USPS VP Reveals Details Of 5-Day Delivery Week Before House Of Representatives

This morning, Jordan M. Small, a upper-echelon officer of the USPS [Acting VP, Network Operations] addressed the Subcommittee on Federal Workforce, Postal Service and the District of Columbia, et al in Washington D.C.

In those remarks, Small outlined what is on the immediate horizon for the USPS and your mail delivery. Since his remarks ran to nearly five pages of text, I'll summarise:

-Of the projected 3,200 branches/stations that the USPS wanted to close/consolidate fewer than 1,000 have warranted further consideration. It is realistic to expect at least 700 of our stations to be ultimately affected. HQ has NOT come up with a number on exactly how many they want to close. They are leaving suggestions up to field employees [Postmasters and Station Managers] as to which station closures would impact their communities the most/least.

-The postal service is NOT assuming that mail volumes will automatically return to previous levels once the economy improves. This leaves the door open for further service reductions, should they become necessary.

-Community outreach meetings will be held after the end of FY09 on September 30th [actually, some meetings are already being held in some cities] asking for public opinion of probable impact of a neighborhood station closure. When this study is complete, the USPS will share the results with our customers, mailers, the American public, and Members of Congress. I would expect this process to take a minimum of 90 days but since the savings will be immediate the entire procedure may be speeded up.

-HQ is proposing that SATURDAY be the day of non-delivery but that Post Offices would still be open on Saturday to serve the public [you will still be able to stroll in and buy stamps and conduct other business], and Post Office boxes would receive mail delivery on Saturday. Customers will also have our usps.com website and access through our Automated Postal Centers for 24-hr service. Saturday Delivery of Express Mail is expected to continue.

I'm posting this not only for my postal brothers/sisters but also for YOU - the general public, because you all have a right to know what may be coming up. I began posting dialogue concerning a five-day delivery week nearly 18 months ago on this forum and pledge to continue to provide honest, accurate information as it becomes available to me personally.

I'm sure there will be the usual cranks who will post here and gripe about every single little thing the USPS has ever screwed up in their entire lives, and that's okay. We've heard it all before, but most people understand that the majority of USPS employees will try to get your mail to you as quickly and efficiently as possible. It's just going to be alot tougher in the near future.