STITZER, Wis. -- In the routine world of the U.S. Postal Service, a little change can be a major disruption.
Though the unincorporated community's tiny outpost will remain open, Stitzer Post Office Postmaster Cheryl Budack can't help but feel left out of the process.
"It's going to have an impact on my office," Budack said of the change coming to the post office.
Starting today, Stitzer will relinquish its intermediate route to the Fennimore Post Office.
It's a change that effectively ends Stitzer's sorting center while maintaining a customer-service presence.
The move is the latest in a series of cost-saving measures enacted by the U.S. Postal Service, which experienced a third-quarter net loss of $2.4 billion.
The Postal Service blames the economic recession and a reduction in mail volume for the $1.6 billion decrease in third-quarter revenue.
Today's change in Stitzer and Fennimore means a reshuffling of duties in both offices.
Under the old system, a rural carrier would sort mail in Fennimore, allow Stitzer's
buyouts offered |
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In another cost-saving attempt, the U.S. Postal Service is offering an early-retirement or resignation package to 280,000 employees before the end of the fiscal year. The package was agreed upon between the Postal Service, the American Postal Workers Union and the National Postal Mail Handlers Union, according to a USPS press release. The offer, which is open until Sept. 30, is limited to the first 30,000 employees eligible to sign up. The incentive provides employees $10,000 for the first three months of FY2010, which begins Oct. 1, and a second payment of $5,000 in FY11. Richard Watkins, a U.S. Postal Service spokesman for the Western Region, based in Kansas City, Mo., said the expected buyout number is undetermined. "Do we expect that many to take it? Probably not," Watkins said. "There's really no way to tell." Watkins said the offer extends to part-time regular employees who work less than 40 hours per week and flexible part-time employees. |
Now, all mail will be sorted in Fennimore, and the two employees in Stitzer's office -- Budack and Postmaster Relief Lavon Foyt -- will continue to handle the usual product sales and maintain the P.O. boxes.
Fennimore Post Office Mike Audetat doesn't believe it will be a major change.
"It's really not much of a story," Audetat said. "It won't affect us too much."
Budack said the impact will be felt in Stitzer with lost revenue from the rural route. She didn't have an estimate on how much of a revenue shortfall will occur, however.
A similar measure already has been implemented in Jo Daviess County, Ill.
East Dubuque Postmaster John O'Shea told the TH in an Aug. 4 story that the Galena Post Office and his East Dubuque post will combine some services effective Oct. 1.
Richard Watkins, a U.S. Postal Service spokesman for the Western Region, based in Kansas City, Mo., said the service is reviewing all operations, from mail sorting to delivery retail, to find ways to cut costs.
But in a rural community, the post office is one of the social centers. Watkins understands the symbolism and place the post office has in a community, but the recession has left the postal service with no choice but to cut back.
"People see this as issue of identity in a community, as a place where people gather," he said. "We simply have to do the right thing, and this is the right thing to do. We are trying to be as transparent as we can."
Other cost-saving measures already have been enacted this year, including cutting more than 100 million work hours and freezing salaries of all Postal Service officers and executives.
Another option currently being discussed is switching to five-day delivery, which Congress has to approve.
"We're looking at that very seriously," Watkins said. "We've simply got to match the resources with the workload that's there."
Dubuque Post Office Postmaster Kevin Botsford could not be reached for comment for this story.
Several tri-state postmasters contacted by the TH declined comment.
