Oversight Committee to Scrutinize Postal Workforce Costs
WASHINGTON- Rep. Darrell Issa (CA-R), Chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, today announced a full committee hearing on United States Postal Service (USPS) pay and benefits on April 5th. The Committee expects to hear from the Postal Service on their tentative agreement offered to their largest union, the American Postal Worker Union (APWU), last week. The agreement has yet to be signed.
Issa expressed serious doubt that the APWU contract agreement would improve the fiscal situation that threatens USPS’ future.
“Eighty percent of the Postal Service’s operating expenses are workforce-related. Costs must be reduced to align them with falling mail volume and declining revenue projections. The union contract renewals are the best chance to find new savings,” said Issa. “Unfortunately, this looks like a missed opportunity. The Postal Service must show Congress and the American people that it can pay its own way, because the numbers do not seem to add up.”
Rep. Dennis Ross (FL-R), chairman of the Postal Service Subcommittee, expressed serious concerns about postal service pay.
“The Postal Service cannot afford to continue to pay, as their own numbers have estimated, a 34.2% wage premium over comparable private sector labor,” said Ross, referring to information presented by economist Michael Wachter in 2003 testimony to the President’s Commission on the Postal Service. USPS has hired Wachter to study pay and benefits multiple times since 1980, but USPS does not release the reports citing propriety information concerns.
Issa continued: “This hearing will establish an important baseline for Congress’ upcoming work on the Postal Service’s structure, fiscal health and self-governance.”
I’m with war van, meet the new boss, same as the old boss. It stinks, but you don’t hear them saying anything about all the extra money we made that they were happy to ad to the general fund in prior years, but get on some lean times, suddenly we’re just like all the other bloated government agencies.
They will complain about paying us, but be more then happy to spend millions on garbage. You guys may remember the debacle almost two years ago where Obama sent Airforce One to get photo ops flying around different monuments and such, it caused panic in NY City, what they don’t tell you, they sent it all over the place for these photo ops, at a cost of $60,000 an hour.
I remember when they made a stink about the pentagon, they spent almost one million dollars to ship two .19 cent washers from South Carolina to Texas. We could have done it for less then a buck.
I could sight hundreds of stupid government wastes, but what’s the point, it is was it is. We need to change the way Washington does business, but we can’t do that if we don’t elect average hard working Americans, and I looked at running, the cost would be to much to bear, and obviously we can’t continue to work for the Post Office and run for office. It’s the same with any of us “average people”, we can’t afford to do it, not with the millions the politicians spend on campaigns.
What makes you people think that voting out any current politician in favor of a new one will fix these situations? This is their job (spending our money). We blame it on Obama, but he just inherited Bush’s sloppy seconds. What made you think that he would clean anything up? What makes you think his successor will be any different? They get paid to spend our money while we sit here on message boards pointing out their fouls. Dems, Republicans and Libs are all to blame as we all voted SOMEBODY into office and congress. We push for better public schools but how many people on Capitol Hill have their kids enrolled in them? It’s a joke. They sit there TOGETHER and laugh at us while we finger point across party lines.
I don’t have a solution, but I’m not putting my trust in a politician of my choice either. Are they any more dignified that criminal attorneys? At least they have to present a case before they screw us. Pols say “because we said so!”
-Active letter carrier who subscribes to no particular political party, fits no stereotype or voter demographic
Thanks David…….WELL PUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Political education 101- Remember in 2012!
Also don’t forget the free political mailings the Postal Service gives to these same politicians. Pay your fair share and we would be OK.
Some cost-cutting measures:
Stop “teams” of detailed supervisors who have nothing better to do than going from station to station making sure there are no EMPTY CUPS in the carrier’s vehicles.
Stop “teams” of detailed supervisors who have nothing better to do than go from station to station making sure you’re not using brown cardboard trays to carry your mail and…God forbid…leave a stack of them at your case so you can pull down your route the next day.
Stop that TEAM of supervisors who go from station to station searching for a “sleeper” in the case, while there are DOZENS in the DPS.
Stop the TEAM of supervisors who have nothing better to do than drive around making sure that you don’t have five minutes of free time in which to catch your breath after walking for five hours in 110 degree weather.
Stop having me stand at some old lady’s door for ten minutes…at $25/hour….to collect eleven cents…as she’s digging the money out of her junk drawer.
My God….the list of idiotic, wasteful ideas that are implemented by postal management could go on and on. If they’d end all these Managerial Job-Justification Programs and just let us do our jobs, the USPS would be fiscally sound once again. Get rid of these idiots whose jobs exist solely to hassle the ones who actually DO the work.
The United States Postal Service: “Trying to fire you since the day we hired you”
The nerve of these congressional fools to target hard working postal workers. If we are so overpaid then lets look at these loon’s pay, benefits, and perks. What a paradox to say the least. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer. How about the situation with GE who made billions and does not pay taxes. Why don’t these loons go after that injustice.
Look out postal workers the republicans are now coming after you.
They would like to bust another union. Do you think that they have
collective bargaining in mind ?
Maybe if the postal service quit giving business mailers such large
discounts and did away with the franking privledges for politicians they might
show a profit.
I suspect a large portion of their workforce-related expenses go to
management and the latest and greatest automation equipment to
replace workers.
Is there any politician in this country that represents the working class?
Rep. Issa is wrong!The largest drain on the USPS is the $142 billion that congress owes for overcharges and imposed retiree health care pre-funding. It’s a matter of fact that has been twisted buy Issa & Co.