(Photo courtesy of CBN)
The United States Postal Service (USPS) has announced they will be raising postage rates at the end of the month. The average increase for First-Class and Standard mail will be about 2 percent. (The price of the retail one ounce letter stamp is remaining unchanged at 49 cents each.)
The postage increases come with systematically closing down select postal facilities. Our local Bend USPS Office has been on the chopping block a couple times, but the decision has now been finalized. On April 18 the Bend USPS Office completely ceased mail processing operations.
Not only does the increase in postage hurt local business financially but the delay in delivery changes the way companies do business: when they receive revenue, delivering products and payment of vendors and contractors. It is now taking up to three to four days more for mail delivery.
The physical building in Bend will still be open for all retail functions, as well as bulk mail acceptance. However, locally destined mail is now traveling to Portland to be sorted and returned for delivery. The process of sending retail mail to Portland began some time ago, but local mail from bulk mailings was still being sorted locally.
There are two unfortunate impacts of this change. First, the delivery times for locally destined mail will be slower since it must now be routed to Portland for sorting, then returned to Central Oregon for delivery. Ridiculous!
According to Bend Mailing (BMS Technologies) the second and most distressing change is that all Standard and Nonprofit mail that is destined locally will lose the discount that came with submitting mail directly to the local Bend USPS office. The current discount is 44 45 cents apiece. Now the only way to receive this postage discount for mail destined for Central Oregon is to ship the mailing to the Portland USPS office.
The postal service began many of their so-called reform policies in an effort to combat insolvency while awaiting congressional postal reform. The point of these changes is for the postal service to save money, but the process is increasingly cumbersome and just as financially burdensome as sorting the mail here.
There are so many obvious ways that the postal service could save money and deliver efficient services. One way is to STOP Saturday delivery and yet it’s almost like a sacred cow that Congress can’t let go of. Another way is to cease producing expensive marketing pieces for selling stamps…you either need a stamp or you don’t, no clever advertising is going to get you to buy more stamps especially when your mail won’t get there for a week.
The Postal Service has submitted key legislative requirements to Congress:
• Require within the Federal Employees Health Benefit Program a set of specific health care plans that would fully integrate with Medicare and virtually eliminate the retiree health benefits unfunded liability and eliminate the need for multibillion dollar annual prefunding.
(Expenses include the required $5.7 billion contribution to the retiree health care benefits fund that the Postal Service was unable to make by the due date of Sept. 30, 2014. Unless legislation reforms the retiree health care benefits program, the Postal Service will likely be forced to default on its prefunding obligations in 2015 and 2016.)
• Adjust the Federal Employee Retirement System payment amount using Postal Service specific demographic and salary growth assumptions and refund any existing surplus.
• Adjust required delivery frequency (six-day packages/five-day mail).
• Streamline governance model and eliminate duplicative oversight.
• Provide authority to expand products and services.
• Require a defined contribution retirement system for future Postal Service employees.
• Require arbitrators to consider the financial condition of the Postal Service.
• Reform workers’ compensation programs.
If these new rules are hurting your business it’s time to contact your congressional delegation and let them know your concerns.
Senator Jeff Merkley 541-318-1298
www.merkley.senate.gov
Senator Ron Wyden
541-330-9142
www.Wyden.senate.gov
2nd District Greg Walden
541-389-4408
www.walden.house.gov
