- The new Postmaster General of the United States Postal Service has established new cost-saving policies that could slow down mail service.
- Mail carriers are told to drop mail at distribution centers instead of taking late trips, extra trips, or logging overtime, according to reports first reported by The Washington Post and later reviewed by Business Insider. .
- The Postal Service is in an unstable financial situation due to the coronavirus pandemic, and Business Insider previously reported that it could run out of cash in late September.
- Visit the Business Insider home page for more stories.
While struggling to stay afloat during the coronavirus pandemic, the United States Postal Service has implemented “difficult” cost-cutting measures that can delay mail delivery, the Washington Post reported.
The changes, established by new USPS Postmaster General Louis Dejoy, were released Monday in memoranda that were seen by The Post, verified by the American Postal Workers Union, and corroborated by The Post by three people with knowledge of the documents. who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Business Insider also obtained and reviewed the memos.
In the documents, Dejoy ordered the workers to stop recording overtime and to drop the mail at the distribution centers if this delayed their route.
“If the plants are late, they will save the mail for the next day,” says one of the documents. “If you receive the mail late and your carriers are gone and cannot send the mail without OT, it will remain for the next day.”
This new directive goes against the training that postal workers traditionally receive, which says they should avoid leaving letters and make sure items are delivered promptly, even if it means taking multiple trips, The Post notes.
“One aspect of these changes that can be difficult for employees is that, temporarily, we can see the mail left or the mail on the floor or the docks of the work room,” indicates a second memorandum, adding that “any mail left must be properly reported. “
In the same document, the USPS said late travel and additional travel, which estimated to cost the agency approximately $ 200 million in “additional expenses,” are now prohibited.
Cost reduction policies occur when the USPS is barely crawling during the coronavirus pandemic. Despite a ton of package deliveries, the overall volume of emails has plummeted since the pandemic began and companies closed. Even with a $ 10 billion line of credit under the CARES Act, the Postal Service found itself in dire straits: As of May, it was estimated that the agency could run out of cash in late September.
While acknowledging the Postal Service’s difficult financial position, Mark Dimondstein, president of the United States Postal Workers Union, strongly criticized the new measures, arguing that they affected the core of the agency’s mission, which is “to provide a service fast, reliable and efficient. “
“These additional moves by the new Postmaster General appear to be sending the opposite message, which is that the mail can wait,” Dimondstein told Business Insider in a phone call Tuesday. “It will probably undermine the mission we are dedicated to. And in terms of the people of the country, it will probably lead to slower, less fast and less reliable and really less efficient service.”
When asked about the memos, a USPS spokesperson told Business Insider that the service is “developing a business plan” to stay financially stable while providing “reliable, affordable, and secure delivery of mail, packages, and other communications to all. Americans as a vital part of the nation’s critical infrastructure. “
“While the overall 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 that we can control, including adherence to the effective operational plans that we have developed.” said the spokesman.
This story has been updated with comments from the United States Postal Service.
