The following article comes to us from 24/7 Wall Street – written by Douglas A. McIntyre.
August 03, 2022 – The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) has 630,000 employees and 34,000 locations. It bills itself as one of America’s largest employers, as if it were Walmart or Amazon. Frankly, it has tens of thousands of workers it does not need and should not have. The USPS is a product of late 20th-century mail and package delivery that currently loses money.
In the most recently reported quarter, USPS revenue was $19.8 billion. Its net loss was $539 million. The room for improvement should come with a decision to have fewer employees and many fewer offices. It is hard to imagine why the number of locations is so large, particularly because so many are in very small towns, with populations sometimes only in the thousands.
This is the year of the layoff, both in the United States and in other developed countries. A coming recession (if it is not already here) has caused even the largest public corporations to cut staff. And many of these have billions of dollars on their balance sheets and could go through several years at current staffing levels.
However, these companies have decided to pursue margins at the cost of people. That is an unfortunate reality. The USPS needs to follow the lead of corporate America and cut staff before it piles up more losses.
PEN response below:
I find the above article very close to being totally asinine. Mr. McIntyre says, “USPS needs to follow the lead of corporate America and cut staff before it piles up more losses” – and just how do you suggest they do that Douglas? USPS cut the number of their employees for many years due to the loss of first-class mail from technology (email, etc.). Now, due to this pandemic, they’re being forced to hire more and more employees. Why? Because you, and the remainder of the nation, want to shop from home since COVID came about. You’re ordering your products, gifts, and what-nots online instead of going to your local mall or outlet to purchase these items in person. A large percentage of your purchases are now being delivered to your home by USPS letter carriers.
USPS, traditionally, has not been a parcel delivery company. Yes, they did deliver parcels – but the vast majority of their deliveries was letter mail, flats, and magazines. When this tsunami of parcel deliveries started after COVID letter carriers, and clerks, were actually taken by surprise…as well as USPS. Increasing a letter carriers’ parcels by 100-500% or more is naturally going to increase their street time spent on delivery – there just isn’t any way around that. Yes, USPS could form a parcel delivery only branch, but that would add even more employees. As long as you keep ordering products to be delivered to your home there is a good possibility that your mail will be delivered late.
The media, and politicians, are complaining about late mail – complaining about missing or late ballots – complaining about too many employees – complaining that USPS isn’t changing to EV vehicles quickly enough. None of these understand the daily routine of USPS and its’ employees at all. You CANNOT manage a company as large as USPS by standing on the sidelines barking demands.
Yes, USPS will eventually come close to having an EV fleet of delivery vehicles…BUT, it will take time.
You go to Walmart, you go to the movies, you go have your wine or beer at your favorite bar, you go here and there to live an enjoyable life…SO, GET THE HELL OUT OF THE HOUSE AND VOTE AT YOUR LOCAL POLLING PLACE.
Rick Owens
PostalEmployeeNetwork.com
There have been some good, inisightful comments left here. I have read many of them. As far as politics go, if you are well balanced in listening to both sides, of what is really going on, there is only excessive money-printing going on – used to be a bit more on the Dem side but now it is both, so there is really only 1 side, and it’s the politicains and people in power vs the little guy.
As tar as the USPS goes, they are required to deliver to everyone, not just those in highly packed urban environments. That presents extra costs, to deliver in rural America. But it’s the law, and challenging to be fair in terms of cost.
I pretty much have received my mail 99.9% of the time, over the decades, with little issue and little theft. Pretty amazing, really. So I rank the USPS amongst the top 20% of all Government agencies – maybe even better. Yet, here’s the latest stat on their (our) economy, “$6.5 billion net loss in 2023 because of higher-than-expected inflation and $3 billion in additional payments into the Civil Service Retirement System”
So if i consider the USPS to be one of the best run government agencies, can you IMAGINE what the bottom 50% of our government agencies are like? How about an audit of those other agencies, some, you gotta believe, we simply DO NOT NEED any more?
Yes, the USPS has issues, but I’d rather focus on other agencies which should’ve been retired eons ago. Love to see a law where with any NEWLY created government agency, we are required to RETIRE 10 government agencies. How about that? The tax payer has to get involved – we need a tax payer revolt with proper goals on how to radically cut spending – not just cust an increase in spending, but an actual cut in spending.
I work long and hard hour’s in thunderstorms, snow storms, neighborhoods with streets that are not plowed. I bring your packages and your mail to your front door, knock on your door hide your packages to make sure no one sees them if you’re not home. when I do see the consumer I always speak, and make sure they get their mail every single day, 12 hours a day 6 to 7 days a week, because of covid I average about 700 Parcels a week. but one thing I can say, stay away from the politics, and realize every single American citizen needs to make a living, and when it comes to the United States Postal Service we are public service. every other company could just disappear, we actually work for the American public. thanks in advance. I currently still don’t have a uniform. just a badge and the honor to do my job for my countrymen.
This article is laughable at best.!! Apparently factual reporting isn’t a thing anymore? Hmm? This author should be embarrassed to attach his name to something so ignorant and uninformed. Grow up a little, sweetheart. Then maybe you can be trusted to voice an opinion lol!!
The jewish plot to destroy the USPS has many facets, and most jewish plots do. Amazon will one day buy the post office, after an act of jewish congress convinces the public it is no longer needed, can be done better. This is after jewish law put a previously perfectly functioning USPS into over $60 billion in debt, then jewish congressmen made millions in real estate as they were forced to cut locations and services to try to stay above water. The jewish media will write these nonsense articles trying to pilpul why a constitutional establishment must be destroyed, while saying nothing about the ever growing number of useless employees at jewish controlled media pulling six-figure salaries as “chief of diversity.”
And the USPS does not operate on taxes. Another endless and repeatedly debunked jewish lie, like the Holocaust.
The USPS is the only carrier protected by the 4th Amendment. UPS, FedEx, they can open your package for any reason, at any time, including for fun. The USPS requires a warrant. And that has always bothered the judeo-fed.
Even if you mail something to your next door neighbor, it still has to go to a processing center. Do you think it gets sorted at the post office, after the carrier returns from his or her route? No! There’s no way all that could take place in one small building that is just barely big enough for all the carriers, both rural and city, to case and organize everything they deliver daily on their routes daily. Look at how long and how much it costs in other countries to mail letters and packages. Then rethink your complaining.
For-profit package carrier UPS has 534,000 employees as of January 2023. They charge twenty times as much to deliver a letter and require many of us rural citizens to drive an hour to drop off a parcel to be delivered. If you looked at the efficiency and coverage between the two entities, USPS looks pretty darn good..
I agree. UPS does have 534k employees globally. As for service…USPS wins hands down…IMHO. Rick – PEN
Well, I for one of an affected customer, wish to thank the postal employees for all they do. There are clearly many issues and problems which you are working through but I depend on USPS. Yes, a majority of things are not urgent but every card from a grandchild, the few checks we have to received manually, and a few other essential things are wonderful to have. There are some things that electronic messaging cannot replace and never will.
Perhaps we also need to replace the current postmaster general?? For sure, that is one thing that could be done – hopefully as soon as possible.
Tom – thanks for posting. Why or how would replacing PMG DeJoy fix USPS? As a retired USPS employees (35 years’ service) I served under other PMG’s that didn’t do anything to help USPS remain a viable part of this nation….nothing. Change brings unwanted circumstances for many and the changes that DeJoy is trying to make are sorely needed for the most part and long over due.
For many years politicians on both sides of the isle stated that USPS had way too many employees. In 2000 we had almost 800k and then the reduction in the number of employees started. These reductions continued until 2020 – at that time we had about 495k employees. Guess what happened around that time? COVID and the push for mail-in voting…then Democrats started pushing USPS to hire more employees -it’s got to be done, they said.
When COVID took over the nation, and USPS, the public started ordering their products via the Internet. This increased the number of parcels being handled by USPS greatly. USPS was not meant to be a package delivery company only, but COVID has forced this upon them. Carriers who once handled 10-30 parcels daily now have to handle 50-100 or more. Their workday is extended and overloaded.
And now – the crooks across this nation have learned they can rob, assault, or even kill USPS letter carriers and steal their mail or their arrow key that opens the blue USPS collection boxes. Then they take the checks in that mail, wash them, and make the checks out to sums of money…it happened to me a few months back. No, USPS cannot hire a policeman to follow every carrier in the USA. And, no, PMG DeJoy did not cause any of the above, but he is determined to help alleviate most of these problems.
this is the most ignorant article i ever read. why so many locations? the author just doesn’t get why, meanwhile the usps has a constitutuonal mandate to deliver to every address on the country. the first page of a google search would tell the author that, which tells me absolutely 0 research went into this. there are many more ignorant things here & but it’s a waste of time to elaborate any furthe because if the author of the article doesn’t care, why should anyone else?
Thanks Joel – I agree. Rick – PEN
If you don’t work for the Postal Service and see the way things work (admittedly antiquated), please don’t be an armchair quarterback. Carriers like myself are working massive hours of overtime just to get the daily mail out. I’ve been in my position for 20 years and I’m not OBLIGATED to help others, but I do. I do my own 750 deliveries with hundreds of parcels daily, then help get another route on the street.
UPS and FedEx along with the behemoth Amazon all drop their packages on our doorstep for “last mile delivery” in most areas. You think we overcharge you for a letter being delivered? Who else is going to take a letter from Florida to the most remote part of Alaska for .60 cents? 3 days isn’t fast enough to get across town? Take it yourself. You think we’re making massive amounts of money on that 60 cent item in the system for 3 days? Be logical.
Meanwhile, our Postmaster allows every piece of election junk mail to take priority over your first class mail. Jamming up the process with flyers that will never be read by anyone. Why? Because people no longer want to leave their homes to shop or vote.
If you don’t like the present system, John/ Jane Q. Public, please remember this is the system you have created with your shopping and voting practices.
Excuses excuses.
They have been raping consumers for significantly more money year after year,and giving piss poor service for well over 10 years. Express doesn’t mean overnight, it means 2 days ,so they don’t have to refund or commit to their well paid obligations.
Only the USPS can get away with screwing it’s consumers for so many years now. The overpaid fatcats need to GO !
Period !
The US gov hates when consumers screwcthem,yet it’s socially/legally accepted to blatantly screw us.
Repubs care just as bad as Dems.
However, the new generations of dems are fn treacherous. At least you know where you stand will repubs right off the bat. The Dems are cut throat 2 faced bs artist with a woke agenda.
……and that’s that.
I have no personal ties to the USPS; but as I read this article I realized this was another Conservative GOP wanting to bankrupt or otherwise get rid of USPS. This has been a goal for decades. GOP in Congress has cut budgets, made obscene demands on any funding, and now placed a GOP donor with self-interest his only goal as top dog. No longer is there any USPS operational knowledge running the show. Also noted that during the 2020 election that USPS “lost” hundreds, maybe more, sorting machines. Where did they go??? If you have issues with the USPS, get up and vote for people who believe, as it says in the Constitution, a national mail service for the people. The postal service is a trusted institution with experience and loyalty.
The writer of this article is not a conservative – he is left wing. As far as I can tell the left is just as bad as the right when it comes to USPS. I retired from USPS with 35 years’ service in 2007. Served under numerous PMG’s – DeJoy is the only one taking the steps that needed to be done years ago – yes, some are not what you or I would do…but, it is a step in what I think is the right direction.
For years and years both democrats and republicans said USPS problems are because of the large work force they have – labor cost is the problem they said. No, the problem was with the executive management in charge of running USPS….most, if not all, have been democrats.
In my opinion, USPS should be just like the military…whatever the cost it must be maintained. Rick Owens – PEN
We have 10’s of thousands people living here, but when we need to mail a letter to the other side of town, it has to go to a city 2 hours away(and 2 days time). In other words it takes 3 days for my letter to reach the other side of town.
I have to mail some things just 3 miles away to get to the right person. Still it takes 3 days.
This is what we have been tolerating since the last reorganization here.
The USPS does need some reorganization. The problem is you have management in positions and they have no idea how the mail system works. Here’s one point: when all the politicians were concerned about the voting in the election, why did they not ask: when a ballot is mailed from point X to the voter how does it get there? And when the voter mails the ballot back to the court house, how does it get there? I can assure you that DeJoy and most of upper management doesn’t even know. The postal service has been short staffed (clerks and carriers) in post offices since the “2012 postal plan”. People would be surprised at how their mail gets from point A to point B. Before all these “improvements”. You could mail a letter/package at your local post office and if it went within the same office it would never leave that office. Common sense. Now you mail it at point A, it goes to point X, stays a few days and returns to point A. Really made progress!!! When an MPOO says postmasters don’t work over 40 hours, that tells me that she’s in a position and has never worked as a postmaster. The USPS use to be about customer service and their employees loved to work there. Now the USPS is about whoever can make themselves look the best and their employees have no moral and can’t wait to retire. There are employees, especially postmasters, putting their retirement on hold and leaving the postal service because of all the stress. They have over 20 to 30 years in the service, but not old enough to retire. Sad thing is, no one cares. Their loyalty and dedication was for nothing. So sad. Surely someone can get put in control with some COMMON SENSE!! WAKE UP PEOPLE!!!!
Douglas has once again shown he doesn’t know what he’s talking about. People in small towns have just as much a right to a post office as those on big cities. Anytime I see an article he has written, I know before reading it that it’s full of inaccuracies and poorly thought out ideas. He’ll tell you that he’s an ivy leaguer, as if that demonstrates competence.