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Subscribe to RSSThe TODAY anchors, along with Jenna Bush Hager, chat about the hot topics of the day, including the struggling U.S. postal service's recent announcement that they will sell a new line of all-weather apparel and accessories called "Rain Heat & Snow."
Next time you brave snow or rain or gloom of night, you might want to don a parka from the U.S. Postal Service.
The cash-strapped Postal Service on Tuesday announced a licensing deal with an Ohio-based clothing company to produce a line of apparel dubbed “Rain Heat & Snow.”
Fashion apparel company Wahconah Group, based in Cleveland, will create a line of clothing and accessories for men, with future plans for a women’s line.
Earlier this month, the financially struggling Postal Service recently announced plans to end Saturday delivery of first-class mail and posted a $1.3 billion quarterly loss.
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How is a clothing line suppose to save the USPS? Good idea but its arrived a bit late. Any hoo, if the clothes are well made and economical then people will buy them for as long as the service is available.
The thing I would buy are good quality tshirts with the designs from interesting stamps. If you go on their website, there are lovely stamps that your local post office will never have and that would make great designs on a tshirt. My current favorites are the earthscapes.
You can thank the idiots in Congress for creating this mess. They forced the USPS to pre-fund retirements to the tune of billions. My hard-working carrier is working into the night because of layoffs.
What a waste of our tax dollars. Fire whoever came up with this stupid idea.
No tax dollars involved!
And they can sign contracts with retailers and online companies to deliver products to comsumers.
Hmmm...wonder if it will be made in China.
Well, China is the only place they can get it cheap.
Now you can dress like Cliff Clavin and Newman!
Wow, haven't heard those names for years. And now I have the stupid CHEERS themesong playing in my head.
Sad. A very high percentage of postal workers are retired military.
On the other hand, I can't wait to me some of those shorts and a pith helmet.
Seriously?? Im gonna run right out and at that to my current wardrobe.. Please!! If the public saw the "stylish clothing" that is available for purchase for those who have clothing allowances, they would think twice about purchasing any clothing. Donahoe, you need to find another lucrative way to make money, clothes aint it!
I thinking the clothing line only works for successful people or organizations. Not going to be much demand for postal wear except maybe at Halloween parties.
Isn't there some sort of a rule about government competing with private enterprise?
Reduce the pension obligation from 75 years to 20 years. Increase the price of a stamp to $.50 (still a great deal). Increase prices for "junk" mail. Evaluate where offices are redundant and close some. PROBLEM SOLVED!!!
The USPS problems will never be solved only delayed.
If they sell this stuff on Saturdays and Sundays, I am going to be really, really PO'd.
Why shouldn't the USPS sell clothes? Walmart sells stamps, right?
The problem is that in order to buy a parka, one would actually have to go to the post office.
I'm excited! If the postal clothes are a hit..I'm sure congress will follow thru with their own line to solve the budget crisis.....then all of us can look as fashionable as those "inside the beltway"......hahahahhahahaha
Seriously....you can smell desperation all over this! How about solving your real issues instead of wasting more money on this!
There are so many small changes the the PO can do to make themselves more profitable...and yes making changes without congresses approval is technically against the law.....but in the end, no one will prosecute you for saving a sinking ship! To the Postmaster General...."Just be like Nike and Do It!!" Make the nessessary changes....let congress whine about it later.
It is quite obvious that those that comment on the retirement packages of postal workers know little of what they speak.
Please just do your job, clothes you gotta be joking
USPS is the only american co. that has to pre-fund their retirement and health benefits for the next 50-75 years. Nothing but lies coming from postal management. The PMG and Congress are hell bent on getting rid of one of the biggest unions in the world. When we did make money it suddenly disappeared from the books only to wind up helping to balance the books in Wash.Remember Scott Walker and all the rest of the newly elected officials? They had an agenda...bust the unions. There is a anti-union movement stay tuned there is more to come. I wonder what Benjamin Franklin would say!
It took USPS 15 days to deliver a DVD from Microsoft Distribution in Louisville, Ky, to me in Richmond, VA. 15 days! My wife's family lives in Louisville. The drive is only 10 hours, with stopping time. 15 days delivery time is pathetic. I could care less if USPS dies. UPS can get orders to me in three days max from California and Miami. 15 days for a DVD is absurd! What's wrong with USPS?
In keeping with the diligent and productive work ethic of the typical USPS employee, I suggest that their first item of clothing be USPS-brand footed pajamas.
This is criminally insane and demonstrates the desire of USPS upper management to destroy a low cost and effective postal service.
The USPS is mandated by congress to pre-fund 75 years of retirement and benefits for employees. These billions are then used by congress not for USPS benefits, but for their own special interests and accounting issues.
The USPS has also massively overpaid into this fund and congress refuses to release the USPS from payment obligations to correct the error.
The current Postmaster General, Pat Donahoe, is nothing but a shill working for those industries that would profit from privatization. This will result in first-class mail costs in line with other postal services around the world. When this agenda is ultimately fulfilled, the price of a first-class stamp will cost upwards of $1.30 and delivery will be limited only to cost-effective locations.
I am laughing at all of your comments - this has to be a joke. Really. I am an expat that lives in Germany and for some reason the postal service here seems to run just fine. They sell office supplies, they have a bank and the offices are clean. Fedex and UPS also work over here just I don't get what the deal is. Maybe it's privatized to a certain degree, I don't know.
To the poster that has a grandchild that wants to grow up and be a postal worker, I'm not sure if you're kidding or not but you might want to steer her in a different direction.
I was hoping that the new clothing line industry the post office is undertaking would take care of their deficient so that they wouldn't have to discontinue Saturday delivery of mail. Hopefully, the new clothing they will be selling will be of good quality and will be cheaper than the competition to make it worth their effort.
I don't think anyone necessarily advocates closing down the USPS, because mail delivery is an integral part of our nations infrastructure and as such the delivery of mail must continue unless or until our world changes to the point where printing on dead wood becomes so "Neanderthal".
Congress will never relinquish control of the USPS because of it's "deficit reducing" ability, so any thoughts of privatization are out the door unless a coup d'état occurs which really isn't such a bad idea. Just simply secede from government control. Declare your independence!
Whatever the answer to the USPS debacle, one thing I'm sure of:
SELLING CLOTHING AIN'T GONNA' FIX IT !!