News - National
U.S. Postal Service pushes for radical reshaping
Posted: Mar 2, 2010 6:49 AM by NBC
Updated: Mar 2, 2010 6:49 AM
We're expecting to learn the future of the US postal service later today.
What they're doing now is almost certain to change, and you can blame it on the Internet. Julie Eddinger of Washington D.C. said, "In the electronic age maybe people aren't using as much mail service as before so that's probably changed things a lot." In fact, online banking and people sending email, along with the recession, pushed mail volume down 13 percent in the last fiscal year. The Postal Service lost almost four billion dollars.
With even tougher times forecast, the agency is talking about cutting services. Saturday delivery days could go away, Post Offices could close, and rates could rise.
Some blame lack of competition, and union-protected pay. Daniel J. Mitchell a Tax Expert at CATO Institute said, "We also have taxpayers pouring lots of money in for the lavish benefits in pay that are received by postal workers."
The agency also wants more leeway in union negotiations, particularly in addressing the soaring costs of worker and retiree health care.
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