Denver–Much attention in the opening session of the National Postal Forum here on Oct. 15 centered around transforming, reforming, and preserving the safety of the U.S. Postal Service. In his opening address, Postmaster General Jack Potter announced the formation of a USPS task force to examine mail safety in the wake of the recent findings of anthrax in a series of mysterious letters. “We have to tell America that the mail is safe; we’re doing all we can to keep it safe,” he said.
The agency is already projecting a $1.35 billion loss in fiscal 2002. But to show how USPS management has tried to cut costs, Potter pointed out recent changes such as a 20% reduction in postal headquarters positions, the elimination of 21,000 postal jobs during the past two years, and plans for the elimination of another 13,000 positions during the next couple of years. He delivered all the news with the promise that “this will not affect delivery performance.”
Potter introduced other top postal officials during his presentation. Among them, USPS board of governors vice chairman David Fineman stole the show for a few minutes with his urgent call for postal reform. “We have to stop being part of an intellectual enterprise and push for real incremental reform,” he said. “The rate case structure is not a way to conduct business–it doesn’t make a lot of sense.”