Industry people who’ve often heard Postmaster General Louis DeJoy speak, such as at the Mailers Technical Advisory Committee, usually have a different perspective of him than those who’ve heard him less, such as at the National Postal Forum. Just about every time, the topic is his 10-Year Plan. On its face, DeJoy’s argument about the need to take decisive action…
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It’s understandable that there should be a natural tension between a regulator and the regulated, and that’s always been the case between the Postal Regulatory Commission and the Postal Service. Even so, there would be periodic briefings and discussions, and the relationship was civil. However, under Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, that relationship, at least from the Postal Service’s side, has…
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Despite regular claims of “steady” service, the Postal Service’s own data shows that the only steadiness of service is in its worsening. Though the agency has granular service performance data, by weeks and months if not days; by geographic area if not by ZIP Code and processing facility; and by specific products within the classes of mail, what it chooses…
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As regular readers know, the Postal Service’s ongoing measures to implement elements of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s 10-Year Plan seldom are revealed directly to ratepayers or commercial mail producers. Rather, because of contractual obligations, information about facility changes and other matters having a potential impact on unionized employees is presented to the labor groups. In turn, that information is often…
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As was widely reported last month after the Postal Service released it financial results for Fiscal Year 2023 (October 2022 through September 2023), the third year of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s 10-Year Plan, the agency’s anticipated and actual financial performance numbers are far apart. Projections On page 46 of The Plan, the agency charted its projected net losses totaling $159.8…
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As reported on June 15 by Government Executive, a bill passed by the House of Representatives could reverse precedent and restrict a government agency’s latitude in interpreting and applying the statutes it’s charged with implementing. As stated in the article, “The Separation of Powers Restoration Act (HR 288) would allow federal courts to review all aspects of a law’s implementation…
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On June 12, the Postal Regulatory Commission reopened a docket initiated in 2021 but later suspended while a related matter was being reviewed in federal court. Docket RM2021-2, opened January 15, 2021, was to consider a “PerformanceIncentive Mechanism” to motivate improved Postal Service performance. As stated in the original Advance Notice Of Proposed Rulemaking, the PRC sought “… input from…
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In a paper released May 22, three individuals experienced in the regulatory environment urged reforms be undertaken to revitalize the Postal Regulatory Commission.Authored by Tom Davis, who served in Congress from 1995 through 2008 and was chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, David Williams, formerly USPS Inspector General and a Postal Service governor, and Michael Kubayanda, the…
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There always have been occasional stories about somebody getting a letter or card that a long-dead relative had sent years or decades earlier. Where a piece of mail could spend such an interval was always the object of speculation: in an empty sack, stuck in an old letter case, behind a piece of post office furniture – who knows. More…
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The Bureau of Labor Statistics March 14 release of the Consumer Price Index for February supplied the final figure needed to calculate the CPI-based portion of the pricing authority that will be available to the Postal Service for its anticipated April filing: 3.406%. Part one The agency’s CPI-based rate authority resets to zero after every price filing, so the size…
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