Patrick Donahoe has been officially sworn in as the 73rd Postmaster General of the United Statesannouncing a new partnership with eBay as part of the company’s strategy to generate more
revenues.The new head of the US postal operator pledged to return the company to profitability andcontinue to provide high levels of customer service. “I am confident that we will emerge as aprofitable, market-responsive organisation that competes for customers and delivers even greatervalue to the American people,” Donahoe said.
Last week, USPS signed a new, five-year contract with eBay to provide online tools and marketingprogrammes to help millions of small businesses grow through the use of direct mail, whileproviding some of the best shipping prices to fulfill new customer orders.
“Our alliance with eBay continues to strengthen and grow. This new contract builds on the trustthe eBay community has invested in us as their leading shipper of choice,” Donahoe explained.
Donahoe, who was appointed Postmaster General in October 2010 and took over from Jack Potter onDecember 7, reiterated his commitment to working with the US Congress and the Administration,citing ongoing conversations with both the federal offices of Personnel Management (OPM) and BudgetManagement (OMB) to recover $6.9 billion that the Postal Service has overpaid the Federal EmployeeRetirement System. There is a provision in legislation currently sponsored by Senator Susan Collinsto address the overpayment. Donahoe encouraged Congress to support the Collins bill and the POSTAct introduced by Senator Tom Carper.
“We are looking for every opportunity to control costs and raise revenue. We will do everythingwe can to ensure that money can be used by the Postal Service to prefund retiree health care or paydown debt and avoid repeating the situation we found ourselves in with CSRS and prefunding retireehealth benefits,” he added.
Donahoe, who had been Deputy Postmaster General since 2005, and his service team are creditedwith regularly exceeding demanding performance goals and setting new records for on-time deliveryand operational efficiency.
Despite the challenges USPS is currently facing, Donahoe said his belief in postal employees andthe future of the Postal Service remains strong. “Our employees have been and always will be ourgreatest asset and our greatest strength. We are the indispensible means of delivery today, and ourchallenge is to make sure we remain the indispensible means of delivery far into the future,” heconcluded.
