June 4, 2001
(Dallas, TX) - A 2001 General
Accounting Office (GAO) report that notes productivity at the
U.S. Postal Service has increased only 11 percent over the last
three decades is incorrect, according to research conducted by
PostalWorkersOnline.com. PostalWorkersOnline.com found that
productivity during the period 1971 and 1997 actually increased
almost 56 percent, on par with private sector productivity gains.
The incorrect GAO numbers have recently been used by direct
mailers, politicians, news commentators (Robert Novak), and others
to substantiate calls for postal reform. Many in the industry
agree that some postal reforms are needed, but the use of the
incorrect GAO numbers negates the many positive gains that postal
employees and management have made since the postal reorganization
in 1971.
The
PostalWorkersOnline
study found that the number of postal employees increased from
545,911 in 1971 to 765,000 in 1997, an increase of 40 percent.
However, the number of pieces of mail delivered annually increased
from 87 billion in 1971 to 190 billion in 1997, an increase of 118
percent. These figures show that in 1971 the average number of
pieces of mail delivered per employee was 159,366 pieces. In 1997,
the average number was 248,366 pieces per employee, an increase of
almost 56 percent in productivity per employee.
It should also be
noted that in 1971 the U.S. Postal Service received a public
service subsidy of $844 million for a total taxpayer subsidy of 25
percent. The postal service does not currently receive a taxpayer
subsidy - it is one of the few government agencies that is fully
self-supporting.
"The GAO
numbers just didn't add up", Tom Wakefield - president of
PostalWorkersOnline.com, said in explaining the impetus for
looking at the numbers again. In 1971, much of the mail sorting
was done manually or by primitive letter sorting machines. In
recent years, state-of-the-art letter and flat sorting machines
have come online that can sort tens of thousands of letters per
hour. In addition, new delivery points since 1987 have been
required to have "drive out" delivery - meaning delivery to
curbside boxes or cluster (centralized) box delivery. This method
is generally about 50 percent more efficient than the old method
of walking door to door. The 11 percent number from the GAO is
totally irresponsible, Wakefield noted. |
