Special Report News and Information about the
President's Commission on the U.S. Postal Service

Postal Reform Commission News
 (This page features Postal Commission news to January 2004. See our postal news archives for continuing coverage.)
Bush's Support Raises Hopes for Postal Reform
 "Bush met at the White House with the nine-member commission he appointed a year ago to recommend changes to how the Postal Service sets rates, closes unneeded facilities and makes other business decisions. Harry Pearce, co-chairman of the commission, said Bush did not express an opinion on the recommendations. However, the administration quickly issued a statement containing five guidelines for reform that Pearce felt were in line with the commission�s conclusions." (Federal Times)
- Bush Administration Announces Principles for Postal Reform
- U.S. Treasury Press Release
- McHugh Report: Comprehensive Postal Reform a Priority in 2004
- NAPUS Praises White House Statement
- PostCom Praises Bush Administration for Action on Postal Reform
- Gene Del Polito: It's "Put Up" Time
APWU: Comments to the Senate Government Affairs Committee Regarding the Report of the Presidential Commission (PDF)
 - Alliance of Nonprofit Mailers Comments (PDF)
- Postal Rate Commission Comments (PDF)
- DMA Comments
Senator Collins to Introduce Postal Reform Legislation
- GAO Report: Bold Action Needed to Continue Progress on Postal Transformation (PDF, 61 pages): By David M. Walker, Comptroller General of the United States
- Member statement: Sen. Susan M. Collins 
- Statement: PMG John E. Potter (PDF) 
- Potter Urges Senate for CSRS Help: DMNews
- PMG Questions Some Commission Proposals Before Panel: Direct
- Potter: Proposed Regulatory Board Needs Limits: Federal Times
- GAO calls for more streamlined, transparent Postal Service: GovExec
AUSPL Reports Letter Writing Campaign is Working, Urges More Letters
The Association of United States Postal Lessors reports that it has received positive feedback from two senators (Daschle, D-SD, Collins, R-MD) in its campaign to thwart the Presidential Postal Commission's recommendation to close unprofitable rural post offices. AUSPL info:
- Do You Care About the Impending Closing of Rural Post Offices? (PDF) Senator Tom Daschle's response to letter: "�any reform must maintain universal service. It is essential that we restore the Postal Service to sound economic footing, but we need to do it the right way: by finding innovative, responsible solutions to the challenges facing the Postal Service."
- President's Commission on USPS Says Trips to Post Office are Inconvenient (PDF): "While the Commission endorses the basic features of universal service, it seeks to take everyday postal services out of the post office and plunk them inside grocery stores, drug stores, banks, at ATMs and other locations."
Oops: Postal Commission Didn't Know That Most Rural Post Offices Are Not Owned by the USPS
 According to the Association of United States Postal Lessors: "When the Subcommittee presented its report the President, it was unaware that the USPS did not own all of its post office buildings. Steve LeNoir, president of the National League of Postmasters, advised the Subcommittee a large number of rural post offices are leased to USPS and cannot be sold or given to local communities for use by the public."
Strong Words From Burrus on Postal Reform (PDF)
 - HTML (text) version
"Efforts have been made to reach common ground with the large mailers, overlooking the fact that the mailers are not allies, but rather are vermin that, given the opportunity, would suck the lifeblood out of every right and benefit that has been achieved." (Postcom.org)
- Postal Union President Attacks Corporate Mailers
U.S. Postal Service: What Can Be Done to Ensure Its Future Viability?
 James A. Johnson, Co-Chair of the Postal Commission, testified yesterday before the Senate Committee on Government Affairs. Key points:
- "This is not a broken institution."
- "Postal Service should stick to knitting (core mission)."
- USPS needs 'best of corporate governance' (new board of directors, new rate mechanism). USPS should report to SEC quarterly.
- 446 mail processing centers should be rightsized (downsized). Potter agrees with commission on this point. Postal Network Optimization Commission would be similar to military base closings commission.
- $15 billion book value real estate holdings should be optimized.
- Workforce: Commission believes that there are more employees than are currently needed. USPS needs comprehensive HR plan. Recommends broad-based pay-for-performance plan. Acknowledges union concerns about incentive pay plan. Official position of the postal commission is that they don't know if there is a pay incomparability with private sector, although some individual commission members believe that to be the case.
- Postal commission chair outlines proposal for deep staff cuts: GovExec.com
- Statement of James A. Johnson: (Statement and actual testimony are not the same.) PostalMag.com comment: In actual testimony, Johnson downplayed the impact the commission's recommendations would have on postal workers.
- Chairman: USPS Has Time for Reform: DMNews
- APWU's Burrus says statements confirm the commission report is fundamentally dishonest: Burrus Update
- NALC's Young Applauds Postal Mailers For Support Against Wage Caps
- Postal Commission proposal targets bargaining and benefits (pdf): Postal Record
Wither Postal Reform?
 - NAPS Legislative Update via Postcom.org
Press Release: Postal Organizations to Fight Post Office Closings
 The National League of Postmasters (NLPM) and the Association of United States Postal Lessors (AUSPL) are drawing up plans to stop the wholesale closure of small and unprofitable post offices in towns and communities nationwide without due process.  The joint effort is a result of the recent recommendations for the future of the United States Postal Service made by a nine-member, bipartisan commission established by President Bush last year.
 ParSell newsletter includes post office closings information (pdf)
It's not common knowledge among many postal employees or the public, but more than 26,000 post offices across the United States are owned by private individuals/investors. These investors lease the post offices to the USPS. PostalMag.com recently talked with the owner of several post offices. The owner was "very satisfied" with the arrangement, which goes a long way to explaining why postal lessors will be vigorously fighting Postal Commission recommendations concerning post office closures. Links:
AUSPL - ParSell.net - PostalLessor.com
Yale Unions Target Levin Home (Will Postal Unions Be Next?)
 (Postal Commission member Richard Levin is President of Yale University.)
- Unions Seek Audience With Levin
UPS Drives Changes to Postal Service
 In year's past, UPS has taken a very aggressive approach on Capitol Hill in fighting the USPS for turf. However, with a favorable commission report in hand, the UPS is suddenly calling for a "healthy, vibrant" Postal Service. Comment: But don't be fooled: "Different times require different measures." No doubt, Postal Service competitors will seek to use the Postal Commission report to their competitive advantage.
Labor Day Has New Meaning For Struggling Unions
 "We've been energized because of adversity," said Roosevelt Stewart, director of the local chapter of the postal workers union. "It's do or die." The postal workers are using the theme "America is not for sale" in today's Labor Day parade to protest one of Bush's earlier proposals to privatize some 800,000 government jobs.
- Busload of postal worker protestors greet Bush along road
- Postal unions blast plan to weaken collective bargaining
Yale Unions Strike
(Postal Commission member Richard Levin is President of Yale University)
(August 26, 2003)
"It's appalling that (Yale's) President (Richard) Levin, when he retires, will make more in a month than many workers here make in a year," said sophomore Josh Eidelson, who joined the picket line with about 100 other students.
- Rev. Jackson Joins Yale Strikers: Comment: A minority-laden postal workforce could find support from civil rights leaders in their fight against anti-worker Postal Commission recommendations.
- Lieberman Rallies With Yale Unions: Wages, benefits are main issues. Comment: Will presidential candidate Sen. Lieberman, who has shown a fair amount of interest in postal reform and postal workers' rights (see "Lieberman shares our outrage"), use anti-worker commission recommendations against Bush in the upcoming election?
Levin's MLB Commission Report Not Unlike Postal Report
 (August 28, 2003)
- Also see: Union Head Arrested During Strike at Yale
Postal Commission member Richard Levin (president of Yale University) served on a Major League Baseball commission that was also accused of being biased towards management/owners, conficted, and short on industry insight and player (worker) representation. (See Commission news links.)
- Blue-ribbon nonsense
- Light, Less-Filling, It's Blue Ribbon!
APWU President Burrus Condemns Commission Report in New Video
 Burrus states that the "commission has declared war on postal workers and postal consumers."
See the video at apwu.org.
Postal Unions Laying Groundwork for Strong Stand Against Anti-Worker Commission Recommendations
 PostalMag sees some similarities between current union preparations and the Teamsters' strike against United Parcel Service. See NALC Planning 3-Pronged Attack.
- The UPS Victory and Beyond
- Yearlong Effort Key to Success for Teamsters
Federal Employees' Union Ousts President
 The American Federation of Government Employees replaced two-term president Bobby L. Harnage Sr. this week with a challenger who vowed to intensify the largest federal employee union's fight against the Bush administration's labor initiatives. New union president calls himself a "wartime president." Such union developments are probably what Karl Rove had in mind when he stated that he was concerned that Bush administration privatization initiatives might be moving too quickly.
- AFGE Delegates Elect New President
Showdown Looms
 - Addressing Reform: Heritage Foundation
- Officials: Consumers Should Take Notice
- National Governors Association concerned about PO closings
- Postal Union and Congressman Discuss Proposed Changes
- Cutbacks loom: Postal Service looks to get lean
- Focus should be on good points
- My Turn: Post Office is not broke
- Senate Postal Reform Hearing Possible for Sept. 3
- Can Postal Service survive?
- Federal Executives' Pay Fares Well in Study
Going postal on the nation's mail service
 "The plan to dismantle the nation's postal system reads like a spoof, but it's real. Mostly, it's a horror show -- and a direct hit to the middle class." Susan Nielsen of The Oregonian has written an insightful article about the postal commission's recommendations
- More from The Oregonian: Don't privatize Postal Service
NALC President Young Reaches Out To NRLCA
Comment: Postal labor unions will most certainly band together to fight anti-worker commission recommendations. Together, the four major postal employee labor unions represent 652,844 postal employees who are spread out in every voting district in the United States. Total members: APWU - 304,334; NPMHU - 57,621; NALC - 230,171; NRLCA - 60,718
Vince Palladino: Supervisor Association Leader Discusses Commission's Report
 Federal Times
Editorial: Feeling a Little Disgruntled
 Postal employees sound off about direct marketers. - DMNews
- Washington Post editorial: Post This
Commission Report Receives More Criticism Than Praise
 - Postal unions reaching out to entire American labor movement
- Wilkes-Barre post office safe from closure
- Postal Service in need of face lift
- Union opposition could delay reform bill until next year
- Editorial: Leave our mail alone
- Stamps.com Supports Recommendations
- Quad Graphics: Postal Reform Is Long Overdue
- Gene Del Polito: Let The Naysaying Begin
- Mailers Council Applauds Bush, Commission
- People vs. Machines: Kiosks could replace low activity POs
- Selling Out: Our Public Space, Universal Services Under Assault
- DC Power Brokers Are At Work
- Slashdot discussion: Intelligent Mail
- AFL-CIO Executive Council Opposes Labor Recommendations
- Inc.com: Repackaging the Post Office
- Mail Tracking System Raises Privacy Concerns
- Postal Service Researches 'Smarter Mail'
- Editorial: Postal Service overhaul due
- Potter: None Immune to Postal Reform
- NPMHU: Commission Report Full of Contradictions
- USPS Board Praises President's Commission
- Post office has Carper's attention: Carper supports closing underused post offices, but emphatically said his local processing plant will stay.
- Postal Commission's Proposals Would Cheat Consumers
- Lexington Institute: Measured Steps Down a Perilous Path (pdf)
- Report: USPS should drop e-commerce
- President's Commission is "Privacy Villain of the Week"
- Panel urges IT reforms at USPS
- Editorial: Battle Stations
- Workforce Issues Loom In Postal Service's Future
- Stamping out postal glory
- Panel Slams USPS E-Commerce Ventures
- McHugh Responds to Report
- Organizations React to USPS Report
- Mailer Plaudits, Labor Scorn Foretell Reform Battle
- Commission: Postal Service Must Modernize
- U.S. should keep 6-day mail delivery
- Magazine Publishers of America: Report is "a truly outstanding piece of work."
- Mailers Hope Commission Report Will Translate Into Legislation
- ADVO Praises Work of Commission
- Commission Validates Mailing Industry CEO Council Report
- Sen. Carper Responds
- NAPS Statement
- Burrus: "The special postal commission has ill-served its president and the American people."
Direct Mailers Will Love Commission Findings - But Few Others Will
 A Postal Commission laden with corporate, big-business types has formulated a Commission report with corporate, big-business types in mind. PostalMag.com wonders what the results would have been if the Commission were made up of ordinary Americans (and/or Americans from a cross-section of society), or USPS workers (labor and management), or Postal Service customers, or all of the above. Because of the corporate slant, few groups (outside of Corporate America) will likely be happy with the bulk of the Commission's findings and recommendations. A few links:
- Newspaper groups uneasy about "D.C. Power Brokers"
- The Political Right says report is 'An Incomplete Package'
- Postal labor unions (the Political Left) were ignored by the Commission, and they will be fighting the recommendations to the very bitter end.
See APWU | NALC
- Small-business lobbyists cool to reform: They fear lower rates for big mailers, higher rates for small mailers.
- Small-Town America will fight to keep post offices. No Fear
More Volume Needed With Lower Rates
A central point of the Presidential Commission Report is that the USPS could make up for losses of First Class mail by giving lower (negotiated) rates to direct/big business mailers, thereby increasing the total number of pieces mailed and keeping revenues steady. The problem is... for each First Class letter lost, the USPS must find up to eight new below First Class rate mail pieces to make up the difference. Case in point: It would take more than seven mail pieces with the five-cent denomination Sea Coast stamp (pictured) to make up for one lost 37-cent First Class piece!
Commission Findings Very Similar to GAO Report (pdf)
 (7/27/2003) The General Accounting Office appears to have been working on postal reform for some time.
NALC: Draconian Report - Letter Carriers at Risk By Recommendations of Postal Commission
 "Employees Would Become Second-Class Citizens." (7/27/2003)
Magazine Publishers of America (MPA) Finds Powerful Allies in Washington
 (7/27/2003) The MPA Board of Directors and Government Affairs Council were treated to an impressive array of political superstars during its annual meeting in Washington, DC this year. Politicos in attendance included Karl Rove, Congressman John McHugh, and Senator Thomas Carper. All are key figures in postal reform efforts.
- Magazine Publishers Applaud Strong Recommendations
- Who Pulls The Strings at the Postal Service? APWU via Ninth Street Rag
APWU Vows To Fight Commission Recommendations
(7/23/2003) Rank-and-file workers didn't stand a chance with this commission. The commission, stacked with members from Corporate America, has found that postal executives aren't paid enough, but rank-and-file postal workers are paid too much. The sole union representative on the commission, Norman Seabrook, offered the commission�s only dissenting votes against three recommendations on how to change the Postal Service�s work force. The recommendations will likely mobilize unionized postal workers throughout the nation if and when a postal reform bill is introduced. The corporate-friendly, anti-worker recommendations may face a tough road ahead in a nation already soured by corporate greed. Links:
- Mailers Uneasy About Unions in Postal Reform: (Rightly so: Postal unions, allied with national non-postal labor unions, could ultimately frame the postal reform issue as the ultimate example of the Bush administration's preference of corporate welfare over people welfare. Expect former direct mailer and current Bush official Karl Rove to advise Bush to keep a distance from the debate over postal reform. Karl Rove is said to be worried that overall government privatization efforts are being jeopardized because reform is moving too quickly.)
- Recommendations
- American Business Media sees victory in 7-year fight for postal reform
- Burrus Assails Commission's Work as 'Fundamentally Dishonest'
- Statement of NALC President William H. Young
- NAPUS: "Recommendations are far-reaching, substantial, and controversial"
- Postal panel tackles collective bargaining, pay
- Union Vows To Fight Postal Commission Recommendations
- Bush Postal Commission Formalizes Recommendations
- Postal Service Urged To Offer Personalized Stamps, Cut Work Force
- Sen. Tom Carper Criticizes Commission Recommendations (Postcom)
- Commission Recommends Trimming Workforce
- Experts Available to Discuss Personalized Stamps
Workforce Subcommittee Recommendations
 (7/23/2003) The Workforce Subcommittee has recommended that compensation for Postal Service employees should be based on comparable private sector wages, but that a Postal Regulatory Board should be allowed to determine the appropriate sector of the private sector workforce to be used as a basis of comparison. In short, for example, the Postal Regulatory Board could base letter carriers' salaries on the wages of pizza delivery workers, instead of on the more comparable jobs and wages of UPS drivers. There is also wording that indicates that if a "pay premium" is found then it should be eliminated after an appropriate time period. (The CEO of a MAJOR direct mailer has previously compared the duties of letter carriers to those of pizza delivery workers. The comments, included in a USPS Transformation document, were once online but have apparently been removed.)
- Workforce Recommendations (HTML)  |  All Recommendations (PDF)
Picture Stamps Proposal
The Postal Commission's recommendations could lead to fundamental changes to the Postal Service and postal services, however, some media outlets are focusing on the Commission's Picture Stamp proposal. The personalized stamp service would reportedly be similar to Canada Post's Picture Postage. Though PostalMag is concerned about the lack of depth of the commission's recommendations (Picture Stamps, cutting wages and benefits of the workers that actually touch the mail, etc. instead of - for example - recommending an end to walking deliveries in the age of electronic communications) we are nevertheless excited about getting our very own postage stamp! See Postage Stamp Ads Could Reenergize Collecting, USPS Profits (look for the Coca-Cola stamp).
Small-Town Postal Customers, Employees Concerned About Commission Findings
 There's more questions than answers about a Postal Commission recommendation to close small-town, money-losing post offices. Just a few of the questions PostalMag.com has heard: "Will my post office be on the list?" "What happens to the Box Section?" "What about local mail delivery?" "What if no one in the community steps forward to offer privatized postal services?" "Who will service the kiosks - a traveling SSPC clerk perhaps?" "What about the 'sanctity of the mail' in small-town America?" "Will postal services cost more in outlying areas?" Many more questions abound. Related links:
- Small-Town Post Offices May Face Closure
- Post office closings? Not here, locals say
- Rural post offices may be at risk
- Rural Folks Don't Want Their Post Office Closed
- Post Office Community Partnership Act
- New Post Office Affirms Rural Community
Postal Commission Submits Final Recommendations
 (7/18/2003) "The U.S. Postal Service should be overhauled to be more businesslike, and needs to close some facilities and accelerate outsourcing to the private sector, a presidential commission said on Wednesday." - Reuters
- One More Meeting
- R.R. Donnelley Issues Statement on Recommendations
- Postal Panel Is Against Privatization
- Labor subcommittee recommendations will be heard next Wed.
- LeNoir Gives Commission 'High Marks'
- APWU: "Recommendations have validated our concerns."
- Sen. Carper Praises Work of Postal Commission
- Postal Service Must Be More Businesslike
- Summary of Recommendations (Postcom.org)
- Small-Town Post Offices May Face Closure
- USPS Should Be Run By Corporate-Style Board of Directors
- USPS should limit its activities to collecting, sorting and delivering mail.
Small-Town Postal Customers, Employees Concerned About Commission Findings
(7/18/2003) There's more questions than answers about a Postal Commission recommendation to close small-town, money-losing post offices. Just a few of the questions PostalMag.com has heard: "Will my post office be on the list?" "What happens to the Box Section?" "What about local mail delivery?" "What if no one in the community steps forward to offer privatized postal services?" "Who will service the kiosks - a traveling SSPC clerk perhaps?" "What about the 'sanctity of the mail' in small-town America?" "Will postal services cost more in outlying areas?" Many more questions abound. Related links:
- Small-Town Post Offices May Face Closure
- Post office closings? Not here, locals say
- Rural post offices may be at risk
- Rural Folks Don't Want Their Post Office Closed
- Post Office Community Partnership Act
- New Post Office Affirms Rural Community
A pro-business postal reform bill likely only stands a chance with Bush in office.Timetable for Postal Reform
 With the Presidential Postal Commission's recommendations due July 31st, and with the next Presidential election just a year and three months away from that date, legislators will have to work fast to craft a postal reform bill to advance commission findings. The findings are expected to be pro-business and will likely find core support from the Republican Party. Already, recent reports indicate that postal reform has gained the attention of Bush administration officials in the GAO the OMB, and the Treasury Department. DMNews recently commented that the White House must be serious about postal reform, since President Bush himself appointed the commission. PostalMag.com surmises that preliminary work on a postal reform bill could begin behind the scenes before the July 31st deadline so that postal legislative reform can be addressed in the Second Session of the 108th Congress this fall.
Postal Service on the list: Recent news accounts indicate that the Presidential Postal Commission is part of a broad effort by the Bush administration to fundamentally change how the entire federal government operates: Pentagon Transformation Raises Ire of Democrats | Push To Outsource Park Service Jobs | Social Security | Medicare | Education | Iraq is a clean slate for privatization | Bush the Younger | Bush wants to privatize 850,000 federal jobs | Jeb's DOT | Bush Appoints Pro-Privatization Advocate to USPS BOG
Observers stunned at quick pace of air traffic control privatization efforts
- Air Traffic Controllers Call Upon Congress
- Senator vows to protect air traffic jobs from competition
- Bill would privatize some air traffic jobs
Postal Commission Member Meets With GAB Robins
 Commissioner Carolyn Gallagher met with representatives from GAB Robins on June 23rd to discuss the benefits of the Postal Service using a third party administrator for their worker�s compensation program. Gallagher is on the Workforce Subcommittee, which is responsible for assessing the Postal Service�s current collective bargaining and dispute resolution procedures as well as reviewing alternative models.
- GAB Robins partners with American Specialty to handle Major League Baseball claims: "Their unique service approach, supported by GAB Robins� technology, will hasten a player�s return to the field and minimize costs associated with a player's injuries and absence from the game." (See February 24th, 2003 GAB Robins Press Release)
Significant Changes to Collective Bargaining?
The Alliance of Nonprofit Mailers, an organization that has direct and inside contacts with top USPS officials, states: "We expect the Commission to recommend some modest (and some significant) changes to the collective bargaining process..." (See June 12th posting at PostCom.org)
Commission Consulting Projects Now Online
 - Summary of Consumer Survey
- Incentive Compensation Study: Among the findings: "Employees are likely to trust the reported (USPS) numbers in a pieces per employee incentive pay plan."
Commission Consultant Polls Public About USPS (pdf)
 Among the findings: Only 6% of the respondents think a total overhaul is necessary (16% think some major changes; 43% think some minor changes; 30% thinks USPS works extremely well). Plus, USPS ranks comparably with FedEx and UPS in public opinion. More:
- Summary of May 28th Postal Commission Meeting (pdf)
- Summary of May 29th Postal Commission Meeting (pdf)
- Global Insight paper tries to link postal wages and price caps (pdf)
May 28th, 29th Postal Commission Meeting News
Postal Commission meetings (May 28, 29) are available for viewing at CSPAN.org. More commission news:
- APWU: Wages, Benefits Attacked
- Postal Service Seeks Freedom To Set Rates
- Potter: USPS Needs Sweeping Changes
- Mailer Groups Back Potter's Recommendations
- Witness Testimony: Postal Commission Web site
- PMG Potter's statement to the commission
- Postal Service must be able to set prices, PMG says
- Commission considers pay-for-performance for craft and managers
- Summary of Key Points in May 29th Meeting
- Summary of Key Points in May 28th Meeting
- GAO Urges Postal Panel To Look at SEC Reporting Rules
- Postal Panel Hears More Testimony
Minor Postal Reform Could Cost More in Long Run
 - Timid Steps Won't Stop USPS From Hurting Economy: Federal Times
- Cost Analysis of Standardization (pdf): Global Insight study commissioned by the Postal Commission concludes that the USPS could save billions by investing in standardization initiatives at all stages of  postal processing and delivery.
- Postal Service Productivity (pdf): Mailers Council
Witness Testimony - April 29th Postal Commission Meeting
Gus Baffa, NRLCA; John Hegarty, NPMHU, Stephen Goldberg, more...
- Collective Bargaining Is "Alive and Well," APWU President Burrus Tells Postal Commission
- NALC President Young urges Postal Commission to "tread lightly" on changing bargaining structure
- NAPUS President Olihovik promotes new pay system, workplace flexibility
Postal Commission Receiving Scant News Coverage
 Despite meeting in two of the nation's largest cities (L.A. and Chicago), the Postal Commission has garnered little interest from the nation's news outlets. A search of Chicago news outlets on the day the commission met in that city turned up only scant local news coverage.

The general public, and many postal employees, seem generally unaware of the process that could fundamentally change their mail service. Moreover, though the postal industry has been well represented in commission meetings, the general business community and the general public have had little or no input. Of course, this could be the calm before the storm if the commission recommends fundamental changes, such as reducing the number of delivery days.

The commission is tasked with submitting a report to the President by July 31st, 2003. With the next presidential election in November 2004, the Bush administration could have just a year and a couple of months to act on the recommendations.
More Links

 
Postal Commission Info
Reform Watch
 PostalMag.com Responds to the Commission Report. Plus - Personalized Stamps and Fake Police Commission Report...
Postal Commission Releases Final Report
 Embracing the Future: Making the Tough Choices to Preserve Universal Mail Service (pdf)
HTML Version of Commission Report
We have converted the report from PDF to HTML for your viewing convenience.
Postal Commission Inteleshow By Biznews24
 The Postal Commission has created a multi-media presentation outlining some of the key conclusions of the report.
See the official Web site of the Presidential Postal Commission at Treas.gov
Presidential Commission: A New Postal Era
usps.com
 USPS OIG Report to the Presidential Postal Commission
Recommended Reading
Bush's Brain: How Karl Rove Made George W. Bush PresidentialKarl Rove - The Man With The Plan
 Tax Cuts, Federal Privatization, the Assault on Labor Unions, Early Retirement and Postal Reform - How They All Come Together
 Nicholas Lemann has written an article for The New Yorker magazine that could explain the motives and impetus behind postal reform.
Urban Affairs: Modernizing Postal Systems in the Electronic and Global World: By Caroline Andrew. Paperback, 432 pages
Assault on Benefits
 Unable to make a solid case against reducing craft wages, some management-side Postal Commission witnesses are turning attention to reducing employee benefits, including healthcare. One such witness, Thomas Rand of Aon Consulting, concluded his testimony with the following statement: "In the end, however, major changes to the (benefit) plans will have to be made, if USPS is to comply more closely with the comparability standard and remain competitive in a global economy." Statement by Thomas Rand (pdf) | Download the free Adobe Acrobat Reader (for pdf files)
Letter Carrier Pay Comparability (pdf)
 NALC President William Young, in a letter to the Postal Commission, refutes testimony given to the commission by Michael Wachter. Wachter, a management-side witness, stated that the postal wage premium is 34.2% (USPS craft wages vs. private sector wages). In the letter, Young cites data that shows letter carrier pay is comparable to compensation received by Federal Express couriers and United Parcel Service drivers. Young states: "In February 2002, the most recent month for which comparable data is available, city carriers earned a starting wage of $15.85 per hour and were paid a maximum rate of $20.98 per hour after 12 1/2 years on the job. Comparisons: FedEx couriers in medium to large metropolitan areas: $14.49 to $21.58 after four to five years. UPS drivers: $16.21 to $23.17 after two years."
- Wachter Testimony | Wage and Benefits Comparison for Clerks
Editorial: Postal Commission Members Already Know Everything They Need To Know
 The commission members are likely to hear from a number of postal "experts", but it's what they already know as postal customers that will help them the most. PostalMag.com
The Cost of Universal Service in the U.S. and Its Impact on Competition
 Detailed analysis includes projected cost savings for reducing the number of delivery days, closing small post offices, and conversion of park and loop routes to curb routes. Plus: Consultant says "postal clerks are paid between 21.2 percent and 35.7 percent more" than similar employees in the private sector. By Robert H. Cohen
USPS Employee Operational Analysis: Challenges and Opportunities
 "A brainstorming session amongst Oregon Postmasters, Supervisors and Managers was the impetus for this report." Front-line supervisors will appreciate the analysis on the proliferation of reports that must be completed each day. By Mark Weiss
Two Scenarios of Future Mail Volumes 2003-2017 (pdf)
 Gradual Displacement or Communications Activism?
Presidential Postal Commission Consulting Project #2
American Enterprise Institute on Postal Reform
 - The Structure and Effect of International Postal Reform
- Why We Need Postal Reform and What It Should Entail
Watson Wyatt Consultant Discusses Incentive Pay Plan (pdf)
 "For this reason, we believe that a target set around "PIECES PER EMPLOYEE" that move through the postal service system will appropriately track and report operating efficiencies for employees engaged in mail collection, processing and delivery." See APWU Statement
GAO Overview of Key Postal Transformation Issues (pdf)
 "The Service will need appropriate flexibilities and incentives to balance its revenue generation and cost containment capabilities in areas such as allowing retained earnings, closing unneeded post offices, and containing costs related to infrastructure rationalization, workforce realignment, and wage and benefit comparability. Also, the Service�s long-term retiree health and workers� compensation obligations need to be addressed." (gao.gov)
Postal Commission Analysis of USPS Grievance Procedures (pdf)
 "In a fundamental sense, the problems defined in this and other reports begin and end with a lack of trust between the union and management."
- NALC President Young addresses National Academy of Arbitrators on Postal Issues
Summary of Commission Consumer Survey of USPS (pdf)
 "The overall findings point to a public that is largely satisfied with the current performance of the United States Postal Service. It sees a need for the USPS to continue to improve and modernize to keep up to date with technology and private-sector competition, but it does not see any need for a major overhaul, sweeping changes, such as complete or partial privatization, or even changes that would become an inconvenience to customers in any way. Lacking any sense that the system is broken, the public evaluates most proposals from the simple basis of whether it would add up to a convenience for them personally."
- Consulting Project #5, Project Report 2
USPS Management Structure Study (pdf file)
A consulting firm hired by the Postal Commission to study the USPS management structure has found that "the fundamental management structure of the USPS � consisting of Headquarters, Functional Staff, and Operations � is appropriate for an organization that is committed to operational excellence" and that "the current management structure is appropriately lean."
Public Comments to the Postal Commission
- Comments from organizations
- Comments from individuals
- Comments from government officials
About the Commission
Postal Commission Members
Executive Director
Dennis C. Shea (No photo available)
- BKSH & Associates

Pearce Johnson Levin
Aviles Cogman Gallagher
Seabrook Walker Wright
Co-Chairmen
- Republican Harry J. Pearce, chairman of Hughes Electronics Corp. and a longtime General Motors executive
- Democrat James A. Johnson, chairman of the board at the Brookings Institution and a former head of Fannie Mae.
- Member of Trilateral Commission?
- Cummins Engine Board of Directors
Other Members
Richard C. Levin, President of Yale University
Dionel Aviles PH. D., P.E., president of Aviles Engineering Corp. in Texas
- Biography
Don V. Cogman, chairman of CC Investments in Arizona
- Cogman on Commission to Overhaul Postal Service
- National Endowment for the Arts
Carolyn A. Gallagher, former president and chief executive of Texwood Furniture in Texas
- ERS Board of Trustees
Norman Seabrook, president of the New York City Correction Officers' Benevolent Association
- New York State Task Force
Robert Walker, chairman and chief executive of Wexler Group in Washington
Joseph R. Wright, president and chief executive of PanAmSat in Connecticut
- Executive Biography
Contact the Commission
pcusps_comments@do.treas.gov
1120 Vermont Avenue, N.W., Suite 971
Washington,  DC  20005
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