's inside the letters is confidential of course.
I am a 6 year mail carrier and wanted to add my thoughts to the debate over the Post Office.
Many of the Post Office's financial problems can be blamed on the union and 3 steps could help return the Post Office to a strong financial position.
The pension system is strong but cash flow is poor. Let people with <7 years retire early, with slightly reduced pension benefits, and instead of filling the vacancies condense letter delivery to 5 days/week with packages 6/week. CCA's (*City Carrier Assistant, a position that is similar to a substitute teacher, but for mail carriers) should do the 6th day delivery.
Make the mail carriers wage a true salary and develop street standards. As it is now, mail carriers are paid hourly, but guaranteed 8 hours a day. On light mail days, carriers still get paid for 8 hours, but anything over 8 hours is either payed as overtime, or the rest of the route is handed off to a CCA. What makes this worse is that there are no "street standards," meaning that a carrier can take as long as they want for a route and supervisors have no ability to reprimand or discipline. Anyone who's a postal emoyee knows this system is INCREDIBLY abused! Mail carriers should be salaried, and if any of their route is handed off to a CCA, the CCA'S wage should be deducted from the carriers salary. This would end the rampant abuse of the system.
Reform the training system! All carriers start out as CCA's, they become a Regular Letter Carrier only after someone retires and their route opens up. CCA's soon find out they are the regular carriers bitch and many don't last over a year. Training a new CCA costs about 10k. Listing all the problems with their model of hiring and training would take more time than either you or I have, but the simple solution would be having it all be on the job training in the office of the persons employment.
There are so many other changes that should be made but these are the biggest.
I love what I do and I believe that the Post Office is one of the last great American blue collar jobs.
One last thing that we all should appreciate is that the mail is the last true form of private communication. This should be appreciated now, and even more so in the future as privacy becomes increasingly rare. I wouldn't want the last from of private communication to be in the hands of Jeff Bezos.
Thanks for reading, if there are any other postal pedes here I'd love to hear from you!