WASHINGTON (AP) – Mail deliveries could be delayed a day or more due to cost reduction efforts imposed by the new Postmaster General. The plan eliminates overtime for hundreds of thousands of postal workers and says employees must adopt a “different mindset” to ensure the survival of the Postal Service during the coronavirus pandemic.
Late trips will no longer be authorized. If postal distribution centers are late, “they will save the mail for the next day,” Postal Service leaders say in a document obtained by The Associated Press. “One aspect of these changes that may be difficult for employees is that, temporarily, we can see mail left behind or mail on the floor or docks in the workroom,” says another document.
The changes come a month after Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, one of President Donald Trump’s top donors, took over the extensive mail service. In a note titled “PMG Expectations and Plan,” the agency said the changes aim to “make the USPS fundamentally solvent, which we are not at the moment.”
The memo cites deep revenue losses from a decades-long decline in mail deliveries that has been exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic, saying a delayed “operational pivot” is needed to ensure the agency’s health and stability.
Postal Service officials, preparing for large losses from the national shutdown caused by the virus, warned that they will run out of money in late September without the help of Congress. The service reported a loss of $ 4.5 billion for the quarter that ended in March, before the full effects of the shutdown sank.
The volume of first-class one-piece mail fell from 15% to 20% week-to-week in April and May, agency leaders told Congress. Losses will increase by more than $ 22 billion in the next 18 months, they said.
Bills passed by the Democratic-controlled House would set aside $ 25 billion to keep the mail flowing, but they’re still stuck in the Republican-controlled Senate. Congress approved a $ 10 billion line of credit for the Postal Service, but it remains unused amid restrictions imposed by the Trump administration.
A spokesperson said Wednesday that the agency is developing a business plan to ensure it is financially stable and continues to provide reliable, affordable and secure delivery of mail and packages. While the plan “is not yet finalized, it will certainly include new and creative ways for us to accomplish our mission, and we will immediately focus on efficiency and the elements we can control,” said spokesman Dave Partenheimer.
The note cites US Steel as an example that the Postal Service is far from “untouchable”. In 1975, the steel giant was “the largest company in the world,” says the note. “They left.” In fact, US Steel remains a leading producer of steel, with more than 27,000 employees earlier this year.
The COVID-19 pandemic has put the Postal Service in a double crisis, said Mark Dimondstein, president of the American Union of Postal Workers, which represents more than 200,000 postal workers and retirees.
As many as 12,000 postal workers have fallen ill, with at least 64 deaths, and the economic contraction has caused a dramatic drop in the volume of letters and other mail volumes. Dimondstein said an increase in package deliveries that has fueled the agency during the pandemic is likely to be temporary, adding that the outbreak has dramatically increased costs for personal protective equipment, deep cleaning of facilities and temporary workers for replace postal workers who get sick.
“Postal workers are tremendously dedicated to the mission of sending the mail,” Dimondstein said, but the new policies could cause delays that will further reduce revenue.
“It is the customer that will suffer if the mail slows down,” he said.
Democratic Rep. Bill Pascrell of New Jersey denounced the proposal to delay mail delivery, saying it would be an “impressive act of sabotage against our postal service.”
“Trump and his cronies openly seek to destroy the post office during the worst public health crisis in a century,” said Pascrell. As states increasingly rely on voting by mail to continue elections during the pandemic, the destabilization of the Postal Service not only threatens the economy and jobs of 600,000 workers, but is also “a direct attack on American democracy.” Pascrell said.
Trump opposes expanding mail voting, arguing that it will cause fraud, even though there is no evidence that it will happen. Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, and other top administration officials frequently vote absentee themselves.
Trump has also called the Postal Service “a joke” and said parcel delivery rates should be at least four times higher for heavy users like Amazon. But the shipments and packages are actually a revenue generator for the Postal Service, and critics say Trump is simply seeking to punish Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos in retaliation for unflattering coverage in The Washington Post, that Bezos owns.
For most Americans, mail delivery to homes or mailboxes is their only routine contact with the federal government. It is a service that they seem to appreciate: the agency consistently gets favorable ratings of over 90%.
Esther Haynes, from Philadelphia, said she and her family receive clothing, jewelry, perfume, food and more delivered by mail. “If it’s a late day, two days late, I’ll look it up,” she said Wednesday. “It would worry me”.
Haynes, 53, shares a house with her sister, her son, and a family friend. Haynes likes to shop, which means she has been busy ordering things online during the pandemic. “Everyone wants their mail on time,” she said.
The Washington Post first described the memo describing possible delays in the mail.
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Associated Press writer Maryclaire Dale in Philadelphia contributed to this report.
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