Shortly before David Steiner became Postmaster General, there was predictable speculation about what he will do and how he’ll make his mark on the Postal Service – for better or worse. As might be expected, there were a lot of suggestions being advanced; we offered these:
1.Pause the 10-Year Plan. What may have been a roadmap for necessary improvements became a dogma to be implemented zealously, without in-process evaluation or adjustment. Don’t be as antagonistically stubborn as Louis DeJoy.
2.Affirm that the purpose of the USPS is to provide a public service. Every other decision should be made accordingly. This is a case where you really can’t serve two masters.
3.Reject the notion that the USPS should – or can be – self-sustaining. Public institutions established to provide a public good are not businesses established to provide profits to investors. Restore a sensible balance between service and cost management.
4.Talk to Congress about the USO. In a time of less mail to be delivered to more places, the economics of the 1970s no longer work; the costs of the retail and delivery networks are no longer supportable by postage from a shrinking number of mail users.
5.Stop waving the public service appropriation. It’s “only” $460 million, but that’s better than nothing when you’re as far in the red as the USPS.
6.Fix service. Set challenging service targets and meet them, don’t just lower them until you can. Consider whether the “efficiency” of the “new” network is actually slowing service.
7.Accept that providing quality service – value for the ratepayer’s money – isn’t always efficient. Demonstrate that the USPS puts service first, even if doing so isn’t as “efficient” as possible. It’s ratepayers’ postage that pays your bills, so don’t keep asking them for more money without showing your service is worth it.
8.Be honest about service performance. Be truthful and transparent about service; mail users can tell when service is poor, and the Postal Service isn’t fooling anybody with all the service measurement machinations it’s adopted to produce prettier numbers. The calendar has no “day zero.”
9.Undo RTO. It’s the best example of efficiency overriding service. The impacted 47% of the US population (and 71% of ZIP Codes) shouldn’t be deprived of afternoon collections simply because where they live isn’t “efficient.” And those customers don’t care about your being “optimized.”
10.Rethink the network changes. The pre-DeJoy network may not have been as good as it could have been, but be sure that the replacement is really better. Restore air transportation (it’s more expensive but also a lot faster) and end the obsession with “full trucks.” Revalidate claims that investing billions will actually reduce costs and improve service.
11.Reread the PSRA’s requirement. The requirement is for an “integrated network for the delivery of market-dominant and competitive products.” It does not say that all mail has to be processed and transported together. Having Express Mail and direct mail ride together on the same “integrated” transportation (for the “efficiency” of “full trucks”) undermines service and product/price differentiation.
12.Return to an annual cycle of price changes. The major customers who generate the lion’s share of postage need predictability. Semi-annual changes don’t improve what the CPI and the “adders” yield, and only generate chaos for ratepayers, commercial mail producers, and postal and private software developers.
13.Recognize that the USPS exists to serve its customers, not the other way around. Customers are not the enemy. Listen to them, and work with those who produce and pay for mail; their experience can be enlightening. End the DeJoy era us-vs-them mentality that inhibited open, transparent, and mutually beneficial dialogue between USPS managers and the mailing industry.
14.Rethink personnel policies. In an era of declining volume, the USPS does not need to commit to more fixed-schedule employees when a more flexible workforce might be advisable. Reconsider locality pay scales; you get better workers and a more stable workforce when you pay as well as the competition.
15.Rework the functional management structure. DeJoy liked the internal tension caused by the management silos he established, but they cause finger-pointing, a lack of communication and cooperation, and undermine individual accountability. Implement cross-functional communication and shared goals. Give managers clear guidance, appropriate authority, and hold them accountable. And in all things be transparent.
16.Be skeptical of advice. Headquarters and the Board have factions advancing their own interests, which won’t necessarily be yours. Louis DeJoy’s apostles remain and continue to promote his Plan. Seek advice from all quarters, especially from the field and from ratepayers. Search for candor and objectivity, and value those with the experience to know of what they speak.
Others in the industry presented their own selections of ideas, so what we proposed wasn’t unique. Regardless, the common theme considered whether a new PMG means there will be new thinking and a departure from DeJoy’s Plan.
David Steiner came aboard in the midst of the Postal Service’s 250th anniversary celebrations, and he made good first impressions in social settings and when giving speeches. However, the jury is still out on what he’s going to do, and whether he’ll take our advice or anyone else’s – except from the DeJoy’s loyalists who are still in place.
Leo Raymond is Owner and Managing Director, Mailers Hub.
This article originally appeared in the September/October, 2025 issue of Mailing Systems Technology.
