WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A shakeup of the U.S. Postal Service leads to delays by mail, unions said on Tuesday, raising concerns that an ally of President Donald Trump is destabilizing the service, as millions of Americans consider it their vote by mail. post will hit the presidential election on November 3rd.
PHILO PHOTO: A weather-worn U.S. Postal Service zip code can be seen in a residential area of Washington, USA, August 10, 2020. Image taken August 10, 2020 REUTERS / Leah Millis
New postmaster general Louis DeJoy, who has donated $ 2.7 million to Trump and his fellow Republicans since 2017, has made operational changes and a layoff to overtime in a bid to repair the financially troubled service, which reported a net loss of $ 2.2 billion in the last quarter.
The reorganization, introduced in July, has resulted in thousands of delayed letters in southern Maine as delivery managers follow a new guideline to leave on time, even when the mail is not loaded, said Scott Adams, who represents about 550 workers as the president of American Postal Worker Union Local 458.
Another new directive requires mail carriers to leave on their routes in the morning, carrying only parcels and letters that were sorted the night before, according to an internal memo seen by Reuters. That requires some carriers to double back to pick up a second batch later, said Kimberly Karol, president of the Iowa Postal Workers Union.
“It basically costs more in labor and work hours than it saves,” Karol said.
Supplies of online shopping during the pandemic had already pushed the post office to its limits. Delays have also been reported in at least 18 other states, according to media reports.
Documents from internal postal services seen by Reuters acknowledge that the changes could lead to delays.
“One aspect of these changes that can be difficult for employees is that – temporarily – we may lag behind emails or see emails on the work floor or docks,” says one memo, dated July 10th. The plan hopes to eliminate 64 million working hours nationwide to reduce personnel costs, according to another memo.
The postal service has suffered financial hardship with the rise of email and social media, and a measure adopted in 2006 that required it to provide 75 years of health benefits over 10 years have at a cost of more than $ 100 billion.
MAIL-IN STAMPING
In a speech on Friday, DeJoy said managers will try to resolve issues as soon as they arise. “We will continue to monitor aggressively and address service issues,” he told the Postal Service Board of Governors.
The disturbances raised concerns that DeJoy may be trying to undermine confidence in the Postal Service ahead of the 3-election, when concerns about coronavirus prompted up to half of all U.S. voters to drop their ballots by mail.
“You contacted the customer and said, ‘Is the postal service reliable, and will I vote by mail now?'” Said Adams of Local 458.
Democrats in Congress are calling on the Postal Service to reverse the changes, saying they are threatening Americans to receive rewards and be short of votes.
Karol said the USPS and its 600,000 employees are still ready, willing and able to handle the 2020 elections. “We have a system in place that has served her for 200 years. That system is not broken, ‘she said.
Trump, who even voted by mail, has said several times without proof that the method could lead to widespread fraud. Election experts say it is just as safe as any other method.
DeJoy said the Postal Service would maintain standards for election mail that have been around for years.
“The postal service has sufficient capacity to deliver all election items safely and on time in accordance with our delivery standards, and we will do so,” he said.
Report by Andy Sullivan and Heather Timmons; Edited by Heather Timmons and Aurora Ellis
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