@JustPassinThru
The union in this case has almost nothing to do with it. They are treading water as fast as they can,just trying to stay alive. I am no fan of unions myself and refused to join the PO union when I worked there,but this is one of the rare cases where they have almost no influence.
Once again,the problem is it is controlled by political appointees and the politicians that appointed them.
I know fully-well how useless are most unions. I was a BLE-Teamsters member for eighteen years.
I ALSO know how much the useless politicized union leadership cultivates fear and resistance to any sort of change. I understand resisting hourly cuts, or new organizations that would eliminate positions - but just the mindless, reflexive knee-jerk resistance to any sort of working-smarter.
In railroading, they fought the elimination of five-man crews...for fifty years, successfully. Until it was SO obviously featherbedding, that the union was finally overwhelmed; and what could have been gradual, adaptive change, became sudden life-changing change, with men on the street.
I don't need to be under a mail sack to know that three delivery stops a week is less expensive than six. I also don't need to be under a mail sack to know that the daily mail haul will then be heavier. And I also know that routes can be redrawn to accommodate the greater every-other-day volume. Unless, of course, the union sabotages it.
But, you see? All kinds of knee-jerking...what we need are BLUE RIBBON COMMISSIONS, MORE politics, special investigators, more pay, more perks, Safe Spaces with puppies and coloring books...THAT'S how we reform the Post Office!
As I said above: The open-minded reader can see now, why the Trump people aren't wasting time on this insolvable mess. It will have to collapse before changes happen - as the American railroad system was driven to financial collapse, with the bankruptcy of several major lines and near-insolvency of others.
So...let this cuckoo structure collapse. Out of it, we can maybe privatize mail delivery. The Postal Service can be an oversight and governing agency.