The Red River Valley Postal Customer Council

Mailing Industry Stakeholders:

Postmaster General Pat Donahoe issued a letter and video today to assure mailers that the Postal Service is not going out of business or be privatized. The Postal Service plays a vital role in America’s economy and society. This past year USPS delivered 167.6 billion pieces of mail and sustains a $1 trillion mailing industry that employs 8 million people.

This communication will bring you the up-to-date steps the Postal Service is taking on the legislative, network optimization and wages and benefits fronts to ensure the financial health of USPS now and in years to come.  The PMG continues to urge Congress to allow the move from six-day delivery schedule to five days per week.  On the retail front, the USPS is studying whether to close up to 3,700 retail facilities, and we continue to consolidate delivery routes. USPS is also developing a proposal to adjust service standards and Critical Entry Times for First-Class and Periodicals to allow the streamlining of the mail processing network.

This is a very important message that needs to be shared with your members and co-workers.  Please feel free to distribute and post on your website.
Please click to view the video and letter.  Also, the video can be downloaded for your convenience.


Susan M. LaChance
Vice President
Consumer and Industry Affairs

We acknowledge and understand your frustration with the Mail Transport Equipment (MTE) issues you have shared with us over the last few weeks in certain pockets of the country.  We will not bother you with the whys or reasons as you are more concerned with the how and when it will be fixed.

Our Headquarters Network Operations and MTE offices have undertaken several steps to fill gaps in our shortages and improve our processes where they have broken.  The demand for certain products is at a four year high which adds to the issue.

To start with, we purchased 200,000 presswood pallets in the final weeks of FY 2011 to meet needs till our FY 2012 orders started arriving.  Currently, our FY 2012 orders of pallets, sacks, and flat tubs are arriving and entering the mail stream.  We expect the first orders of trays and sleeves to start arriving very soon.

We realize this is only stemming the tide of your needs at present, so we have undertaken two additional steps to meet your needs.  First, we have placed an immediate order for slat wood pallets to get into the system immediately.  We realize these pallets are not your first choice but they can be made immediately available.  Secondly, we have advanced our Quarter 2 pallet purchases so we can build up the volume in the network and eliminate the roving shortages.

We have also extended weekend hours where appropriate at some of our MTESCs to enable them to process equipment from our plants and maintain our supplies.  We also have put processes in place with the Area and District Operations to monitor and move product from one location to another with peak demand.  Finally, we are continuing to work with our Supply Management team to move up time frames for delivery of other products in high demand that were originally planned for Qtr 2.

Your concerns have been heard loud and clear at all levels of our organization.  We welcome your continued feedback so we can continue to improve the situation.  We value your business and we value your partnership with the USPS.

Susan M. LaChance
Vice President
Consumer and Industry Affairs