Fact: The Postal Service isn’t being privatized

No matter what you might hear on Capitol Hill or elsewhere, the Postal Service isn’t planning to privatize itself.

Some lawmakers have pointed to our partnership with Staples and our Post Plan and cited them as evidence that we want to privatize mail delivery.

But that’s not the case. 1aa-USPS-small

Here’s what Postmaster General Pat Donahoe says: “USPS is doing all it can to grow business, not sell it off. Initiatives like the Staples partnership and the Post Plan will benefit will benefit our customers, our employees and the American public by helping build growth and financial stability into the future.”

So what are these two initiatives all about? Let’s take a look:

– Our partnership with Staples is a pilot project in which we’re selling our products and services at several Staples stores. The goal: to give customers more choices when it comes to purchasing postal products and services.

– The Post Plan is our program to reduce hours at low-activity Post Offices instead of closing them. The goal: to preserve our commitment to our customers and to protect community identities.

Bottom line: The Postal Service is doing what all organizations must do — adapt to a rapidly changing world and meet the public’s evolving needs.

Or as Donahoe says, “We’re committed to continuing to provide our customers with universal service nationwide. [But] with reduced volumes and rising costs, we have to adjust and adapt.”

Written by: Toni Delancey of USPS – Postal Posts

Read response to this article from the Postal Affairs Blog written by Lisa Bowes

5 Responses to "Fact: The Postal Service isn’t being privatized"

  1. The Postmaster General thinks the people of this country are fools. Putting government services into the hands of for profit corporations is not privatization? The PMG is a liar and thinks we are fools. He has to go. He has failed as a public servant and as a caretaker of the post office, which belongs to me and you!

  2. They may not be trying to privatize the entire Postal Service. However, it does sound like that they are trying to privatize the retail section.

  3. In their own memo they say they’re exploring the cost savings between having a retail clerk do the work and a private company employee. If that’s not a threat to privatize, I don’t know what is!

  4. So if they Are not privatizing, why are these Staples not staffed by USPS employees? They are staffed by Staples employees who probably have not been through the rigorous background checks that normal USPS employees deal with, nor do they receive the amount of training USPS employees do, nor do they have to pass the qualification exams that USPS employees do.
    And furthermore, why are details of this partnership/pilot program secret? Because they (USPS) are misleading the public!

  5. The only thing the USPS has to market is trust. People have to know that if they put something in the mailstream we will do everything possible to guard the sanctity of it. If we let people that don’t work for the post office and haven’t been vetted by the post office process the mail we can no longer provide the service to the American public that they deserve.I think selling USPS products and services at Staples is a good idea.It should be done by postal employees.

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