The U.S. Postal Service has no choice but to make a major change in direction.
With so many people using e-mail for personal correspondence, so many people using the Internet to pay bills and so many people using private mail services for special delivery needs, the Postal Service has to find a new niche and then adjust itself to fit into that spot.
To return to profitability, the USPS has to reduce its annual operating costs by $20 billion by 2015, according to a postal official. That may mean guaranteed next-day delivery for first-class mail will be a thing of the past, although overnight express mail still would be guaranteed by the Postal Service.
First-class mail could move to a second- or third-day standard delivery for contiguous areas if a series of proposals is approved by postal officials. Another reform proposal calls for the shuttering of many mail-processing centers around the nation, which would mean the loss of tens of thousands of jobs.
No decisions will be made on these and other proposals until March or April of next year, after the public is given a chance to comment. No matter what is decided, though, the USPS is going to have to make major changes soon.
Many of its customers are aging … or worse. Many people now refer to the service USPS provides as “snail mail.”
That is not exactly the image USPS wants to project. Somehow, the Postal Service has to make itself more relevant in a fast-paced, cyber world, but that won’t be easy, especially with such a huge organization with so many employees entrenched in their ways.
The good thing for the Imperial Valley is no USPS facilities in the area are being targeted for closure at this time. That doesn’t mean, though, that some jobs won’t be lost to attrition and other belt-tightening measures.
Overall, the USPS is going to have to change with the times. If it doesn’t, it will become what many things have that haven’t adapted to the world around them have become … extinct.
THE ISSUE:
Postal Service issues.
WE SAY:
Major changes needed.
WHAT DO YOU SAY?
Send us your thoughts on this topic to www.ivpressonline.com/letterstotheeditor
With so many people using e-mail for personal correspondence, so many people using the Internet to pay bills and so many people using private mail services for special delivery needs, the Postal Service has to find a new niche and then adjust itself to fit into that spot.
To return to profitability, the USPS has to reduce its annual operating costs by $20 billion by 2015, according to a postal official. That may mean guaranteed next-day delivery for first-class mail will be a thing of the past, although overnight express mail still would be guaranteed by the Postal Service.
First-class mail could move to a second- or third-day standard delivery for contiguous areas if a series of proposals is approved by postal officials. Another reform proposal calls for the shuttering of many mail-processing centers around the nation, which would mean the loss of tens of thousands of jobs.
No decisions will be made on these and other proposals until March or April of next year, after the public is given a chance to comment. No matter what is decided, though, the USPS is going to have to make major changes soon.
Many of its customers are aging … or worse. Many people now refer to the service USPS provides as “snail mail.”
That is not exactly the image USPS wants to project. Somehow, the Postal Service has to make itself more relevant in a fast-paced, cyber world, but that won’t be easy, especially with such a huge organization with so many employees entrenched in their ways.
The good thing for the Imperial Valley is no USPS facilities in the area are being targeted for closure at this time. That doesn’t mean, though, that some jobs won’t be lost to attrition and other belt-tightening measures.
Overall, the USPS is going to have to change with the times. If it doesn’t, it will become what many things have that haven’t adapted to the world around them have become … extinct.
THE ISSUE:
Postal Service issues.
WE SAY:
Major changes needed.
WHAT DO YOU SAY?
Send us your thoughts on this topic to www.ivpressonline.com/letterstotheeditor
