Things not going well for USPS

[Mrs Whiggins 13049]

That is just maddening. Maddening.

Don't forget: even if it is just to stop by and honk for a few minutes or say thank you, please show up to your local post office Saturday at 11:00 (CST) to support the protestors.

Edited August 21, 2020 by Mrs Whiggins
typo

[BrickHorn 18197]

12 hours ago, lemonlime said:

The Constitution's a piece of paper.  What First Amendment?

The First Amendment only protects Ben Shapiro from being yelled at by Berkeley hippies.

[Doc Sam Beckett 5784]

What a huge piece of shit this guy is

[4th&Five 41461]

This is the short sidedness of these fuckers. “Let’s slow the mail down so people will be scared to vote by it.” Never considering or caring that it will lead to lost money, meds, dead animals and hurt every segment of society. Well done, GOP. Feel free to go away anytime now. 

[Mrs Whiggins 13049]

13 minutes ago, 4th&Five said:

This is the short sidedness of these fuckers. “Let’s slow the mail down so people will be scared to vote by it.” Never considering or caring that it will lead to lost money, meds, dead animals and hurt every segment of society. Well done, GOP. Feel free to go away anytime now. 

Privyet! Guess these fellows got their wish!

*Hope I got that word right, Russian isn't my thing.

[jimmyjazz 45566]

Have any of these Senators tried to pin this asshat down on how exactly efficiency is not affected by removing sorting machines and postal boxes?

[TXSG8R 3360]

4 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

Have any of these Senators tried to pin this asshat down on how exactly efficiency is not affected by removing sorting machines and postal boxes?

 

[jimmyjazz 45566]

This Senator Enzi is a complete boot-licker.  He's outraged that DeJoy has been faulted for not fixing every USPS problem in 60 days.  (Nobody has faulted him for that.)  He's also perplexed that anyone could imagine completing logistical analysis of the affects of change in that time frame.

Well, Mr. Enzi, you are correct, it is unreasonable to expect that such complicated analysis could be completed in 2 months.  Here's a bold idea:  DON'T MAKE SWEEPING CHANGES BEFORE THE ANALYSIS IS COMPLETED (or in this case, "before the analysis is launched", because it's clear that DeJoy hasn't done any and doesn't intend to do any).

[Doc Sam Beckett 5784]

14 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

This Senator Enzi is a complete boot-licker.  He's outraged that DeJoy has been faulted for not fixing every USPS problem in 60 days.  (Nobody has faulted him for that.)  He's also perplexed that anyone could imagine completing logistical analysis of the affects of change in that time frame.

Well, Mr. Enzi, you are correct, it is unreasonable to expect that such complicated analysis could be completed in 2 months.  Here's a bold idea:  DON'T MAKE SWEEPING CHANGES BEFORE THE ANALYSIS IS COMPLETED (or in this case, "before the analysis is launched", because it's clear that DeJoy hasn't done any and doesn't intend to do any).

I couldn't watch that garbage for long, has anyone brought up the dead animals, rotting produce, decaying packages etc that were reported today? 

 

[Mrs Whiggins 13049]

I don't know, but can we crowdsource a very large shipment of durian and shrimp to the WH?

[Pig Bellmont 8692]

The hearing is a propaganda piece to try and take some wind out of the House proceedings on Monday 

[elfenix 34185]

 

[SizzleChest 8275]

43 minutes ago, Pig Bellmont said:

The hearing is a propaganda piece to try and take some wind out of the House proceedings on Monday 

The let's do it on a Friday morning won't really help them all that much.

[TwiceHorn 31305]

1 hour ago, jimmyjazz said:

Have any of these Senators tried to pin this asshat down on how exactly efficiency is not affected by removing sorting machines and postal boxes?

Exactly.  Let's remove some automation that's probably already paid for (IIRC USPS has been sorting mail automatically for decades) and either replace the throughput with human employees or lose it forever.

[jimmyjazz 45566]

42 minutes ago, TwiceHorn said:

Exactly.  Let's remove some automation that's probably already paid for (IIRC USPS has been sorting mail automatically for decades) and either replace the throughput with human employees or lose it forever.

I didn't watch the whole thing, but at one point he alluded to the point that USPS handles a higher proportion of packages than envelopes these days.  What he didn't seem to address was whether that was just a function of delivering more packages as the "last mile" for FedEx, etc., or if envelope volume had actually gone down?  Of course, even if the latter is true, it would go back up in election cycles, and that's almost surely something they are trying to inhibit without actually admitting it.

[Nivek 16866]

- price increases - service reductions - geographic pricing - eliminating nonprofit discount

I seem to recall how private companies are super efficient and eliminate waste, provide more and better service at a lower cost.    Where is Tahoe  and the Ronald Reagan lovers to explain this to me?

[Hugo Stiglitz 23363]

 

[Mach 1 1677]

These motherfuckers.  I have a package that's been "in transit" for 2 fucking weeks.  I can't get a refund because it's been shipped, floating around somewhere in the western US.

JFC this asshole and his sycophants have driven the entire goddamn country in a ditch.  We need heads on pikes after this election.    

Tearing apart 600 mail sorting machines to stop votes, un-fucking-believable.

Edited August 21, 2020 by Mach 1

[Brisketexan 104670]

11 minutes ago, Mach 1 said:

These motherfuckers.  I have a package that's been "in transit" for 2 fucking weeks.  I can't get a refund because it's been shipped, floating around somewhere in the western US.

JFC this asshole and his sycophants have driven the entire goddamn country in a ditch.  We need heads on pikes after this election.    

Tearing apart 600 mail sorting machines to stop votes, un-fucking-believable.

It's this simple: they are willing to burn down this country and everyone in it so they can hold on to power, and so they can squeeze some more profits into their pockets.  It's not any more complicated than that.

[Mrs Whiggins 13049]

17 minutes ago, Mach 1 said:

These motherfuckers.  I have a package that's been "in transit" for 2 fucking weeks.  I can't get a refund because it's been shipped, floating around somewhere in the western US.

JFC this asshole and his sycophants have driven the entire goddamn country in a ditch.  We need heads on pikes after this election.    

Tearing apart 600 mail sorting machines to stop votes, un-fucking-believable.

11:00 AM this Saturday the 21st. Protests nationwide. I'm going. If you are upset, then act. It's the only way.

Make a sign. Just think if the package is baby chicks. Or medications that Auntie Em in Kansas needs. Or PPE for someone caring for an elderly family member. Or a mortgage payment.

Louis DeJoy should be required to put those machines back together in a hot parking lot by himself.

[Mrs Whiggins 13049]

I should add, this should be a bipartisan issue. But it's not. Because CULT.

[Hugo Stiglitz 23363]

 

[Mrs Whiggins 13049]

Here is the Board of Governors. Trump has quite the diversity in his Administration.

Robert M. Duncan was appointed to the Postal Service Board of Governors by President Donald Trump and was confirmed by the Senate in August 2018. The Senate confirmed Duncan for a second term in December 2019. His current term expires on December 8, 2025. Duncan was re-elected as Chairman of the Board of Governors in November 2019. Outside of government service, he served as Chairman of the Republican National Committee from 2007 to 2009. As RNC Chairman, he raised an unprecedented $428 million and grew the donor base to 1.8 million – more donors than at any time in RNC history. Duncan was also President and CEO of the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity. He taught democracy to former communist leaders through the International Republican Institute, and he participated in the EastWest Institute’s U.S. China High Level Political Party Leaders Dialogue. He is the Chairman of the Board of Trustees at Alice Lloyd College, a private four-year liberal arts college in Pippa Passes, Kentucky, and Chairman and CEO of the Inez Deposit Bank in Inez, Kentucky.

John M. Barger was appointed to the Postal Service Board of Governors by President Donald Trump and was confirmed by the Senate on Aug. 1, 2019. Barger will serve for the remainder of a term that expires on Dec. 8, 2021. He currently chairs the Board's Compensation and Governance Committee.

He brings to the USPS Board an extensive background in business, law, finance, and corporate governance. He is the managing director of NorthernCross Partners, an investment and advisory firm providing private capital and advisory services to middle market companies and private equity funds. He also serves as a director on a number of company boards, including those involved in ecommerce, logistics/supply chain, data analytics, and digital visualization and electronic displays. He was also a founding partner of a successful turnaround management consulting firm and was a founding partner in Axa/XL-Latin America Reinsurance Company.

Ron A. Bloom was nominated to serve on the Postal Service Board of Governors by President Donald Trump, confirmed by the Senate and began his service on Aug. 20, 2019. Bloom will serve the remainder of a seven-year term that expires on Dec. 8, 2020. He currently chairs the Board's Strategy and Innovation Committee.

Before joining the Postal Service, Bloom worked for Lazard Freres & Co., a financial advisory and asset management firm. In 1990, he formed his own investment banking firm, Keilin and Bloom, which specialized in representing the interests of unions and employee groups in corporate bankruptcies and restructuring situations. From 1996 through 2008, he served as Special Assistant to the President of the United Steelworkers (USW). In that role, Bloom represented the USW in major contract negotiations.

Roman Martinez IV was appointed to the Postal Service Board of Governors by President Donald Trump and was confirmed by the Senate on Aug. 1, 2019. Martinez will serve for the remainder of a seven-year term that expires on Dec. 8, 2024. He currently chairs the Board's Audit and Finance Committee.

Martinez began his career as an investment banker in 1971 at Kuhn Loeb & Company, which merged with Lehman Brothers in 1977. Martinez became a partner there in 1978 and worked as Managing Director in investment banking until his retirement in 2003. Throughout his career, he was involved in most aspects of investment banking, including public and private financings, mergers and acquisitions, corporate restructurings and overall corporate financial advice. Since 2003, he has served on the board of directors for several companies, including Cigna Corporation, Orbital ATK and Bacardi Limited.

Donald L. Moak was appointed to the Postal Service Board of Governors by President Donald Trump and was confirmed by the Senate on June 18, 2020. Moak will serve for the remainder of a seven-year term that expires on December 8, 2022.

Moak is a co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of The Moak Group, a public affairs, advocacy, and business consulting firm. He brings to the board, extensive experience within the corporate, labor, and political worlds. Throughout his career, Moak has also been a leader for change in the air transportation industry and international policy. During his time as a pilot, pilot leader, and association leader, he helped ensure the future of American aviation and aviation jobs. He advocated for numerous policy changes related to international and domestic aviation policy and was a prominent spokesperson for aviation safety and effective aviation policy.

William D. Zollars was appointed to the Postal Service Board of Governors by President Donald Trump and was confirmed by the Senate on June 18, 2020. Zollars will serve for the remainder of a seven-year term that expires on December 8, 2022.

Zollars first served his country in 1970, when he enlisted in the Army National Guard. During his years in private industry, he led large organizations in three different Fortune 500 companies and served on the board of directors of four different Fortune 500 companies.

As chairman, president and chief executive officer of YRC Worldwide, Inc., Zollars, led one of the largest and most recognizable global transportation service providers from 1999-2011. While at YRC, Zollars was a direct participant in the postal delivery process by providing consolidation and de-consolidation services on behalf of the USPS. Before that, Zollars was president of Yellow Transportation Inc., a position he accepted in 1996 as part of a major management transition for the company.

 

 

[TwiceHorn 31305]

How the fuck did Trump manage to appoint the entire BoD of USPS?

Well, the answer is that the Senate declined to confirm nominees during the Obama administration.  Goddamn you, McConnell.

There are supposed to be 11 Directors, including the PMG and Deputy PMG.  No more than 5 are supposed to be of the same political party.  The Board hasn't had a quorum of 6 since 2014 and hasn't been fully filled since 2010.

Edited August 22, 2020 by TwiceHorn

[jimmyjazz 45566]

2 minutes ago, TwiceHorn said:

How the fuck did Trump manage to appoint the entire BoD of USPS?

I figured he left some off, just highlighting the Trump appointees.  I was wrong.  The whole board consists of Trump appointments.

This country is so fucked.

[Nivek 16866]

They knew exactly what they were doing all along to bring us to this point.

[Mrs Whiggins 13049]

40 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

I figured he left some off, just highlighting the Trump appointees.  I was wrong.  The whole board consists of Trump appointments.

This country is so fucked.

I clicked on Hugo’s Reuter’s link and the article was very short and bland so I got curious and looked them up. It was quite blinding to see that page and have the penny drop and yes, infuriating. 
@TwiceHorn outlining how this came to be was like omg, the pandemic wouldn’t have mattered it just changed the timing slightly. 

[Fudge Nuggets 19151]

11 hours ago, elfenix said:

      3

2        1

[Fudge Nuggets 19151]

1 hour ago, Hugo Stiglitz said:

 

I love Warren, but time to shut up about plans, bills, etc... time to fucking do something already.

[RPM 26233]

It's going to take decades to undo the damage. Not sure it will ever fully happen.

[Pam Cummings 9586]

10 hours ago, Mrs Whiggins said:

Here is the Board of Governors. Trump has quite the diversity in his Administration.

Robert M. Duncan was appointed to the Postal Service Board of Governors by President Donald Trump and was confirmed by the Senate in August 2018. The Senate confirmed Duncan for a second term in December 2019. His current term expires on December 8, 2025. Duncan was re-elected as Chairman of the Board of Governors in November 2019. Outside of government service, he served as Chairman of the Republican National Committee from 2007 to 2009. As RNC Chairman, he raised an unprecedented $428 million and grew the donor base to 1.8 million – more donors than at any time in RNC history. Duncan was also President and CEO of the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity. He taught democracy to former communist leaders through the International Republican Institute, and he participated in the EastWest Institute’s U.S. China High Level Political Party Leaders Dialogue. He is the Chairman of the Board of Trustees at Alice Lloyd College, a private four-year liberal arts college in Pippa Passes, Kentucky, and Chairman and CEO of the Inez Deposit Bank in Inez, Kentucky.

John M. Barger was appointed to the Postal Service Board of Governors by President Donald Trump and was confirmed by the Senate on Aug. 1, 2019. Barger will serve for the remainder of a term that expires on Dec. 8, 2021. He currently chairs the Board's Compensation and Governance Committee.

He brings to the USPS Board an extensive background in business, law, finance, and corporate governance. He is the managing director of NorthernCross Partners, an investment and advisory firm providing private capital and advisory services to middle market companies and private equity funds. He also serves as a director on a number of company boards, including those involved in ecommerce, logistics/supply chain, data analytics, and digital visualization and electronic displays. He was also a founding partner of a successful turnaround management consulting firm and was a founding partner in Axa/XL-Latin America Reinsurance Company.

Ron A. Bloom was nominated to serve on the Postal Service Board of Governors by President Donald Trump, confirmed by the Senate and began his service on Aug. 20, 2019. Bloom will serve the remainder of a seven-year term that expires on Dec. 8, 2020. He currently chairs the Board's Strategy and Innovation Committee.

Before joining the Postal Service, Bloom worked for Lazard Freres & Co., a financial advisory and asset management firm. In 1990, he formed his own investment banking firm, Keilin and Bloom, which specialized in representing the interests of unions and employee groups in corporate bankruptcies and restructuring situations. From 1996 through 2008, he served as Special Assistant to the President of the United Steelworkers (USW). In that role, Bloom represented the USW in major contract negotiations.

Roman Martinez IV was appointed to the Postal Service Board of Governors by President Donald Trump and was confirmed by the Senate on Aug. 1, 2019. Martinez will serve for the remainder of a seven-year term that expires on Dec. 8, 2024. He currently chairs the Board's Audit and Finance Committee.

Martinez began his career as an investment banker in 1971 at Kuhn Loeb & Company, which merged with Lehman Brothers in 1977. Martinez became a partner there in 1978 and worked as Managing Director in investment banking until his retirement in 2003. Throughout his career, he was involved in most aspects of investment banking, including public and private financings, mergers and acquisitions, corporate restructurings and overall corporate financial advice. Since 2003, he has served on the board of directors for several companies, including Cigna Corporation, Orbital ATK and Bacardi Limited.

Donald L. Moak was appointed to the Postal Service Board of Governors by President Donald Trump and was confirmed by the Senate on June 18, 2020. Moak will serve for the remainder of a seven-year term that expires on December 8, 2022.

Moak is a co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of The Moak Group, a public affairs, advocacy, and business consulting firm. He brings to the board, extensive experience within the corporate, labor, and political worlds. Throughout his career, Moak has also been a leader for change in the air transportation industry and international policy. During his time as a pilot, pilot leader, and association leader, he helped ensure the future of American aviation and aviation jobs. He advocated for numerous policy changes related to international and domestic aviation policy and was a prominent spokesperson for aviation safety and effective aviation policy.

William D. Zollars was appointed to the Postal Service Board of Governors by President Donald Trump and was confirmed by the Senate on June 18, 2020. Zollars will serve for the remainder of a seven-year term that expires on December 8, 2022.

Zollars first served his country in 1970, when he enlisted in the Army National Guard. During his years in private industry, he led large organizations in three different Fortune 500 companies and served on the board of directors of four different Fortune 500 companies.

As chairman, president and chief executive officer of YRC Worldwide, Inc., Zollars, led one of the largest and most recognizable global transportation service providers from 1999-2011. While at YRC, Zollars was a direct participant in the postal delivery process by providing consolidation and de-consolidation services on behalf of the USPS. Before that, Zollars was president of Yellow Transportation Inc., a position he accepted in 1996 as part of a major management transition for the company.

 

 

Jesus fucking christ.

[TwiceHorn 31305]

9 hours ago, Fudge Nuggets said:

I love Warren, but time to shut up about plans, bills, etc... time to fucking do something already.

It does point up that she is but 1 of 100 Senators and in the minority at that.  

She would probably be more effective as an agency head/cabinet member.

[Mrs Whiggins 13049]

I should've signed up to protest through MoveOn. It was fairly quiet and the larger activity was probably at the main p.o.

[4th&Five 41461]

 

[TexLonghorn 5597]

 

[pyrohornIII 4810]

I'm so tired of these simpleminded fucks going on about the USPS losing money.   

Cannot put it simpler than this:

Our roads carry our bodies and goods. USPS carries our thoughts and goods. The USPS charges at least a nominal fee for each item. Either turn all our roads into profit centers or STFU about the USPS needing to turn a profit.

We supplement big oil, big pharma, but draw the line at USPS?   Guaranteed that if USPS is privatized, the first thing to happen would be a subsidy or bailout, like the airlines.  

 

[Horn Dog 9676]

17 hours ago, 4th&Five said:

 

So the poorly run, incompetent USPS that badly needs to be reformed is actually flush with cash and is the one government agency begging for NO more funding.   

[TwiceHorn 31305]

20 minutes ago, Horn Dog said:

So the poorly run, incompetent USPS that badly needs to be reformed is actually flush with cash and is the one government agency begging for NO more funding.   

US Patent & Trademark Office has been self-funding and actually generating revenue for Congress for decades.

[Nice Guy Eddie 13417]

Still crazy that the USPS was required to fund their pension for the next 75 years when I don’t believe there is any organization in the western world that is either held or hold themselves to that funding level. Someone intentionally trying to bankrupt the usps.

[Nivek 16866]

Still crazy that the USPS was required to fund their pension for the next 75 years when I don’t believe there is any organization in the western world that is either held or hold themselves to that funding level. Someone intentionally trying to bankrupt the usps.

Hmmm i wonder which party likes to ruin organizations and the complain about them.....

[pyrohornIII 4810]

2 minutes ago, Nivek said:

Hmmm i wonder which party likes to ruin organizations and the complain about them.....

Those that want to privatize them, perhaps?

[jimmyjazz 45566]

33 minutes ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

Still crazy that the USPS was required to fund their pension for the next 75 years when I don’t believe there is any organization in the western world that is either held or hold themselves to that funding level. Someone intentionally trying to bankrupt the usps.

I've dug into that claim a bit in the past, and it's a bit oversimplified.  Not saying there's zero truth to it, but it's not as egregious a burden as some might have us believe.

[TwiceHorn 31305]

5 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

I've dug into that claim a bit in the past, and it's a bit oversimplified.  Not saying there's zero truth to it, but it's not as egregious a burden as some might have us believe.

Yep, and even if it is burdensome, not having to comply with it doesn't account for all of the losses.  If its pension funding obligation were zero, it would still lose money and a zero obligation is not realistic.

That said, I am a fan of USPS and think we need to keep it around as a public "utility."

[pyrohornIII 4810]

This is awesome.  I hope this and the DC response gets huge airplay.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/danielcassady/2020/08/22/washington-postal-workers-defy-usps-orders-and-reinstall-mail-sorting-machines/amp/?fbclid=IwAR0A44YjUaKA8OY768T-xIf5slfPbKhh5IhxgYjZc1CKIhLP-WMWROuMHqg

Washington Postal Workers Defy USPS Orders And Reinstall Mail Sorting Machines

Daniel CassadyForbes Staff

[TwiceHorn 31305]

26 minutes ago, TwiceHorn said:

Yep, and even if it is burdensome, not having to comply with it doesn't account for all of the losses.  If its pension funding obligation were zero, it would still lose money and a zero obligation is not realistic.

That said, I am a fan of USPS and think we need to keep it around as a public "utility."

Further to this, I would readily accept that USPS needs some reform. I am super-wary of the last-mile deliveries it's doing for Amazon and other private companies, for example.   But drastic and draconian "reform" efforts in the midst of pandemic and in the lead-up to an election is bad idea jeans, even discounting any sinister voter-suppression motive (which I don't discount at all).

Even without the voter-suppression aspects, yet another example of GOP "burn it down" rather than improve it "philosophy" that I can't stomach.

 

Edited August 23, 2020 by TwiceHorn

[RPM 26233]

I remember when Amazon sent everything UPS to the door. When they switched to USPS last mile it slowed my deliveries by days. Metro customers may not have seen a drop in service, but rural deliveries definitely did. Not to derail the thread, but Amazon needs to develop a rural delivery system. That would ease some pressure on USPS and give customers what they're paying for with Prime.

[SizzleChest 8275]

1 minute ago, RPM said:

Not to derail the thread, but Amazon needs to develop a rural delivery system. That would ease some pressure on USPS and give customers what they're paying for with Prime.

[RPM 26233]

Just now, SizzleChest said:

That won't help rural customers. Amazon is building a local delivery network, but they are all close to warehouse deliveries in metro areas. A drone isn't going to make a 70 mile one way delivery.

[pyrohornIII 4810]

Amazon is what Sears and Roebuck used to be a century ago.   I personally don't use Amazon anymore than I have to.   I use Ebay or look for things from individual companies first.  I just don't care for the way Bezos does business.   I was really pissed the other day when I received an order I had placed on Ebay, and it showed up in an Amazon box.  They are everywhere, and retail isn't even where they make their money.   

It's just incredible that the retail arm of Amazon is the icing on their cake, and like Walmart, how crooked they are in working with their suppliers.

Sorry, Patriot Act rant. 

[RDCanecutter 26291]

1 minute ago, pyrohornIII said:

 I was really pissed the other day when I received an order I had placed on Ebay, and it showed up in an Amazon box. 

Like in an Ordered-from-Amazon Amazon box, or just a reused Amazon box?

Because sometimes when I sell on eBay I will ship in a reused Amazon box. We usually have one or two sitting around because my wife fails to fully obey my Amazon fatwas.