The United States Postal Service may reduce mail delivery to a five-day schedule by August in an effort to boost efficiency and cut costs.
The new schedule would eliminate mail delivery on Saturday, except for delivery to P.O. boxes, and will generate about $2 billion in savings annually once the plan is fully implemented, according to a U.S. Postal Service press release.
“The Postal Service is advancing an important new approach to delivery that reflects the strong growth of our package business and responds to the financial realities resulting from America’s changing mailing habits,” said Patrick Donahoe, Postmaster General and CEO, in the press release. “We developed this approach by working with our customers to understand their delivery needs and by identifying creative ways to generate significant cost savings.”
However, Amy Liu, freshman in LAS, said she understands that the change is necessary, but that doesn’t mean she’s to be happy about it.
USPS has been trying for several years to diminish costs and improve efficiency. In 2011, the U.S. Postal Service planned to shut down more than 3,600 post offices, several which were located in the Champaign-Urbana area, to become a “leaner more efficient” operation.
Get The Daily Illini in your inbox!
Valerie Welsch, spokesperson for the U.S. Postal Service Gateway District, which includes Champaign-Urbana, said the Postal Service is in a “dire financial straight.” She said they planned to close stations to increase efficiency but had to change their plans after determining that “rural America needs their post offices.”
Instead of closing the locations, Welsch said post offices will reduce business hours, put locations inside local businesses and transition to the five-day schedule.
However, Fredric Rolando, president of the National Association of Letter Carriers, said in a statement that the new schedule is a “disastrous idea.”
“(It) would have a profoundly negative effect on the Postal Service and on millions of customers in Illinois and throughout the country,” Rolando said. “It would be particularly harmful to small businesses, rural communities, the elderly, the disabled and others who depend on Saturday delivery for commerce and communication.”
Roland said in a statement that the profit is overshadowed by a 2006 congressional mandate to pre-fund future retiree health benefits for 75 years. No other agency or company is required to follow this policy.
According to the Postal Service’s financial report for the first quarter of fiscal year 2013, the USPS reported a $100 million operational profit delivering the mail. In the same quarter, $1.4 billion, however, was spent in prefunding expenses.
Ariell can be reached at [email protected].
Editor’s Note: A previous version of this story stated that the USPS will carry through with its plan to cut Saturday delivery. The plan has not come to fruition. The previous version also incorrectly stated that the majority of USPS customers are in favor of the change. It also incorrectly stated that the mandate costs $1.4 billion in pre-funding charges. It should have stated that that amount was spent only in the first quarter of fiscal year 2013. The Daily Illini regrets these errors.
