The U.S. Postal Service’s business model is not sustainable, and union-backed generous employee benefits along with collective bargaining contracts are a big part of the problem, according to a report by the Government Accountability Office.
As mail volume has plummeted by 17 percent – or by 36 billion pieces – in the past three years, collective bargaining contracts have forced the Postal Service to keep full-time employees with full health and retirement benefits and preclude outsourcing of services.
Although I am a union supporter, this is one area that concerns me.
A union needs to work with the employer and get fair wages and benefits for their employees, but to demand more than a company, or in this case the government, can give is suicide, both for the company and its employees.