Sending a letter across town on a Friday in Mexico could take as long as four days, if the U.S. Postal Service adjusts its current work schedule – which will likely cut Saturday delivery.
The USPS will formally request this month that mail be delivered five days a week instead of the current six days – a measure that requires an act of Congress.
If the proposal gains approval, Gateway District Postal Service officials said Wednesday that post offices would still remain open on Saturdays. The letter carriers just would not make home or business deliveries on that day. If passed, the five-day delivery would probably go into effect in 2011.
USPS is also proposing to eliminate its current prepaid retiree health benefits, and replace it with a program similar to the civil service retirement – which is a pay-as-you-go system.
"Flexibility is what the postal service needs," said Valerie Hughes, a spokesperson for the Gateway District Postal Service. "The postal service has been part of the fabric of America over 230 years, and we've adapted through the changes in history, along with customers’ changing needs and the changing environment.
"That's all the service can do now; try to adapt to the changes."
The two most cost-effective ways to do that, Hughes said, are to eliminate a day of delivery and the agency's prepaid retiree health benefits – which alone will cut $90 billion in costs over the next 10 years
According to Hughes, USPS has overpaid its current prepaid plan.
Postmaster General John E. Potter told a Senate committee last year that this move is critical to reducing the agency's massive debt. Cutting a delivery day each week – while inconvenient for customers and postal employees – is the most logical next step.
The USPS posted a $3.8 billion loss in its 2009 fiscal year, and on Tuesday, announced that it will incur about $238 billion in losses in the next 10 years. Mail volume also was down 12.7 percent for the year – a trend the agency expects to continue over the next decade as more consumers opt for online bill payments and message delivery.
The Mexico Post Office has not had to enforce any major changes or make any drastic cuts to date – but it could happen down the road, local officials said.
Editor's Note: CNNMoney.com and staff writer Annalyn Censky contributed to this article.
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Sending a letter across town on a Friday in Mexico could take as long as four days, if the U.S. Postal Service adjusts its current work schedule – which will likely cut Saturday delivery.
The USPS will formally request this month that mail be delivered five days a week instead of the current six days – a measure that requires an act of Congress.
If the proposal gains approval, Gateway District Postal Service officials said Wednesday that post offices would still remain open on Saturdays. The letter carriers just would not make home or business deliveries on that day. If passed, the five-day delivery would probably go into effect in 2011.
USPS is also proposing to eliminate its current prepaid retiree health benefits, and replace it with a program similar to the civil service retirement – which is a pay-as-you-go system.
"Flexibility is what the postal service needs," said Valerie Hughes, a spokesperson for the Gateway District Postal Service. "The postal service has been part of the fabric of America over 230 years, and we've adapted through the changes in history, along with customers’ changing needs and the changing environment.
"That's all the service can do now; try to adapt to the changes."
The two most cost-effective ways to do that, Hughes said, are to eliminate a day of delivery and the agency's prepaid retiree health benefits – which alone will cut $90 billion in costs over the next 10 years
According to Hughes, USPS has overpaid its current prepaid plan.
Postmaster General John E. Potter told a Senate committee last year that this move is critical to reducing the agency's massive debt. Cutting a delivery day each week – while inconvenient for customers and postal employees – is the most logical next step.
The USPS posted a $3.8 billion loss in its 2009 fiscal year, and on Tuesday, announced that it will incur about $238 billion in losses in the next 10 years. Mail volume also was down 12.7 percent for the year – a trend the agency expects to continue over the next decade as more consumers opt for online bill payments and message delivery.
The Mexico Post Office has not had to enforce any major changes or make any drastic cuts to date – but it could happen down the road, local officials said.
Editor's Note: CNNMoney.com and staff writer Annalyn Censky contributed to this article.
