Megan Brennan to be first female postmaster general

WASHINGTON, Nov. 14 (UPI) -- Megan Brennan, current chief operating officer of the U.S. Postal Service, will be the first female postmaster general, USPS announced Friday.

The appointment was announced along with the announcement of current Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe's retirement.

"Pat was the calm in the financial storm," said Mickey D. Barnett, chairman of the board, in a statement. "He ignored the naysayers and went forward with his team and built a comprehensive plan for the future of the organization, made tough decisions, and executed against those decisions."

Brennan said she was "deeply honored and humbled to take on this role."

The postal service is in financial crisis due to the digital age of email and services like UPS and Fedex taking over package delivery, causing layoffs and reduced hours and benefits for workers.

"We hope that the next Postmaster General will reverse Donahoe's policies of lowering standards, reducing hours, outsourcing work and diminishing a great American institution," said Mark Dimondstein, president of the American Postal Workers Union.

USPS had a fiscal year loss of $5.5 billion in 2013 and total mail volume was down 1.8 percent.