Residents Respond to Postal Service
Local News
by
Brittany Scheck
last edited on
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Wednesday, local residents got the chance to voice their concerns about the US Postal Service's proposal to cut Saturday service.
More than fifty residents and business representatives gathered at the Journey Museum Wednesday morning to learn more about the postal service's proposed five-day delivery plan.
This was the sixth of seven meetings being held across the nation by the Postal Regulatory Commission, or the PRC.
According to postal service representatives, they have lost billions of dollars and cutting Saturday service would help them drastically cut costs.
"We would be able to save approximately $3.1 billion per year if we were able to move to five day delivery," says V.P. of Government Relations for the USPS, Marie Therese Dominguez.
Some concerns that have been expressed throughout the hearings include issues with prescription drug delivery, newspaper deliveries, and postal service job losses.
“The postal service is the second largest employer in the US. They’re concerned about losing 20,000-40,000 jobs depending on how you calculate it at a time when we have very high unemployment," says Chairman of the US PRC, Ruth Goldway.
Cutting Saturday service would reduce postal services by 17 percent.
The PRC expects to make a decision in Oct.
Congress would also have to make a change to current legislation.