Extended Hours for Holidays Planned at 5,000 Post Offices

More than 5,000 post offices across the country will be open weekends and some weekday evenings during the holiday season, Postmaster General Marvin T. Runyon Jr. announced Wednesday.

The holiday season hours will begin within two weeks and will vary from office to office. “We will be opening some offices on Saturday and even Sunday for the first time,” Runyon said. “And we will be keeping some open longer in the afternoons and evenings.”

Issuing his first progress report since taking office in July, Runyon also said drastic cost-cutting measures had produced the first operating surplus in years. As a result, the cost of a first-class stamp will be held at 29 cents at least through 1994, he said.

“Not long ago, we were concerned about breaking even in 1992, and we faced a potential deficit of $2 billion in 1993,” Runyon told his workers in a closed circuit television conference on Tuesday, the day before his public statement.

“The final numbers aren’t in yet, but we’re expecting to see an operating surplus for 1992 of about $500 million . . . and we’re in good position to break even in 1993, “ he said.

As a result, the postal service can avoid pushing its first-class rates to 35 cents, he said.

Runyon is proceeding with plans to reduce the size of the postal service by 30,000 workers, many of them mid-level managers. He said 46,000 workers took advantage of his offer of six-months’ pay in return for early retirement; some of them will be replaced.

The postal service will promote its holiday season service as faster and more pleasant. “We’re enlisting every employee as a ‘Rushbus” he said.

In keeping with that pledge, he said, 7,200 of the largest post offices will station a postal worker in the lobby to answer questions and otherwise assist customers in busy periods.

The postal service will also add transportation and other resources to ensure that last-minute holiday gifts and packages sent by Express Mail and Priority Mail arrive on time.

“In the next two weeks, we expect several major shippers to come back to the Postal Service,” Runyon said.