U.S. Postal Service is on the verge of bankruptcy

Video

Reported by: Laurie Salazar

Email: LaurieSalazar@woaitv.com

Print Story

Published: 9/20/2011 4:24 pm

Updated: 9/21/2011 6:14 am

SAN ANTONIO - The U.S. Postal Service is on the verge of bankruptcy and says without government intervention it will be bankrupt by the end of the year.

So President Obama has unveiled a plan to help cut massive financial losses with the service. The plan is part of the president’s economic growth and reduction plan and will get rid of mail delivery on Saturdays.

But local members of the American Postal Workers Union say it will also get rid of thousands of postal workers. Union workers have come up with their own plan to save the U.S. Postal Service and their jobs.

While the postal service is suffering financial losses, local American Postal Workers Union President Alex Aleman says it's not for the reasons many of may think -- such as more online use taking over mail delivery service.

"That's what the post office is saying, more people paying online, using the internet," said Aleman.

Instead, Aleman says the massive money problems deal with a law passed in 2006, which forces the post office to pay more than $5 billion dollars a year for a federal retirement system years in advance.

“We make money, and at that time in 2006, we had the highest mail volume. We had the highest profit and the economy was doing well,” said Aleman.

Times have changed since then, and now congress is trying to work out how to save the U.S. Postal Service. The latest plan comes from President Obama to cut Saturday delivery.

"You’re looking at a reduction of 80,000 people as a reduction of five day delivery," explained Tony Boyd, Vice President of the National Association of Letter Carriers - Alamo Branch,

Postal union leaders say they don't want to see a loss of jobs and offer a different solution that includes doing away with the 2006 mandated law.

“Congress put these proposals into place to require the company to pay $5.5 billion dollars a year and in order to rectify a lot of these problems they need to remove that requirement from us as well today,” said Boyd.

Postal union workers nationwide and here in San Antonio plan to get their message out at a rally on September 27. Locally, there are three rallies planned: at the offices of Congressman Cueller, Canseco, and Smith's offices.

Print Story

9 Comment(s)

Comments: Show | Hide

Here are the most recent story comments.View All

The views expressed here do not necessarily represent those of News 4 WOAI (WOAI.com)

Baven2 - 9/20/2011 11:08 PM

5 Votes

Report User

The USPS currently owes the U.S. Treasury (you and me) $15 billion dollars. And their losses this year are looking to be in the $6 billion dollar range, and their product is less relevant by the day. It's been a soft bailout by means of loans which will never be repaid, just like Solyndra. Bailout in progress. It's time to privatize.

Jesse 18 - 9/20/2011 9:46 PM

1 Vote

Report User

Baven2, what bailout dollars are you talking about. The USPS hasn't received any bailout money from the government yet and may not in the future as things stand right now. The Letter Carriers all earn their money. The top heavy upper management that all receive hugh bonuses still to this day are the employees that need to be cut. What makes sense, cut two Carriers that actually are making the money for the Post Office, or one manager that stands around for hours a week drinking coffee and watching us work, literally. Cutting jobs will only be effective from the top down. Lay off 200,000 Letter Carriers, Clerks and Mail Handlers or 20,000 in Management for about the same in cost savings. The majority of offices can function without Managment present, we do it every day for hours at a time and most Saturdays. All of the Management is trying to prove why they are needed, many are failing to prove their worth. We could save the Postal Service if Congress would take on the plan that the Postal Unions have. Cutting Saturday delivery is just cutting a day of revenue. Letter Carriers can't make the Postal Service money if they are sitting at home. Every day that a Letter Carrier is on the street, they are available to the customers "at their home, at their door", six days a week. No other business is there as often as we are. Many people mail from their homes because of this convenience. If we are not there on Saturday they will use another provider.

Baven2 - 9/20/2011 7:34 PM

4 Votes

Report User

Juggernaughts post reminds me of Nancy Pelosi when she said paying people unemployment benefits produces jobs. Sure overpay a government employee, who cares, they earned it. Sounds like public sector union propaganda. The USPS needs to sell all assets and return bailout dollars back to the U.S. taxpayer.

trutex - 9/20/2011 6:54 PM

5 Votes

Report User

The problem is that the USPS business model is outdated. The world has changed just as it did for the Pony Express. People don't send letters anymore just as they don't type letters on typewriters, which means no more typewriter manufacturers. That's the way it goes. But you don't keep paying horseback riders or typewriter assemblers just because the economy needs jobs. Time for the USPS to change their business model to suit what niche they might find.

juggernaught1 - 9/20/2011 6:20 PM

0 Votes

Report User

first saturday delivery will stop. then fridays and so on until the post office only delivers three days a week. thousands of job losses in a country that has enough unemployed. so what if the mailman makes 33 bucks per hour or 70 grand a year, the country needs more jobs like this. mailcarriers deserve every dollar they get, it is an extremely physical job instead of downsizing they need to find a way to grow.

Canaandogsrule - 9/20/2011 5:42 PM

1 Vote

Report User

Good call BatLover, I was mistaken about the sick leave. My bad. But the pay rate is valid. Depends on where you are in the food chain, I guess. But cuts are needed across the board, agreed, starting at the overloaded administration. The PO cannot continue to support a failing infrastructure, and the unions have to recognize that 80% of something is better than 100% of nothing.

BatLover - 9/20/2011 5:28 PM

0 Votes

Report User

Canaandogsrule-I call BS.I maxed out paywise with the Post Office and the most I made, without OT, was 53 grand a year. There is NO WAY your father was making 68 grand as a letter carrier. And, you don't sell back your sick leave, only your annual. I got a retirement. (40 years with CSRS), but I wouldn't call it "fat". Post office needs to cut at the top. Station managers first. Then supervisors.

Canaandogsrule - 9/20/2011 4:49 PM

3 Votes

Report User

The union members just don't get it. The PO has been losing money for years, yet they have not come up with a viable solution, other than more pay raises and bigger benefits. If they aren't required to up front retirement funds, where's the money going to come from to pay for all those retirees who are now getting paid? I speak from experience: my father was a letter carrier, and he was paid $33/hr. The benefits were over the top, and he walked out with a fat retirement and over a year's worth of accrued vacation/sick pay. Try trimming the fat across the board! Use two weeks vacation in the year or lose it, no accrual! So what if we don't get mail on Saturday? I don't think the world is going to end. And Judley, by the volume of junk mail I'm receiving, I'm thinking that's the only thing that's keeping the PO open....

judley1269 - 9/20/2011 4:39 PM

1 Vote

Report User

They need to restructure the top-heavy USPS, reduce all of the unnecessary overhead, get rid of the junk mail and fire a lot of the derelict employees.

Click Here to Add Your Comments View All

Click here for more local stories...

Become a Citizen Journalist...

Current Conditions

86°	High: 100° \| Low: 73° Partly Cloudy

Full Forecast