USPS madness

[Figment]

Our UPS driver just dropped off our "Early AM" packages, but will return later with the rest of the packages because he can't unload them right now..... BECAUSE HIS TRUCK IS STUFFED TO THE GILLS WITH U.S. POSTAL SERVICE DELIVERIES.

The USPS is paying UPS to do its job.

I'm not sure where to go with this.
Did UPS somehow land themselves a sweetheart government contract?
Is the USPS falling on its sword?

[Ian McColgin]

Re: USPS madness

It's been going on a while. For some background:

http://www.minyanville.com/business-news/editors-pick/articles/postal-service-usps-post-office-post/8/3/2012/id/42951

[Mrleft8]

Re: USPS madness

We sent 2 packages to Carriacou on Jan 12. One arrived yesterday. The other one is "Somewhere between Guilford, and Grenada" According to the USPS person I talked to the online tracking system that you and I can use is the same as the USPS can use...... It's all outsourced. All the post office knows is that it was delivered from Guilford to the Wallingford distribution/sorting facility..... After that, it's up to the private contractor to update the tracking system, and if they don't do it, the USPS has no way of knowing anything..... And people wonder why these guys are losing money hand over fist......

[John How]

Re: USPS madness

+1, & the rest of our infrastructure as well. One of these days we'll wake up and nothing will work.

[Joe Dupere]

Re: USPS madness

+1, & the rest of our infrastructure as well. One of these days we'll wake up and nothing will work.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how empires collapse. One crumbling bit of infrastructure at a time.

[RichKrough]

Re: USPS madness

You know those little USPS postal trucks that deliver our mail called LLV's ? The last new one was manufactured in 1994. The local garage I took my truck to had the contract to tow and repair the LLV's in my area. He saya they have 1980's era Chevy S10 drivetrains that frequently break down. He says chassis parts are becoming a nightmare to find. Last time I was there he had 5 postal trucks sitting in his storage lot that had been waiting weeks for parts.
My local post office is a busy one. Up until about 3 years ago it was seldom more than 5 minutes to do business at the window. Now it can take 20-30 minutes. They have had 1 retirement and 3 people quit in the past year. They haven't been replaced, as a result the sorters have to double doing window service. Where there used to be two to three people available for window service, now it is seldom more than one especially during the mornings.

[Durnik]

Re: USPS madness

Originally Posted by John How
+1, & the rest of our infrastructure as well. One of these days we'll wake up and nothing will work.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how empires collapse. One crumbling bit of infrastructure at a time.

Bingo!

and Norman nailed it.

peace
bobby

[Rich Jones]

Re: USPS madness

The USPS is a disaster. My son is a "temperary" mail carrier because they haven't hired any new people in years. He's been doing this for five years now. He just learned that the USPS is now going to eliminate his $25 per hour position and replace it with a permanent position, but at $17 per hour. Where he lives, that is not a living wage. He's screwed.

[skuthorp]

Re: USPS madness

The race to the bottom continues, hollowing out the nation.

[John of Phoenix]

Re: USPS madness

"Drown it in a bathtub" one agency at a time.

Bring down the USPS and what does that say about the rest of the government?

[Cuyahoga Chuck]

Re: USPS madness

USPS has money problems. Some of it is not of their own doing. They have to make contributions for current retiree benefits which are fairly liberal but the congress has also legislated they make billions of dollars in additional contributions to guarantee pension benefits that will be paid out decades from now. Unfortunately I don't recall the reason for it.
The relience on UPS probably stems from wanting to keep the number of potential pension claiments at where it's at now.

[Michael Beckman]

Re: USPS madness

It's sort of the other way around. UPS contracts out Basic (cheapest of cheap) packages to the USPS. It moves from the shipper to USPS through UPS' system, but final delivery is via the post office. It's a way for UPS to avoid creating more driving jobs. Fedex does the same thing.

[Jimmy W]

Re: USPS madness

I recently bought an item off Ebay. It was mailed in Oregon on Jan. 7 and took USPS 11 days to get it to my house in Georgia.

[Phillip Allen]

Re: USPS madness

They contract this stuff out because there are no investors to build the infrastructure necessary to compete with the private companies that already have massive infrastructures. I believe this is largely because Congress refuses to understand that governmental agencies should have an obligation to plan for the future, and investments are necessary to do their job... instead, Congress weighs down the Post Office with absurd requirements, like pre-funding pension obligations for the next 75 years out of current revenues... something UPS and Fedex don't have to do. In short, it's a recipe for failure... and some in Congress are hoping for that...

...after which, we'll be paying $2.50 to send a first class letter, instead of 45 cents.

I believe the USPS is no longer a government agency

[Rich Jones]

Re: USPS madness

You know those little USPS postal trucks that deliver our mail called LLV's ? The last new one was manufactured in 1994. The local garage I took my truck to had the contract to tow and repair the LLV's in my area. He saya they have 1980's era Chevy S10 drivetrains that frequently break down. He says chassis parts are becoming a nightmare to find. Last time I was there he had 5 postal trucks sitting in his storage lot that had been waiting weeks for parts.
My local post office is a busy one. Up until about 3 years ago it was seldom more than 5 minutes to do business at the window. Now it can take 20-30 minutes. They have had 1 retirement and 3 people quit in the past year. They haven't been replaced, as a result the sorters have to double doing window service. Where there used to be two to three people available for window service, now it is seldom more than one especially during the mornings.

My son concurs. The fleet of trucks at his office are nothing but delelicts. He breaks down at least twice a month and has to get towed back to the shop.