US postal expenses continue to rise
Today, PostalWatch distributed a Congressional Briefing entitled “Postal Expenses Continue to Rise” to Members of both Houses of Congress. The briefing analyzes the U.S. Postal Service’s skyrocketing operational expenses, which are escalating rapidly despite a reduced postal workforce and other postal cost-cutting initiatives.
The Postal Service employed 704,716 full-time career workers at the end of its 2005 fiscal year, 82,822 fewer than it had in 2000. However, since 2000, annual operating expenses actually increased by more than $5.2 billion (8%) despite the workforce reduction.
While similarly challenged private sector organizations like the automakers and airlines are furloughing workers, terminating pension plans and negotiating double-digit wage and benefit concessions, the Postal Service has been handing out some of the largest raises and bonuses in history. Last year, 88.4% of the 70,000 postal executives received so-called “performance” based raises that exceeded 5.2% under a new “National Performance Assessment” executive raise program. And in the summer of 2005, the American Postal Workers Union (APWU) proudly announced they had negotiated the second-largest raise in the union’s 35-year history.
“The future looks really bleak!” said Rick Merritt, Executive Director of PostalWatch. “The USPS 2006 Integrated Financial Plan projects operating expenses will top a whopping $74 billion this year, an increase of $5.9 billion in just one year. No matter how much they shrink the workforce, increase ‘Total Factor Productivity’ numbers or cut work hours, the one thing postal leaders never ever seem to be able to do is actually cut expenses.”
The Briefing is available online at http://www.postalwatch.org/news2006/060215pb_rising_costs_brief.pdf
PostalWatch is a non-partisan, non-profit advocacy organization committed to an accountable, fair and efficient U.S. Postal Service.
SOURCE PostalWatch
CONTACT: PostalWatch Media Relations, +1-877-576-7825
