primitives discuss postage-stamp prices

[franksolich]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/101432319

Oh my.

alp227 (12,424 posts) Profile Journal Send DU Mail Ignore

Stamp prices go up as postal labor talks reach an impasse

Postage rates jumped Sunday for the first time in two and a half years as the U.S. Postal Service hopes to generate more revenue amid historic losses.

First-class postage stamps now cost 45 cents each, a price jump that officials anticipate will generate an additional $888 million in annual revenue. The rate increase does not affect the use of Forever stamps purchased before Sunday.

The price hike comes as negotiations between the U.S. Postal Service and two of its labor unions reached an impasse that may require a ruling by an arbitrator.

Postal and union officials announced late Friday that separate talks had collapsed between the USPS and the National Association of Letter Carriers and the National Postal Mail Handlers Union. Contracts with both unions, which represent a combined 242,000 postal workers, expired in late November. Negotiations were extended twice before failing Friday.

full: http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/stamp-prices-go-up-as-postal-labor-talks-reach-an-impasse/2012/01/22/gIQAC9WLJQ_story.html

elleng (28,152 posts) Profile Journal Send DU Mail Ignore

1. Unfortunately, the unions are forced to negotiate with the wrong party;

SHOULD make demands of Congress.

happyslug (9,285 posts) Profile Journal Send DU Mail Ignore

2. They might be....

In 1970 it took the Letter Carrier Strike to convince Congress and the President to address the problems of the Post Office. Can we say for sure that all sides sees a need for another strike to force Congress to do something?

By 1970 First Class mails were already dropping, AT&T's ad campaign for people to phone people who lived out of town was already working so most people were calling friends and relatives out of town, not mailing them a letter.

After the 1960s, First class mail became the domain of bills (Sent and received). Legal papers were a distant second. Today,with Internet Bill paying, the only people who MUST use the mail are lawyers sending letters, briefs and pleadings to each other(in my home state of Pennsylvania original service is by the Sheriff, but all subsequent service is by first class mail). Yes the poor and others people still rely on the mail for bills, but it is the service of these legal papers that will cause the greatest outcry.

Thus the Unions and the Postal Service may think a strike is the best way to force Congress to address the problem Congress made.

elleng (28,152 posts) Profile Journal Send DU Mail Ignore

4. I HOPE the Unions think so; I doubt the Postal Service does,

from what I've seen of the Postmaster General. (I hope I'm wrong about him.)

THANKS for the history lesson. Maybe history WILL repeat!

boppers (15,239 posts) Profile Journal Send DU Mail Ignore

5. So, they should sue the lawyers?

happyslug (9,285 posts) Profile Journal Send DU Mail Ignore

6. If the Unions go on strike, the Court System will collapse.

Lawyers use the mail DAILY. Certain things MUST be done in very short time periods. If the Post Office shuts down, how do lawyers meet these deadlines? The answer is they do not,and the Court system will shut down. You can not resolve legal matters if you cannot exchange letters. Faxes and E-mail can do a good bit of this, but NOT with an ORIGINAL signature. That is what is needed and can NOT be done without the Post Office in most situation (I.e. out of town, sent to actual clients NOT in the central business district etc).

Lawyers will complain, so will the Judges who has to figure out a way to resolve the problem of no one able to exchange papers with original signatures.

Kingofalldems (8,272 posts) Profile Journal Send DU Mail Ignore

7. There won't be a strike---binding arbitration

Seedersandleechers (2,250 posts) Profile Journal Send DU Mail Ignore

9. Can't they use FedEx or UPS?

onehandle (28,110 posts) Profile Journal Send DU Mail Ignore

3. Stamps would be a bargain at twice that rate.

Orrex (33,288 posts) Profile Journal Send DU Mail Ignore

8. This actually saves me three cents per stamp, because I thought they were already $0.48 a piece

For that matter, I would be happy to pay a dollar for a first class stamp. It would still be worth it and far cheaper than sending via any private courier service.

[Rugnuts]

Stamps would be a bargain at twice that rate.

I would be happy to pay a dollar for a first class stamp. It would still be worth it and far cheaper than sending via any private courier service.

just like taxes, nothing stopping them from paying extra for stamps.
buy twenty stamps, throw ten away.

[ScubaGuy]

Star Member salvorhardin
14. Actually, if I were made king...

View profile
I'd make certain classes of snail mail free (bills, bill payments, legal papers, etc), jack up the price on all other mail including packages, and then task the post office with becoming the national ISP and providing inexpensive broadband in even the most rural of areas... if I were king.

I can see it now.  "What do you mean you need more than 1200 baud bandwidth??  We're the USPS and 1200 baud should be fine for $200 a month".

[delilahmused]

happyslug (9,285 posts) Profile Journal Send DU Mail Ignore

6. If the Unions go on strike, the Court System will collapse.

Lawyers use the mail DAILY. Certain things MUST be done in very short time periods. If the Post Office shuts down, how do lawyers meet these deadlines? The answer is they do not,and the Court system will shut down. You can not resolve legal matters if you cannot exchange letters. Faxes and E-mail can do a good bit of this, but NOT with an ORIGINAL signature. That is what is needed and can NOT be done without the Post Office in most situation (I.e. out of town, sent to actual clients NOT in the central business district etc).

Lawyers will complain, so will the Judges who has to figure out a way to resolve the problem of no one able to exchange papers with original signatures.

Evidently DUmmies have never heard of FedEx or UPS.

Cindie

[Celtic Rose]

Evidently DUmmies have never heard of FedEx or UPS.

Cindie

No kidding.  When I worked at a law firm, all documents were sent by Fed Ex.  We sent enough to get a fairly decent discount on shipping.  The government, however did use USPS for sending docs back, unless we provided them with a prepaid Fed Ex envelope. 

When we needed client signatures, we usually e-mailed the forms to the client, and had them print and return them, and they usually sprung for Fed Ex or UPS as well.  I always wondered about the clients who had an urgent case to be filed who returned forms via USPS first class, then chewed us out when it took 5 days for us to receive the docs.  Clients who were local often drove to our office to sign docs. 

[JohnnyReb]

What's the DUmmies beotching about? They have a union or two don't they?

[Rebel]

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hox-ni8geIw[/youtube]

[USA4ME]

Orrex

This actually saves me three cents per stamp, because I thought they were already $0.48 a piece.

Stamps go up a penny to $0.45, you thought they were $0.48 now, so you view that as having saved you money?

Really?

.

[Maxiest]

I can see it now.  "What do you mean you need more than 1200 baud bandwidth??  We're the USPS and 1200 baud should be fine for $200 a month".

And why in the hell would anyone in the world beside a DUmmie even think the idea of USPS offering internet is a good one?  The statement the DUmmie made would be equivalent to saying the DOD needs to open Hamburger joints.

[NHSparky]

Dear DUmmies,

Here's a wild idea--want to keep stamp prices down?

Quit subsidizing laziness.  Quit subsidizing bulk mailing rates.  Quit paying out huge retirement packages.

There's three things right there.

[zeitgeist]

in going through some old boxes the other day I found a penny postcard which had been scribbled on (and I may in fact be the guilty party  ).

I also found an  IKE three cent stamp ( yes, that is what it cost to send a letter once upon a time  ).

Later that day I watched as the post man trudged to my door to deliver a bulk advertisement.  That was all he had, a glossy bulk advertisement, which caused me to wonder who makes money off those things?  Certainly not the post office.   Bulk rate is little more than a subsidy.  And I don't care how many times I try to get Blair and other such catalogers stopped they keep coming back sometimes in quantities which cause the poor mail man to wear a truss.  Again bulk rate.  Make them pay first class postage and watch the decrease in volume.  I bet the mail man would be happy to just deliver letters and the few random packages that folk still send.


The other day on the way home I saw a mail man being shadowed by the postal compliance or whatever guy.  He was two hours early and I will presume did not take his normal 'break' at the corner store parking lot to read his book (yes, every day like clock work he spends time sitting reading a book so not to return to the distribution center too early).   I noted he was walking not driving as he normally does. 
 

This year I used a "private" post office to mail my Christmas cards and I bought my forever stamps at the the local discount store (for full price of course).  The same "private" post office had the flat rate boxes which I used to ship some delicate gifts.  Never went near the "real' post office.  It is in a lousy location with no parking and now a security guard (which may be to protect the surly clerks from unhappy customers, I really don't know)


 

[FiddyBeowulf]

Stamps go up a penny to $0.45, you thought they were $0.48 now, so you view that as having saved you money?

Really?

.

Explains the reasoning that more people on unemployment and food stamps helps the economy.  

[Rebel]

Explains the reasoning that more people on unemployment and food stamps helps the economy.  

Or when your wife comes back from shopping with a 600 dollar rug and explains to you that you actually saved 400 dollars because it was marked 40% off.

[Wineslob]

elleng (28,152 posts) Profile Journal Send DU Mail Ignore

1. Unfortunately, the unions are forced to negotiate with the wrong party;

SHOULD make demands of the Public.

Fixed it dimwit. Yup, I'd like to see them go to "Joe Public" and pull their Union bullshit.

Anyone still think Unions in the public sector are a good idea?

[jukin]

The Buggy Whip companies also kept raising prices to keep sales up.

[67 Rover]

And why in the hell would anyone in the world beside a DUmmie even think the idea of USPS offering internet is a good one?  The statement the DUmmie made would be equivalent to saying the DOD needs to open Hamburger joints.

Putting on my DUmmie cap an thinking the problem through for a moment its actually a brilliant plan.

Here is the scenario the USPS provides dial up internet to all 300+ million citizens and then it supplies endless AOL cd's weekly to all users thus increasing the amount of snail mail by an order of magnitude! USPS saved, Uncle Sam get's to monitor you,and it makes us less productive, Saul Alinsky would be proud.

[Celtic Rose]

I just bought a sheet of postage stamps on ebay for less than face value, I was happy, even if I did only save a about 20 cents    I enjoy writing and receiving letters.

[GOBUCKS]

I just bought a sheet of postage stamps on ebay for less than face value, I was happy, even if I did only save a about 20 cents    I enjoy writing and receiving letters.

I don't remember the last time I put a stamp on an envelope that didn't contain either a check or a Christmas card.

[docstew]

Stamps go up a penny to $0.45, you thought they were $0.48 now, so you view that as having saved you money?

Really?

.

Same way buying something only because it's 20% off saves money.

[Maxiest]

I don't remember the last time I put a stamp on an envelope that didn't contain either a check or a Christmas card.

Ditto!

Not only has USPS out lived its purpose, but they are a government agency that has out lived it's purpose making it twice a disaster.

They are operating on something like a 3.8 Billion dollar deficit.  If this were a privately owned company it would have been out of business along time ago.

[TVDOC]

Ditto!

Not only has USPS out lived its purpose, but they are a government agency that has out lived it's purpose making it twice a disaster.

They are operating on something like a 3.8 Billion dollar deficit.  If this were a privately owned company it would have been out of business along time ago.

It IS however, one of only two (non governing) federal entities that are specifically authorized by the Constitution......making its elimination somewhat more complex......

doc