Reuters reported today that USPS Postmaster General Louis DeJoy agreed to pause the consolidation of Postal Service’s processing network after mounting pressure from lawmakers. There have been a few areas around the country where consolidation efforts have led to massive delivery delays, including areas in Texas (Houston), Georgia (Atlanta), and Virginia (Richmond).
In mid-December, the Guardian explained that the consolidation, part of PMG DeJoy’s 10-year Delivering for America plan, was controversial even before the delays that began getting lawmakers’ attention during the busy holiday shopping season. Now that other areas of the country have been impacted, numerous other lawmakers have joined the criticism of the Postmaster General’s implementation efforts.
Postmaster General DeJoy has been contemptuous of the Postal Regulatory Commission’s authority, but on May 8, a group of senators wrote a letter to PMG DeJoy and the Board of Governors where they questioned claims that the changes would improve service and wrote in part:
“We call on you to pause planned changes to the U.S. Postal Service’s (USPS) processing and delivery network under the “Delivering for America” plan, until you request and receive a comprehensive Advisory Opinion from the Postal Regulatory Commission to fully study the potential impacts of these changes. “
In today’s article, Reuters said DeJoy had defended his Delivering for America restructuring plan as late as last week, quoting him as saying, “This massive and complex evolution includes correcting for decades of haphazard decision making and neglect to our physical infrastructure network,” adding that the USPS knows it must make improvements “within the time limits we have for survival.”
Many online sellers rely on the Postal Service to get orders to customers, and last month, eBay said it was seeing delays around the country, though it wasn’t clear if the company had communicated those concerns to Postal management.
Update 5/13/2024: Article in Federal News Network discusses and links to Postmaster General DeJoy’s letter.
