Cape Girardeau postal workers picket to save Saturday delivery

In an effort to save Saturday mail delivery, members of the local American Postal Workers Union talked with customers and distributed fliers Monday at Cape Girardeau's downtown post office on Frederick Street.

When people can't get their prescription medications, Saturday-edition periodicals or the latest DVD rental in their mailbox on Saturday, they'll turn to other higher priced delivery services, said Greg Davidson, president of the American Postal Workers Union Local 4088.

"Any short-term savings will be eclipsed by loss of revenue and have long-term consequences for the postal service," Davidson said. "Businesses are going to be affected, too."

According to the U.S. Postal Service's website, volume losses are leading to a projected $238 billion shortfall during the next decade.

The postal service is planning to stop Saturday delivery in fiscal year 2011, assuming Congress does not pass legislation to prevent the change in service.

Rep. Jo Ann Emerson, a Cape Girardeau Republican, is one of 246 co-sponsors of House Resolution 173, which opposes the postal service's plans to go to five-day delivery.

"It is largely symbolic in that it mostly just gives a position and doesn't actually create a law," Davidson said.

Emerson said the postal office has many cost cutting options that are better than eliminating Saturday mail delivery.

"They think five-day delivery is an easy way to solve their problem, but there are a lot of things they can do to become more efficient, starting from the top down," she said.

Emerson suggested reducing the 74 regional postal service offices to 53, one for each state and territory; and adopting a more lean management structure.

Monday's picket was part of a nationwide effort by the postal workers union to educate people on the consequences of stopping Saturday mail service.

Postal union members wouldn't immediately see any cuts in pay or job losses, but they fear those could happen in the future if Saturday delivery stops, Davidson said.

Stopping mail service on Saturdays will hurt businesses already struggling in a fragile economy, Davidson said.

But Mark Guilliams, owner of Direct Line Marketing and Premium Regional Mail in Jackson, said most of his customers do not want their advertising pieces arriving in mailboxes on Saturday anyway.

"I don't see a huge impact on advertising mail," Guilliams said. "They want it to arrive on Wednesday, Thursday or Friday before people have made their decisions for the weekend."

His clients that send out first-class mail, such as bills, would want those delivered as soon as possible, so stopping Saturday delivery would affect those customers differently than advertisers, Guilliams said.

"If it keeps our rates down, I'm all for it," he said. "Every time prices go up, it affects my customers."

Davidson said customers won't see any decrease in prices if Saturday delivery is dropped.

"People are telling us they want their Saturday mail," Davidson said. "They're paying for it anyway."

The U.S. Postal Service's financial troubles are the result of previous legislation requiring it to prefund future retiree health care costs, forcing it to start every year $5 billion in debt. The postal service also overpaid the Civil Service Retirement Fund $75 billion due to a flawed computing method, according to a postal workers union flier.

Legislation to repeal the prefunding mandate and a return the overpayment to the postal service would help the postal service get back into sound financial shape and eliminate the need to cut Saturday mail service, Davidson said.

mmiller@semissourian.com

388-3646

Pertinent address:

320 N. Frederick St., Cape Girardeau, MO