If the Postal Service eliminates Saturday delivery - - a step under serious consideration – it will shoot itself in those sturdy and dependable feet that for generations have walked the mail door to door in fair weather and foul.
Cutting service from six to five days is a dumb idea, the Postal Workers Union says. Here are five reasons why:
1. Saturday delivery is the key strategic advantage the Postal Service has over United Parcel Service and Federal Express. Surrendering Saturday to the competition would reduce Postal Service revenues in an amount far exceeding any short-term savings.
2. Slower service will drive customers away. Letters mailed late Friday wouldn’t be picked up until Monday. Besides, the less frequent delivery is likely to accelerate the shift to electronic invoicing and bill paying, further draining Postal Service revenues.
3. Niche delivery firms are already salivating over the lucrative business opportunities offered by Saturday delivery. Once established, competitors will demand that Congress open the mail boxes to their deliveries, making it impossible to maintain the government monopoly – the foundation of dependable, affordable service.
4. The slick rationale for ending Saturday delivery could be used again to cut the delivery week still further from five days to four days. This would not only eliminate half the union jobs in the system. It would inevitably trigger a death spiral, with less service leading to less mail volume, justifying still deeper cuts in service, etc.
5. Eliminating Saturday delivery is not a budget necessity. The union insists that pensions and retiree health benefits are fully funded and that the system has reserves that can be drawn upon.
Tell Congress you want to have your mail delivered Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, too. Let the letter carriers continue to have Sundays and holidays free and clear.
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Personally, I would *love* not to receive mail on Saturdays. In fact, I'd love to get mail only once a week. Can we push for that? (Sorry if this is not helpful to postal workers.) I do appreciate the post office being open and in fact would push for it to be open 7 days a week with longer hours. I think if anyone took a poll of Americans, you'd find similar sentiments.
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