APWU Urges PRC To Save Saturday Delivery at Memphis Field Hearing

APWU Assistant Clerk Craft Director Mike Morris urged the Postal Regulatory Commission to save six-day mail delivery at a Memphis, TN field hearing, testifying that the Postal Service’s proposal would “deprive citizens of their right to receive mail on Saturday, and would eliminate any justification for the Postal Service’s exclusive access to citizens’ mailboxes.”

Morris told the PRC on May 19 that eliminating Saturday delivery would be detrimental to the Postal Service. “There can be no real question that ending the USPS mailbox monopoly would destroy universal service at a uniform price,” he said in his testimony. 

Morris explained that by abolishing Saturday delivery, private couriers would fill the void in the more profitable locations, leaving the Postal Service to serve rural and poor communities, without the financial benefit of providing service to more lucrative areas.

As an example, he explained that while more affluent parts of Memphis would likely fare well under a private delivery system, poorer communities would most assuredly become underserved. “There are millions of Americans who live in these potentially underserved areas, and they also need to receive regular universal mail service,” he said.

The mere discussion of the elimination of Saturday delivery has cost the Postal Service revenue and volume that it cannot afford to lose, Morris said, as USPS attempts to generate support for five-day delivery has already caused businesses to experiment with alternate means of delivery.

“At a time when the USPS should be exploring every available avenue to increase volume and revenue, this seriously flawed PR offensive seems to be driving business away,” he said.

He urged the commission to reject the Postal Service’s proposal, saying it would “needlessly weaken the Postal Service, a very valuable and essential American institution.”

Other witnesses at the hearing included Linda Welch, Southeast Area Vice President for the USPS; Shri Green, Postal Supervisor and National Association of Postmasters Area Vice President; Joseph Adams, publisher of The Lebanon Democrat, Lebanon, TN; and representatives from International Paper Co., Star Route Contractors, Glenview Development Corporation, and members from local neighborhood associations.

Additional field hearings will take place in Chicago, Rapid City (SD), and will conclude in Buffalo, NY on June 28.