5 ms·

Confessions of US Postal Worker: “We deliver Amazon packages until we drop dead”

31 points by skbly7 8y ago

morsch 8y ago
The world’s largest e-commerce company said third-quarter operating income will surge to as much as $2.4 billion, compared with the average analyst estimate of $1.28 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Second-quarter profit came in at a record $2.53 billion, or $5.07 per share, more than double analysts’ forecasts. The shares rose 4.1 percent in extended trading.
Semiapies 8y ago
The USPS has built an operation centered around delivering direct marketing (snail mail spam) as its primary function, with other deliveries from bills to packages as a very secondary one. Trying to transition from that to delivering this many packages without increasing its workforce...well, it's an amazing example of the pointy-headed boss approach that's the bane of both the private and public sector. "We've finally gotten revenues ahead of expenses! ...What do mean, there's too much work to do?"
- metildaa 8y ago
  USPS has a mandate to deliver mail to the masses as a universal sevice, and direct mail is one way to try to subsidize that mandate. When letter volume was higher, the letter delivery business could be viable on its own. USPS is in a legislative straitjacket when it comes to offering new and competitive services to consumers and small businesses, nevermind the crazy amounts they're bbeing required to contribute to their pension plan: http://postalemployeenetwork.com/news/2012/03/postal-accountability-and-enhancement-act-of-2006-the-death-of-usps/ http://postalemployeenetwork.com/news/2012/03/postal-account...
  - Semiapies 8y ago
    If the USPS is doing well, it's hyped up as a miracle. If it's having problems, its problems are hyped up as insurmountable.
wcarron 8y ago
Crazy. What surprises me the most is the fact that the USPS receives no federal funding. With a budget of even $5 Billion, the issues highlighted here could be solved or drastically reduced.
- metildaa 8y ago
  The goal of our current laws are to starve USPS of funds, which results in these awful working conditions. We need to repeal the restrictions on USPS offering a broader range of services, and not force them by law to massively overfund their retirement benefits.
  - SamReidHughes 8y ago
    This has been discussed on HN before. I thought their pensions were not being overfunded, just funded to the degree a private company ought to. How much are they being overfunded by?
  - opo 8y ago
    >...and not force them by law to massively overfund their retirement benefits. It sounds like the change in law was to have the USPS start funding their retirement health care costs since they are promised to the workers and the projected costs had exploded: >...Although retiree health benefits are often unfunded or poorly funded, two considerations suggested the Service’s retiree health care obligations should be funded: they are as firm a commitment as the Service’s pensions, and they had become enormous (about $75 billion by 2006). In 2003, the presidential commission suggested establishing a reserve fund for these obligations, and the Postal Service itself sent Congress a proposal for creating such a fund. >Prior to 2006, the Service simply paid retirees’ health benefit premiums when they came due. The Service put aside no money when it promised the future benefits. Paying benefits when they come due rather than funding them in advance is known as the pay-as-you-go or unfunded approach. >Early this century, Congress, the Administration, the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO), and a bipartisan presidential commission expressed concern about the lack of funding. Although retiree health benefits are often unfunded or poorly funded, two considerations suggested the Service’s retiree health care obligations should be funded: they are as firm a commitment as the Service’s pensions, and they had become enormous (about $75 billion by 2006). In 2003, the presidential commission suggested establishing a reserve fund for these obligations, and the Postal Service itself sent Congress a proposal for creating such a fund. >In 2002-2003, it was discovered that the Service was contributing far more than necessary to fully fund its pensions, and Congress allowed the Service to contribute less. Congress decided the pension “savings” could help patch the retiree health benefit underfunding. In 2006, as part of the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act (PAEA), the Postal Service Retirement Health Benefits Fund (RHBF) was established. Most of the Service’s contributions to the new fund could be paid using the pension “savings.” PAEA was bipartisan legislation with broad support. https://taxfoundation.org/primer-postal-service-retiree-health-benefits-fund/ https://taxfoundation.org/primer-postal-service-retiree-heal...
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
cvaidya1986 8y ago
This is just sad. Humans were meant to create and dream.
- craftyguy 8y ago
  Humans, like other animals, are probably meant to just spread our genetic material all over our species gene pool.
  - cvaidya1986 8y ago
    The creative and powerful ones do the genetic material spreading too.
donbright 8y ago
Feel like sending an email to Jeff Bezos that just says ????
skbly7 8y ago
There is an interesting take on this matter in "Patriotic Act" show by "Hassan Minhaj" (episode 3): https://www.netflix.com/watch/80990674 https://www.netflix.com/watch/80990674
londons_explore 8y ago
If the conditions are too bad, leave... The labor market is like any other, and is one of the most competitive markets really. Being "loyal" and staying at the same company through hard times really is doing yourself, the economy, and the company a disservice. If USPS can't survive in those conditions, let them go bankrupt and let other companies rise to fill their place, possibly bidding to get the same government benefits USPS had.
- democracy 8y ago
  Ever heard of labour rights?
  - londons_explore 8y ago
    Yes, but I fundamentally disagree with them. They're a bandage for the labor market having a surpless of supply and insufficient mobility. Both of those the government could fix. Surpless of supply can be solved by carefully regulating immigration and encouraging emmigration. Insufficient mobility is harder to fix, but requiring employers to not employ the same person for more than 200 days per year could force people to try out for other jobs. If everyone had two jobs, they could scale up and down the number of hours at each job to get the best pay/conditions. That's far better than collective bargaining. Long term employment contracts, and benefits based on tenure should be banned too. That's just employers trying to reduce mobility. I'd quite like to see daily labor auctions. Where the employer "bids" for how much they're willing to pay today, and employees select where they'll go to work (or stay home) based on today's bids. Christmas day would suddenly get very expensive. Some types of employment require specific knowledge or training. In those cases, the employer shall have to provide a list of people who have said training, and the list should have to be significantly larger than the number of people working at that place on any given day to ensure the "training" requirement doesn't prevent mobility.
    - adetrest 8y ago
      I hope what you're describing never makes it past your dystopian, or a movie at best. What a terrible world you're describing.

31 points by skbly7 8y ago

The world’s largest e-commerce company said third-quarter operating income will surge to as much as $2.4 billion, compared with the average analyst estimate of $1.28 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Second-quarter profit came in at a record $2.53 billion, or $5.07 per share, more than double analysts’ forecasts. The shares rose 4.1 percent in extended trading.

Semiapies 8y ago

The USPS has built an operation centered around delivering direct marketing (snail mail spam) as its primary function, with other deliveries from bills to packages as a very secondary one. Trying to transition from that to delivering this many packages without increasing its workforce...well, it's an amazing example of the pointy-headed boss approach that's the bane of both the private and public sector. "We've finally gotten revenues ahead of expenses! ...What do mean, there's too much work to do?"

metildaa 8y ago
USPS has a mandate to deliver mail to the masses as a universal sevice, and direct mail is one way to try to subsidize that mandate. When letter volume was higher, the letter delivery business could be viable on its own. USPS is in a legislative straitjacket when it comes to offering new and competitive services to consumers and small businesses, nevermind the crazy amounts they're bbeing required to contribute to their pension plan: http://postalemployeenetwork.com/news/2012/03/postal-accountability-and-enhancement-act-of-2006-the-death-of-usps/ http://postalemployeenetwork.com/news/2012/03/postal-account...
- Semiapies 8y ago
  If the USPS is doing well, it's hyped up as a miracle. If it's having problems, its problems are hyped up as insurmountable.

wcarron 8y ago

Crazy. What surprises me the most is the fact that the USPS receives no federal funding. With a budget of even $5 Billion, the issues highlighted here could be solved or drastically reduced.

metildaa 8y ago
The goal of our current laws are to starve USPS of funds, which results in these awful working conditions. We need to repeal the restrictions on USPS offering a broader range of services, and not force them by law to massively overfund their retirement benefits.
- SamReidHughes 8y ago
  This has been discussed on HN before. I thought their pensions were not being overfunded, just funded to the degree a private company ought to. How much are they being overfunded by?
- opo 8y ago
  >...and not force them by law to massively overfund their retirement benefits. It sounds like the change in law was to have the USPS start funding their retirement health care costs since they are promised to the workers and the projected costs had exploded: >...Although retiree health benefits are often unfunded or poorly funded, two considerations suggested the Service’s retiree health care obligations should be funded: they are as firm a commitment as the Service’s pensions, and they had become enormous (about $75 billion by 2006). In 2003, the presidential commission suggested establishing a reserve fund for these obligations, and the Postal Service itself sent Congress a proposal for creating such a fund. >Prior to 2006, the Service simply paid retirees’ health benefit premiums when they came due. The Service put aside no money when it promised the future benefits. Paying benefits when they come due rather than funding them in advance is known as the pay-as-you-go or unfunded approach. >Early this century, Congress, the Administration, the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO), and a bipartisan presidential commission expressed concern about the lack of funding. Although retiree health benefits are often unfunded or poorly funded, two considerations suggested the Service’s retiree health care obligations should be funded: they are as firm a commitment as the Service’s pensions, and they had become enormous (about $75 billion by 2006). In 2003, the presidential commission suggested establishing a reserve fund for these obligations, and the Postal Service itself sent Congress a proposal for creating such a fund. >In 2002-2003, it was discovered that the Service was contributing far more than necessary to fully fund its pensions, and Congress allowed the Service to contribute less. Congress decided the pension “savings” could help patch the retiree health benefit underfunding. In 2006, as part of the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act (PAEA), the Postal Service Retirement Health Benefits Fund (RHBF) was established. Most of the Service’s contributions to the new fund could be paid using the pension “savings.” PAEA was bipartisan legislation with broad support. https://taxfoundation.org/primer-postal-service-retiree-health-benefits-fund/ https://taxfoundation.org/primer-postal-service-retiree-heal...

deleted 8y ago

[deleted]

cvaidya1986 8y ago

This is just sad. Humans were meant to create and dream.

craftyguy 8y ago
Humans, like other animals, are probably meant to just spread our genetic material all over our species gene pool.
- cvaidya1986 8y ago
  The creative and powerful ones do the genetic material spreading too.

donbright 8y ago

Feel like sending an email to Jeff Bezos that just says ????

skbly7 8y ago

There is an interesting take on this matter in "Patriotic Act" show by "Hassan Minhaj" (episode 3): https://www.netflix.com/watch/80990674 https://www.netflix.com/watch/80990674

londons_explore 8y ago

If the conditions are too bad, leave... The labor market is like any other, and is one of the most competitive markets really. Being "loyal" and staying at the same company through hard times really is doing yourself, the economy, and the company a disservice. If USPS can't survive in those conditions, let them go bankrupt and let other companies rise to fill their place, possibly bidding to get the same government benefits USPS had.

democracy 8y ago
Ever heard of labour rights?
- londons_explore 8y ago
  Yes, but I fundamentally disagree with them. They're a bandage for the labor market having a surpless of supply and insufficient mobility. Both of those the government could fix. Surpless of supply can be solved by carefully regulating immigration and encouraging emmigration. Insufficient mobility is harder to fix, but requiring employers to not employ the same person for more than 200 days per year could force people to try out for other jobs. If everyone had two jobs, they could scale up and down the number of hours at each job to get the best pay/conditions. That's far better than collective bargaining. Long term employment contracts, and benefits based on tenure should be banned too. That's just employers trying to reduce mobility. I'd quite like to see daily labor auctions. Where the employer "bids" for how much they're willing to pay today, and employees select where they'll go to work (or stay home) based on today's bids. Christmas day would suddenly get very expensive. Some types of employment require specific knowledge or training. In those cases, the employer shall have to provide a list of people who have said training, and the list should have to be significantly larger than the number of people working at that place on any given day to ensure the "training" requirement doesn't prevent mobility.
  - adetrest 8y ago
    I hope what you're describing never makes it past your dystopian, or a movie at best. What a terrible world you're describing.