Posted on 02/09/2013 7:13:37 AM PST by Libloather
The U.S. Postal Service's decision to eliminate Saturday delivery could disproportionally hurt minority groups, according to Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), the ranking member on the House Oversight Committee.
"You're talking about just this reduction … from six days to five days will cut anywhere from 25,000 to 30,000 employees. And with regard to Asian, African-Americans, and Hispanics, they comprise about 40 percent of the Postal Service employees," Cummings told Melissa Harris-Perry on MSNBC Friday night. "So it's logical to believe if they were to lose that 30,000 jobs, easily 40 percent of them would be African-Americans, Hispanics, and Asian-Americans."
Cummings also pointed out that 40 percent of postal employees are female and warned that many are single mothers.
"So you have a lot of women, many of whom are single women — head of household, and they depend upon that decent wage, decent working conditions and benefits to take care of their families," he said. "So, yes, it would have a devastating effect in an economy that is already very, very fragile."
The U.S. Postal Service, which has been losing money for years due to decreased use, announced earlier this week that it would end normal Saturday delivery to save $2 billion in annual costs. Lawmakers have previously fought hard against such a change, and while there is resistance to the idea this time, the outcry hasn't been as loud.
The Senate passed a bill last year that would have forestalled the end of Saturday delivery for at least two years, but the bill stalled in the House.
Cummings admitted the service was struggling because more and more people were using the internet, and said "some downsizing" was necessary to match reality but that "there are all kinds of ways to achieve this without necessarily going through drastic measures."
"Basically, what the Congress needs to do is do a comprehensive bill whereby we have what we call an innovation officer, which is my idea. And that person would keep the Post Office as cutting edge of innovation and bringing in new ways to of making money," he said. "The other thing we`re going to have to do is we are going to have to do some downsizing. But when we downsize, we have to downsize with compassion. Keep in mind we have more than 100,000 people that are right now eligible to retire. And what we have to do now is make sure that they have a decent parachute to land. In other words, to give them some incentive money so they can go ahead and retire, and so that we can right-size the Post Office."
“... 40 percent of postal employees are female and warned that many are single mothers.”
This Affimative Action clown brings to mind the old headline: End of the World Is At Hand: Women and Minorities Most Affected.
Obviously, the USPS has been operating as a government make-work program. No wonder it’s sinking, with all this dead wood on board.
If you clowns would hire a competent CEO as Postmaster General and get the hell out of his way, my guess is the Post Office could show a PROFIT.
What these morons need to do is setup a USPS email system, force all citizens to use their system, and charge 10 cents for each email sent.
Don’t give them any ideas.
How about the white people who were turned down for those jobs in the first place because of their race? Oh, nobody cares about them.
Obviously, the USPS has been operating as a government make-work program. No wonder it’s sinking, with all this dead wood on board.
My thoughts exactly. No sympathy here. Shut it down for all I care.
Old news. Even last year there was serious discussion of alternating three day deliveries by neighborhood. Some people would get M-W-F delivery while others would get Tu-Th-S delivery.
Is there a single piece of first class mail that wouldn't be just as good the next day? If I need something delivered tomorrow, or even today, it goes electronically or by some express delivery, not first class. OK, you might get a birthday card a day late, but I get enough of those anyway with procrastinating relatives.
I disagree. It is a “make pay” program...not a “make work” program. I “worked” for a year in the postal service when younger after leaving the USMC. I got 13 holidays, 13 sick days and 6 weeks of vacay per year. If I had no self-respect it would have been quite of a “career”.
> WOMEN AND MINORITIES HIT HARDEST!
Hurts the very ones that voted for the Muslim King. Poetic justice. It’s gets more evident everyday that the left are starting to suffer the consequences of their own stupidity.
I knew someone on here had predicted this. Good one!
His is such a discriminate comment. Sounds like if the only jobs lost were white males then that’s OK, they don’t need their pay checks anyway.
Maybe if the post office would hire based on skills and merit instead of social engineering, it would not be going out of business. At Christmas when I had packages, I drove 9 miles each way to the post office in a certain colorless suburb. Walked right in, got served, walked out, and made it home in less time than it would have taken to stand in line for 45 minutes to an hour at the minority-staffed one 2 miles from home.
How’s that multiculturalism working for ya? Are less-able people being lifted up, gaining more education and culture, and making the most of greater opportunities? Or are less-able people dragging everything else down, slowing traffic, dumbing down services, speaking unitelligibly, lowering the tone of public manners, routinely engaging in petty crime and rule-breaking in the workplace, then crying discrimination?
The last thing unions believe in is innovation that increases productivity thereby decreasing membership. If they had their way we would still be using operators to connect our telephone calls.
That’s right. The USPS is a great big welfare program. Just like the IRS.
Post Office is NOT delivering mail in Red Hampshire today...NO ONE can recall the USPS wimping out on account of snow...
I am too. Wish we could use the 10 commandments as an example, short and straightforward.
(D-MD) ping...
Since any job cuts will be based upon lower seniority, only the old white guys will be left.
Government employees....meet reality. Kinda sucks, doesn’t it?
Hey Elijah, I know.... just layoff ‘white folks’. That will solve your problem!
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