news.yahoo.com/postal-...23847.html

"... the agency [also] would lower delivery standards for first-class mail that have been in place since 1971.

Currently, first-class mail is supposed to be delivered to homes and businesses within the continental U.S. in one day to three days. That will lengthen to two days to three days, meaning mailers no longer could expect next-day delivery in surrounding communities. Periodicals could take between two days and nine days.

About 42 percent of first-class mail is now delivered the following day. An additional 27 percent arrives in two days, about 31 percent in three days and less than 1 percent in four days to five days. Following the change next spring, about 51 percent of all first-class mail is expected to arrive in two days, with most of the remainder delivered in three days."

Heads up, users of first class mail!

I don't feel like reading the whole thing right now but that doesn't sound cool :-(

If they want to know why they are going bankrupt why don't they take notes from UPS?!?! They are doing beautifully and they give free insurance and tracking to all their customers. I never have to worry about filing a claim with UPS. They make it easy.

It's not a wonder that the USPS is going downhill. They used to be the best in the west. Now I pick UPS whenever it's cheaper.

That's quite sad that the postal service is in such a bad state financially. I don't think anyone here will mind getting their ponies a few days later but the part about mail order medications and things is a bit scary for people who count on them to arrive at a certain time.

I was just going to post a similar article, but I guess we don't need 2 threads....

www.huffingtonpost.com...27989.html

I use the PO exclusively, maybe I better check out my other options too...

I would love to know a postal worker personally and hear about what goes on on the inside. There has to be a reason why they are failing.

And no, I never did buy the excuse of the internet bringing them down. For all the letters they no longer delivering they now have all the packages to deliver from internet shopping.

Thanks for posting this sad but not shocking news.

I agree with you RPB, the internet alone can not possibly be bankrupting USPS, there is something else going on somewhere. And I'd wager it has something to do with good ole' corporate greed. I could always be wrong, but when the shoe fits...

RockinPrettyBeats wrote:

I would love to know a postal worker personally and hear about what goes on on the inside. There has to be a reason why they are failing. And no, I never did buy the excuse of the internet bringing them down. For all the letters they no longer delivering they now have all the packages to deliver from internet shopping.

The article says that they are paying out over $5.5 million a year to pensioned retirees' health insurance/benefits packages. I would honestly believe that, given the state of the US health care system!

I also was going to post about this. I am in Ohio and they are shutting down a total of 10 processing plants in my state. And one happens to be where my packages are sent to.

My main concern is that ebay makes a change in their system for estimated delivery times because people are going to freak!

I read that this morning. So sad.

lovesbabysquirmy wrote:

RockinPrettyBeats wrote: I would love to know a postal worker personally and hear about what goes on on the inside. There has to be a reason why they are failing. And no, I never did buy the excuse of the internet bringing them down. For all the letters they no longer delivering they now have all the packages to deliver from internet shopping. The article says that they are paying out over $5.5 million a year to pensioned retirees' health insurance/benefits packages. I would honestly believe that, given the state of the US health care system!

I have no doubt that the average salaries of the postal worker is a large problem. However, I don't know enough to comment.

But I will say thing, the quality of the average postal worker has gone down. They used to be much friendlier and more professional. I notice a more "You're an idiot who is in my way" attitude. This is a gradual change that I have noticed in the past 10 years. It's entirely possible that the postal system is paying their employees more money but is getting less work done in return.

If you have to hire two people to do a one-mans job and then pay them both more, you are going to go broke real fast.

I apologize for the long post. This is something I've following for a while. Very few people have any idea of the true story of what's going on.

The postal service would actually probably be making a small profit right now if it wasn't for a really bad law that went into effect in 2006. At the very least, it wouldn't be on the edge of bankruptcy. The US government has completely crippled the postal service. Congress is basically forcing them to pay an extra 6 billion dollars or so a year into a pension fund. They're demanding that the postal service completely pre-fund the next 75 years of pensions NOW. There is no other company, public or private, that is forced to do that. Since they are a government agency, they also need Congress' approval to make certain changes to their policies that might help save them, but Congress is dragging its feet approving anything that could help the post office.

The postal service actually had a huge surplus right before the 2006 law went into effect. It doesn't anymore. Congress took it when the law went into effect. Congress is still collecting the money for the pensions, but they're not setting it aside for the pensions. Nobody quite knows where the money is going, but it's being spent on something.

Also, due to other laws, the postal service is not allowed to run like UPS or FedEx. The postal service is the only agency that must service all addresses, regardless if it's profitable to do so or not. UPS and FedEx often dump their out of the way deliveries into the USPS system so they don't have to pay to keep rarely used or expensive-to-run routes. I've gotten UPS items delivered with my mail on occasion. So if the postal service goes down, a lot of rural people will probably be out of luck, and postage costs for everything will skyrocket. It's not that UPS and FedEx are better at running their companies, it's that they get to cherry pick where they want to deliver and dump the unprofitable stuff on the USPS.

Here's a really in depth explanation of what's going on. It's very long.
www.mpwu.com/post_offi...crisis.htm

And another article:
qctimes.com/news/local...002e0.html

It's really sad. I have found the postal service to be excellent and affordable. A lot of the other package carriers have given me such problems(every time I hear something was shipped FedEx, I know I'm in for some pain). This whole country is really going to suffer if it goes away. As it is, with all the distribution centers closing, that extra 1-2 days for first class is probably going to be a lot more than they're saying. If all the mail needs to be shipped 500 miles farther than it used to get sorted, and then shipped back to get delivered, it's not going to take just one extra day to do that.

It's really sad that most people don't know what's going on. A lot of people think that saving the postal service will cost them more tax money. It won't, the postal service is the only government agency that's not paid for by taxes. Most people think the problem is email and stupid business decisions. It's not, it's the laws that are in place that are crippling it, and the laws are often responsible for the business models that people think are bad. And a lot of people think that they can just switch to a private company if the postal service goes down and get the same kind of service. That's not true either since the postal service is the only carrier that delivers to all addresses in the USA.

My local post office is said to be closing soon unfortunately I really blame alot of bankrupty stuff on how much they pay their workers. There are so many people out there doing harder jobs and getting paid less for it.

Why don't they just put up the prices for postage? Australia Post keeps doing it. :/

But you know what else, people should be complaining/petitioning/writing letters etc, if it helps at all!

oh dear! that is an awful situation I wish I had something more helpful to say, but i dont ATM.. *sigh*
thanks everyone for all of your information on whats going on

I actually worked for 1 month as a Mail handler and clerk in the distribution center during the holiday rush. It is not an easy job. Fast paced, long hours (overnights) Even though most of the mail is sorted by machines they get jammed up frequently. There are delivery trucks there every 10 mins or so dead lines to make.

Working in warehouse with very little ventilation, no windows and standing for hours at a time on concrete... It was fun for a month, but as a career perhaps I could survive as a courier, but NOT in the distribution center. Loading truck and Air mail containers was a great experiences, but it is a very physically demanding job!

Yes it has a lot to do with the US believing they were invincible. Offering the best paying positions w/ lifetime benefits.