ORLANDO, Fla. — There was a picket at the post office Monday. Postal workers rallied in Orlando, upset the Postal Service could stop delivering mail on Saturdays. It's an idea that upsets customers, too.
The Postal Service is in trouble. Last year alone, it lost $3.8 billion. One idea to save money is to cut delivery from six days a week to five.
Postal workers are worried the cut will mean job losses. That is one of the union's main concerns, although the Postal Service says it can get by without layoffs.
Cutting home delivery on Saturday could save big money every year.
"That's stupid, that's stupid!" protesters chanted.
Outside the post office on Curry Ford Road in Orlando, postal customer Daniel Gonzalez was upset when picketing postal workers told him about the plan to cut Saturday delivery.
"It's a bad idea and it should never happen," Gonzalez said.
The postal service is looking for ways to deal with changing times; online bill pay and e-mail are taking a chunk of business. Even regular mail advertisers are cutting back with the struggling economy.
"It's our position, what they're doing is wrong," said Victor Sanchez, Local Postal Carrier Union.
The union is concerned about jobs. It also believes Saturday delivery will kill the service and big businesses will start using private carriers. People who rely on medications and checks will be out of luck.
"If Monday is a holiday, they have to wait until Tuesday to receive mail," Sanchez said.
The United States Postal Service is trying to streamline business. The Postal Service says, by going to five-day delivery, it will save $3 billion a year; that's the equivalent of nearly $7 billion stamps.
The Postal Service expects more than half of its 600,000 employees to retire over the next 10 years. With veteran carriers making roughly $60,000 a year, the Postal Service believes trimming employees and going to five days means survival, even if some customers don't agree.
The Postal Service said it's working with unions to keep regular employees working, but contracted employees could lose work. Post offices will still remain open.
The union is urging Congress to pass a bill to stop it, but if that doesn't happen then Saturday delivery could end in October.
WFTV
