May 2, 2001

SOME REAL FACTS ABOUT THE POSTAL SERVICE, by = Stanley F.=20 Slupik

The U.S. Postal Service delivered 208 billion = pieces of mail=20 in fiscal year 2000, which is about half of the world=92s mail. Stamp = prices are=20 among the lowest in the world. = U.S.=20 mail travels much further, and at a lower price, than in Italy, England, = France,=20 Germany, Switzerland, Japan, and almost every other country. In the last 6 years, the = postal service=20 has made a cumulative profit of $5.5 billion.

The postal service, according to the American = Public, has an=20 almost 90% favorable rating, which is much better than any other branch = of=20 government. The American = Postal=20 Worker is by far the most productive postal worker in the world.

In the last 6 years, the rate for a first = class letter=20 has increased by two cents. =20 Meanwhile, according to the U.S. Department of Labor=92s Consumer = Price=20 Index website:

The=20 average price of a gallon of gas has increased from $1.13 to $1.45;=20
The=20 average price of a loaf of bread has increased from 77 cents to $1.02; =
The=20 average price of a pound of ground beef has increased by 26%;=20
The=20 average home gas heating bill has increased by 64%;=20
The=20 average charge for physician=92s services has increased by 23%;=20
The=20 average charge for prescription drugs has increased by 21%.

Despite all of these facts, arch-conservative = columnist=20 Robert Novak, a well-known shill for the rich corporations, has written = a column=20 calling for privatization of the postal service. Faced with the above facts, = one would=20 think that perhaps we need the government to nationalize home and auto = gas, and=20 health care, rather than privatize a government agency that has kept = prices in=20 line.

But the postal service has always been a favorite = target for=20 businessmen who see an easy way to make a profit, at the expense of the = American=20 public. So Novak rants = and raves=20 about the great need to privatize the USPS.

In a desperate attempt to prove his case, Novak = pulls some=20 figures out of the sky, that are very inaccurate. In my mind, he has lost any = credibility=20 as a journalist. In = addition, when=20 a journalist=92s =93facts=94 are so off base, one tends to give less = credence to his=20 opinions.

For example, he states that since the USPS became = an=20 independent agency in 1971, that employee productivity has increased by = only=20 11%. I don=92t know where = he got his=20 figures. According to = public=20 record, and the USPS website at USPS.com, in FY 2000, the postal service = delivered 139% more mail than it did in 1971, with only 23% more = employees. To the layman, this computes = to a=20 productivity increase of about 50%. =20 What private company can match a 50% increase in = productivity?

Page 2, Real facts about the postal service

There were several other inaccurate figures Novak = stated as=20 fact. He said that the USPS =93earns=94 $50 billion from first class = mail. According to the USPS annual = report at=20 USPS.com, which was audited by Ernst & Young, that figure is $35 = billion=20 income, which was obviously not all =93profit=94, as Novak seemed to = intimate. Novak leads one to believe = that the USPS=20 has lost $12.9 billion since 1971, whereas in reality that figure is = $3.68=20 billion. The fact is that = the=20 postal service had existed on government subsidies since its existence = in our=20 country, and since 1971 there have been no subsidies.

He writes that =93labor unions maintain a fat = payroll of more=20 than 900,000=94. The fact = is that=20 labor unions represent 775,000 of the postal employees, of which 75,000 = are not=20 even career employees, and of which about 150,000 are part-time. As far as a =93fat=94 payroll, = there are no=20 millionaires among union-represented postal employees. Bargaining unit postal = employee salaries=20 are mandated by law to be equal to private sector employees doing = similar=20 work. Currently, the USPS = does not=20 pay most of its maintenance and motor vehicle employees comparable = salaries, so=20 they often lose them to private sector employers, including rival = UPS. About half of postal employees = have to=20 work the night shift and weekends, for almost all of their career. Many remain part-time = employees for=20 their entire career. = Bargaining=20 unit employee salaries and benefits total only 57% of postal service=20 expenses.

Novak repeats the old saw that postal management is = afraid to=20 stand up to the =93powerful=94 unions, but in the same article he quotes = reports=20 that management=92s relationship with its unions is too adversarial, and = always=20 has been. From my = perspective, I=20 believe the postal service could be much more efficient if management = would=20 adopt a permanent policy of attempting to work with its employees and = their=20 elected union representatives. =20

The fact is that if the postal service needs to = raise postage=20 rates to survive, it should not be taken as such an outrage. Stamp prices have increased = only two=20 cents in the last 6 years. = The=20 prices of everything else during that time have increased. The postal service depends on=20 transportation to move the mail, and when gasoline prices skyrocket, = postal=20 expenses rise as well.

What would happen if the postal service was = privatized? Many of Novak=92s friends = would make a=20 huge profit delivering mail in heavily populated areas. Competitors like UPS and = FedEx, both of=20 whom are among the leading contributors to the Republican Party, would = be paid=20 off for their legal bribes. = And the=20 American people would suffer greatly.

The=20 cost of postage would surely increase. =20 The postal service is run as a service and is mandated by law = to break=20 even over time, with no profit. No private company would deliver mail = without=20 trying to make a profit, and this would lead to higher prices, = especially to=20 those who can least afford it.

Page 3, Real facts about the postal service

When you = change your=20 address now, you only have to notify the postal service. If mail service was = privatized, you=20 might have to notify 50-75 different private companies. In 2000, the postal service = processed=20 44 million address changes. = 17%=20 of Americans move every year. = The=20 postal service forwards mail to your new address at no charge. Do you really think that = private firms=20 wouldn=92t charge for this extra service? =20
The=20 security of the mails would be severely compromised. Presently, the Postal = Inspection=20 Service monitors mail processing and delivery. Private firms would not = provide this=20 type of security. In = fact, it is=20 likely that rival delivery services might sabotage delivery of their=20 competitors. Many = people do not=20 use the internet to make purchases by credit card, because they fear = the lack=20 of security. But they = send their=20 credit card payments by mail every day without a second thought, = because they=20 know the postal service has preserved the sanctity of the mail. =

Postal = employees=20 are much less likely to steal mail because they have a secure job with = decent=20 wages and benefits, and have much more to lose if they are caught = stealing or=20 tampering with the mail. = This would=20 not be the case in private firms, where employees would not have job = security,=20 and if Robert Novak had his way, would not have a union, or decent wages = and=20 benefits.

Rural mail = delivery=20 would be very costly or not at all. =20 Many Americans would end up with no mail service. The private firms would make = no=20 profit, so they wouldn=92t deliver, unless it was at a very high = price.=20
Mail delivery = in high=20 crime areas, where there are many decent Americans without the means, = or the=20 intent, to move, would be very costly or not at all.=20
900,000 = postal workers=20 and their families would be displaced. =20 This would cause economic chaos in our country.
Mail sent = from state to=20 state, or to another country, would become very difficult to = handle. All private firms would not = be set up=20 to deliver to every state and country. =20 You=92d have to search to find a company that could deliver = different=20 pieces of your mail. = More chaos=20 would result.=20
What do you = think would=20 happen when a private mail firm went out of business? What would they do with = their=20 mail? They might just = dump it, or=20 if you are lucky, there would only be a big delay in its = delivery.

The postal service is perhaps the best ambassador = that the=20 federal government has. = There is=20 something special, in this day and age, about the government serving the = public=20 by bringing letters to every person in the country at their home, no = matter how=20 far away, or how lonely it may be. =20 The postal service, by the way, is the only one of the top 10 = largest=20 firms to rank in the top 25 of those with diversity of employment.

The Founding Fathers had it right when made = universal mail=20 service to every American a function of the federal government. Privatization would guarantee = that the=20 service would not be the same for every American. Privatization is not a magic = remedy to=20 everything. If you = don=92t believe=20 me, go to the nearest gas station. Has the competition ensured that gas = prices=20 have stayed low? =20