Details on USPS/Union Meeting from National League of Postmasters

[Postaltexan]

Mr. Potter then reviewed the elements of the Postal Service's Survival Strategy. They look simple enough; cut costs, grow the business, and protect liquidity. He laid the strategies out for the next few years. We are on target to cut more than $6 billion in expenses during the current fiscal year, 2009. A great part of these savings will come from a reduction of 100 million workhours. Strategies for FY 2010 include Network Distribution Centers, increased usage of Flat Sequencing, continued reduction in delivery routes, the consolidation of stations and branches, and further administrative reductions. The Postal Service hopes to implement 5-day delivery by FY 2011. If all of these strategies are implemented, the Postal Service projects a move back into black ink in FY 2012. This projection assumes the passage of HR 22 through Congress, and the implementation of 5-day delivery. Of course, a positive turn in the economy will help the trend.

Mr. Potter added that the Postal Service will also be looking to use increased product freedom. He remarked that some foreign postal services paid for their universal service obligations with non-postal revenues such as banking and cell phone sales. (About a year ago, you might recall, our own Bill Krejci put together a proposal on postal banking. Maybe someone was listening!)

Without relief from HR 22 and the implementation of 5-day delivery, Mr. Potter told us that the Postal Service's losses would climb into double-digit billions. That can't happen.

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[idontlikerocks]

anybody have any ideas for items that can be sold or services that can be delivered at the post office counter?  cigarettes? lottery tickets?  i have an idea that all government checks and give aways (social security, tax refund, welfare, wic, etc.)  could require signature and proof of address and resident status through over the counter verification in post offices.  although it seems the government could do this now.  this would also increase sales if people were going to the post office anyway.   the added benefit would be a reduction in the amount of fraud in some of these programs.   i think we should be selling  internet time at the post office for an easy profit.   many people on vacation would stop in to use this service if they knew every office had it.  the library here is always full of people using the computers to be on the internet, i think many of those people would also use this service at the post office and pay a fee for it.  we could easily subcontract this out with a revenue sharing agreement and have no up front costs except the small amount of training time of clerks for raking in the money and turning the machines on and off.