If you’ve ever wondered why your mail takes a little longer or why the post office always seems to be in the middle of a political fistfight, you’ve basically got to look at the era of Patrick Donahoe. He was the 73rd Postmaster General, a guy who started as a clerk in Pittsburgh back in 1975 and worked his way to the very top.
He took the reins in 2011. The timing? Honestly, it was brutal.
The Great Recession had just gutted the economy. Everyone was ditching paper letters for Facebook and Gmail. To make matters worse, a 2006 law was forcing the USPS to prepay billions into a retiree health fund—money they simply didn't have. Donahoe stepped into a storm, and depending on who you ask, he was either the guy trying to save a sinking ship or the one drilling holes in the hull.
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The Pittsburgh Clerk Who Ran the Show
Patrick Donahoe isn't some corporate raider brought in from a hedge fund. He's a "lifer."
His uncle, Bob Burke, was a mail carrier who told young Patrick to take the postal exam. He did. For 35 years, he climbed every rung of the ladder. He managed vehicle maintenance. He ran human resources. By the time he became the Postmaster General (PMG), he knew where every bolt in every mail truck was located.
But knowing the system and being able to fix its finances are two very different things.
When he took over from Jack Potter, the USPS was bleeding cash. We aren't talking about a small deficit. We are talking about $5 billion a year in losses. Donahoe’s philosophy was pretty straightforward: the USPS had to act like a business because, legally, it was supposed to be self-sufficient.
Why the "Five-Day Delivery" Plan Blew Up
One of the biggest things people remember about Patrick Donahoe was his attempt to kill Saturday mail.
In early 2013, he dropped a bombshell. He announced that the Postal Service would stop delivering first-class mail on Saturdays to save about $2 billion a year. He figured people wouldn't mind as long as packages still showed up.
He was wrong.
The blowback was instant. Unions hated it. Congress—which technically doesn't fund the USPS but loves to control it—freaked out. Lawmakers eventually blocked the move through an appropriations bill. It was a classic example of the "postal trap": the PMG is expected to fix the budget but isn't allowed to cut the services that cause the deficit.
What Most People Get Wrong About the Donahoe Era
You’ll often hear that Donahoe "downsized" the USPS into oblivion. It’s true he closed about 200 mail processing centers and reduced the workforce by tens of thousands of people.
But here’s the kicker: he did it without a single layoff.
Basically, he used attrition. When people retired, he just didn't hire a replacement. He shrunk the career headcount from around 550,000 to 485,000. It saved billions. Was it painful for the remaining workers? Absolutely. Was it necessary for survival? Donahoe certainly thought so.
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He also saw the writing on the wall regarding the "Package Revolution."
- He partnered with eBay and Amazon when others were still mourning the death of the handwritten letter.
- He launched Every Door Direct Mail (EDDM), which made it cheap for small businesses to spam your mailbox with flyers (good for revenue, maybe annoying for you).
- He introduced Sunday delivery for packages. This was a massive shift in postal culture.
The Retiree Health Benefit Mandate
You can't talk about Patrick Donahoe without mentioning the "absurd mandate." That’s what he called it, anyway.
The Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act (PAEA) of 2006 required the USPS to pre-fund 75 years of retiree health benefits in just a decade. No other government agency or private company has to do this. It’s weird. It’s irrational.
By his final years, Donahoe was incredibly vocal about how this mandate was the primary reason the USPS looked "broke" on paper. He spent a lot of time in front of Congress essentially saying, "You’re making us fail."
The Farewell and the Legacy
When Patrick Donahoe retired in February 2015, he didn't go quietly.
In a now-famous farewell speech at the National Press Club, he basically took a flamethrower to everyone. He slammed Congress for gridlock. He called out the unions for being "myopic." He even poked at the mailing industry for wanting low prices without allowing the USPS to innovate.
He was succeeded by Megan Brennan, the first female Postmaster General, who inherited many of the same headaches.
Where is he now?
After leaving the public sector, Donahoe didn't just go play golf. He stayed in the "paper" world. He joined the board of SG360°, a massive marketing and direct mail firm. He also became the chairman of Postal Realty Trust, a real estate investment trust (REIT) that actually owns the buildings leased to the USPS.
It’s a bit full circle, right? The guy who spent 40 years inside the buildings now helps manage the company that owns them.
Actionable Insights: What This Means for You
Understanding the Patrick Donahoe era helps you navigate the modern postal landscape. If you're a business owner or someone who relies on the mail, here is the reality of the post-Donahoe world:
- Package Priority is King: The shift Donahoe started is permanent. The USPS is no longer a "letter" company; it is a "logistics" company. Expect more focus on tracking and speed for boxes, not envelopes.
- Rate Hikes are the New Normal: Because the legislative "fixes" Donahoe begged for didn't happen in time, the USPS now uses "frequent and predictable" price increases to keep up with inflation.
- Service Standards Vary: The consolidation of processing centers means your mail might travel 100 miles away just to be sorted and sent back to the house next door. Factor in extra "buffer days" for anything time-sensitive.
- Watch the REITs: If you’re an investor, looking into companies like Postal Realty Trust gives you a different way to play the "government-backed" real estate market without actually dealing with the USPS's internal politics.
Patrick Donahoe’s tenure was a masterclass in trying to modernize a massive, slow-moving bureaucracy during a digital revolution. Whether you think he was a reformer or a cutter, he fundamentally changed how the mail works in America.
Next time you see a USPS truck on a Sunday, remember—that started with him.