'Attempted Murder of Your Post Office': Outrage as Trump Crony Now Heading
USPS Moves to Slow Mail Delivery
"The deliberate delaying of Americans' mail delivery would be a stunning act
of sabotage against our Postal Service."
byJake Johnson, staff writer
From left, Garrett Schaffel and Judy Beard, American Postal Workers Union
national legislative and political director, carry a Priority Mail box
towards the Capitol for a demonstration on Tuesday, June 23, 2020. (Photo:
Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images)
Postal workers and their allies in Congress are vowing to fight back after
the new head of the U.S. Postal Service-a major donor to President Donald
Trump and the Republican Party-moved this week to impose sweeping changes to
the popular government agency as it faces a financial crisis manufactured by
lawmakers and exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Washington Post reported late Tuesday that Postmaster General (PMG)
Louis DeJoy, who took charge last month, issued memos announcing "major
operational changes" to the USPS "that could slow down mail delivery,
warning employees the agency would not survive unless it made 'difficult'
changes to cut costs."
"With our states now reliant on mail voting to continue elections during the
pandemic, the destabilizing of the post office is a direct attack on
American democracy itself."
-Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr.
"Analysts say the documents present a stark reimagining of the USPS that
could chase away customers-especially if the White House gets the steep
package rate increases it wants-and put the already beleaguered agency in
deeper financial peril as private-sector competitors embark on hiring sprees
to build out their own delivery networks," the Post noted.
According to the internal USPS memos (pdf) obtained by the Post, "DeJoy told
employees to leave mail behind at distribution centers if it delayed letter
carriers from their routes," a change critics said could threaten access to
absentee ballots at a time when vote-by-mail is more important than ever.
"If the plants run late, they will keep the mail for the next day," reads a
document titled, "New PMG's expectations and plan."
"The deliberate delaying of Americans' mail delivery would be a stunning act
of sabotage against our Postal Service," Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-N.J.)
said in a statement. "If these reports are accurate, Trump and his cronies
are openly seeking to destroy the Post Office during the worst public health
crisis in a century."
"With our states now reliant on mail voting to continue elections during the
pandemic, the destabilizing of the post office is a direct attack on
American democracy itself," Pascrell added. "It has been 59 days since the
House passed $25 billion to keep USPS alive. The Senate must pass it now.
Democracy hangs in the balance."
With the USPS at risk of completely running out of cash by the end of
September without an infusion of emergency funding, postal workers and
members of Congress have warned that the Trump administration could attempt
to exploit the agency's financial struggles to advance the longstanding
right-wing goal of privatizing USPS.
"This is not something that as postal workers we should accept."
-Mark Dimondstein, American Postal Workers Union
In March, Congress approved a $10 billion emergency USPS loan, but the
Treasury Department has yet to release the funds as the Trump administration
attempts to use the money as leverage to force changes to the agency's
finances and operations.
Mark Dimondstein, president of the 200,000-member American Postal Workers
Union, said in response to the Post's reporting that his organization will
vigorously oppose the new operational changes sought by DeJoy.
"I would tell our members that this is not something that as postal workers
we should accept," Dimondstein said. "It's not something that the union you
belong to is going to accept."
U.S. Mail Not for Sale, a worker-led coalition dedicated to protecting the
Postal Service from right-wing privatization efforts, is urging Americans to
take part in a July 23 call-in day of action urging the Senate to approve
desperately needed financial relief for USPS.
"Our movement is growing. Together we can save the Post Office and convince
lawmakers to do their jobs," the coalition said. "Multiple bills have been
introduced that would provide $25 billion in Covid-19 related relief for the
Postal Service. The Senate comes back from recess in less than two weeks'
time. We need to keep up the pressure to make them vote to end this crisis."
