CHARLESTON, W.Va. – The United States Postal Service is considering closing post offices across the country, raising concerns ahead of an anticipated increase in mail ballots in the 2020 election, U.S. Senator Joe Manchin and a union leader said Wednesday.
Manchin said he received numerous reports from post offices and colleagues about impending outages or closings in West Virginia and elsewhere, prompting him to send a letter to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy asking for an explanation.
The possible cuts come as DeJoy, a major donor to President Donald Trump, who took control of the agency last month, moves to eliminate overtime for hundreds of thousands of postal workers, which could cause a delay. in mail deliveries. A recent Postal Service document, obtained by The Associated Press, described the need for an “operating axis” to make the liquidity-strapped agency financially stable.
“It is silly to think that you can shut something down or speed it up in terms of the pandemic when basically the lifeline to voting and democracy will be in the hands of the Postal Service,” Manchin, a Democrat, told reporters on Wednesday. .
He said that at least two post offices in West Virginia had been scheduled to close next month, but that the agency had “slowed down” its plans.
A Postal Service spokesman forwarded the questions to a previous statement by DeJoy, who said the agency “has experienced more than a decade of financial loss, with no end in sight, and we are facing an impending liquidity crisis.” The statement goes on to say that “it is critical that the Postal Service review our operations and make any necessary adjustments.”
Mark Dimondstein, president of the United States Postal Workers Union, which represents more than 200,000 postal workers and retirees, said there is “definitely buzz” about the closings, although he said he was not aware of specific details. A union representative said managers informed postal employees that their offices are under attack for possible cuts.
“The logical conclusion is that he will try to close some post offices,” Dimondstein said of the postmaster general’s belt tightening strategies.
The coronavirus pandemic has created more strain on the finances of the Postal Service. The service reported a loss of $ 4.5 billion for the quarter that ended in March, before the full effects of the shutdown sank.
Manchin’s letter noted that the coronavirus relief package approved by Congress in March included authorization for the agency to borrow up to $ 10 billion from the United States Treasury. The money was intended to help the Postal Service maintain essential services during the pandemic.
“Unfortunately, not only has little or no such funding been used, but it is now proposing the cuts we seek to avoid with that emergency line of credit,” Manchin said in his letter.
Later Wednesday, the Treasury announced that it had reached an agreement with the Postal Service on the terms of any future loans, but also said that the service could finance its operations at this time without using a loan.
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