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Rally seeks to protect 500 jobs at Youngstown USPS facility
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Patty Herlinger of Boardman walks among 75 others in front of the U.S. Post Office in downtown Youngstown. That processing and distribution plant employs 500 people and is on a U.S. Postal Service list of possible closures. The rally to draw attention to the possible closing was Friday.
By Karl Henkel
YOUNGSTOWN
The U.S. Postal Service employs more Americans — about 500,000 — than any other company in the United States not named Wal-Mart.
Thursday’s news that 35,000 jobs could be cut in the next year — if the postal service isn’t completely insolvent by then — sent a ripple effect through post offices nationwide. It was felt in Youngstown, where the city’s processing and distributing plants employ 500.
Both facilities made the postal service’s list of possible closures, which could be finalized as early as next spring. Those 500 contribute $500,000 in city income taxes, which, if lost, could increase economic havoc in the job-challenged Mahoning Valley.
“Youngstown cannot afford to lose 300 to 500 jobs,” said state Rep. Robert F. Hagan of Youngstown, D-60th, one of several local dignitaries at a downtown rally Friday morning that attracted about 75 participants. “That’s not going to make this a great place to live.”
But it could be reality.
A postal service representative said in July that Youngstown’s mail duties could be combined with similar facilities in Akron or Cleveland. Pittsburgh could also be a destination.
The Akron facilities also were listed as a possible closure.
Friday’s rally was organized to promote the postal service, which still delivers more than 167 billion pieces of mail annually.
That’s a 20 percent decline from the record year of 2006, when USPS delivered 213 billion pieces.
Mail volume is expected to decrease to 150 billion pieces by 2020, according to a 2010 report prepared by The Boston Consulting Group, Inc.
Declining mail volume is one reason the postal service is on pace to rack up a $9.2 billion deficit in 2011, a year after it posted an $8 billion deficit.
It isn’t the only reason.
Congress, which oversees the postal service’s public-private hybrid business model, in 2006 passed The Postal Accountability Enhancement Act. It requires the postal service to fund retiree health-care benefits 75 years in advance.
Every year the postal service starts with a deficit of $5.5 billion to cover future retiree health-care benefits for employees who may not be alive, in addition to $7 billion for current benefits.
“No other company is required to do that,” said Barbara Duffy, a nine-year employee at the Youngstown postal service.
The $5.5 billion payment is due by the end of September, but the postal service acknowledged last week it may not have the funds to pay it.
If that happens, USPS essentially would default on its financial obligations, a fact Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe warned against earlier this month.
It could also mean the end to some overlooked services USPS provides, such as address changes. Last year, the post office reported a “historically high” 45 million address changes. Companies such as FedEx and UPS use address changes from USPS for shipping needs.
Congress is now trying to aid USPS with a bill in the House that would change the methodology of calculating retiree health-care benefits.
“They need to get off their congressional butts quickly,” said Dominic Corso of American Postal Workers Union Local 443 in Youngstown.
Detractors, however, say the postal service is a broken system that’s behind the times.
It’s borrowed $12 billion from the U.S. Treasury and earlier this year it bargained with the postal workers’ union for 3.5 percent pay increases during the next 41/2 years.
While revenue — or tax — increases can be levied by the federal government, the postal service has no such luxury.
USPS receives no taxpayer money for operating expenses. Instead, it relies on the sale of stamps, which cost 44 cents.
The postal service has floated many ideas to attempt to make up the deficit, including increasing the price for stamps, ending Saturday delivery, reducing employee costs including job cuts, and closing post offices, the latter of which has already hit the Youngstown area.
The postal service closed Youngstown’s South and East Side retail offices earlier this year.
Cornersburg and the West Side location are the other remaining facilities in the city.
Youngstown’s North branch — and the Calcutta office in East Liverpool — made the postal service’s list of potential retail-office closures in July.
Comments
Why don't the Executive's take a cut ? It seems the Head Beating starts with the hourly employees and continues with the hourly employees ! And why is this always the case ? Is this taught in their Schools of Bussiness education ? Which is most likley why the Country is going to HELL ! You have my support USPS !!!!!!!
Rep. Hagan:
AGAIN you don't understand.
The Postal Union received a RAISE! The system is losing billions, yet you defend a raise? The employees are the #1 expense. If you seek to support the continuation of the downtown center, seek ending the union contracts. Drastically reduce ALL the benefits that are generating huge losses. For a change, take a stand against the problem. For a change-THINK!
Up the mailing cost to a buck a letter and generate more money .
Where in the article did it say that Hagan defended their raises? All I saw was his comment that Youngstown cannot afford to lose 300 to 500 jobs..... which is the truth.
Why can't the post office downsize or reduce delivery days instead of closing up altogether?
If the government wants to save money , eliminate the entire postal system. All I get is junk mail anyway. The mail person used to deliver the junk before Noon. Now we get it around 4-5PM. With the Net, who needs it.
One can only change a address now by doing it online with the US Post Office...what does that tell you?
... hope these employees get the pensions they have been promised.
Am I the only smart person out there? Renegotiate no raises or cuts for the next 3 years with the Union, forced retirement for those who have 30 years in the system who are not in executive positions, no new hires for the next 10 years, move employees who work in areas that do not need them, to areas that do. The numbers will reduce naturally through retirement. Charge a flat fee of $5 dollars for address changes in person, and if not done online. Keep the price of stamps the same and finally change the Postal Act requirement for funding to 40 years. 75 years is not needed. Do not close offices down where they may be one of the largest employers in that area.
Lots of good points. Email has helped kill USP but this private public partnership has had a big hand in it as well.
The Postal Service was running surpluses 11 years ago and the government was dipping into it like Social Security , pensions and anything else they can get their hands on.
So it won't really save the tax payers anything and in fact these folks pay taxes the more they make the more they pay. When private enterprise and government mix it isn't always a pretty picture.
That up there^^^
The problem with many government agencies is that the government "steals" money from the self sustaining agencies to pay for the money pits, AKA Bailouts and economic Stimuli.
Even as inefficient as they are, they do( if you read the books right), make a profit.
I don't think a protest is going to do much. The fact is that times have changed and the decrease in volume just does not support the number of facilities or employees they have. This is a good time to lobby congress and remind them of YTown's main strength-its centralized location. A distribution center in YTown can serve both NEO and Pittsburgh with relative logistical ease. You need a logical cost saving reason to keep these jobs and facilities, not a protest. The question will be asked...why Youngstown and not another City? The answer can't be just because we want our jobs. Every city wants their jobs.
Just like any company would do when times are tuff like it or not you have to reduce costs. If consolidation helps them then thats what they will do along with all the other proposals.
Let's yet again try to completely get rid of the middle class by cutting a job that pays a decent wage to blue collar Americans. Sounds to me like they could cut quite a bit of Management "fluff" and save a lot more money. Yet again, the yahoos in Washington are sitting on their hands doing nothing while the American people suffer. Funding a retirement system 75 years in advance-- does it really take anyone any amount of time to realize how stupid that is! Wake up people! The Americans' own stupidity and the Computer are going to cut every decent paying job out there -- I hope you like to say "Would you like fries with that?" or "Welcome to Wal-mart."