Speak Out: When Was the Last Time You Used The Post Office?

The U.S. Postal Service announced it was getting rid of Saturday first-class mail delivery by Aug. 1.

As Patch has reported, the plan to go to a five-day schedule would only affect first-class mail. Packages, mail-order medicines and priority and express mail would still be delivered on Saturdays. Local post offices will still be open for business on Saturdays, too.

News of the pending demise of Saturday mail delivery got me thinking—when was the last time I mailed something that wasn’t a bill? Actually, when was the last time I actually mailed a bill— or anything for that matter?

Statistics from the U.S. Postal Service might suggest that I might be part of the problem.

Reasons cited for cutting Saturday service included “continued economic struggles” and the increasing use of the Internet for communications and bill paying by consumers. The U.S. Postal Service is also the only federal agency required to pre-fund health benefits for retirees.

Eliminating Saturday mail would amount to a $2 billion savings each year.

In an email to Patch on Wednesday, USPS spokeswoman Andrea Burrows said the post office was still working out details with its workers:

"USPS will be working with the various labor organizations that represent our carriers and clerks to iron out the specifics of how this will impact our workforce. Since the announcement was made at 10 [a.m.] today, there is still work to be done regarding the full implementation. At this time, it’s business as usual and postal employees can be assured, the Postal Service will continue to abide by all contracts."

She said the post office in Germantown employs 87 people and has 50 routes.

The news comes as the U.S. Postal service enters phase two of consolidating its 461 processing locations, including the Suburban MD Annex in Gaithersburg—a move the agency projects would save $20 billion by 2015.

The Germantown office was spared from the U.S. Postal Service's watch list when it was pondering whether to close 40 Maryland locations in 2011, Colesville Patch has reported.

SPEAK OUT: Considering all of that, Patch asks, when was the last time you used the post office to mail something that was not a bill or business related? Please post your comments below.