While the US Postal Service fights for its life financially, 2,000 of its workers are in quarantine and dozens have tested positive for the coronavirus
BUSINESS INSIDER 3/27/2020

Scott Olson/Getty Images


The United States Postal Service isn't doing well, both financially and in terms of employees' exposure to the novel coronavirus.

Fifty-one USPS employees had tested positive for COVID-19 as of Wednesday, and 2,000 of its roughly 500,000 employees are in quarantine.

Financially, lawmakers warned this week that plummeting mail volumes could force the USPS to shut down by June without immediate financial help.

The USPS is included in the $2 trillion stimulus bill that President Trump signed on Friday, but the city carriers' union called the $10 billion provision for the service "woefully inadequate."

The US Postal Service is in crisis, with lawmakers warning that plunging mail volumes could shut it down by June without "urgent" financial help — threatening everything from critical medicine deliveries and vote by mail to a third of Amazon orders.

But the crisis is far more than financial. The National Association of Letter Carriers, the union representing USPS city carriers, said 51 USPS employees had tested positive for COVID-19 as of Wednesday. On top of that, nearly 2,000 were in quarantine.

"As the number of confirmed positive coronavirus cases have increased throughout the general public, so too have been the number of postal employees who have tested positive," a statement from the union's president, Fredric Rolando, read. "About half of the postal employees are quarantined by order of public health officials and half have chosen to self-quarantine."

The union on Thursday announced the coronavirus-related death of New York City carrier Rakkhon Kim, age 50.

About 150 employees have returned from quarantine, the statement said. "Eligible" workers ordered to quarantine by health officials are being paid administrative leave during the quarantine, while those who choose to quarantine themselves must take sick leave.

"Employees who do not feel safe working in the facility may be allowed to take emergency annual leave or leave without pay, to the extent feasible," the statement quoted the USPS as saying. "The Postal Service will follow a liberal leave usage policy for employees."

As of this writing, there have been more than 576,000 confirmed coronavirus cases and 26,400 deaths worldwide. On Thursday, the US passed Italy and China for most confirmed cases in the world.

The USPS recorded having just under 497,000 employees in 2019 compared to the 2,000 in quarantine, meaning numbers are relatively low. But the numbers worldwide don't accurately reflect the exact number of cases because of limited testing, nor do they immediately convey the infectiousness of the disease — which has a snowball effect that one expert broke down, explaining how one person could end up infecting 59,000.

Postal employees, like others considered essential — arguably, in some cases — are also still at work, handling packages and touching surfaces where the coronavirus can live for up to several days.

The USPS, the union said, has agreed to certain provisions during the pandemic, including providing daily supplies for employees to clean office items and vehicles; providing hand sanitizer and other cleaning supplies for postal carriers; and providing masks and protective gloves for any employee who requests them.

"We have received almost 3,000 reports from all over the country regarding these issues," the union statement said. "In some places, all of these things are being done. However, in too many places they are not.

"In the places where there are not enough supplies, or none at all, it is generally due to the overall shortage of these items throughout the country. USPS has been working to acquire more items, even authorizing local managers to purchase them if they could be found."

Carriers are also being advised to knock instead of ringing doorbells, keep a safe distance from others, and use an alternative method for signed deliveries — all while the USPS itself fights to stay alive.

Two US representatives warned this week that the USPS could shut down in three months without financial help, introducing a bill that would give the service $25 billion in emergency funding, eliminate its current debt, and require it to prioritize medical deliveries.

The union said Friday that Congress must provide "at least $25 billion" to the USPS "to both protect the public health and to stabilize our economy," but the $2 trillion stimulus bill signed by President Trump on Friday includes only $10 billion to the Postal Service.


The bill passed in the Senate with the language that the USPS could prioritize medical deliveries, and that "if the Postal Service determines that, due to the COVID-19 emergency, the Postal Service will not be able to fund operating expenses without borrowing money," the USPS would be allowed to borrow up to $10 billion from the Treasury "to be used for such operating expenses" and "which may not be used to pay any outstanding debt of the Postal Service."

The USPS lost $3.9 billion in fiscal year 2018, according to a report from the Task Force on the United States Postal System, and lost $62.4 billion between fiscal years 2007 and 2016. The report said that as the service's financial condition "continues to deteriorate," it's expected to "lose tens of billions of dollars over the next decade" — if it makes it that far.

The union called the $10 billion in the stimulus package "woefully inadequate," considering that the USPS' services "are needed more than ever."

"Right now we are delivering notices for the decennial census, CDC pamphlets for households, and a large volume of e-commerce products at a time when retail options are limited," a statement said. "Soon we will likely handle the distribution of Treasury stimulus checks, home virus testing kits and a surge of absentee ballots later this year.

"In view [of] the Postal Service's crucial role, it is all the more disappointing and discouraging that the $2 trillion stimulus legislation that is about to be adopted did so little to help."

Opinion
Congress, Not Amazon, Messed Up the Post Office
Legislators passed a law that made the USPS less competitive with the private sector.

By Barry Ritholtz April 6, 2018

The problems start here. Photographer: Zach Gibson/Getty Images

Barry Ritholtz is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist. He founded Ritholtz Wealth Management and was chief executive and director of equity research at FusionIQ, a quantitative research firm. He is the author of “Bailout Nation.”Read more opinionFollow @ritholtz on Twitter

Before the news cycle gets consumed by the U.S.-China trade war in the making, let's go back to something I find much more intriguing: the U.S. Postal Service. Specifically, is Amazon.com Inc.'s contract with the USPS kosher, or is it a sweetheart deal that amounts to a government giveaway?

Let's get one thing out of the way up front: President Donald Trump's endless grousing about Amazon is nothing more than a thinly disguised complaint about the Washington Post, which has done a fine job reporting on his administration, revealing its many warts and ethical lapses. He has made no secret of his hostility, as a brief review of his Twitter posts would show.



But let's set that aside and try to answer whether the USPS provides an unfair subsidy to Amazon. To better understand these claims requires a fuller understanding about the Post Office.



Let's start with the USPS mandate: It was formed with a very different directive than its private-sector competitors, such as FedEx Corp. and United Parcel Service Inc. Those two giant private shippers, along with a bevy of smaller ones, are for-profit companies that can charge whatever they believe the market will bear. The USPS, by contrast, is charged with delivering to every home and business in America, no matter how remote. And, they can only charge what Congress allows; increases require approval. It also has congressional pressure and oversight on where it must maintain postal offices. The USPS has been slowly closing sites where there is insufficient customer demand. But closing an obsolete or little-used facility invariably entails a battle with each representative, who in turn faces voter anger when the local post office is targeted for closing. FedEx or UPS can open or close locations with little problem as demand and package traffic dictate.



Then there is the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006 (PAEA), which some have taken to calling "the most insane law" ever passed by Congress. The law requires the Postal Service, which receives no taxpayer subsidies, to prefund its retirees' health benefits up to the year 2056. This is a $5 billion per year cost; it is a requirement that no other entity, private or public, has to make. If that doesn't meet the definition of insanity, I don't know what does. Without this obligation, the Post Office actually turns a profit. Some have called this a "manufactured crisis." It's also significant that lots of companies benefit from a burden that makes the USPS less competitive; these same companies might also would benefit from full USPS privatization, a goal that has been pushed by several conservative think tanks for years.



Paying retiree obligations isn't the issue here; rather, being singled out as the only company with a congressional requirement to fully fund those obligations is. It puts the USPS at a huge competitive disadvantage. Yes, a retirement crisis is brewing; most private-sector pensions are wildly underfunded. But the solution is to mandate that ALL companies cover a higher percentage of their future obligations -- not just one entity.

What about lobbying Congress for changes to these rules? Unlike private-sector entities, the Postal Service is barred from lobbying. Similar restrictions do not apply to FedEx or UPS or other carriers.

Perhaps it helps to think of the USPS as two separate entities co-existing together: On one side is the congressionally mandated operation that delivers letters everywhere in the country. This is the side that helped knit together the far-flung cities, towns and settlements that defined the U.S. at the time of the nation's founding. The modern innovations of email, texts and the internet helped turn this into a money-losing business.

The other side of the USPS is the parcel-delivery service, which is profitable. It both competes with, and provides services to, private-sector delivery businesses.

Indeed, both UPS and FedEx contract with USPS to perform so-called last-mile delivery for their rural and most-expensive routes. They leverage the existing infrastructure of USPS to provide services for their client base without having to build that same costly last-mile infrastructure for letters and parcels. Effectively, they arbitrage what would otherwise be low-margin or unprofitable deliveries.

The problem for the USPS isn't the packages from the likes of Amazon, but rather, the rest of the Post Office’s mandate. In its annual report, the USPS noted that 2017 saw "mail volumes declined by approximately 5.0 billion pieces, or 3.6 percent, while package volumes grew by 589 million pieces, or 11.4 percent." Amazon and other internet retailers are a source of profitable deliveries for the post office; the relationship is in no way a subsidy for the retailers. Incidentally, the PAEA bars the Post Office from pricing parcel delivery below-cost.

Pricing, locations, hiring, funding? The Post Office has broad limitations about making routine business decisions that its private-sector competitors do not.

Trump has raised a valid issue in pointing out the unfair conditions under which the USPS operates. He is looking, however, at the wrong side of the problem.

The USPS Is Actively Being Destroyed By Trump—Here's How to Help
Rachel Epstein,Marie Claire•August 17, 2020

Photo credit: Justin Sullivan - Getty Images

From Marie Claire

For months now, President Trump has attempted to delegitimize the practice of mail-in voting, which is the exact same thing as absentee voting and has been performed by the president himself. There is no evidence that confirms mail-in voting is synonymous with ballot fraud, but the president is not convinced. So, rather than allowing citizens to utilize a safer alternative to in-person voting during a pandemic, the administration is refusing to properly fund the United States Postal Service (USPS), which could result in voters' ballots not being received on time in 46 states.

To be clear, the USPS was suffering financially long before the pandemic, but the president is actively choosing not to fund the USPS by denying the Postal Service’s request for $25 billion as part of the second pending COVID-19 relief bill. (The request is not solely to accommodate mail-in ballots, but rather the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.)

Internal issues with the USPS began when Louis DeJoy, a major Trump campaign donor, was named postmaster general in May. Once promoted, top USPS leadership was suddenly displaced, employee overtime was eliminated, and significant cost-cutting measures were enacted that will affect the efficiency of the postal service, including receiving mail-in ballots, and ultimately, the legitimacy of the 2020 election.


DeJoy has previously denied that election mail will be affected due to the measures mentioned above. "We will do everything we can to deliver election mail in a timely manner consistent with our operational standards," he stated. "Despite any assertions to the contrary, we are not slowing down election mail or any other mail. Instead we continue to employ a robust and proven process to ensure proper handling of all election mail." Despite his statement, there continues to be conflicting reports about whether the postal service is actively decommissioning 10 percent of its letter-sorting machines, ultimately affecting the USPS's ability to handle the overwhelming amount of mail-in ballots in the coming months.

On August 16, Rep. Carolyn Maloney, Chairwoman of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, called upon Postmaster General DeJoy to testify at an Oversight Committee hearing, set to take place on August 24, regarding the operational changes occurring at the USPS. The request follows a 10-page letter sent on August 14 by Chairwoman Maloney, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and several others requesting documents and information from DeJoy.


🚨 BREAKING 🚨

Chair @RepMaloney just called on @USPS PMG DeJoy to testify at an urgent Oversight Cmte hearing on Aug. 24 to examine his sweeping changes and their impact on mail-in voting. #SavetheUSPS

Read more here: https://t.co/WETO762Dsq pic.twitter.com/PJn6XPoFHj


— Oversight Committee (@OversightDems) August 16, 2020

If you're frustrated about what's going on with the USPS and are worried about your mail-in ballot being received on time, we've outlined key ways, below, for you to help save the USPS.

Sign a petition.

The lack of USPS funding not only threatens the accessibility of receiving mail in rural areas and tribal lands throughout the U.S., where UPS and Fedex do not have access to (more on that here), but also the ability for people to receive the medicine they need in order to survive. More than 1.4 million people have signed this Change.org petition to save the USPS. Here are other USPS-related petitions you can sign as well.

SIGN THE PETITION

Call and email your representatives.

Congress is on recess from August 10 until September 7, but you can still email your representatives and demand action to help save the USPS. For an easy way to send a letter to your representatives, text "USPS" to 50409. A letter will be sent to your representatives asking them to support Rep. Maloney's Delivering for America Act, which would "prohibit the Postal Service from implementing any changes to the operations or level of service it had in place on January 1, 2020."

Buy stamps and/or gifts.

If you have the means, consider buying some stamps—any amount helps. The U.S. Postal Service is currently selling stamps featuring illustrations of historic suffragettes to commemorate the centennial of women's right to vote. However, it's important to remember that Black women did not receive the same right to vote until the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The USPS also has an entire gift store you can shop from here. Did someone say USPS merch?

BUY STAMPS

BUY GIFTS
Submit your mail-in ballot early and request a tracking number.

Voters should submit their mail-in ballots early to ensure their vote gets counted, and request a tracking number for a few extra dollars if they're able to. Rather than searching for an official USPS mailbox, which were being removed across the country, if you have an accessible mailbox at your residence a postal worker will be able to pick up your ballot from there.

I just got this from a USPS worker. pic.twitter.com/5RQlTCGyZs

— Molly Jong-Fast🏡 (@MollyJongFast) August 15, 2020
Support organizations fighting to end voter suppression.

Organizations like Fair Fight Action, When We All Vote, and the ACLU are actively fighting voter suppression across the country. Support them by donating, or getting involved.

FAIR FIGHT ACTION

WHEN WE ALL VOTE

ACLU
Register to vote.

If it wasn't clear before, your vote matters now more than ever. Take two minutes to register here. If you're worried about timelines for registering and submitting your ballot, you can see a full list of voter registration deadlines here.

REGISTER TO VOTE

USPS mail truck contract hits snag as lawmakers ask, 'Why not totally electric?'

Sean Szymkowski 

Lawmakers on Capitol Hill have questions following the USPS' decision to award its future mail truck, the Next Generation Delivery Vehicle, to Wisconsin-based Oshkosh. Reuters first reported Tuesday that three members of the House of Representatives want to freeze the USPS contract until they can get some answers.

© Provided by Roadshow Lawmakers have some questions. USPS

Rep. Marcy Kaptur, chair of the House Appropriations Committee, and Reps. Tim Ryan and Jared Huffman, all Democrats, called for a halt to the process to investigate possible political influence in the awarding of the contract. They also want to see if the contract meets President Joe Biden's pledge to transform the entire federal fleet into electric vehicles.

The latter is a question I dug into previously, noting odd language in the announcement that noted Oshkosh will build "fuel-efficient low-emission internal combustion engine vehicles," as well as electric mail trucks . We later learned the USPS planned for just one in 10 of the new trucks to feature an electric powertrain -- a statement at odds with the Biden administration's EV pledge. Notably, the USPS did not select Ohio-based EV-maker Workhorse, a contender for the NGDV contract. Reps. Kaptur and Ryan both represent districts in Ohio.

Rep. Huffman also expressed concern to Reuters that he's been unable to view the Oshkosh contract in its entirety. The USPS plans to spend $482 million initially on the new trucks, but the sum could grow to $6 billion over the 10-year-long contract, according to the previous announcements. Oshkosh could get the green light to build up to 165,000 new mail trucks in the current deal. While the lawmakers question political influence, the bigger question is why not go completely electric? Huffman told the publication Oshkosh would build these vehicles for "obsolescence," adding it's "insane."

A USPS spokesperson told Roadshow, "We imagined an electric vehicle future, committing $482 million at contract award to prepare for it. The challenge remains the Postal Service's billions in annual operating losses."

House Democrats this week introduced a bill, sponsored by Rep. Huffman, to serve the USPS up to $6 billion to purchase a totally electric fleet of mail carriers. US Postmaster General Louis DeJoy said at a previous congressional hearing the agency would need $3 or $4 billion more beyond its current investment to achieve something like a 90% EV fleet.

"We welcome and are interested in any support from Congress that advances the goal of a Postal Service vehicle fleet with zero emissions, and the necessary infrastructure required to operate it," the USPS spokesperson said on the possibility of more funding. "With the right level of support, the majority of the Postal Service's fleet can be electric by the end of the decade."

The White House did not immediately return Roadshow's request for comment.
USPS, Oshkosh Defense reveal Next Generation Delivery Vehicle






a close up of a truck: The United States Postal Service (USPS) has contracted with Oshkosh Defense to manufacture a next-generation postal delivery vehicle.

6 SLIDES © Provided by Roadshow

The United States Postal Service (USPS) has contracted with Oshkosh Defense to manufacture a next-generation postal delivery vehicle.

This was originally published on Roadshow.

USPS

New Bill Aims to Scrap 'Ludicrous' Mandate Forcing Postal Service to Prefund Retiree Benefits Decades in Advance

"The unreasonable prefunding mandate has threatened the survival of the USPS and placed at risk vital services for the millions who rely on it."

by

Jake Johnson, staff writer

Published on

Wednesday, February 03, 2021

by

Common Dreams

A postal worker gives a thumbs-up to demonstrators protesting the Trump administration's

 sabotage of the U.S. Postal Service on August 22, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. 

(Photo: Rich Fury/Getty Images for MoveOn)

A bipartisan, bicameral group of lawmakers introduced legislation this week that would scrap an onerous 2006 mandate requiring the U.S. Postal Service to prefund retiree benefits decades in advance, an obligation that's been blamed for the beloved mail agency's financial woes—which Republicans have readily used to justify recent attacks on the institution.

"It's an unnecessary burden that is jeopardizing its financial health. This is an easy fix that will dramatically improve USPS's finances and ensure mail delivery can continue uninterrupted."
—Sen. Brian Schatz

The USPS Fairness Act, an earlier version of which cleared the House last February, would "repeal the requirement that the United States Postal Service prepay future retirement benefits," a rollback supported by the 200,000-member American Postal Workers Union (APWU) and other organizations representing mail carriers.

"The bipartisan USPS Fairness Act is one of the first steps toward returning the Postal Service to solid financial footing, and I urge Congress to quickly pass this critical legislation," said APWU president Mark Dimondstein.

Approved by a Republican-controlled Congress and signed into law by former President George W. Bush in 2006, the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act "required the Postal Service to create a $72 billion fund that would pay for its employees' retirement health benefits for more than 50 years into the future," NBC News explained Tuesday.

"This is not required [of] any other federal agency," NBC noted.

Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.), the lead House sponsor of the USPS Fairness Act, said in a statement Monday that "the unreasonable prefunding mandate has threatened the survival of the USPS and placed at risk vital services for the millions who rely on it."

"The prefunding mandate policy is based on the absurd notion of paying for the retirement funds of people who do not yet, and may not ever, work for the Postal Service," said DeFazio. "I'm hopeful that, under a Biden administration, we can finally repeal this ludicrous policy, provide the USPS with critical financial relief, and take the first step towards much-needed comprehensive reform."

The legislation's leading Democratic sponsor in the Senate, Sen. Brian Schatz of Hawaii, echoed that message, declaring that "there is no reason we should be requiring the USPS to prefund its future health and retirement benefits."

"It's an unnecessary burden that is jeopardizing its financial health," said Schatz. "This is an easy fix that will dramatically improve USPS's finances and ensure mail delivery can continue uninterrupted."

The renewed push for repeal of the prefunding mandate comes as President Joe Biden is facing growing calls to act quickly to stop Postmaster General Louis DeJoy from inflicting any more damage on the USPS, whose services slowed dramatically after the Republican megadonor took over and began implementing sweeping changes last year.

Two Democratic members of Congress—Reps. Bill Pascrell (D-N.J.) and Tim Ryan (D-Ohio)—are publicly urging Biden to terminate every member of the Postal Service Board of Governors and appoint replacements who are dedicated to preserving and strengthening the USPS as an essential public service.

"Through the devastating arson of the Trump regime, the USPS Board of Governors sat silent," Pascrell wrote in a letter to Biden last week. "Their dereliction cannot now be forgotten. Therefore, I urge you to fire the entire Board of Governors and nominate a new slate of leaders to begin the hard work of rebuilding our Postal Service for the next century."

Can the Postal Service be saved?

Mike BebernesEditor,Yahoo News 360•May 7, 2020

The 360” shows you diverse perspectives on the day’s top stories and debates.

How the coronavirus is impacting the U.S. Postal Service

What’s happening

The United States Postal Service has been in financial trouble for years. The added pressure brought on by the coronavirus pandemic has brought it to the brink of collapse.

Mail volume has dropped dramatically because of the outbreak, robbing the USPS of its most profitable revenue stream. The agency expects to run out of money by September and have a net operating loss of $54 billion in the near future. Without significant help, “the Postal Service could cease to exist,” the chairwoman of the House Oversight Committee said.

The USPS has been a fixture of American life since 1775. For most of its history, it operated as a typical government service. That changed in 1970, when it was turned into an independent agency that was expected to run like a business without financial support from taxpayers. That arrangement was largely successful until the mid-2000s, when a combination of new laws that restricted its income and the emergence of digital alternatives crippled its budget.

The Postal Service frequently ranks as Americans’ favorite federal agency, with approval ratings as high as 90 percent. But it has recently drawn the ire of President Trump, who incorrectly blames its financial troubles on low prices it charges Amazon for package delivery services. “The Postal Service is a joke,” Trump said last month.

Why there’s debate

Political divisions have also informed proposed solutions for rescuing the Postal Service. According to USPS leaders and many liberal lawmakers, the best solution is a massive infusion of cash. Democrats have pushed to include billions in additional funding for the agency in the trillion-dollar stimulus packages recently passed by Congress, but Trump reportedly threatened to veto any bill that included a bailout for the USPS.

Beyond funds to survive the current crisis, the USPS needs fundamental changes to free it from the circumstances that were tanking its finances long before the pandemic came along, some argue. The agency’s current structure — in which it has all of the revenue-generating responsibilities of a private business but still has its policies dictated by Congress — is seen as unsustainable by many. In 2006, a Republican-led Congress passed a law requiring the Postal Service to put away enough funds to cover retirement and pension costs for its employees for the next 75 years. Without that law, which some argue was part of a deliberate attempt to bankrupt the agency, the Postal Service would have actually made a profit in recent years, according to analysts.

Others have argued for either expanding the service’s mission to include new revenue-generating operations like banking, or cutting back expenses like ending Saturday delivery.

Some conservatives argue that the best path for the Postal Service is for it to no longer be part of the government at all, but instead become a private company free from congressional restraints.

What’s next

The Trump administration announced Wednesday that the current head of the USPS will be replaced by a top Republican donor in June, which could be a precursor to the service implementing some of the changes in package fees the president has demanded. Funding for the Postal Service may be a key point of contention during debate over the next congressional stimulus bill. Democrats are expected to push for $25 billion to keep the USPS afloat. But that provision may need enough Republican support to override a potential veto from Trump.
Perspectives

Congress needs to stand up to Trump to pass a USPS bailout

“Trump has now threatened to veto any stimulus package that includes funding to shore up the agency. Congress should call his bluff, and do what it takes to save the US Postal Service or make the president pay the political consequences of signing its death warrant.” — Editorial, Boston Globe

Restrictive laws that choke the Postal Service’s budget need to be revoked

“Congress has hamstrung the agency with an unsound plan to fund future retiree pensions. It also has prevented it from employing modern technologies or adding services that might compete with private companies. It should unleash the agency.” — Editorial, Los Angeles Times

Saturday delivery should be cut to save money

“The postal service should be free to choose to stop delivering paper mail six days a week — once all the stimulus checks are in the public’s hands. Again, demand for paper mail has plunged, and it is financially irresponsible to force mail carriers to haul mostly low-margin advertising mail more than five days per week.” — Kevin Kosar, Politico

The USPS should be privatized

“Policymakers should restructure the USPS with two goals in mind: creating a level playing field for all businesses in delivery markets and giving the USPS the flexibility it needs to cut costs and diversify its revenue sources. … To survive and even thrive in the changing economy, the U.S. Postal Service should be moved to the private sector.” — Chris Edwards, New York Daily News

Congress should start treating the USPS as a public good, not a business

“From the 1850s until the 1960s, Congress routinely covered whatever deficits the Postal Service incurred — no matter how large — and with little controversy, partisanship or debate. Why? Because the Postal Service was a public service, whose rationale was civic rather than commercial. … The Founders intended the Postal Service to be a pillar of the republic, binding together millions of Americans, urban and rural, for the common good.” — Richard R. John, Washington Post

Any bailout should be contingent on major reforms

“If the USPS wants to receive taxpayer aid during this crisis, it should make the institutional reforms that it has neglected for decades. Indeed, neglecting to solve these issues for so long has now made it all the more difficult for the institution to cope with the new extreme and difficult circumstances.” — Thomas Aiello, Washington Examiner

Bail out the USPS now, fix its long-term problems later

“President Trump is absolutely correct that the U.S. Postal Service needs restructuring and a viable business model. … But now is not the time to play hardball with an agency as central to what ‘makes America great.’” — Kimberly Wehle, The Hill

The USPS should be freed to explore new ways of making money

“The service should get more control over how much it charges for its services, how many people it employs and how easily it can innovate. Many post offices may have to be closed, but others could be reconfigured to also provide banking and licensing services if and when the world normalizes.” — Timothy L. O'Brien, Bloomberg

The USPS needs to be protected from GOP sabotage

“The truth is, the Postal Service has been under attack by conservatives for years. … The Trump administration is now playing a costly game of chicken to get what it sought long before the current crisis: drastic service and facilities cuts, more noncareer labor and outsourcing, and a rollback of employee rights and benefits. If it succeeds, we’ll all be the poorer for it.” — Philip F. Rubio, Atlantic

UPDATE 

USPS just made sweeping changes to its leadership as lawmakers call for an investigation into delayed mail ahead of the 2020 election

Benji Jones

A United States Postal Service (USPS) worker works in the rain in Manhattan during outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in New York Reuters

The nation's public mail service USPS announced a sweeping overhaul to its organization Friday that displaced the agency's two top executives. 

The new structure follows previous changes the agency made under the leadership of Louis DeJoy that Democratic lawmakers say put USPS's ability to field scores of mail-in ballots at risk. 

Postmaster General Louis DeJoy said the changes will allow the agency to reduce costs and capture more revenue. The agency lost $2.2 billion in the second quarter of the year. 

Postmaster General Louis DeJoy announced a massive reorganization to the US Postal Service's leadership structure on Friday, amid calls from Democrats to investigate recent changes resulting in delayed mail deliveries. A surge of mail-in ballots is expected in the 2020 presidential election.

According to a new organizational chart released Friday, USPS is reassigning or displacing 23 postal executives including the two top officials who oversee day-to-day operations, The Washington Post reported. The agency is also implementing a management hiring freeze and will request volunteers for early retirements.

"This organizational change will capture operating efficiencies by providing clarity and economies of scale that will allow us to reduce our cost base and capture new revenue," Louis DeJoy, who was appointed in May, said in a public statement. "It is crucial that we do what is within our control to help us successfully complete our mission to serve the American people."

The announcement comes in the wake of $2.2 billion loss USPS reported for the period April through June and a handful of cost-cutting measures DeJoy made earlier this year.

A USPS employee in Santa Monica, California Mario Tama/Getty Images

Tensions flare with lawmakers ahead of the election

Earlier this summer, DeJoy prohibited overtime and tweaked delivery policies, among a handful of cost-cutting measures that Democratic lawmakers said weakened the agency's ability to field scores of mail-in ballots in November's election.

"We believe these changes, made during the middle of a once-in-a-century pandemic, now threaten the timely delivery of mail — including medicines for seniors, paychecks for workers, and absentee ballots for voters," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer wrote in a letter sent to DeJoy on Thursday. "We believe these changes must be reversed," they wrote.

It's not clear exactly how the organizational changes will impact the postal service, and its role in the election, but analysts told The Post that it centers power around DeJoy, a "major ally" of President Trump.

Some postal experts also say DeJoy's recent efforts are turning an essential government service into a for-profit business, according to The Post.

"He keeps referring to the USPS as 'our business.' But he's been appointed postmaster general. You don't run a business," Philip Rubio, a history professor at North Carolina A&T State University and a former postal worker, told The Post.

Louis DeJoy, USPS Postmaster General Associated Press

A closer look at the restructure

Altogether, 23 executives were reassigned or displaced, The Hill reported, while five workers joined the hierarchy from other roles at the agency.


"These organizational changes do not initiate a reduction-in-force, and there are no immediate impacts to USPS employees," USPS said in a statement announcing the changes.

Among the many changes, David Williams, the former chief operating officer and EVP, will fill a new role, chief logistics and processing operations officer. Other executives were cut out of leadership roles including Kevin McAdams, the former VP for delivery and retail operations.

The agency's finances remain strained. USPS is projected to run out of money by as soon as next March, The Post reports. However, the agency recently secured a $10 billion loan authorized in an earlier coronavirus relief package. 

The USPS is shutting down mail-sorting machines crucial for processing absentee ballots as the 2020 election looms

ITS NOT JUST ABOUT THE ELECTION ITS ABOUT SELLING OFF THE POST OFFICE A LONG TIME REPUBLICAN WET DREAM

Ben Margot/AP

The United States Postal Service is deactivating mail-sorting machines at processing centers across the US.

At least 19 sorting machines, which can process 35,000 pieces of mail per hour, have been dismantled and removed in recent weeks, postal workers told Motherboard.

The president of the Iowa Postal Workers Union and Democratic lawmakers have voiced concerns about sorting machines being dismantled and about sweeping changes to the USPS made by Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, a top Trump donor who took office earlier this summer.

Mail-in voting during the COVID-19 pandemic is expected to cause a surge in mail volume ahead of the 2020 election. President Donald Trump has said he would withhold funding from the USPS to sabotage mail-in voting.

United States Postal Service workers say mail-sorting machines are being taken apart and removed from distribution facilities across the US, raising concerns about their ability to handle a surge in mail-in ballots for the general election in November.

At least 19 mail-sorting machines, which can process up to 35,000 pieces of mail per hour, have been removed without any explanation, postal workers told Motherboard. And an internal letter published by the USPS in June outlines a plan to remove hundreds of mail-sorting machines from operation this year.

It's the latest in a series of sweeping changes that Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, a major donor to President Donald Trump, has made to the agency since taking office earlier this summer. Postal workers and elected officials have said the changes dismantle the US Postal Service and could have devastating effects on the election, when many people are expected to vote by mail because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Kimberly Karol, the president of the Iowa Postal Workers Union, confirmed that machines were being removed and told NPR in an interview this week that DeJoy's policies were "now affecting the way that we do business and not allowing us to deliver every piece every day."


In a letter to DeJoy last week, the Democratic congressional leaders Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer said that the removal of mail-sorting machines and other cost-cutting measures "threaten the timely delivery of mail," including absentee ballots.

In a statement to Business Insider, a USPS representative, Dave Partenheimer, said the notion that mail-sorting machines were being deactivated to sabotage mail-in voting was "erroneous."

"The Postal Service routinely moves equipment around its network as necessary to match changing mail and package volumes," Partenheimer said. "Package volume is up, but mail volume continues to decline. Adapting our processing infrastructure to the current volumes will ensure more efficient, cost effective operations and better service for our customers."

Trump has repeatedly attacked the USPS and its role in the 2020 election, claiming that voting by mail is inherently fraudulent despite evidence that the rate of fraud is extremely low and that mail-in voting doesn't help or hurt one political party over the other. On Thursday, Trump told Fox Business that he would withhold funding from the USPS to harm mail-in voting.


"They want $25 billion — billion — for the post office. Now they need that money in order to have the post office work so it can take all of these millions and millions of ballots," Trump said, adding, "But if they don't get those two items, that means you can't have universal mail-in voting."

DeJoy, a major Trump donor, has overseen sweeping changes at the USPS, slashing its budget amid the COVID-19 pandemic and freezing hiring since he took control of the agency in May.

Postal workers told Motherboard that while it wasn't unusual for mail-sorting machines to be deactivated or moved among facilities, the timing coincided with Trump's push to destabilize the USPS before the election.

"When you take out one of the machines, it takes away our ability to respond to unforeseen things that may happen," Karol told Motherboard.

But experts have said that Trump's assertion that the USPS won't be able to process mail-in voting without a larger budget is faulty. Amber McReynolds, the former director of the Denver Elections Division and the CEO of the National Vote At Home Institute, told Business Insider in April that election-related mail likely wouldn't strain the service.

"The Postal Services estimates they process about 140 billion pieces of mail a year. And when we talk about 250 million mail ballots for, say, every American, that's only about 0.2% of their normal volume," she said.


Trump admits he's refusing to fund the US Postal Service to sabotage mail-in voting

Postal workers in Oakland, California, wearing masks and gloves as they work during the coronavirus pandemic. Ben Margot/AP

President Donald Trump told Fox Business on Thursday morning that he would block additional funding and election assistance for the US Postal Service to sabotage mail-in voting.

On Wednesday and Thursday, Trump said he would not sign off on any relief bill that includes emergency federal funds for the USPS and more money to process election-related mail.

"They want $25 billion — billion — for the post office. Now they need that money in order to have the post office work so it can take all of these millions and millions of ballots," Trump said on Thursday, adding, "But if they don't get those two items, that means you can't have universal mail-in voting."

Under Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, the cash-strapped USPS has implemented cost-cutting measures that experts say could harm the delivery of election-related mail.



President Donald Trump told Fox Business' Maria Bartiromo on Thursday morning that he would block additional funding and election assistance for the US Postal Service to sabotage mail-in voting.

Throughout the pandemic, Trump has rejected giving emergency funds or grants to the cash-strapped USPS, which has seen a major revenue shortfall. He has also aggressively spread false and exaggerated claims that voting by mail is inherently fraudulent. In reality, rates of fraud are extremely low, and there's no evidence that expanding voting by mail hurts or benefits either political party.

Trump said in a press conference on Wednesday evening that he would not sign off on either the $25 billion in emergency funds for the USPS or the $3.5 billion in election assistance to help states that Democrats have advocated in a federal COVID-19 relief bill.

He said the same thing during the Fox Business interview on Thursday morning.


"They want $25 billion — billion — for the post office. Now they need that money in order to have the post office work so it can take all of these millions and millions of ballots," Trump said. "Now, in the meantime, they aren't getting there. By the way, those are just two items. But if they don't get those two items, that means you can't have universal mail-in voting ... because they're not equipped."
—The Recount (@therecount) August 13, 2020

Trump has previously opposed measures to help the Postal Service. He said he would refuse to sign the Cares Act stimulus package in March if it included a bailout for the agency, The Washington Post reported on April 11.

"We told them very clearly that the president was not going to sign the bill if [money for the Postal Service] was in it," an administration official told The Post. "I don't know if we used the v-bomb, but the president was not going to sign it, and we told them that."

The Post reported that while Congress initially intended to give the Postal Service a $13 billion grant, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin stepped in to quash the measure, telling lawmakers, "You can have a loan, or you can have nothing at all."


Under Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, a North Carolina shipping-and-logistics executive and a prolific Republican donor with no experience working at the Postal Service, the USPS has implemented cost-cutting measures including limiting overtime for postal carriers, cracking down on late trips to deliver mail, and freezing hiring. Critics have said the measures are slowing mail delivery in some areas and could prevent voters' ballots for the November election from being delivered on time.

The reasoning behind Trump's opposition to more USPS funding is faulty. The United States does not have "universal mail-in voting." Before the pandemic, five states mailed all registered voters a ballot that could be returned by mail or put in a ballot drop box; Washington and Oregon have done so for decades.

Four more states — Nevada, Montana, California, and Vermont — and Washington, DC, have said they will mail all or most registered voters a ballot while also offering scaled-back in-person voting for the November election.

Ten more states are planning to send all or most active registered voters a ballot application in the mail, The Post reported.


And while the USPS policy changes appear to be slowing down timely mail delivery in some areas, experts have disputed Trump's assertion that the Postal Service cannot handle an additional load of ballots.

Amber McReynolds, the former director of the Denver Elections Division and the CEO of the National Vote At Home Institute, told Insider in April that, when properly funded, the USPS is a remarkably effective tool for administering mail-in elections.

"They have the ability with their equipment and everything to run it at a level that must of us would never expect — it's massive," McReynolds said. When put into perspective, she said, the number of ballots the Postal Service processes is just a blip on the radar.

"The Postal Services estimates they process about 140 billion pieces of mail a year. And when we talk about 250 million mail ballots for, say, every American, that's only about 0.2% of their normal volume," she said.

TRUMP SABOTAGES POST OFFICE
USPS halts removal of collection boxes



A man walks by a set of USPS collection boxes March 20 in New York City. The USPS said it will re-evaluate the removal of some mail collection boxes after Election Day. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo

Aug. 15 (UPI) -- A U.S. Postal Service spokesman said the agency will stop taking down mail collection boxes until after Election Day.

Rod Spurgeon told NBC News and CNN of the policy change after the USPS faced criticism for removing the boxes. Some Democrats, including former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., accused the agency of operating under the Trump administration to suppress mail-in voting.

"We are not going to be removing any boxes," Spurgeon said late Friday. "After the election, we're going to take a look at operations and see what we need and don't need."

The USPS began the collection box removal process earlier in the week, targeting boxes in Indiana, Montana, New York and Oregon.

RELATED Kentucky expands mail-in, early voting for November election

USPS Portland Seattle region spokesman Ernie Swanson told Willamette Week the boxes were removed because of declining mail volume.

"Ever since the pandemic came along, people are mailing less for some reason," he said.

Critics, though, said fewer collection boxes mean fewer locations for people to drop off their mail-in ballots for the Nov. 3 election.

RELATED Puerto Rico suspends primary voting due to ballot shortage

"Donald Trump isn't *trying* to sabotage our elections. He's doing it right under our noses. This is voter suppression and Senate Republicans are letting him get away with it," Wyden tweeted Friday.

The USPS warned 46 states and Washington, D.C., that some mail-in ballots might not be counted in time for the election. The agency told the states their time frames and deadlines for mail-in voting would be "incongruous" with delivery standards, meaning some ballots might not arrive in time to be counted.

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump has said he opposed funding the financially struggling postal service because it would benefit those who seek to promote mail-in voting in November.

RELATED Tennessee high court: COVID-19 not valid reason for absentee ballot

He and first lady Melania Trump just requested main-in ballots from the Palm Beach County, Fla., supervisor of elections' office, the Palm Beach Post reported Friday. The president and his wife have declared Florida to be their home state.

Democrats, in particular, have called for mail-in voting as a way to protect voters from the spread of COVID-19 on Election Day.

Trump has long opposed mail-in voting, saying it's too vulnerable to fraud.

RELATED November election in U.S. can be held safely, experts say

"They want $25 billion for the post office. Now, they need that money in order to have the post office work so it can take all of these millions and millions of ballots," Trump said Thursday.

"Now, if we don't make a deal, that means they don't get the money. That means they can't have universal mail-in voting," he added. "They just can't have it. So, you know, sort of a crazy thing."

He backtracked on his comments later Thursday, saying he would sign a stimulus package that includes $25 billion for the agency, but only if Democrats give Republicans what they want in the relief legislation.

"Sure, if they gave us what we want. And it's not what I want, it's what the American people want," Trump said during a Friday news conference.

The financially struggling USPS has been undergoing an organizational overhaul, including removing mail sorting machines from facilities across the country, some of which would normally be used to sort mail-in ballots, Vice reported.

Postmaster General Louis DeJoy said the USPS still has "ample capacity" to handle the expected surge of mail-in ballots.

"The Postal Service routinely moves equipment around its network as necessary to match changing mail and package volumes," USPS spokesman David Partenheimer told Vice.

"Package volume is up, but mail volume continues to decline. Adapting our processing infrastructure to the current volumes will ensure more efficient, cost-effective operations and better service for our customers."

DeJoy, a Trump donor who was tapped to run the USPS three months ago, also has curtailed overtime at the agency, leading to delays in deliveries.

On Saturday protesters gathered outside DeJoy's Washington, D.C. home, carrying signs reading "Don't mess with the USPS" and "Don't stamp out our democracy." It is not clear whether he was home at the time.

upi.com/7029126

UPI Reader Poll: Mail-in ballots

Do you favor moving to mail-in ballots for the 2020 elections?

 2594 VOTES