POSTAL LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF POSTAL SUPERVISORS
JUNE 1, 2007

NPA INCENTIVES CONTRIBUTED TO CHICAGO SERVICE PROBLEMS, NAPS AND PMG AGREE           

NAPS Chicago Branch 14 President Charles May told a Congressional field hearing in Chicago on Thursday that widespread postal service problems in Chicago – currently rated the worst in service quality in the nation -- were aggravated by USPS pay incentives that encourage managers and supervisors to avoid filling vacancies and to trim costs, even at the expense of service.   “The current pay-for-performance system financially rewards managers and supervisors for reducing costs, cutting work hours, and keeping vacant positions unfilled, despite the impact that such actions will have upon service quality,” May told the House panel at its hearing in downtown Chicago.   [To read Charles May’s complete hearing statement, click here.]

Postmaster General Jack Potter, who also testified at the Chicago hearing, acknowledged that Chicago postal managers “took a risk” and failed to properly balance budget needs against service demands, leading to sub-par service.  As a result, Potter told the Congressional panel, the  National Performance Assessment system’s unit and corporate priorities will be reviewed and retooled to give greater priority to service improvement than cost management goals.  NAPS and the postmaster organizations are currently engaged in pay consultation talks with the Postal Service, including review of the pay-for-performance framework.  For further details on the PMG's comments on the linkage of Chicago service problems to NPA, read this report from WBBM news radio.

Thursday’s Chicago field hearing was called by Rep. Danny Davis (D-IL), chairman of the House subcommittee that oversees the Postal Service, and whose Congressional district lies in Chicago.  A number of frustrated Chicago citizens, mailers, business owners, and local politicians complained at the hearing about lost and delayed mail, erratic service, and late night deliveries.  Problems have only worsened in recent months, they said.  In March, postal officials reported that 91 percent of letters mailed to other addresses within the city were delivered within a day, compared with the national average of 95 percent.

NAPS Chicago Branch 14 President Charles May, who serves as Maintenance Manager at the Cardiss Collins Processing and Distribution Center, one of the largest postal plants in the nation, told the House postal panel that the current situation in Chicago was a replay of the service downturn that the city suffered in the early 1990’s, when USPS upper management responded to service problems by directing additional resources and staffing, but then gradually withdrew them over time.  “Corners were cut and the signs of deterioration returned,” May said.  “Aging processing equipment was not replaced or sufficiently maintained, due to insufficient resources, both financial and human.  Not enough carriers were assigned to deliver the mail.  Vacancies were not filled in order to save money.  This caused service to spiral downward once again, creating the current situation,” May recounted.

In response to Chicago's woes, Postmaster General Potter, Chicago District Manager and Postmaster Gloria Tyson and other postal officials announced at the hearing that a series of USPS relief initiatives were underway, including increased carrier staffing, changes to the network of postal facilities that feed mail into and out of Chicago’s processing plants, equipment upgrades, and improvements in address system information to improve mail sorting.  Tyson said that more than 84,000 new or corrected addresses already have been entered into the Chicago system.  

Will these relief measures be enough to turn the tide?  “[T]he only way to help Chicago become successful and remain that way,” May told the Congressional panel, “is through commitment by the Postal Service to a sustained base of funding, providing proper staffing and the correct type of equipment in the Chicago District -- and then to not allow Chicago to return to where we are today.”  “The infusion of “real” resources needs to occur, not superficial ones,” May advised.



Rep. Danny Davis (D-IL) (left), chairman of the House Subcommittee on  Federal Workforce, Postal Service and the District of Columbia, and Charles May, president of  Chicago Alonzo  J. Jernigan - Branch 14,  National Association of Postal Supervisors, at the Chicago field hearing on postal delivery deficiencies.