OAKLAND, CA – The current economic downturn has affected every business in the country, including a direct affect on mail volume. The current economic decline is particularly challenging to the Postal Service as it experiences less mail collected and less mail delivered.
In order to manage during these hard economic times and remain viable, the Postal Service must make changes to its operations, staffing, and facilities to match current mail volume and to maintain the high service performance the American public has come to expect.
While working to minimize any inconvenience from the changes, it is possible that mail delivery to some addresses will be at a different time than residents have grown accustomed.
An unprecedented agreement signed recently with the National Association of Letter Carriers allows the Postal Service to move quickly to make these necessary changes.
“We are moving quickly to adjust carrier routes to respond to the current state of the economy,” said Bay-Valley District Manager Kim Fernandez. “Our goal is to keep mail affordable and to provide excellent service to our customers. That means we must preserve the ability to provide quality service at reasonable rates now and well into the future.”
During the first phase, starting Monday, Jan. 5, 2009, the following Bay-Valley District cities will have mail delivery routes adjusted: San Jose, Campbell, Los Gatos, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Hollister, Fremont, Union City, San Lorenzo, Alameda, Oakland, Pinole, Rodeo, Orinda, El Sobrante, Martinez, Vallejo, Lafayette, Walnut Creek, Alamo and Livermore. The route adjustment process will continue through Feb. 20, 2009, with more cities added.
Nationwide, the changes are expected to affect as many as 50 million addresses on 85,000 routes in every District within the Postal Service. The Bay-Valley District has 226 Post Offices/Stations and Branches and serves all or part of the counties of Alameda, Contra Costa, Napa, Solano, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Monterey, San Benito, San Joaquin, and Sacramento.
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An independent federal agency, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that visits every address in the nation — 146 million homes and businesses. It has 37,000 retail locations and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to pay for operating expenses, not tax dollars. The Postal Service has annual revenues of $75 billion and delivers nearly half the world’s mail.
