Post Office Pays Thousands of Workers To Do Nothing

[Matt Collins]

Post Office Pays Thousands of Workers To Do Nothing

At any given time, over 11,000 postal workers sit idle, in empty rooms, doing... nothing. While collecting over a million dollars per week in paychecks from taxpayers.

So reports (http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1102754039782&s=57420&e=001D5jZdGpo2fy_7G-DbtvqeIF0-UWh66Ybe8v9_8-ton-TXaP5tckrI6Gvk00w-fZ6m8bMkBHtBiox7zUHyH9lMnfAyra45r7e0WwI2i0v_2-S-d25wliAFCGsvPQipIEXEAo9KrKhnsV_XHL2q33uEQ==) FederalTimes.com, the Web site of a weekly newspaper aimed at federal employees.

According to the article:

"The U.S. Postal Service, struggling with a massive deficit caused by plummeting mail volume, spends more than a million dollars each week to pay thousands of employees to sit in empty rooms and do nothing.

"It's a practice called 'standby time,' and it has existed for years -- but postal employees say it was rarely used until this year.

"Now, postal officials say, the agency is averaging about 45,000 hours of standby time every week -- the equivalent of having 1,125 full-time employees sitting idle, at a cost of more than $50 million per year.

"Mail volume is down 12.6 percent compared with last year, and many postal supervisors simply don't have enough work to keep all employees busy. But a thicket of union rules prevents managers from laying off excess employees; a recent agreement with the unions, in fact, temporarily prevents the Postal Service from even reassigning them to other facilities that could use them.

"So they sit -- some for a few hours, others for entire shifts. ... They spend their days holed up in rooms -- conference rooms, break rooms, occasionally 12-foot-by-8-foot storage closets -- that the Postal Service dubs 'resource rooms.'

"'It's just a small, empty room. ... It's awful,' said one mail processing clerk who has spent four weeks on standby time this summer. 'Most of us bring books, word puzzles. Sometimes we just sleep.'"

(Thanks to Carpe Diem blog (http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1102754039782&s=57420&e=001D5jZdGpo2fy_hgMAWp_T7HVmxppt04NHsvbdIOGZVUX2d 7dAX7GM0wlguvgkvHOYTf2zU914Uy1fZK3vazgZ_mNHZcRP8C3 ETTpSWKLcmXS1fK-H1Ydn7_JaDCrIkYDQ95SR-ZlLPlT9ibLBCt3sC1hyYA4ESqYVH2LvdbGhG4eh8mebr2g87OS XH79RAoepzmrxHnOYhyA=) and Paul Ringstrom.)

[Bruno]

please tell me this was from the Onion

[Matt Collins]

please tell me this was from the Onion
In an e-mail from The Advocates.


http://www.theadvocates.org/publications/liberator-online.html
(they haven't posted it to their online archives yet)

[Bruno]

In an e-mail from The Advocates.


http://www.theadvocates.org/publications/liberator-online.html
(they haven't posted it to their online archives yet)

I can't believe they pay people to sit around and play puzzles all day in conference rooms.

Thanks, Matt. And thanks for the link - cool site. I might buy that book.

[Warrior_of_Freedom]

post office has been used less and less especially cause of e-mail and ups/fedex. I don't even have mailboxes in my town anymore, you have to go to the post office.

[Matt Collins]

I can't believe they pay people to sit around and play puzzles all day in conference rooms.

Thanks, Matt. And thanks for the link - cool site. I might buy that book.
Sign up for the Liberator Online newsletter. Its only once or twice a month and it's really good. I get a lot from it.

[Reason]

Sign up for the Liberator Online newsletter. Its only once or twice a month and it's really good. I get a lot from it.

thanks, I had never heard of it before, just signed up, I'm always looking for additional news sources to filter through. :)

[Bruno]

Sign up for the Liberator Online newsletter. Its only once or twice a month and it's really good. I get a lot from it.

just did. Thanks!

[Warrior_of_Freedom]

i want to work for one of those post offices btw i'll just bring a gameboy or something

[Andrew-Austin]

They know they are not needed, yet if all of their jobs were cut we'd never hear the end of it from them.


i want to work for one of those post offices btw i'll just bring a gameboy or something

Its the same thing as living off welfare, except you get more money.

[Warrior_of_Freedom]

They know they are not needed, yet if all of their jobs were cut we'd never hear the end of it from them.



Its the same thing as living off welfare, except you get more money.

what do you propose the government does, shutdown the postal service?

[Mike4Freedom]

They need to get rid of some full time jobs and make them part time with less benefits.

My opinion is this. The post office should only do mail, thats it.

Let Fedex and UPS do actual packages.

That would save the tax payers a lot.

They also need to get a manager from a private company in there to make those slow workers move faster.

Work faster or find another job there are people that can do the work and would appreciate it.

The post office employee position is almost like another welfare in some cases.

[Warrior_of_Freedom]

lets get rid of all the cops that have no crimes to respond to also , it's just as bad as welfare

[Arklatex]

Both of my local post offices remodeled within the last 6 months- at your dime!! Didn't see anything wrong with them before. Total waste of our money.

[revolutionary8]

I'd encourage y'all to really talk to your postal workers. If you will talk to them enough, they will tell you this for themselves. They are living a nightmare. There are supervisors supervising the supervisors of the supervisors supervising the sups, supervising the sups, supervising the supervisors . Its a joke, and they'll tell ya if you just give them the chance.
They really do have a TON on their mind (mine continuously bitch about all the Comcast mailings they have to sort, along with all of the Gonzales' and Rodriguez's, as well as the bs they have to go through will all the levels of supervision... )
How do you put Rodriguez in the plural form? lol

They are in a world of hurt.
It is MO, that postal workers are prime time for the Liberty message. :)

[Austrian Econ Disciple]

what do you propose the government does, shutdown the postal service?

Yes.

[Austrian Econ Disciple]

They need to get rid of some full time jobs and make them part time with less benefits.

My opinion is this. The post office should only do mail, thats it.

Let Fedex and UPS do actual packages.

That would save the tax payers a lot.

They also need to get a manager from a private company in there to make those slow workers move faster.

Work faster or find another job there are people that can do the work and would appreciate it.

The post office employee position is almost like another welfare in some cases.

There is no reason to have Government involved in postage. Still blows my mind why anyone would support this non-sense. I also, don't understand why we are still subsidizing agriculture, Amtrak, Corporations, etc.

I'm curious, why do you believe the USPS should exist? How is it moral? Anything that is either propped up, or wholly funded by Taxpayers should be abolished, period. Either that, or abolish all taxation. That is after all the logical and moral thing to do.

No, we don't need a standing army. We need Militia's. No, we don't need the FBI or the CIA. Private firms, can execute the mission without having the power to violate Natural Law, and Sovereignty of Nations. (There are all ready plenty of these institutions, especially among Corporations)

Lastly, no we do not need the DOJ. We all ready have State AG's. For inter-state violations they can work together, as they do. We really, don't need a Federal Government at all! I'm perfectly fine with the 50 states and no Federal Government. Return to our Confederacy!

[revolutionary8]

Yes.
I hate to sound like a "radical" :D, but I completely agree.
We have numerous companies that do the very same thing that the postal service does, but they are hired because they do it more efficiently, and under much better management than the Govt. Of course there is DHS, UPS, FedEX but I am emphasizing the courrier svcs. We have PLENTY of people who are willing, able, ready, and determined to do a MUCH better job than USPS. They are the modern day pony express.

Ebay comes to mind- the ebayers are *fd* b/c many DEPEND on the USPS to keep their rates low, keep their svc. high. Nowadays, ebay *requires* sellers to include insurance in their shipping costs.
I about died when I saw that. I just recently checked out the forums, and I quit selling on ebay back when Meg Whitman endorsed Mitt Romney. lol I have my limits. :D

*And don't get me started on the futility of USPS insurance. lmao.

[awake]

A wonderful example of misallocation of scarce resources by the government mob.

[Elwar]

For government work the whole strategy is to not spend less than you spent the year before. If you are efficient and spend less money, then when the next budget comes out your agency will receive less money.

My boss used to come in at the end of the year and say "We're coming up on the end of the contract and we still have money left over...do you guys need anything (computer stuff/office chairs/whichever)?"

Though I did work for one contractor once that liked to come in under budget and they liked having the reputation of being able to do things under budget, which helped the next time a contract rolled around.

[LibForestPaul]

I'm curious, why do you believe the USPS should exist?!

Who assigns addresses? Is this the post office, or the states?

What happens to postal inspectors if the post office is gone?

Is my mail secure in a private facility?

[Icymudpuppy]

Who assigns addresses? Is this the post office, or the states?

What happens to postal inspectors if the post office is gone?

Is my mail secure in a private facility?

Your address is assigned by your county planning office.

Your packages are more secure with Fedex and UPS than with USPS, why wouldn't your mail be more secure with a private shipper?

Postal inspectors are needed for what, exactly? They have no purpose.

[Michael Landon]

Myth #1: Your tax dollars pay for the Postal Service.

All the money that the Postal Service gets comes from the sale of services like stamps.

- ML

[Austrian Econ Disciple]

Myth #1: Your tax dollars pay for the Postal Service.

All the money that the Postal Service gets comes from the sale of services like stamps.

- ML

Really? That's why the USPS runs red nearly every year? Name on company that can run red nearly every year and still stay in business.

[sarahgop]

sounds just like govt

[james1906]

http://cache.thephoenix.com/i/OldBlogs/SlopCulture/story.scotus.cheers.cliff.jpg

Postal workers sitting around doing squat is nothing new.

The reason our Constitution mandates a federal postal service is so that communication and information is able to get to people regardless of where they live. A private postal service could refuse to service Moosefuck, Alaska or charge an exorbitant fee to go there. That's a reason the postal service can't fairly compete with FedEx and UPS.

[Flash]

It was a huge mistake on the founders part to put the Post Office in the Constitution..

[Anti Federalist]

lets get rid of all the cops that have no crimes to respond to also , it's just as bad as welfare

Good idea, thanks.

[specsaregood]

Really? That's why the USPS runs red nearly every year? Name on company that can run red nearly every year and still stay in business.

Can I send a package or letter with Fedex, UPS, DHL, etc for less than 50 cents?

[Austrian Econ Disciple]

Can I send a package or letter with Fedex, UPS, DHL, etc for less than 50 cents?

I'm glad, all that matters is what you can do with my money. :mad:

Some so-called principled people around these parts.....

[heavenlyboy34]

It was a huge mistake on the founders part to put the Post Office in the Constitution..

Methinks the Hamiltonians put it in there knowing in part what the outcome would be-miserable service that taxpayers are forced to pay for, with no competition. :p

[specsaregood]

I'm glad, all that matters is what you can do with my money. :mad:

Some so-called principled people around these parts.....

Get over yourself. I didn't support the concept. You questioned how they are allowed to stay in business despite running in the red every year. I think I brought up a valid point on why they run in the red and are allowed to run in the red, without passing any judgement on the morality of it.

[Austrian Econ Disciple]

Get over yourself. I didn't support the concept. You questioned how they are allowed to stay in business despite running in the red every year. I think I brought up a valid point on why they run in the red and are allowed to run in the red, without passing any judgement on the morality of it.

I know why they are allowed to continue to run, because they steal from the people to run their bloated, inefficient, ill-competitive, "service".

I didn't question how, I questioned do you know one private company that can stay afloat by being in the red every year, to the poster who said our taxes don't go to subsidizing the USPS.

Come on, you can do better than that. Then you came back saying, I like it, I only pay 50Cents to send mail. That's when I said, fuck off, stealing is immoral irregardless.

Since when is being principled, about me? If it was about "me", I would want them to subsidize everything I enjoy so I can enjoy the things I do cheaper, but you see, I'm wholly against that. I'm for EVERYONE.

[Flash]

Allow UPS & FedEx to mail letters, and I garuntee the people would choose them over the USPS. :)

[specsaregood]

Then you came back saying, I like it, I only pay 50Cents to send mail.

Please point out where I said that.

[Brian4Liberty]

This is not unique to the Post Office. This also happens quite a bit in the private sector.

[Matt Collins]

A private postal service could refuse to service Moosefuck, Alaska or charge an exorbitant fee to go there. HA HA HA! Does that really exist, or did you make that up?!?! :D:cool::p

[Matt Collins]

Methinks the Hamiltonians put it in there knowing in part what the outcome would be-miserable service that taxpayers are forced to pay for, with no competition. :pIf I remember correctly Franklin put it in there. But I could be wrong.

[lx43]

This is one thing under the constitution that I have never understood why the founders created a post office in the first place.

[Matt Collins]

This is one thing under the constitution that I have never understood why the founders created a post office in the first place.It's an instance where the Constitution is not libertarian.

[specsaregood]

This is one thing under the constitution that I have never understood why the founders created a post office in the first place.

there was no such thing as phones, no such thing as the internet, radio or tv. You had a populace with a brand new country, the were no doubt uninformed and likely confused at times. there was no way to do long distance communication without travelling. I think it is clear why a post office was necessary to help grow a country from the ground up.

[Austrian Econ Disciple]

there was no such thing as phones, no such thing as the internet, radio or tv. You had a populace with a brand new country, the were no doubt uninformed and likely confused at times. there was no way to do long distance communication without travelling. I think it is clear why a post office was necessary to help grow a country from the ground up.

And the Government was the only entity to do such a thing...:rolleyes: Needless to say by the mid and late 19th century all railways were wholly private. They were expanding in such a speed and vastness that allowed them to cover the nation in a respectable manner. Secondly, it was those same Railroad tycoons who hated the competition, and went to Congress to get laws passed that benefited them and ran others out of business. Voila, Corporatism. This is why I hate the State with all passion. Even the so-called limited Government, violated basic free-market and private property principles.

Of course once they do it once, they'll continue to do it. There was never a need for a wholly subsidary for mail. Period. Even though, yes, they only had horses some 30 years prior, but why on Earth would they not repel it? Oh, of course, less power. Government, is always about power. Unrelenting, unscrupulous power.

[specsaregood]

And the Government was the only entity to do such a thing...:rolleyes:
Yes, and once again you want to imply I said something that I didn't. Is this a common debate tactic of yours? To put your own preconceived notions onto other people's statements?

The person I replied to questioned why the founders created a post office, I gave him a reason. Sure there could be valid free market alternatives, I never said there weren't.

I noticed you edited out your question about sending mail before the post office existed, under the articles of confederation. Why did you edit it out? I'd like to know, how did they send mail before the post office? was there a free-market entity performing that function?

[Austrian Econ Disciple]

Yes, and once again you want to imply I said something that I didn't. Is this a common debate tactic of yours? To put your own preconceived notions onto other people's statements?

The person I replied to questioned why the founders created a post office, I gave him a reason. Sure there could be valid free market alternatives, I never said there weren't.

I noticed you edited out your question about sending mail before the post office existed, under the articles of confederation. Why did you edit it out? I'd like to know, how did they send mail before the post office? was there a free-market entity performing that function?

No I edited it out, because I remembered that at the end of Article 9 in the AoC there was the creation of a Post Office. What I was saying is that there were free-market forces in play during the time of the AoC and Constitution that were de-facto "post offices". This is, once again, another indication that the Constitution wasn't in favor of "free-markets".

[Austrian Econ Disciple]

Once again the market does things considerably better than the Government has, or ever will.

http://www.h-net.org/~business/bhcweb/publications/BEHprint/v015/p0135-p0148.pdf

Seriously....Why the hell do people still believe that the Government should have any business in any economic affairs?

[Austrian Econ Disciple]

Yes, and once again you want to imply I said something that I didn't. Is this a common debate tactic of yours? To put your own preconceived notions onto other people's statements?

The person I replied to questioned why the founders created a post office, I gave him a reason. Sure there could be valid free market alternatives, I never said there weren't.

I noticed you edited out your question about sending mail before the post office existed, under the articles of confederation. Why did you edit it out? I'd like to know, how did they send mail before the post office? was there a free-market entity performing that function?

Well you said the post office was necessary as a Government function. What other implication are you saying? That private entities were incapable of handling courier service so we had to have Government run? Why? There were, private entities all ready conducted in that trade. Wherever there is profit to be made, the private interests (self-interest), will necessarily and always conduct that business, trade, or commerce with greater efficiency and quality than any Government can, precisely because they have a personal stake in it's operations. No person wants to see their business fail and will do everything to create a successful business. Accordingly, politicians could give a rats ass how the postal service operates. No one is going to vote them out because the postal service is a trash heap.

[specsaregood]

Well you said the post office was necessary as a Government function.

I said a "post office" was necessary. I didn't say it had to be a government function. Obviously the founders thought it was necessary as a public function though. I wasn't alive at the time so I can't say they were wrong, but I can certainly see why they thought it was. I'm more than willing to entertain other free market possiblities. Do you know that they didn't consider/debate those possiblities and just defaulted to the government function option?

[Austrian Econ Disciple]

I said a "post office" was necessary. I didn't say it had to be a government function. Obviously the founders thought it was necessary as a public function though. I wasn't alive at the time so I can't say they were wrong, but I can certainly see why they thought it was. I'm more than willing to entertain other free market possiblities. Do you know that they didn't consider/debate those possiblities and just defaulted to the government function option?

Yes, however, it was brought up in the Federalist Papers. This is just another reason to show how our Founder's weren't omniscient. Can we admit they made a mistake? Can we correct that?

[specsaregood]

This is just another reason to show how our Founder's weren't omniscient. Can we admit they made a mistake? Can we correct that?

I don't know, I'm always a bit hesitant to pass judgement on people living under circumstances I don't have full knowledge of and probably can't comprehend. They had a brand new country to build up so that it was strong enough to ward off foreign entities. Communication between the citizens is fairly important. However, I'd say that we have other opportunities/options now and we would be foolish not to consider them.

[Carson]

They seem to have sold out to some foreign outfit here.

I suppose they will be fraudulently getting more H1-B visas, or what ever they are, to get more people in to the country to set around.

Maybe the only thing that matters to some is that those that owe their jobs to the lobby groups, and the Federal Reserve that earns interest on the fake money it loans us, get theirs.