The Postmaster General said he is optimistic about the future of the United States Postal Service and that his business is facing trying times just like any company right now. He added that they're trying to make responsible decisions in the face of big losses. In fact, they've lost 27 percent of mail volume.
Postal workers and their supporters are taking an aim at Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe and talking to companies that send a lot of mail about how to reach more customers. The postal workers are worried about the dismantling of the postal service, closures of smaller branches and the post service's plan to cut Saturday delivery service.
"We're bringing it to the public's attention that this is an issue and that we would like to save the post office, we'd like to keep our services, we'd like to keep our historic buildings," protestor Margot Smith said.
"Our people are very productive, they do a great job. We've never laid anybody off. We've allowed overtime to run up, so when we eliminate Saturday the overtime goes away, we've also used things like buyouts for our employees, never laid them off. I think we're a very responsible employer and we'll continue to do that," Donahoe said.
Meanwhile, the postal service is being criticized for spending $2 million over a four day period on the forum. However, Donahoe defends it by saying that the people attending the forum that rely on the USPS for business represent $22 billion in revenue. That's one-third of the postal service's revenue.
Congress is considering a move to try and bring back service on Saturdays, but it is unclear what they can do because the postal service doesn't receive federal appropriations, doesn't receive tax money and Donohoe said they never will.
