More postal increases in January

[jesmelric]

Looks like more rate increases in January. Here's an article in Newsweek

www.newsweek.com/stamp-prices-2024-usps-may-increase-shipping-rates-january-1844212

[labbypaws]

They are driving away online buyers. I just think it is so expensive to ship briefcases and the like anymore. Even ground is over $20.

[val2525]

All the delivery services seem to do their price increases in January. Labor and fuel costs go up, so prices have to go up.

[Pantlandia]

Why can't anyone see (or admit) that one of the things hampering them is the funding of retirement for the grandchildren of employees that haven't even been hired yet. It is near peak time for one of the other carriers to start being more competitive on lower weight items. I've been happy with Ground Advantage, but that's going up too, despite being a new creation. At least it doesn't seem like Media Mail is going up again, probably not until July that is.

[val2525]

Since the USPS isn't a government agency, I've thought for years that they need to change to a standard 401K plan like their competition has. There is no obligation for USPS to offer a pension plan, which is insanely expensive for large companies. Congress shouldn't have it both ways. Either the USPS IS a government agency and Congress needs to fund them, or USPS is NOT a government agency and Congress needs to step back and disengage.

[denise15601]

And DeJoy should be fired. Yeah, I know that he can't be.

[val2525]

Nov 21, 2023 1:28:44 GMT denise15601 said:

And DeJoy should be fired. Yeah, I know that he can't be.

He can be removed. I think they need one more board member position filled and then there would be enough to toss him.

[denise15601]

I have lost track of all of the increases that he implemented. Moron.

[chapeaunoir]

The USPS hasn't made the required payments into the Retiree Health Benefits Fund (prefunding) since 2010. The prefunding has been repealed, since payments were not being made anyway, the difference has only been on paper.

Here's a bit more about it.

[val2525]

And its expenses are growing faster than its revenues, in part due to continuing declines in volume for First-Class Mail—its most profitable product.

I can't believe the USPS management didn't see the 1st class drop coming. Duh. Even a blind person could have seen that.

[val2525]

www.forbes.com/sites/ebauer/2020/04/14/post-office-pensions--some-key-myths-and-facts/?sh=6b59d79a47f5

And all of this begs the question. No one is talking about the fact that retiree medical for the USPS is so high because its workers don’t (necessarily) participate in Medicare fully; instead, they may choose not to sign up for Medicare Part B, leaving the USPS to pay these costs instead. But if Congress wants to fix this aspect of the USPS’s financing woes, a shift to Medicare and a reduction in USPS retiree healthcare benefits and costs has surely got to be a key first step.

I didn't know that. Interesting. Looks like it's changing next year:



apwu.org/news/psra-and-postal-retirees

We celebrated the April 6 passage of the 2022 Postal Service Reform Act (PSRA) after over 15 years of legislative activism, and we achieved this legislative success by working together for the good of all workers, retirees, and the public. 

The PSRA addresses the finances and operations of the U.S. Postal Service (USPS). This bill repeals the requirement that the USPS annually prepay future retirement health benefits, which created a liability the for USPS. It also requires the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to establish the Postal Service Health Benefits Program (PSHBP) within the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP), under which OPM may contract with carriers to offer health benefits plans for USPS employees and retirees. In addition, the bill also provides for coordinated enrollment of retirees under this program and Medicare.

Effective January 1, 2025 current postal employees who become Medicare eligible as retirees, will enroll in Medicare. Medicare then becomes their primary insurance and their postal-only FEHBP plan becomes their secondary insurance; these changes are projected to save the USPS nearly $50 billion over the next decade. All postal workers and postal retirees will be able to keep their current FEHBP and participate in the annual FEHBP open season.

Beginning April 1, 2024, during a six (6) month special enrollment period, those current postal retirees age 65 and over with Federal Employee Health Benefit Plan (FEHBP) who did not join Medicare Part B will be able to join Medicare B and have the “late enrollment” penalty waived.

[Pantlandia]

Looks like Media Mail is going up again. This basically puts a whole lot of smaller sellers out of business and lets the big ones that can negotiate prices with UPS rule the market. Another 21 cents to $4.13. I am going to ditch free shipping and start charging $3.99 with free shipping if 2 or more CDs are purchased. That will allow me to do what I've wanted to do and unlist everything and relist them all as new listings. I honestly may have to figure out something else to sell