Save the US Postal Service

#176

This article explains what Biden did, but not why.

Biden stiff arms progressives on the Postal Service
BY PAUL STEIDLER, OPINION CONTRIBUTOR - 01/20/22 1:00 PM ET

President Biden has sent a clear message to progressives regarding the U.S. Postal Service (USPS): major change is out, and Trump fundraiser Louis DeJoy can stay as postmaster general for the next few years. He will lead 21 percent of the federal civilian workforce.

The president did this by nominating two highly impressive, accomplished public servants — Dan Tangherlini and Derek Kan — to serve on USPS’s Board of Governors, i.e., its board of directors.

The Board of Governors, not President Biden, has the authority to fire and hire the postmaster general. So, while Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), and dozens of members of Congress have demanded DeJoy be fired, he is staying in place.

With the likely confirmation of Tangherlini and Kan, Biden will have five nominees on the full board versus four from President Trump. But Kan is a Republican who worked in the Trump administration and for Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), making him unlikely to remove DeJoy. And at least two of Biden’s other confirmed nominees have shown no inclination to remove DeJoy.

https://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog ... l-service/

#177

Democrats can sometimes be very good at shooting themselves in the foot.

#178

AndyinPA wrote: ↑Wed Apr 06, 2022 7:22 pm Democrats can sometimes be very good at shooting themselves in the foot.

Clearly.

#179

Oh my, they relied on false numbers when they chose gas powered over electric. I’m so surprised.

Govt watchdog faults Postal Service analysis of new trucks

The U.S. Postal Service relied on false assumptions as it evaluated purchases of a new generation of delivery vehicles, a government watchdog said Tuesday.

Jill Naamane of the Government Accountability Office told a House hearing that a Postal Service analysis used to justify a mix of gas and electric vehicles overstated maintenance costs of electric vehicles and relied on gas prices that don’t reflect current price spikes.

While the Postal Service estimated in 2020 that gas would cost $2.21 to $2.36 per gallon, the national average in March was $4.24 per gallon, according to the AAA Gas Prices website.

The Postal Service also failed to account for lower gas mileage of gas-powered vehicles while using air-conditioning or place a premium on electric vehicles’ reduction of planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions, Naamane said.

https://apnews.com/article/technology-b ... 77609f231d

Volkonski · #180

Volkonski · #181

#182

And we are now in the 8th month of the USPO embargo against Australia

#183

keith wrote: ↑Tue Apr 19, 2022 7:59 pm And we are now in the 8th month of the USPO embargo against Australia

Someone needs to tell them covid is over!

Volkonski · #184

One day in November, a U.S. Postal Service mail carrier was walking his route in Brooklyn, New York, when he suddenly found himself in a harrowing situation.

While he was opening a mail storage box, a man rushed up and attempted to steal his arrow key, according to the New York City Police Department and an internal Postal Service alert. The keys, which are used to unlock mail collection boxes, are highly coveted by criminals seeking to steal mail.

The two men tussled with each other, but the assailant managed to run off with the key, police said.

The mail carrier took off after him, but the pursuit didn’t last long. The suspect pulled out a gun and opened fire — the bullet whizzing past the mailman, police said.

#185

: 6FDF6648-F2EC-4321-8DE2-7B7D56B5A451.jpeg (55.92 KiB) Viewed 1489 times

W. Kevin Vicklund · #186

I thought the podcast was Mailin' It In! And wasn't the plan Delivering America to Private Carriers?

#187

#188

Dang it.

U.S. Postal Service Finally Cuts a Check for Its Controversial New Mail Truck
The EPA didn't get its way, and now the first order of 50,000 vehicles has been placed with Oshkosh Defense.

The U.S. Postal Service has just submitted its first official order for a batch of over 50,000 controversial next-gen delivery vehicles (NGDV) from manufacturer Oshkosh Defense. While the order went ahead unchanged despite numerous last-minute criticisms levied by President Biden's administration and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), at least 20 percent of the first order of USPS NGDVs are slated to be zero-emission battery-electric vehicles.

Earlier this year, the EPA attempted to delay the Postal Service's completion of a deal with Oshkosh Defense to manufacture a bunch of replacements for the current aging fleet of Grumman LLV mail carrier vehicles. The EPA claimed the Postal Service failed to do a proper analysis of the new vehicle from Oshkosh Defense, which was chosen out of a small group of submissions from various international manufacturers and only offers marginal fuel efficiency improvements over the current fleet. They demanded more fuel-efficient, if not fully-electric vehicles that could deliver more performance than the winning Oshkosh NGDV.

Oshkosh Defense has previously secured other government contracts for military vehicles. Its NGDV design is available as either a combustion or battery-electric version, though the latter is more expensive. The combustion-engine model only offers a 0.4 mpg fuel efficiency gain over the outgoing mail truck, though it does offer a vastly more up-to-date, purpose-built design with the bonus of air conditioning (it gets an estimated 8.6 mpg with the AC running).

https://www.motortrend.com/news/usps-ng ... nse-order/

#189

8.6 mpg?????????????????

WTF? Is this 1956?

Jeebus Facaking Xristos

tek · #190

The drive cycle for a postal delivery vehicle is very very different from a passenger car drive cycle.
delivery vehicles spend most of their lives accelerating and braking.

Which, given regenerative braking, would make a hybrid or an electric a huge win.

#191

I've been meaning to catch the postie as he/she goes past my house to get a picture of what Aussie Post is using these days, but this article from last December explains it pretty well.

Australia Post To Switch From Honda CT110s To EV Trikes By 2025

And this from 2019. They ordered 1000 in February 2019, and another 1000 in October 2019. And I think a lot more since.

Australia Post orders a 1,000 more e-trikes from Kyburz

The EVs used in Australia drive at speeds with up to 45 kph and offer a range of up to 115 km. The load capacity is 120 kg or 270 kg with a trailer, according to the Kyburz website. Each of these e-trikes is equipped to transport over 100 small parcels and up to 1,200 letters. For small packages from online trading, Australia Post expects a 20% increase this year and a record flood of parcels states Kyburz in its press release.

Of course this doesn't mention that these trikes still do not carry American originated parcels because the USPO is STILL embargoing Australia (and New Zealand) as if its some kind of terrorist pariah state.

Also Australia Post General Manager Deliveries Queensland, Angela Creedon stressed the importance of the vehicles for the service. More so, the company “made modifications such as adding an overhead canopy, dash cams, a hydraulic seat, speed limiters, engine immobilisers and automatic storage locking systems, based on feedback from posties,” she said. Indeed, Kyburz offers a range of delivery trikes that can be adapted. All electric vehicles are made at the company’s facility in Embrach in the canton of Zurich.

However, the Swiss EVs are just one part of a more considerable electrification effort. The Australia Post began testing electric delivery vehicles back in 2017, and have since expanded the operation to all Australian states. Over the next three years, at least 5,980 light electric vehicles are to be deployed Down Under. This includes the roll-out of 4,000 new e-bikes.

Obviously, these trike aren't used in the outback hundreds of kilometres of dirt road from town or for large deliveries. But there is this coming on board for the larger deliveries.

AusPost introduces electric trucks to fleet

Wikipedia: Fuso eCanter

#192

Dropping this here because somehow Walmart and Amazon are figuring out how to use EVs, but our Post Office can't. Because SOMEBUNNY whose name rhymes with SHMOE HIDEN has chosen to not replace that asshole DeJoy. More at the link, but not included in what I clipped is that Amazon has already ordered 100k EVs.

The EV Wars Are On. It’s Amazon and Rivian Versus Walmart and Canoo.

The deal between Walmart and electric-vehicle start-up Canoo sent the latter’s stock soaring on the news this week. While the deal is a lifeline for a company struggling to make it to volume production, it also includes an interesting stipulation.

The agreement bars Canoo (ticker: GOEV) from selling EVs to Amazon.com (AMZN). That makes some sense: Amazon is aligned with electric truck maker Rivian Automotive (RIVN).

Canoo stock soared 53% in Tuesday trading after the company disclosed that Walmart ordered 4,500 of its delivery vans with an option to purchase 5,500 more. Walmart will used the EVs to help expand its e-commerce business.

“We’re thrilled to continue diversifying our last mile delivery fleet with Canoo’s unique and sustainably focused all-electric technology,” said David Guggina, Walmart’s senior vice president of innovation and automation, in a Tuesday news release. “By continuing to expand our last mile delivery …we’re able to provide customers and Walmart+ members with even more access to same-day deliveries while keeping costs low.”

https://www.barrons.com/articles/evs-am ... 1657721892

Oh yeah, BTW, DeJoy makes more than the president. He makes a base of $306k, but then they gave him some sweet gubmit gravy in the form of a $175k bonus last year, bringing his compensation to $486k. The president makes $400k.
(“The highest ever paid for the top job at USPS,” according to a Center for Public Integrity.)

#193

What what! This is what I’m talking about!

USPS will make 40% of its new trucks electric, up from 10%
Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s new push for EVs brings the agency closer to conforming with President Biden’s far-reaching climate goals

The announcement comes after 16 states, the District of Columbia, and four of the nation’s top environmental groups sued the mail agency in the spring to prevent the original purchase plan, or compel it to buy more electric trucks. Activists at a minimum want the Postal Service’s fleet to consist of at least 75 percent EVs, though the agency’s Office of Inspector General found that 95 percent of delivery routes are suitable for electrification.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business ... ic-trucks/

75-90% would be better, but 40% is still a lot better than the paltry 10% DeJoy tried to get away with.

tek · #194

40% will make a big difference.

#195

#196

So far past time for You're Fired for this guy.

#197

The Trump donor whom Biden can’t fire is running the U.S. Postal Service directly into the ground—just what everyone warned about when he was confirmed during the pandemic

Technology has afforded us the ability to connect with nearly anyone, anytime—and free of charge. But there’s just something nostalgic and tactile about receiving a letter or postcard via snail mail, whether it be a wedding invitation or postcard from a loved one far away.

But many also have a love-hate relationship with the United States Postal Service. Mail is lost, undelivered—or even returned, sometimes with a valid postmark and address. Indeed, “the Postal Service’s ability to provide acceptable service is an ongoing concern across the United States,” according to the Office of Inspector General for the United States Postal Service.

Yet USPS announced Tuesday a proposed 8% price hike for stamps, bringing the cost of a first-class mail forever stamp to $0.73. It’s just another sign of the unfavorable leadership of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, who was appointed by former President Donald Trump. DeJoy was a major Republican Party donor and Trump fundraiser—and was also the first postmaster general in two decades without prior USPS experience.

Under DeJoy, the USPS has been bleeding money. In the first quarter of fiscal 2024 alone, USPS reported a $2.1 billion net loss, more than double its $1 billion net loss during the same time period last year.

“Under DeJoy, USPS has not adequately been controlling labor costs, while quality of service has been going down and prices going up,” said Robert D. Atkinson, president of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, a think tank that specializes in productivity and innovation issues. “This is not sustainable, and the more prices go up the more volumes go down, until USPS hits a death spiral.”

But DeJoy, who was previously under investigation by the FBI in connection with past political fundraising, says he has a 10-year plan to revive the postal service. He’s been in his role since June 2020, and plans to serve his entire appointment. Plus, President Joe Biden doesn’t have the power to remove him from his post, despite how badly the agency is struggling.

“Get used to me,” DeJoy said in February 2021. The postmaster general is appointed by the Board of Governors of the Postal Service—and can only be dismissed by this group, not the president. However, the governors are appointed by the president, and in 2022, 83 public interest groups led by the Save the Post Office Coalition sent a letter to Biden urging him to nominate postal board of governors candidates who would hold DeJoy accountable for his “destructive leadership and advocate strongly for the expansion of USPS services.”

“The president’s nominees should provide a diversity of life experience to more accurately represent both the postal workforce and the nation overall—not just another rich white man like Louis DeJoy,” Porter McConnell, cofounder of the Save the Post Office Coalition, said in a statement.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/trump-do ... 56166.html

#198

Qondi @QondiNtini wrote: Wow!

Senator My Boo went all the way in on DeJoy

When he started off with his, “Did you get my letter?,” line of questioning I knew, and DeJoy knew, it was going to be fire and flames

#199

Matt Norambuena @MattNorambuena wrote: Hey Louis DeJoy, maybe come prepared next time you try to mess with Jacky Rosen’s post office.

Pro tip: A good start would be learning how to pronounce Nevada.

#200

We don’t say much here about Ossoff but that was good. My Boo?

Fogbow