An interesting quote from Jack Potter, where he spoke to the National PCC
“The law that birthed the modern Post Office 39 years ago didn’t come with all of the restrictions that are making it so hard to succeed today.
That law didn’t tell us what products we could and couldn’t offer.
That law didn’t tell us how much we could and couldn't charge, without reference to our universal service obligation.
That law didn't tell us that mail had to be delivered on six days rather than five.
That law didn't tell us we had to retain unnessary retail outlets.
That we had to divert billions of today’s operating dollars to fund benefits that may not be payable for another 10,25, 50 or 70 years.
Each of these limitations grew from other laws that modified our original operating charter.”
What do you think? Comment here.
8 comments:
While those are valid points, there were not all the layers of upper management we now have.
No district or area offices and Headquarters did not have as many employees. We need to eliminate more layers and get back to basics.
With each new law, we merely tie the hands of the people to get the job done. The laws are always very broad and the upper levels feel the need to write policy after policy and makes the problem worse then before.
With each new law, we merely tie the hands of the people to get the job done. The laws are always very broad and the upper levels feel the need to write policy after policy and makes the problem worse then before.
I definately agree. There are way too many chiefs and not enough people to do the work to get the job done. The bonuses those in upper level management get are horrible and aren't getting the job done. Get back to basics and get the job done.
Laws are things we have to work with, It is part of a civilized society. However, if we unloaded from the top instead of from the bottom, stuck to our true job of provideing mail service (even if it went to 5 days) we will come out ahead.
I wasn't working for the Postal Service in 1971, but I do know we were still receiving some tax funds then so that helped our bottom line. We also had more post offices and we delivered 6 days a week, not because the law said we had to but because that was an accepted business practice. We didn't have the competition then that we have today - UPS, FedEx, etc weren't as large, there was no email, fax, internet, etc. Some fo the laws may still be relevant, some not. I'm sure at the time those laws were passed they were thought necessary. Just a couple years ago, when the most recent Postal Reorganization laws were passed the Postal Service, unions and organizations were mostly in agreement with them. Now everyone is saying those laws aren't working or need to be changed. Any changes done today will be viewed differently in the future, too, depending on what happens with the economy and other outside influences. Implementing new laws may be practical for the immediate situation but that still doesn't mean it will provide a long-term fix. Maybe the law needs to be changed to allow more autonomous control and less interference from Congress and the government since we pay our own way.
Joan is right on with her comments. We elected the officials that made the laws and now we have to live with the results. Take away the upper levels even by 25% and we will probably be less in the whole. We have too many reports that no one "really" cares about. Return to and focus on getting the mail delivered in the most efficient manner. Do managers really know what their carriers are doing once they leave the office?
The laws passed by Congress are a totally different issue from the Postal heirarchy, to which most of the comments are addressed. Congress passed the original Postal Reorganization Act to allow us to function as a business, since it also contemplating cutting off our tax revenues. Subsequent Congresses have viewed us as a cash cow, and passed laws requiring us to deposit billions of dollars to mask their spending, while over-regulating us to the point that we cannot operate like any other business, timely responding to business conditions.
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