February 11, 2011
Honorable Ruth Goldway
Chairman, Postal Regulatory Commission
901 New York Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C.
Dear Chairman Goldway:
The United States Postal Service (USPS) has commenced an aggressive nationwide effort to close rural and small town post office. In the view of the National Association of Postmasters of the United States’ Committee on Post Office Preservation, USPS efforts may violate §101(b) of Title 39, United States Code. In addition, the Postal Service’s plan jeopardizes every small and rural Post Office in the nation. Therefore, as a rural postal customer and as chairman of the Post Office Protection Committee, I respectfully request that the Postal Regulatory Commission review the USPS’ plans to determine if the Postal Service’s efforts are in statutory “noncompliance”; if so, to direct the Postal Service to cease and desist from such unlawful actions and impose appropriate sanctions.
In January, the Postal Service announced an initiative to close more than 2,000 “unprofitable” Post Offices around the nation. Local Post Office-closing decision-makers have confirmed the underlying reasoning for the closures. A February 5, 2011, Washington Post article quoted a Virginia manager of postal operations as stating: “It’s all about the bottom line, Voorhees [manager of postal operations] said.” Moreover, at infrequently-held community meetings, the Postal Service strives to defend its discriminatory decision to close a rural or small town Post Office by claiming that the Post Office of the adversely-impacted community is simply not making enough money.
As the Commission knows, §101(b) specifically prohibits the closing or consolidation of a Post Office “solely for operating at a deficit.” Moreover, §101(b) provides that small communities and rural America be provided with “a maximum degree of effective and regular mail service to small towns, communities and rural areas where post offices are not self-sustaining.”
Madame Chair, I believe that Post Offices provide a fundamental social benefit, particularly to communities not enveloped by urbanization or suburbanization. Regrettably, Postal executives are dismissive of the tremendous asset they have in rural and small town Post Offices, and trivialize the distance between Post Offices in those areas and how that distance impacts rural postal customers. Furthermore, Postal executives choose to ignore the strong the citizen mailers’ support of Post Offices, evidenced by a less-than-year-old Gallup Poll, which found that 86 percent of Americans oppose Post Office closures. Consequently, please consider opening a docket on this issue.
Thank you for your consideration and attention.
Sincerely,
Keva Richardson
Co-Chair, Post Office Preservation Committee
Don, You need to get your facts straight. Postmasters have all the responsibility for their offices yet no authority to deal with mental midgets like yourself in a disciplinary way.
The freeze on all new hires is what protects you and others like you from being canned as a non-producing slug. Having someone…..yes, even you is probably better than no one.
As time has gone by, the loss of staff which can’t be replaced falls upon the shoulders of the Post Master. As a salaried position the intention is to have a 40 hour a week job…this has grown and grown with each lost staff member. Work weeks climb for 40 to 42 to 44 to 48 and over 50+ hours per week.
Unlike you poor abused worker, they get no additional pay for all the Saturdays, and excess hours. When one of your buddies decides to stay home sick, they fill in. When you screw up, they get called on the carpet. When there is an accident, they get disciplined. My wife is a postmaster…She has not had a sick day in 27 years. She is being pushed to the limits by the corporate micro-management and on the verge of a nervous breakdown. The life of a Post Master is miserable…yet guys like you shoot the messenger instead of opening your eyes to the reality of where the problems lie…most of it can be seen in the mirror.
Keep the PO’s open but get rid of the over paid Postmasters! For what they do their salaries are very excessive!