Skipping Saturday mail delivery suggested

Few things in life are as reliable or as taken for granted as Saturday delivery of the U.S. mail. Though much of the official world is closed for business, there is still hope for that longed-for college admission letter, the arrival of the No. 1 pick in your Netflix queue, the latest copy of the New Yorker. Or dread at having to slog through another pile of junk mail.

That could change.

In a move that was met with outrage in some quarters and glazed-over eyes in others, America’s postmaster general, John Potter, suggested Tuesday that the U.S. Postal Service may end Saturday mail delivery to help the money-hemorrhaging agency survive.

With the near-universality of e-mail, and electronic access to bill paying that has made stamped, outgoing mail a thing of the past in many households, people just aren’t sending and receiving as many letters as they used to. Add to that the popularity of services such as Federal Express and United Parcel Service, and it’s easy to see why the Postal Service is feeling under siege in changing times. “We’re delivering fewer pieces of mail to more and more addresses every year,” said Los Angeles Postal Service spokesman Rich Maher. “Something’s gotta give.”

The Postal Service, which claims to be the most trusted government agency in the country five years running (ahead of the Federal Trade Commission, the Bureau of Consumer Protection, the Census Bureau and the IRS, in that order), serves 150 million homes and businesses and delivers half of the world’s mail.

Relying only on its revenue of $75 billion per year, it has not received government subsidies for decades. This year, it is projecting a shortfall of $7 billion, and expects to lose $238 billion over the next decade. Dropping Saturday delivery, the lightest mail day of the week, would save an estimated $40 billion over 10 years.

The numbers would daunt any enterprise: In 2006, customers mailed 213 billion pieces. By 2009, that number had dropped to 177 billion, according to the Postal Service. Only 6,000 of 32,000 post offices make money.

For some people, the whole concept of “snail mail” -- like writing the checks that used to fill those first-class envelopes -- is a relic.

“We don’t really do mail,” said 26-year-old Jennifer Wunderlin, who was standing in the Van Nuys post office, her first visit in about five years. “But some people count on that stuff.”

Others, such as John Scott, 61, chief financial officer of Little Giraffe, a company that makes baby blankets, said the move isn’t unwarranted because Saturday isn’t a busy mail day.

“From a business point of view, it makes sense,” he said. “From a personal point of view, there could be some inconvenience.”

Letter carriers, those stalwarts who, like the newspaper delivery boy of old, are the human link between customer and institution, are opposed to ending Saturday service.

“I do not believe that weakening our commitment of six-day service to the public will enhance the long-term position of the Postal Service as a critical element in our nation’s economic infrastructure,” Fredric Rolando, president of the National Assn. of Letter Carriers, said in a statement.

Rolando called on Congress to restore what he said were $75 billion in pension overcharges to the Postal Service to give the agency “financial breathing room” to develop a plan that would not sacrifice a delivery day. The union also supports a proposed change in the way the Postal Service funds health benefits for retirees that could save $50 billion over 10 years.

Union contracts do not permit the Postal Service to lay off workers, so officials are focusing on shrinking the workforce through attrition. Over the last 10 years, the workforce has been reduced 25% through attrition, early retirement incentives and technological efficiencies.

While Postmaster General Potter can propose changes to the mail delivery system and other operations, ultimate authority lies with Congress, which has shown little inclination in the past to eliminate Saturday deliveries.

“I think there’s going to be a great deal of negotiation, a lot of haggling, if you will, before plans are actually set in stone,” said Rep. Danny K. Davis (D-Ill.), who is on the House committee that oversees the Postal Service.

Even if Saturday service is eliminated, it could always be maintained for special services such as Express Mail or restored during times of heavy volume, such as the holidays, said Postal Service spokesman Maher.

What some may not realize, Maher said, is that although services such as FedEx and UPS are considered competitors that have cut into the Postal Service’s revenue, the companies frequently operate as partners with the government.

For instance, the Postal Service often delivers FedEx and UPS packages “the last mile” to hard-to-reach areas -- Saturdays included.

Miguel Maldonado, 43, who has walked the same Van Nuys neighborhoods for 17 years, said that these days, his load is lighter.

“All the invitations that used to go by mail are now e-vite,” he said. Except, he said, for one tradition: the rite of mailing wedding invitations.

robin.abcarian@ latimes.com

kim.geiger@latimes.com

Times staff writer Nicole Santa Cruz contributed to this report from Los Angeles.