Seen At 11: Cash-Strapped U.S. Postal Service Turns To Deliveries After Dark

Mail Carriers Nervous And Furious That Service Will Keep It That Way

December 21, 2011 11:56 PM

U.S. Postal Service letter carrier Juan Padilla arranges mail in his truck while on his delivery route on Dec. 5, 2011 in San Francisco. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

NEW YORK (CBS 2) — You may have noticed someone lurking around your street after normal business hours. No need for alarm. It’s just your postal carrier.

The U.S. Postal Service is delivering mail after dark as a way to cut down on its debt, reports CBS 2′s Maurice Dubois.

It’s something most people aren’t used to seeing, but it could soon be a common sight all over the area.

“The morale? Let’s see, I started in ’85 … The morale … the morale is the lowest I’ve ever seen it,” one postal worker said.

These are hard times for the USPS and its carriers — like one who wanted to talk to CBS 2 about the changes but didn’t want to show his face because he is afraid of losing his job.

“We have no choice. They’re making cuts,” one night mailman said.

In the last few years, the Postal Service has consolidated 500 routes in the Tri-State Area. The Post Office forces have seen their already long routes grow even longer, forcing them to work into the night under what some say are dangerous conditions.

“It’s crazy because you can’t see the mail. It’s pitch black. You can’t see the mail from the street lights. You can’t see where your walking you could hurt yourself, trip like that,” one postal worker said.

Larry Cirelli said he’s worries about what’s next.

“It’s quite dangerous. You don’t want to be at the wrong spot at the wrong time and ring the wrong doorbell,” Cirelli said.

Money is still a big problem for the Postal Service and it may require drastic measures to stay in business. Next year will already see a hike in the price of stamps, but that’s not all. The federal government may close 677 post offices nationwide, privatize some services and even eliminate Saturday deliveries, which has many people concerned about life-saving medication and other important deliveries.

“I don’t understand why people have to suffer and they will suffer. They could die. It’s that serious,” Cirelli said.

Mail carriers in other cities like Los Angeles, where carriers are working late into the night, worry things will get worse.

“We are belittled, we are intimidated. We are yelled at for not doing it quicker,” one carrier said.

USPS spokesman Richard Mahr insists the nighttime mail delivery is temporary because of the holiday rush.

“So, yes, we do have to adjust those routes and get them back to eight hours, but we can’t do that until after the holiday ends and the volume levels off,” Mahr said.

Still, others worry that nighttime delivery is here to stay — holiday or not.

“There’s long hours and we just have to do it. There’s work to be done and we just have to do it,” one carrier said.

Union officials contend that proposed cuts will only further weaken the Postal Service. Under federal law, the USPS cannot declare bankruptcy.

Please offer your thoughts in the comments section below …

Seen At 11: Cash Strapped U.S. Postal Service Turns To Deliveries After Dark

Walter Billings

They better be careful out here. In Montana, we shoot prowlers and let the police find their bodies in the morning.
Jasonn

Why is this news? That’s why they put headlights on those delivery trucks.

bjk1946

You hit tne nail on the gead…IT ISN”T NEWS!!
It’s the media trying to ‘sensationalize’ things and “hype up” the public, as always. What a joke. Let them do their job and IF they do it right, they shouldn’t have to worry about losing their jobs. And as the media says “Happy Holidays”…I say Merry Christmas!!!

Chili Boots

“USPS Management” is attempting to denigrate, and vilify, the only people
who actually ‘work’ at the Post Office , so as to justify ending their jobs,
entirely. The Plan is to close ALL Post Offices, and outsource the work
into existing Retail Outlets.

Joe

Privatize postal service and schools. Both are money pits the only difference is the post office actually provides decent service.

David Powell

You know it.
tiredofobama

Good idea. While we’re at it, let’s stop subsidizing colleges and universities with taxpayer money. Student loan guarantees? Nonsense — that’s what banks are for. Let’s get the government out of everything except defense, fire, police, protecting our land and our freedom. Why do we need government package delivery? Get the Democrats out of office. Let them go work for Happy Harry’s mail delivery and storm door company at minimum wage. Vote for the GOP to trim back government!

whatever

The first comment by a libtard I could agree with.

Jim in Colorado

There is no real savings realized from the cuts in staffing because overtime costs have risen so high. The managers get to claim that they’ve cut jobs, and at the same time, whine because they’re losing so much money! It’s not worth the safety of any one employee simply for the sake of posturing. Please…. Someone in the government needs to send a neutral party into the bowels of the company to see what’s really going on!

anybodybutobama

The currect NALC contract states that letter carriers do not get OT during the entire month of december. It’s straight time even if you work 14 hours a day. Everyone knows Christmas is bad. In the past, casuals were hired and PTF’s were brought in to take up the overload. Now, with management receiving obscene bonuses for every nickel and position they save, no more casuals, no more nothing. Letter carrier morale is zero, but nobody cares. “You’re lucky to have a job” is the new management motivator. Until we get a President who knows what the Laffer curve is, it’ll only get worse.

Retired Letter-Carrier

The contract reads that carriers do not get penalty overtime (double time) for hours worked over 12 hours a day or 60 hours a week for 2 pay periods (4 weeks in December).. They still receive regular overtime (time and a half) for hours over 8 a day or 40 a week

timetokeepupoldtimer

that was your old contract — it’s been changed

Chuck Harris

Why don’t you just let FedEx deliver the mail, they already carry it.

ken

Fedex will deliver nothing for $.45. The cheapest fed ex will send a letter from NYC to DC is $10

nilochsaloob

.., and Obama has the gall to compare Fedex, UPS as that of the USPS. He said therefore to have a universal healthcare one payer system…..

Would you still still listen to this no-experience-but-baby-murdering-abortion-loving person?

Terrell Perry

Why the complaints about night delivery from these extremely well compensated union workers? I thought they signed on to the motto: “Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.” Is this job is now viewed as an entitlement of the United Socialist States of America?

Gilbert R Albright Jr

Because it’s a matter of personal safety. One shouldn’t be FORCED to work in unsafe conditions or risk their life while performing their job.

Dave Suitts

None of these postal workers are being FORCED to work in unsafe conditions or risk their life while performing their job. Nobody is standing behind them with a gun or a whip making them deliver mail. If they don’t like what they are being told to do, they can go get a job flipping burgers.

davewetshispants

Very mature, relevant, and intelligent comment. Now go do your homework while I deliver a package to your mother.

Phil

LOLOLOLOL What a joke. Unsafe conditions. Construction workers have overnight projects. Maintenance crews commonly work overnight. Many many jobs start before dawn. Security guards work through the night. Quit the dam whining you entitled pigs. All this is, is you PO workers had cushy jobs and they are getting less cushier so you will come up with any ridiculous excuse to fight it. Some people handle snakes, catch crabs in alaska, work with horrendously dangerous machinery. Many truly dangerous jobs out there and none of them are forced just like your less than ideal lighting situation. Grow a pair nancy this is life…. it’s a biatch.

Bill

Bet there are two well worn grooves in your recliner where the left and right side of your brain meet for 14 hours a day watching television. You don’t have a clue what these people are talking about let alone judge them. Would you be willing to walk your neighborhood after dark, unarmed, carrying the medicines, mint sets and innumerable other valuables in the mail stream each day. how pathetic your and other comments are displayed here, most of which are recycled rhetoric from people who probably could not do the job. Did you fail the civil service test? If you did be happy you didn’t get hired, people like you probably couldn’t handle the reality of the job. Merry Christmas.
jack

Hey Phil…
One big difference in those jobs….
Those construction workers and maintenance crews work in “lighted” work areas.
It’s NOT the hours…(per say)….(I worked overnight shift for USPS for 8 years indoors…)…it’s the “lighting conditions….or lack there-of>
Ken

They don’t have to deal with people shoving guns in their face while doing their job either. Phil you are the poster child for abortion.

Al Tango

Mail mail used to get here between 2:00 and 3:00 PM. Now it is 5:30. That is after dark this time of the year.
EMC

The fact that “bulk rate” mail, such as those catalogues that come unsolicited into your mailbox , is discounted should stop immediately. Why should junk mail be subsidized by those paying the regular rates.Charging full postage for this junk could also cut down considerably on the amount of it that floods the system.

Steven Goodwin

I addition to that…. drastically cut down on the number of ‘contract’ mail trucks… (Semi’s) there are thousands of them on the road at any given moment and they are EXPENSIVE
Mail Guy

“The fact that “bulk rate” mail, such as those catalogs that come unsolicited into your mailbox , is discounted should stop immediately.”
More stupidity…… Bulk rate mail creates First Class mail and Priority packages if orders are created from them.
Have a nice day

SUBURBS

IT STILL DOES NOT MATTTER HOW MUCH MAIL YOU HAVE TO DELIVER THE CARRIER STILL GOES TO THE SAME AMMOUT OF DELIVERIES EVERY DAY. ALSO GET READY AND GOOD LUCK THE NEXT ROUND OF ROUTE ADJUSTMENTS ARE HERE IF THE USPS GET THIER WAY WHO KNOWS WHAT TIME YOU WILL BE GETTING YOUR MAIL
Aurora

My DiL sent out something to us. According to USPS it’s been sitting in thier sorting facility since the 14th! There’s a REASON they’re cash strapped… they let things sit around for over a WEEK!
David Rios

Since the overnight standards have been relaxed…why not bring in the carriers in early and leave on time so that they won’t be out after dark…Is that too simple?
They can come back and if needed to stay in to case late mail…they can do that and not be out after dark. Less chance of an injury, which is costly. Mr Postmaster General, you came out of the craft, you must have memories of those days…you can fix it with the stroke of a pen.

bjk1946

Good thoughts David, but remember, the mail needs to arrive from the plant before the carriers can leave for the street.
Retired USPS

The carriers can’t hit the street until their DPS ( Delivery Point Sequenced ) maill gets to the station. The DPS mail is sorted at a Mail processing center. Many of these , in smaller towns, have been done away with (i.e. the machines that do this sorting have been yanked out ) to centalize the processing. The problem is, in most cases, the larger city (like Wichita. where I worked ) that took this on could barely handle the work load they had. In wichita, the last dispatch for mail in the morning used to be 6:45, that changed to 7:45 after the workload increased. Also, I don’t think that any of the last few Postmaster generals and few of the upper manaagment were every craft employees, meaning they have little practical knowledge of what the job entails. It is all a numbers game, with the numbers being “gamed” to get the results they want. Also, if you think that Fedex or UPS want this business, why aren’t they offering to take it over? The Post Office currently delivers 30% of Fedex ground packages ( according to their CEO ) and around 19%of UPS’s. I( have deliveered mail before and it is not safe to do so when it is too dark to see. Do you mow your yard or paint your house in the dark ?

Backlash

(Sorry I clicked Report on accident instead of reply….so those that may review this.. disregard)

I’ll second the above.
We got a new District manager recently, he’s a die hard numbers guy. oh yeah… who has NEVER carried in his life.

UPS has a policy (at least i have heard it multiple times) that in order to be management you must have been a delivery guy for at least 1-2 years (heard both 1 and 2 years)

I saw bring that to the USPS. if you want to be a carrier supervisor, you had to carry. Same for the other crafts.
I have 2 carrier supervisors and a station manager at my station. the station manager is a numbers guy who micro-manages everything. he was a maintenance guy turned management. he’s an idiot and even his own supervisors dislike him.
1 supervisor spent years in the vehicle maintenance side, he’s a GREAT supervisor. He understands the problems and works with us instead of trying to screw us like other supervisors i’ve had.
the other… total idiot and suck up. I think he carried for a short time before applying for the management side. the seconds guy, look for him to be a station manager someday. It seems that the worse you are at your job, and the better you are at sucking up to those above you.. the higher you go.

matt

This is to bjk1946 are you really that stupid or do you work for UPS or FedEX? what stupid people like you dont realize is the close the Postal Service then the people that live in any rural place will no longer get their mail they will have to drive to get their Social Security Checks or Med’s not to mention Postal rates will go up 1000% So its OK for the goverment to bail out banks and bussiness but when it comes to service to the American Public they dont need to do that you sound like a have trying screw the have nots!!!

bjk1946

OK Matt…first off, take a basic lesson in English composition…NO WHERE in my commernts below did I say “close the postal service”. I simply said stop Saturday delivery. Same number of deliveries – rural or city- just 1 less day. Is that ‘stupid’…look in a mirror! And, have you ever heard of Direct Deposit of Social Security checks??? If folks are waiting for their meds on a Saturday because they didn’t plan ahead, they are the stupid ones. And your government and bail out comments are rediculous.

Joe Navy

Looks like the mail volume is down here in Michigan… Management is putting people on 340 time on tour 1. Oh, wait, that’s right, they hired 10 PSE’s when we have less than 75 clerks… They won’t stop till the whole USPS is made up of temp help!!!
bjk1946

Saturday Delivery MUST go…let carriers work M – F and give them weekends off. They should love that. BUT, many will be crying because they lose their 3-day weekend which they enjoy now every 5 weeks or so. Congress has to smarten up and approve ‘No Saturday delivery’ (except for Express Mail). Many carriers on Business routes don’t even take out business mail on Saturday. The Union official interviewed should get the paperwork off his desk and get out on the street delivering mail (like his counterparts)…most of the paperwork is probably frivolous grievances anyway. Privatize the USPS, get rid of the unions, make employees responsible and you’ll get your mail well before dark.
Dave

I wish congress would quit dragging their feet. If Saturday mail is so important why are the same mail, parcels, meds etc still in peoples mail boxes come monday when I deliver.Saturday delivery is a joke. In my opinion it can and should be eliminated to cut costs. All the people I talk to on my route could care less if there was no more Saturday delivery.
George Cantstandya

Get rid of Saturday and absorb the long routes into a five day schedule, actually saving many jobs. PO is shorthanded. Lets save money and fuel and get with the rest of the world. The medicine excuse is a joke. Canada has been Monday to Friday for decades and they live longer than us. So shut up already about your stupid meds. If something is so important use express or get a POB

Clark Allen

I agree with you, George. If it’s so important, then email or fax it. After all isn’t that what the 21st century is all about, as we head towards 2012?
PostalWookie

Lets see how well you do math. I will use easy hypothetical numbers to keep it simple. If a route gets 1000 pieces of mail a day, six days a week, that means you deliver 6000 pieces for the week (6 day delivery). So now cut it down to 5 days and that means you now have 1200 pieces to deliver each day (an increase of 20 percent). If the routes are already too long, what makes you think adding a 20 percent daily increase in the amount you have to deliver each day will save money. If they bother adjusting the routes afterwards, it would mean they would have to make more routes and have enough employees to cover them. Of course that means they could get rid of 1 out of 6 regular full time employees as soon as we go to 5 days and replace them with temporary employees.

bjk1946

Here’s more Math for Wookie…still the same number of pieces delivered in 5 days…in the same number of stops!!! 95%+ letter mail is automated and sorted in the order it is delivered. Now you’ll probably say that the carrier has to “finger” the mail…yea, RIGHT!!! How many carriers “finger” the mail… Ask the customers how many pieces of mis-delivered mail they get? And let’s remember, we are having this discussion in the middle of the 2 busiest postal weeks of the year…lets talk the other 50 weeks when those 6000 pieces of mail now dwindle to 4000 pieces…amd the carriers are sitting in Burget King or Dunkin Donuts for 30 minutes (on their 10 minute break) or an hour+ (on their 30 minute lunch).. How’s that for math???

TM

Who the hell are you, that you think so little of letter carriers! What job did you work at all your life?

bjk1946

What does it matter where I work…just giving you more ‘math’, as you said. Prove me wrong…does the ‘truth’ hurt??? (my last comment to YOU!!)

bfair

It doesn’t matter where you work. However, in order to prove you wrong we would need the true facts. The truth is, you have no idea how many carriers are not fingering the mail or extending their breaks. Also, chose any job and you’ll find workers who try hard to get paid for doing nothing. That includes the non-union workers that you would like to deliver your mail.
robert.preston

Letter carriers are lucky to have jobs. If we don’t get the Hawaiian-vacationing-at-every-drop-of-the-hat incompetent President out of office this next election, it will get a lot worse for the postal workers and everybody else.

PostalWookie

Are you kidding me. Okay, lets take these one at a time.
1. Yes it is the same number of stops but NOT the same number of pieces in 5 days versus 6.
2. While it is true that a large percentage (but nowhere near 95%) of letter mail is automated in DPS (Delivery Point Sequence), it is also true that most of these routes were adjusted to be “8″ hours based on 60-70 percent coverage with light mail.
3. It is true that a higher amount of DPS mail takes longer to “finger” through, and, unfortunately, your assessment of what is done by some carriers is true.
Some carriers simply choose to bow to managements pressure to “hurry,hurry,hurry” and be done by a certain time no matter what you are given or face reprisals. Before I mentioned them hiring temporary employees (AKA TE’s). These TE’s are contracted with no set number of hours or days to be worked. They are at the mercy of management to delivery as fast as possible or possibly not be used. In both these cases. these employees decide that speed is more important then doing their job properly.
3.This discussion has nothing to do with the time of year. A 20% increase in daily pieces is 20% more regardless of what time of year it is. It is widely recognized that the month of December sees an increase in a) bulk mailings at the beginning of the month, b) First class cards and letters mid-month, and c) packages around Christmas. That is why the “no penalty time exclusion” is in the contract for that month. That means we can be required to work more than 10 hours daily or 56 hours weekly and not paid penalty overtime pay.
4. If you are employed by the Post Office you should know what an MSP is. If you are not a Postal Employee, I will explain them to you. Each route now has barcodes that the carrier is required to scan at various intervals throughout the route. These are called MSP’s (Managed Service Points). Management has said that this is a tool to help provide continuity of mail delivery. As any Letter Carrier who has been called into the office to explain why there was a 10 minute variance in the times will tell you, It is really just another way for management to track our day and accuse us of being unproductive. Someone taking “30 minutes” on a 10 minute break or “an hour+” on their 30 minute lunch would very quickly be in the office, and probably suspended or fired. If you see a Postal Employee taking an hour lunch it was either approved by someone in management, or was maybe a Supervisor.

I have been a Letter Carrier for 18 years in both a large metropolitan area and in a city of only 40,000. Many people want to voice their opinions based on what they THINK they know. I at least have the advantage of seeing what is happening from the inside before spouting off.

Phil

Fascinating how vigilant carriers are at defending their job. Typical union workers, put on a show about how hard it is and horrible to do but in reality you all stay there for 30 years for a reason. it is a CUSHY JOB.

Carrying The Load

Cushy Job?? I sure am glad that your not working on the case next to me, i’d probly have to help you 3 hours a day…oh by the way, at least we work for 30 years. you wouldnt last a week at the PO, and you probly would come up with a new definition of “cushy”…typical what you going to do for me person. I recommend you 1) grow up, 2) Educate yourself, as so that Cushy job comes to you, 3) be nice or Santa wont bring you your train set for Christmas
Backlash

I’ll defend my job, but I am not union…
Not all carriers are.
And Phil, and any others, I would LOVE to allow you to carry my route for a day.
I win the DPS lottery almost every day (I get more DPS volume than anyone else in the station. And i did NOT enter that contest…)
you come in and case the 6-8 feet of flats and non machinable letters. (in 90 minutes or so) then carry my 8 and 9 block loops. oh which you are not allowed to break down… 35 lbs is the allowed carry weight. 4 park points are allowed, no more. (which means you will have to carry that 8 block loop for 2-3 blocks BEFORE you can make the first delivery now, moving the vehicle uses Gas you know…)
now do your 600+ deliveries in 6.5 hours.
I have 12 loops, 10 are 8 blockers 2 are 4 blockers. all from 4 park points. 7.6 miles of total walking/carrying distance. (i’ve used my pedometer in my iPhone)
do that 6 days a week, yes forced in on your day off… and 8 hours a day? only if you are lucky, odds are you get to carry a hand off.

tell me it’s a cushy job.
I have seen many new hires quit within a week… cause they can’t hack it.

Some people are attacking the management here also. they DO deserve some of the blame, but keep in mind that the local management (carrier supervisors etc) are not always the reason. they have to answer to their supervisors.

I’ll admit, there are bad apples at the USPS. I could tell you stories of MANY carriers that need to be fired but can’t due to the union protecting them.

I personally would LOVE to see a new contract, one that FIRES every single USPS employee and brings them back with NO union allowed. or at least a Union with less power. Make the carriers work for their jobs like everyone else. It won’t happen.. Just like getting rid of all walking delivery and going NDCBU or mounted. some people would complain they can’t walk a block to get their mail, or to the end of their driveway.. and we’d have to go to their door again.

Again, the USPS has it’s problems and it’s bad apples… but I’d love to see many of those here do the job.
I’ve been here 17 years, 12 as a carrier and 5 as either a Mail handler or a Clerk at our P&DC.
I was a zone clerk, I retired our LSM… (those that know what that was… you know my pain. those that have no clue… be glad you didn’t have to learn that nightmare. something like 80% failed to qualify for it)
The Carrier side isn’t bad if you can get a decent route. I lost all but 10 of my business deliveries in the last adjustment, so my route has grown to a size that only myself and my T6 can do in 8 hours.. my route is once again the route nobody wants to carry. It’s not “hard” but it’s long. the 6.5 hours… is a solid 6.5 hours.

I’d also love to see saturday delivery halted, deliver express/priority packages on sat/sun like normal and just no door to door. M/T may be heavy…

Oh and many of you are saying that no business’ are closed on saturday?…. yeah Department stores etc are not closed… not many lawyers, dentists, banks, federal, state, etc are open on saturday..
My old route, I cut an hour+ off my route every saturday due to saturday closures.

BJK1946

Wookie…

I couldn’t let your comments go by without responding (for the last time).
(1) Stops are stops, regardless!!! And the piece count will increase on Monday ONLY if Saturday delivery is halted. TU-W-TH and F will be basically the same. Your initial ‘math’ analysis talked about a 20% increase EACH DAY…nonsense. You obviously did poorly in Math/Algebra in school.
(2) I was a mailhandler for 7 years and changed crafts to City Carrier…try unloading 3 or 4 56′ trailers of 50-70 pound sacks on 3-C from the BMC 5 nights a week. I was a city carrier (mounted, walking, condo/apartment cluster boxes) for the last 14 years of my tenure (retired 15 months ago). Been there, done that in 2 different offices in surburban towns (45,000 and 65,000 population–not that it matters).
(3) Check the numbers…DPS letter mail was 95% 15 months ago and I suspect higher now that up to a 1/4″ thick letter is DPS’able…yea, I know about mail processing too–worked AFC machines as a mailhandler in the P&DC.
(4) Yes, I know MSP and I had no problem with the program…the ones who complained about MSP, the 3-M case, the pallets of phone books (years back), were the ones who were constantly asking for help and being bailed out by the carriers who did their job, usually without complaining. I did my job and did it well…and for the last 5 years was happy to have the job, the salary and the benefits since I was and still am ill with a disease in remission. Then, and now, after reading some of the comments, it made me sick that so many (NOT ALL, and not the majority) were getting over…yes, the extended lunches and breaks (and PLEASE don’t try to tell me many don’t), b/s’ing with customers for 5, 10 and more minutes, sitting in LLV’s or on the curb on their cell phone, b/s’ing with other carriers instead of casing mail, etc..
So NO, I wasn’t spouting off…you appear to be rather intelligent…maybe a steward at one time. You had to laugh at some of the comments made by the union guy Cirelli in the video! The one about people suffering and dying without their meds was a good one LOL.
I’ll buy into the fact that management (some) is and was weak. Allowing some of the nonsense that went and goes on to continue is WRONG…but, as a 204-B for 3 years, I also saw management spending hours and hours doing discipline (oftentimes warranted) only to have a Postmaster and Steward reduce it to a letter of warning…rediculous. Guys should simply do the job, stop complaining and be happy that they are making the $$ they are, with fantastic benefits. AN HONEST DAY’S PAY FOR AND HONEST DAY’S WORK!!! Merry Christmas!!!

Backlash

I have done all that you have, I worked as a Mail handler… Some of the worst work for your back.

I was glad I was able to switch to the Clerk side after 2 years of that, i’d be in a wheelchair if i didn’t.

Carrier side IS easier, no doubt about that. but it’s not “easy” compared to most of the armchair carriers here.
Most of these people here complaining are desk jockeys, put them on the street and the’d collapse after 8 hours carrying.

I’m also a 204-B what you said is 100% true.
Some guys NEED to be fired, management tries to fire them… only to have the Union save them.

a clerk here yelled at a customer at the window, when the station manager confronted him he yelled at him, threw mail at him and left. he was fired.
5 months later when the union won the grievance he was back… only to do a similar thing 3 months after he returned.
the 3rd time he was fired, he didn’t fight it. only THEN could his job be filled by someone else…

We also had a carrier “quit” one day. walked in and went directly to the Managers office, quit… went through all the paperwork etc.
and the union convinced him to rescind his resignation later that day.. All he had to do was call before 5PM and ask to have it rescinded.
Basically he got the day off…

bjk1946

Finally someone with an intelligent viewpoint…hopefully Wookie is still reading this blog and has come to his/her senses.

I’m done posting…gonna enjoy Christmas. Hope the Union guy Cirelli learned some things from this episode (first being don’t talk to the media unless you have something intelligent to say)..I still get a laugh when I watch and hear his comment about people dying. MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!!!

LISA

You can’t speak for all letter carriers.. I am a letter carrier and I don’t have the luxury of having a 30 minute break or an hour lunch, I am lucky if I have time to take my half hour lunch. They adjusted our routes two times in the last two years and the routes are longer. There is no free time. As a carrier I do finger the mail, that’s part of my job.. and I do deliver my route correctly …when I am off or on vacation, my customers can tell the difference!!!!

EA

No need for cuts, only check and review the salaries of the people that are making decisions in the Post Office and why they still on that job..
This people have not done anything for the Post Office for years and they are still getting pay big salaries.
The Realist

The first problem is CONGRESS for requiring the Postal Service (and ONLY the Postal Service) to spend $8 BILLION PER YEAR to fund retiree health benefits 75 YEARS in advance. Why should the Postal Service pay NOW for benefits for retirees who haven’t been born yet?
BP

My Bills to Verizon, which is like 30 mins away was NEVER delivered.. I mailed it on NOV. 17, 2011 & Still no hide or hair of my Check or my Bill. I also mailed a Check to my Bank on Friday Dec 16, 2011 and always makes it on Monday… but here it is now Thursday and NO hide or hair of that check I DEPEND on to be deposited.. USPS is STEALING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

STEALLLLLLLLLLLLLING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

dave

Why don’t you pay online
DEA

Dropped it in the gutter while delivering in the dark, got shredded by the sorting machine, maybe, But stealing??? Give me a break………….
joe

And you believe your bank and Verizon really didn’t get your check! Wake up! Rarely does mail not get delivered, Verizon and your bank have every reason to say they didn’t get it when they should so they can charge you more! Next time send it certified or with delivery confirmation and then see when they say they got i And if the USPS is stealing what the heck are they gonna do with a check made out to verizon or your bank?

Frosty

Joe – in the last week I have received three pieces of mail – in the daytime – that were not addressed to my home, or to anyone in my home. These were not advertising flyers – they each appeared to be a bill or personal correspondence. Just so you know – it happens more than you might imagine.

Stwebb

You, my friend, are a dumb@$$!!!

City carriers don’t have time to steal YOUR check,..

Most are trying to finish and make it home to their families.

Risking a decent paying job for your stinking $100 check…come on!
bfair

How do you know it was never delivered? Because Verizon said so? There’s no way to know if that letter didn’t get lost at Verizon after delivery or the person who was supposed to enter your payment into the computer didn’t mess up. Verizon has messed up it’s cellular service big time twice in the past couple of months, their far from perfect. Why would someone in the PO steal something that bthey can’t use,like your check or bill?

Joe

5 carriers jump on to question how he knows it wasn’t delivered. Tell me guys HOW DO YOU KNOW IT WAS????? Based on all my experience with the USPO I definitely believe him. It wasn’t stolen that is ridicuous but seriously 85% success rate with USPO, thats my experience.

Frosty

This is not an unusual occurrence, but it’s not likely to be your USPS worker. There are people who actually DO steal outbound mail in the hopes of coming across $ that they can steal. It happens frequently.
BillCNC

I once had a Christmas card from my grandmother back in the 80′s delivered 8 Years late!!!

Did I get mad at the USPS, … of coarse not, … I am a rational person, … Look at how many pieces USPS delivers a year, somethings will fall between the cracks, … literally. To be honest with you, … The private carriers are no better.

One thing, … SOME OF YOU WHINERS should keep in mind about your mail, … How much would a private carrier charge you to mail a letter, … ENOUGH SAID!

YOU wanted this JOB

STOP YOUR WHINING My UPS guy delivered packages at laste as 10:30pm normal time around 6pm and we are the last street before heading home..

FED EXhires contractions to do home delivery…

TIME TO GET ON THE BALL AND DELIVER PACKAGES WHEN PEOPLE ARE HOME.

Retired1

Who’s whining? We’re just educating the public. KNOW THE FACTS. UPS drivers don’t walk the streets in the dark or any other time. They don’t carry mail for 30 or more houses on their backs. They usually deliver one parcel to residences and their trucks have lighted interiors enabling them to read addresses. Ask your UPS driver if he likes working until 10:30 at night.
robert

fedex hires hires cotractions to deliver? what is a contraction? do you mean contractors?

HMichaelH

Why does FedEx “…hires hires…” anyone?

The Old Mailman

OK, if you think the job is so easy, drive to a strange neighborhood after dark, throw a 40# bag of water softener salt over your shoulder, and read three chapters of a book while walking a dozen blocks or so. That’s what it’s really like. Oh, and do it after a full day of exercise as well. You’ll have a new respect for letter carriers!

Ramos

Wow. It sounds so tough.
And I thought medical school was a challenge.
Wow, Mr. Postman, wow.

The Old Mailman

Ah, the elitist 1% speaks up. Gosh Dr. McQuack, we all are so envious of you!
If you are so much better than the workers at the Post Office, why not cut your fees and serve the people….like we do??
13yearoldwankeronthekeyboard

Yeah, you’re a doctor. Time to go do your homework now while I give it to your sister.
BillCNC

We can already tell the only reason your going to become a doctor is because your penis is small and you want to get rich off of others misery.

REAL doctors become doctors because they want to make a difference and HELP people. The only help you will offer, … is to take a vacuum to ones wallet, and ONLY for that reason.

Tell us were you will be practicing so we can avoid you like a case of AIDS!

nilochsaloob

If you think its that tough… then quit…. look for a job that that says CEO on your name plate.

PostalWookie

You are right, FEDEX and UPS do contract out last mile delivery of most small parcels. It is called SmartPost (FEDEX) and UPS Mail Innovations. Both of these services charge the customer their standard shipping fee and them drop ship them to a USPS processing hub to be sent on for home delivery. FedEx and UPS are two of the Post Offices biggest customers. Oddly enough, even after paying the Postal Rate for delivery, both companies obviously make money on the transaction or it wouldn’t still exist.

A Long Island Carrier

Safety is “supposedly” a high priority at the USPS but delvering mail in the dark is inherently not a safe practice… whether you are walking a route or driving a route. Visibilty is low and accidents are just waiting to happen. ( Slips, trips and falls or worse yet mvas.) This puts undue stress on the carrier at the time of day when energy levels are waning. Ask any one of us if we like doing it and the answer would be a resounding no, ask us if we have done it and the majority would say yes. It is the nature of the beast… Call it the holiday rush, call it mail delivery after major snow storms, call it dwindling and uneven mail volumes, call it cut backs, route adjustments, call it my job. And if I want to keep it, I’ll do it and try my hardest to complete my daily rounds incident/accident free.
Cindy Starns Pistorius

well, I’m glad to see we all have our priorities in order! NO PUN INTENDED

theyulelogforcindybaby

I’ve got something all lined up in priority for you, Cindy.

Faith

In our area, the processing plant is consistently late getting the mail to the carriers – sometimes as much as 2.5 hours late – but the carriers are required to still return to the office at the same time to meet the trucks returning to the plant. I don’t understand why the plant can miss dispatch time and disrupt thousands of lives, but the local offices can’t hold the trucks more than 5 minutes. If our carriers get back after the truck departs, they are required to take any mail picked up on route as far as necessary to catch the truck at it’s next stop. The carriers are in a no-win situation on regular days, the Christmas season has only made that worse.
Amy

How the hell does delivering in the dark help the Post Office save $. We are all mandated to work over time whether we want to or not. Management should be ashamed and so should Congress for destroying our service!

billythegoat

While the article never spells it out, I will for you. The cost savings come from simply having less carriers do the same amount of routes, hence it makes for a longer day for each of them.

JOSH SUCKS

Not true – after 8 hours overtime is paid. How is that saving money?

jpbrody

I’m just hazarding a guess, but it may be that overtime is cheaper than hiring another full-time worker with accompanying benefits.

Robert

You can thank the unions for milking the USPS dry. There benifits are outragous and have billions in unfunded liaibilities. The unions are ruining every aspect of the American workforce. That’s why unions should never be allowed in any government sector. USPS, teachers, state and Federal, the politicians vote and allow these ridiculous salaries and benefits to go into effect and there is no money to pay them and we the taxpayer are left holding the bag. Wake up America we are going down the tubes……..

J Moore

Amen–Amen–Amen!!

Jamison

Hopefully they can get this stuff delivered in times for the holidays:

http://bofadeez.blogspot.com/2010/12/happy-holidays.html

People are counting on their packages getting there!

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Seen At 11: Cash-Strapped U.S. Postal Service Turns To Deliveries After Dark

Mail Carriers Nervous And Furious That Service Will Keep It That Way

December 21, 2011 11:56 PM

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