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LiberalArkie

(15,686 posts)
Wed Aug 12, 2020, 02:55 PM Aug 2020

'A conspiracy': Alarms sound after postal worker reports removal of sorting machines

August 12, 2020

The head of the Iowa Postal Workers Union alleged Tuesday that mail sorting machines are “being removed” from Post Offices in her state due to new policies imposed by Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, a major GOP donor to President Donald Trump whose operational changes have resulted in dramatic mail slowdowns across the nation.

Asked by NPR‘s Noel King whether she has felt the impact of DeJoy’s changes, Iowa Postal Workers Union President Kimberly Karol—a 30-year Postal Service veteran—answered in the affirmative, saying “mail is beginning to pile up in our offices, and we’re seeing equipment being removed.”

“I don’t see this as cost-saving measures. I see this as a way to undermine the public confidence in the mail service.”
—Kimberly Karol, Iowa Postal Workers Union


Karol went on to specify that “equipment that we use to process mail for delivery”—including sorting machines—is being removed from Postal Service facilities in Iowa as DeJoy rushes ahead with policies that, according to critics, are sabotaging the Postal Service’s day-to-day operations less than 90 days before an election that could hinge on mail-in ballots.

Snip

https://www.rawstory.com/2020/08/a-conspiracy-alarms-sound-after-postal-worker-reports-removal-of-sorting-machines/

Comment: The sorting machines are one of the greatest advancement in paper processing. It can sort thousands of time faster than a human can and can understand our handwriting and get a piece of mail to the correct place. Without the investment that the USPO put into the science I doubt UPS, FedEX or even Amazon would be around.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mail_sorter#:~:text=While%20early%20forms%20of%20a%20mechanical%20mail%20sorter,first%20semiautomatic%20sorting%20machine%20on%20April%2010%2C%201957.
117 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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'A conspiracy': Alarms sound after postal worker reports removal of sorting machines (Original Post) LiberalArkie Aug 2020 OP
Jesus nycbos Aug 2020 #1
Exactly. BarbD Aug 2020 #59
Mail Sorting LiberalArkie Aug 2020 #2
A Discworld sorting machine was so efficient that letters got delivered before they were written. tclambert Aug 2020 #58
Remember: you cannot send a clacks Sealed With A Loving Kiss Hekate Aug 2020 #75
My Dad was one of the postal workers using those pigeon hole sorters. QED Aug 2020 #78
my dad did that as well. yellowdogintexas Aug 2020 #89
I sent the Rawstory post shanti Aug 2020 #3
I'm surprised the media is not jumping all over this. n/t RKP5637 Aug 2020 #7
On edit: shanti Aug 2020 #79
Thanks!!! n/t RKP5637 Aug 2020 #96
They're too busy showing video footage and live coverage of Trump Lasher Aug 2020 #86
Yeah, I guess they think that's where the ad money is right now or something. n/t RKP5637 Aug 2020 #97
OK qwlauren35 Aug 2020 #4
"List of big businesses that use USPS?" That would be all of them. tclambert Aug 2020 #61
Actually qwlauren35 Aug 2020 #87
Not sure why the sarcasm. qwlauren35 Aug 2020 #88
I'm serious, too. Every single large business that does business in the United States uses the USPS. tclambert Aug 2020 #102
Then why aren't they fighting this? qwlauren35 Aug 2020 #116
I did the same a week or more ago by phone. KPN Aug 2020 #108
It's treasonous behavior to get the dictator in to cede some type power, benefits, control to Russia RKP5637 Aug 2020 #5
this is terrible and I am sure similar efforts are to underway SiliconValley_Dem Aug 2020 #6
It's the US Postal Service -- that includes all KPN Aug 2020 #109
nonetheless. CA mails ballots out plenty early SiliconValley_Dem Aug 2020 #112
Drop boxes are the safest approach. But even KPN Aug 2020 #113
K&R! SheltieLover Aug 2020 #8
Exactly! I'm surprised there is not more screaming about this bullshit!!! It highlights RKP5637 Aug 2020 #11
dems need to make clear it will cost dejoy - legally and financially certainot Aug 2020 #107
And They Are Doing This Right Out In The Open For All To See..... global1 Aug 2020 #9
No matter what they do, just about, there are no repercussions for the most part. The founders RKP5637 Aug 2020 #16
Wow you called it. All that "living breathing document" bs is out the window. ResistantAmerican17 Aug 2020 #23
They know how to play the game and the ass in the WH is a master at it PLUS RKP5637 Aug 2020 #28
And who can forget Moscow Mitch. Dean of the senate my ass. Traitor. ResistantAmerican17 Aug 2020 #41
Plus a number of senators are traitors too! n/t RKP5637 Aug 2020 #47
Remember when Republicans used to say they were the party of accountability? tclambert Aug 2020 #63
Speaking of Amazon.. Mike 03 Aug 2020 #10
Not so sure "Jeff Bezos hates Donald Trump". There's a lot of bluster and feints among thieves. erronis Aug 2020 #17
Haha. Good points, good post. Mike 03 Aug 2020 #49
Just about an hour ago I was thinking the same. Amazon may be able to step in here and help out RKP5637 Aug 2020 #18
I mostly have good feeling about Bezos too, but I've never been rewarded in life Mike 03 Aug 2020 #51
Amazon is building its own delivery service. Why would they help a competitor? scarletwoman Aug 2020 #44
Thanks for the info. nt Mike 03 Aug 2020 #50
Private package delivery companies Leith Aug 2020 #54
Amazon will likely hire a contractor for those remote deliveries - it just may not be the USPS. scarletwoman Aug 2020 #64
Fair point Leith Aug 2020 #68
You're very welcome - I learned new stuff, too! I've posted an additional paragraph below: scarletwoman Aug 2020 #71
Delivery in the city yes.. But they do not check your mailbox to see if you have anything outgoing? LiberalArkie Aug 2020 #73
What happens to anything Donny touches? Blue Owl Aug 2020 #12
Yeah, and one can tell that just looking at his face! n/t RKP5637 Aug 2020 #20
Self-deliver mail in ballots whenever possible. . . . nt Bernardo de La Paz Aug 2020 #13
This a violation of their contract, according to our postal carrier, who Pathwalker Aug 2020 #14
Letter carriers are in a different union. Scruffy1 Aug 2020 #26
lansing area. She didn't specify which machines. Pathwalker Aug 2020 #53
Let's see: theft of government property, sabotaging national infrastructure, crickets Aug 2020 #15
It sounds like DeJoy is overplaying his hand. patphil Aug 2020 #19
But we are just removing the old ones so that the new faster machines can be installed later in LiberalArkie Aug 2020 #32
Joe, Kamela, Elizabeth... zentrum Aug 2020 #21
It's so unreal and so incredibly crooked LymphocyteLover Aug 2020 #22
postal workers know that is tampering and would result in some very bad consequences yellowdogintexas Aug 2020 #91
they could target ballots from Dem-rich zip codes and likely would invent some LymphocyteLover Aug 2020 #105
Why aren't delays to Medication for Veterans biting this douchebag in the ass? ResistantAmerican17 Aug 2020 #24
I think this is at the station level, like your local PO. soothsayer Aug 2020 #25
The piss poor journalism in this country is maddening. Scruffy1 Aug 2020 #27
K&R!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! n/t RKP5637 Aug 2020 #31
Yeah it's a really huge difference. soothsayer Aug 2020 #37
How about having to hire more people to sort, thus run up that trust fund about and the price LiberalArkie Aug 2020 #45
When I track an Amazon package coming via USPS, it seems to slow down at the district LiberalArkie Aug 2020 #33
The mail never stops. Those automated machines ran 24 hours. soothsayer Aug 2020 #46
I have had a package go back and forth between the Distribution Center and Annex 3 or for times. LiberalArkie Aug 2020 #48
Wow just sending them back and forth endlessly? soothsayer Aug 2020 #52
It isn't that big of a deal as they just about always be the date listed on Amazon LiberalArkie Aug 2020 #57
Ok soothsayer Aug 2020 #60
I jsut got a package today Kaiserguy Aug 2020 #65
Write to your local paper. Write to the various news anchors & hosts on viewer comment lines. Hekate Aug 2020 #29
Make some noise! Your nearest Indivisible group is a good place to start. calimary Aug 2020 #74
And you'll meet people worth knowing and sharing activism. calimary Aug 2020 #76
I called my member of Congress about an undelivered certified letter csziggy Aug 2020 #99
Kind of odd.... Don't trump supporters vote by mail? Chakaconcarne Aug 2020 #30
Yeah, that's what I'm wondering all the time. You'd think the older GOP would be more... LAS14 Aug 2020 #40
It's not about voting by mail. That is a distraction. It's about Ferrets are Cool Aug 2020 #70
ersnt senate seat is in trouble...willing to bet that's why they started in IA Thekaspervote Aug 2020 #34
If I threw a paint balloon at a post office I would be arrested. This guy NBachers Aug 2020 #35
This is what Roy Cohn would do Awsi Dooger Aug 2020 #36
Does anyone know what rationale DeJoy has come up with for this craziness?????? nt LAS14 Aug 2020 #38
Geez. When will this hit the big time news. Kablooie Aug 2020 #39
So what happens after Trump steals the Election? LiberalLovinLug Aug 2020 #42
IMHO this is infinitely more probable than him refusing to leave Laura PourMeADrink Aug 2020 #103
We need hundreds and hundreds of drive-by ballot boxes set up in the following places: LaMouffette Aug 2020 #43
courthouses, city halls, public libraries. These drop boxes would be yellowdogintexas Aug 2020 #92
Offices that register peop!e for WIC and EBT LuvNewcastle Aug 2020 #94
Blatant sabotage by Trump and his stooges. keithbvadu2 Aug 2020 #55
Democratic leadership should be screaming about this!!! NOW! nt Quixote1818 Aug 2020 #56
Who has standing? The courts are needed. BadgerMom Aug 2020 #62
Good question. Do States have standing? Do State Election Boards have standing? KPN Aug 2020 #110
DEJOYS AND WIFE.... louzke9 Aug 2020 #66
Squeaky wheels get the most attention. BarbD Aug 2020 #67
Isn't there ANYTHING we can do about this criminal activity???????????? Ferrets are Cool Aug 2020 #69
k&r BSdetect Aug 2020 #72
What conspiracy? Kid Berwyn Aug 2020 #77
I mailed a first class letter to my sister last Tuesday (2020-08-04), and... AmyStrange Aug 2020 #80
Pretty simple really. USPS has a contract with Amazon TexasBushwhacker Aug 2020 #98
You are so damn cynical, but... AmyStrange Aug 2020 #101
Weakening it for the election, to diminish public confidence and profitability, for privatization bucolic_frolic Aug 2020 #81
Almost sounds like selling off the technology for imminent privatization bucolic_frolic Aug 2020 #82
I honestly think that is the plan. yellowdogintexas Aug 2020 #93
Some states, like VA, are printing scannable codes on mail-in ballots to track them out and in. JudyM Aug 2020 #115
One thing Trump sure as hell can't say when he leaves office, world wide wally Aug 2020 #83
Don't believe in a new civil war? warmfeet Aug 2020 #84
This is no conspiracy! randr Aug 2020 #85
Election interference is a federal crime. Why hasn't the Idiot's lackey installed @USPSbeen charged? onetexan Aug 2020 #90
Isn't treason a capital offense? cstanleytech Aug 2020 #95
Protests Needed leighbythesea2 Aug 2020 #100
The devil is always one devious step ahead. He's got his Laura PourMeADrink Aug 2020 #104
This reeks of putin The Blue Flower Aug 2020 #106
Post Office Nyleve Aug 2020 #111
Treachery with intent to subvert a national election is treason under the Alien&Sedition Act. ancianita Aug 2020 #114
The corruption is so obvious & out iin the open! There must be something that can be done Illumination Aug 2020 #117

LiberalArkie

(15,686 posts)
2. Mail Sorting
Wed Aug 12, 2020, 02:59 PM
Aug 2020

For much of the 20th Century, mail was sorted by hand using what is called a “pigeon-hole messagebox” method. Addresses were read and manually slotted into specific compartments. While early forms of a mechanical mail sorter were developed and tested in the 1920s, the first sorting machine was put into operation in the 1950s.

To handle rapidly growing mail volumes, the United States Postal Service installed the first semiautomatic sorting machine on April 10, 1957. The Transorma Letter Sorting Machine, manufactured by the Dutch company Werkspoor and distributed in the United States by Pitney Bowes, consisted of an upper and lower section, a conveyor belt transport and a series of five sorting keyboards. Operators read the destination and keyed a sorting code. The letter was then automatically transferred to a letter tray and deposited into one of 300 chutes. The Transorma could sort 15,000 letters per hour, double the amount that the same number of clerks could do by hand.

In 1965, the Postal Service put the first high-speed optical character reader (OCR) into operation that could handle a preliminary sort automatically[citation needed]. And in 1982, the first computer-driven single-line optical character reader was employed – which reads the mailpiece destination address then prints a barcode on the envelope that could be used to automate mail sorting from start to finish.

With the U.S. Postal Service introduction of postal worksharing, ZIP + 4 and the POSTNET barcode in 1980, companies were given an incentive to sort their mail prior to inducting it at the Post Office. Today, presort and automation discounts can save companies up to 50% or more on postage—and many companies use Mail Sorters to sort both incoming and outgoing mail.


Postal employees sorting mail, Los Angeles, 1951

QED

(2,730 posts)
78. My Dad was one of the postal workers using those pigeon hole sorters.
Wed Aug 12, 2020, 07:38 PM
Aug 2020

He had exams to do and I can remember him home practicing.

Sometimes, if one of his buddies saw a piece of our mail, there would be a silly note on the label from him.

shanti

(21,670 posts)
79. On edit:
Wed Aug 12, 2020, 07:41 PM
Aug 2020

Last edited Wed Aug 12, 2020, 08:42 PM - Edit history (1)

Ali standing in for Chris Hayes is talking about it now!

Lasher

(27,500 posts)
86. They're too busy showing video footage and live coverage of Trump
Wed Aug 12, 2020, 09:09 PM
Aug 2020

Every time he stands behind a podium, anywhere.

qwlauren35

(6,112 posts)
4. OK
Wed Aug 12, 2020, 03:02 PM
Aug 2020

So what can we do about it?

I've contacted my senators and congressman.

What more? There's got to be more that we can do.

Could someone list all of the big businesses that use USPS, and we can contact them?

qwlauren35

(6,112 posts)
87. Actually
Wed Aug 12, 2020, 09:20 PM
Aug 2020

I think most big businesses use their own private shipping trucks to move merchandise.

I know that banks and utilities are pushing hard for paperless.

I was thinking of companies that can't escape using the mail.

At any rate, I think I will write to my utility companies and banks and remind them that I get paper bills, and that the situation with the post office needs their attention.

qwlauren35

(6,112 posts)
88. Not sure why the sarcasm.
Wed Aug 12, 2020, 09:36 PM
Aug 2020

I'm quite serious. Some companies are no longer using mail that much, and this is not hurting them. Other companies are.

I wrote to one of my utility companies. Verizon doesn't have a link for writing in.

Don't you want to DO something?

tclambert

(11,080 posts)
102. I'm serious, too. Every single large business that does business in the United States uses the USPS.
Thu Aug 13, 2020, 02:10 AM
Aug 2020

No exceptions.

Not everyone in this country has internet access. Not everyone has a computer. Every business has to make provisions to do business by mail. There is still a tremendous amount of advertising done by mail. A great many legal documents go by certified mail. A lot of parts and supplies come from vendors who don't have a dedicated nationwide delivery staff, except for the USPS. FedEx, UPS, and Amazon all use the USPS for some of their deliveries.

I didn't mean my response to be insulting. I aimed for mildly humorous. Sorry if I came off as obnoxious.

The USPS delivers about 150 billion pieces of mail per year, despite efforts to go "paperless." I don't think anyone ever actually achieves paperless. They can reduce the amount of paper they handle, but it always seems there are critical exceptions, and some end up going by mail.

KPN

(15,587 posts)
108. I did the same a week or more ago by phone.
Thu Aug 13, 2020, 10:08 AM
Aug 2020

The responses I got were not reassuring — just thank you for letting us hear from you on this basically. And my Senators and Congressmen are ALL DEMOCRATs. Going to call again this morning.

RKP5637

(67,032 posts)
5. It's treasonous behavior to get the dictator in to cede some type power, benefits, control to Russia
Wed Aug 12, 2020, 03:02 PM
Aug 2020

for his debt relief and the goods they hold on him. I don't trust a damn thing that goes on anymore.

 

SiliconValley_Dem

(1,656 posts)
6. this is terrible and I am sure similar efforts are to underway
Wed Aug 12, 2020, 03:02 PM
Aug 2020

in other key states critical to Trump striving for 270 EV

KPN

(15,587 posts)
109. It's the US Postal Service -- that includes all
Thu Aug 13, 2020, 10:11 AM
Aug 2020

50 States. I’m sure this affects and is or will be going on in all 50 states.

 

SiliconValley_Dem

(1,656 posts)
112. nonetheless. CA mails ballots out plenty early
Thu Aug 13, 2020, 10:23 AM
Aug 2020

even with delays of some days people should receive theirs. I will not mail mine back but will drop it off as I did the last couple of times.

KPN

(15,587 posts)
113. Drop boxes are the safest approach. But even
Thu Aug 13, 2020, 10:37 AM
Aug 2020

those can me monkeyed with, and especially in red and purple states, even blue states with an R Sec of State.

Trump is desperate and will resort to anything. 35-percent of Americans know it and support him fully. Another 15-20 percent will be confused by all the tRump/GOP spins and possibly doubt that votes have actually been stolen — and voila they have enough support to withstand a challenge. Will the rest of us then go out en masse into the streets in protest with tenacity and persistence? Some will, but enough for long enough? I’m guessing not.

We need all hands on deck right now, not after the election. We need to put a stop to this before it happens.

RKP5637

(67,032 posts)
11. Exactly! I'm surprised there is not more screaming about this bullshit!!! It highlights
Wed Aug 12, 2020, 03:08 PM
Aug 2020

even more why this asshole in the WH has to be voted out!!!

 

certainot

(9,090 posts)
107. dems need to make clear it will cost dejoy - legally and financially
Thu Aug 13, 2020, 09:58 AM
Aug 2020

what are his business interests? does he get major income from one or two businesses that can be boycotted?

and dems need to make clear he is going to be investigated and prosecuted for interfering with mail and sabotaging an election

media need to ask trump questions about it - if he says the wrong thing it might scare the crap out of dejoy

global1

(25,168 posts)
9. And They Are Doing This Right Out In The Open For All To See.....
Wed Aug 12, 2020, 03:06 PM
Aug 2020

are they that arrogant that they figure that they can get away with this with no consequences?

I guess so.

They are literally throwing it in our faces.

Criminal. Just criminal!!!!!

RKP5637

(67,032 posts)
16. No matter what they do, just about, there are no repercussions for the most part. The founders
Wed Aug 12, 2020, 03:49 PM
Aug 2020

probably never figured there would be so many unscrupulous people in government willing/wanting to sell the country out. The checks and balances are failing for this crap. ... and those elements of media in this country for this type of crap tell the stooges that follow them, hey, it's OK. The US will fall from within if crap like this is allowed to continue.

ResistantAmerican17

(3,777 posts)
23. Wow you called it. All that "living breathing document" bs is out the window.
Wed Aug 12, 2020, 04:01 PM
Aug 2020

It’s being choked to death and republicans are the one killing it.

RKP5637

(67,032 posts)
28. They know how to play the game and the ass in the WH is a master at it PLUS
Wed Aug 12, 2020, 04:09 PM
Aug 2020

I bet Putin is coaching him on how to remain in office.

tclambert

(11,080 posts)
63. Remember when Republicans used to say they were the party of accountability?
Wed Aug 12, 2020, 05:12 PM
Aug 2020

Yeah, that was funny.

Mike 03

(16,616 posts)
10. Speaking of Amazon..
Wed Aug 12, 2020, 03:07 PM
Aug 2020

I know this is probably futile pie-in-the-sky but I just wrote a passionate letter to Jeff Bezos imploring him to think of any way he might be able to help in this situation. Amazon is in close partnership with the USPS (some say it's an abusive relationship--I didn't get into that in my letter) and depends upon them. I mentioned but didn't focus on the political aspect--I focussed on commerce, economics, late fees, etc.... because of the audience.

Jeff@amazon.com

Somebody will read it and if enough people write to him about this, maybe someone will tell him about it. I'm pretty sure he's already thinking about it too. It can't hurt to try.

PS: Jeff Bezos hates Donald Trump.

erronis

(14,955 posts)
17. Not so sure "Jeff Bezos hates Donald Trump". There's a lot of bluster and feints among thieves.
Wed Aug 12, 2020, 03:50 PM
Aug 2020

The unifying force between Trumps, Bezos, Kochs, Tusks, Mercers, Thiels, etc. is incredible wealth and a burning desire to have even more.

I think for them politics and posturing is just a game while they rack up another $n billion/day.

They can't get off this money train until it derails totally.

Mike 03

(16,616 posts)
49. Haha. Good points, good post.
Wed Aug 12, 2020, 04:43 PM
Aug 2020

Certainly, Bezos can't be too angry about the value of Amazon stock.

I always want to believe people have some good in them, even guys like Bezos.

RKP5637

(67,032 posts)
18. Just about an hour ago I was thinking the same. Amazon may be able to step in here and help out
Wed Aug 12, 2020, 03:54 PM
Aug 2020

to make sure there is a fair vote. I do count Jeff Bezos among one of the good guys in life. Also Bill Gates might be able to do something if this gets really bad. A lot of powerful people in this country are probably not going to sit by and allow this ass in the WH to fully destroy the US.

Mike 03

(16,616 posts)
51. I mostly have good feeling about Bezos too, but I've never been rewarded in life
Wed Aug 12, 2020, 04:46 PM
Aug 2020

for giving the benefit of the doubt to others, at least lately.

Deep down, I hope we're right and somebody with some power will do something. Otherwise, a lot of suffering is going to happen in this country, both before and after the election.

Just maybe good will win out.

scarletwoman

(31,893 posts)
44. Amazon is building its own delivery service. Why would they help a competitor?
Wed Aug 12, 2020, 04:29 PM
Aug 2020
https://www.vox.com/recode/2019/12/19/21029932/amazon-logistics-delivery-network-fedex-ups-usps

Amazon’s new area of domination: its own package delivery
That growth has come with controversy.
By Jason Del Rey Dec 19, 2019

There’s a reason your Amazon deliveries are increasingly showing up in an Amazon-branded van: The company’s own delivery network is already monstrous, and growing fast.

The online retail giant announced on Thursday that its Amazon Logistics division was on track to deliver 3.5 billion packages globally in 2019 — which accounts for approximately half of all of its worldwide orders, according to a spokesperson. (For comparison, UPS, which was founded 112 years ago, delivered 5.2 billion packages and documents for all of its customers in 2018.)

In the US alone, Amazon’s delivery network now handles the largest share of its customers’ orders — more than its traditional delivery partners UPS and the United States Postal Service each account for — the spokesperson added. That acknowledgment backs up a recent estimate from Morgan Stanley that Amazon Logistics was delivering 46 percent of all Amazon orders in the US, while a source previously told Recode that the US percentage has already hit 50 percent. A spokesperson declined to comment on that figure.

The huge growth of this new business line highlights the rapid pace at which Amazon is maneuvering its way into new corners of its customers’ lives. It also gives some credence to worries from business leaders, politicians, and activists alike that there are few industries safe from Amazon’s ambition and reach.

<snip>

Additionally, Amazon has begun offering a shipping service — dubbed Amazon Shipping — to merchants in some areas that would include non-Amazon deliveries as well, putting the company into direct competition with its current big partners like UPS and USPS. In these instances, Amazon would act in many ways like a traditional shipping company, handling everything from picking up orders at a merchant’s warehouse to executing the final delivery to their customer’s door. Morgan Stanley estimates that Amazon Logistics could be handling 1.5 billion to 3.5 billion non-Amazon packages by 2022, adding at least $7 billion in revenue to Amazon’s overall business. (my bold)

More at link.

Leith

(7,802 posts)
54. Private package delivery companies
Wed Aug 12, 2020, 04:53 PM
Aug 2020

use the Post office to deliver packages to remote locations. You don't really think that Amazon is going to fly a plane to Point Barrow, Alaska, do you?

Leith

(7,802 posts)
68. Fair point
Wed Aug 12, 2020, 05:24 PM
Aug 2020

To bolster your argument, I just looked on Wikipedia which said that the Pt Barrow airport gets an average of 33 flights per day in one year. No doubt at least one of the carriers could be paid to carry the packages.

I learned something new. Thanks!

scarletwoman

(31,893 posts)
71. You're very welcome - I learned new stuff, too! I've posted an additional paragraph below:
Wed Aug 12, 2020, 05:37 PM
Aug 2020
...the company has been building out a network of delivery stations that the company says employs 90,000 workers in the US alone, as well as a network of partner delivery companies that Amazon contracts with to deliver orders to customer doors on its behalf, often in Amazon-branded vehicles. (my bold)


Anyway, sure doesn't seem like good news for our Postal Service.

LiberalArkie

(15,686 posts)
73. Delivery in the city yes.. But they do not check your mailbox to see if you have anything outgoing?
Wed Aug 12, 2020, 06:06 PM
Aug 2020

USPO is the only one. Otherwise everyone has to drive to the UPS or Amazon or FedEx post office to mail a check or letter. Sometimes it is only a 20 mile trip.. Piece of cake.

Pathwalker

(6,596 posts)
14. This a violation of their contract, according to our postal carrier, who
Wed Aug 12, 2020, 03:35 PM
Aug 2020

talked with my husband about it earlier today. The local area workers are spitting mad about it, too.

Scruffy1

(3,239 posts)
26. Letter carriers are in a different union.
Wed Aug 12, 2020, 04:07 PM
Aug 2020

I wish their were some reporters that weren't idiots. Which machines were moved? There are a whole lot of different machines used at postal facilities.

crickets

(25,896 posts)
15. Let's see: theft of government property, sabotaging national infrastructure,
Wed Aug 12, 2020, 03:35 PM
Aug 2020

tampering intended to sabotage federal elections... These are big crimes being committed right out in the open. Somebody throw the book at these goons. It's ridiculous that the situation been allowed to go this far.

patphil

(6,033 posts)
19. It sounds like DeJoy is overplaying his hand.
Wed Aug 12, 2020, 03:55 PM
Aug 2020

The Post Office can't do it's job without those sorters. If mail delivery collapses, the nation's economy will take a huge hit, and tens of millions of people will be adversely affected.

The question I have at this point is, where are those sorters going?
Are they being stored, or sold?
Or junked?

Perhaps DeJoy will have a sudden change of heart after the election, or perhaps Trump will instruct him to let it die.
It will all depend on whether or not Trump wins.

In any event, let's see if Trump spin this as Obama's fault.



LiberalArkie

(15,686 posts)
32. But we are just removing the old ones so that the new faster machines can be installed later in
Wed Aug 12, 2020, 04:13 PM
Aug 2020

November in time for the Christmas mail rush

LymphocyteLover

(5,601 posts)
22. It's so unreal and so incredibly crooked
Wed Aug 12, 2020, 04:00 PM
Aug 2020

undoubtedly they think hand sorting can allow them to select out certain ballots for "special delivery" into the waste bin...

yellowdogintexas

(22,119 posts)
91. postal workers know that is tampering and would result in some very bad consequences
Wed Aug 12, 2020, 09:48 PM
Aug 2020

Besides. how would they know which ballots were the targeted ones? They are sealed, you know

LymphocyteLover

(5,601 posts)
105. they could target ballots from Dem-rich zip codes and likely would invent some
Thu Aug 13, 2020, 08:10 AM
Aug 2020

semi-legal excuse... I certainly hope postal workers would not engage in such a scheme but we're dealing with super crooks

soothsayer

(38,601 posts)
25. I think this is at the station level, like your local PO.
Wed Aug 12, 2020, 04:03 PM
Aug 2020

They now have wee barcode sorters to sort their mail into route order (how they walk their route).

If they disabled/removed these, then carriers will have had to go back to the Benjamin Franklin-designed pigeon hole racks to hand sort, as they used to do just a few years ago (and forever). Problem is they changed start times so carriers aren’t getting in early enough to do this for ALL their mail and still be able to walk their routes w/o incurring overtime, I think.

I don’t think it refers to the sorting machines I ran in the big sorting centers, where they sort all regional mail to go to the stations (for carrier sort and delivery) and such.

Scruffy1

(3,239 posts)
27. The piss poor journalism in this country is maddening.
Wed Aug 12, 2020, 04:09 PM
Aug 2020

Which machines where and why would be just a simple question to ask.

soothsayer

(38,601 posts)
37. Yeah it's a really huge difference.
Wed Aug 12, 2020, 04:22 PM
Aug 2020

The machines I ran sorted all the mail coming into northern va from all across the country, and all the mail mailed within nova to go wherever it was going.

40,000 pieces per hour.

If those machines go, then I don’t know how they’d sort all that mail, because the old letter sorting machines (which could do about the same per hour, but with higher paid employees — and 18 of them instead of 2 on my machines!)— have been retired, as far as I know.

LiberalArkie

(15,686 posts)
45. How about having to hire more people to sort, thus run up that trust fund about and the price
Wed Aug 12, 2020, 04:29 PM
Aug 2020

of mail where no one can afford to send anything.

LiberalArkie

(15,686 posts)
33. When I track an Amazon package coming via USPS, it seems to slow down at the district
Wed Aug 12, 2020, 04:15 PM
Aug 2020

mail hub and then the mail hub annex. For me, both in Litte Rock. Wen I see it hit the annex, I get it the next day.

soothsayer

(38,601 posts)
46. The mail never stops. Those automated machines ran 24 hours.
Wed Aug 12, 2020, 04:29 PM
Aug 2020

There’s no way they could do away with them at the major sorting centers and not be overwhelmed with incoming mail piling up in tractor trailers in the parking lot and taking up every inch of floor space.

That would be mighty interesting to see. I wish the news would take a gander at one of those big sorting facilities and see what’s up.

LiberalArkie

(15,686 posts)
48. I have had a package go back and forth between the Distribution Center and Annex 3 or for times.
Wed Aug 12, 2020, 04:36 PM
Aug 2020

7:54 AM
Package arrived at a carrier facility
Perryville, AR US

5:29 AM
Package has left the carrier facility
Little Rock Ar Distribution Center, US
Sunday, July 26

3:00 PM
Package arrived at a carrier facility
Little Rock Ar Distribution Center, US

2:26 PM
Package has left the carrier facility
Little Rock Ar Distribution Center Annex, US
Saturday, July 25

7:20 AM
Package arrived at a carrier facility
Little Rock Ar Distribution Center Annex, US

7:04 AM
Package has left the carrier facility
Little Rock Ar Distribution Center, US

1:56 AM
Package has left the carrier facility

1:48 AM
Package arrived at a carrier facility
Little Rock Ar Distribution Center, US

soothsayer

(38,601 posts)
52. Wow just sending them back and forth endlessly?
Wed Aug 12, 2020, 04:46 PM
Aug 2020

That’s wild. My poor postal service. What are they doing to you?

LiberalArkie

(15,686 posts)
57. It isn't that big of a deal as they just about always be the date listed on Amazon
Wed Aug 12, 2020, 05:06 PM
Aug 2020

by a couple of days.

Kaiserguy

(740 posts)
65. I jsut got a package today
Wed Aug 12, 2020, 05:20 PM
Aug 2020

it was shipped 3 day priority mail and say it in big letters on the shipping label. It was shipped July 22 and I got it today Aug 12th. This is one of many package that have taken a lot more time to get to me. Time to raise so much hell with every GOP elected official that they can't stand the heat

Hekate

(90,189 posts)
29. Write to your local paper. Write to the various news anchors & hosts on viewer comment lines.
Wed Aug 12, 2020, 04:10 PM
Aug 2020

Start making a ruckus. Tell them you want information and answers.

calimary

(80,699 posts)
74. Make some noise! Your nearest Indivisible group is a good place to start.
Wed Aug 12, 2020, 06:29 PM
Aug 2020

HIGHLY recommended!!!

Make some NOISE!

That, too, is highly recommended!

calimary

(80,699 posts)
76. And you'll meet people worth knowing and sharing activism.
Wed Aug 12, 2020, 06:50 PM
Aug 2020

More folks out there pulling the rope in the same directions as you're pulling. That's where you meet 'em. And they're all doing Zoom meetings! That seems to be the connective tissue du jour. Some of those folks are so busy and so connected and so involved that they're doing multiple Zoom meetings a week, and even two or more on the same day/evening. That "six degrees of separation" thing can shrink noticeably, this way.

csziggy

(34,120 posts)
99. I called my member of Congress about an undelivered certified letter
Wed Aug 12, 2020, 11:10 PM
Aug 2020

I sent it June 11, they attempted delivery twice - to the building two doors down from the place where I mailed the letter. I got it back August 8.

I got a call from the Congressman's office and they will take it to a higher level. They are already familiar with the poor delivery record of that particular branch and have been trying to get something done about it since December of 2018. Some parts of the delivery route out this way were not getting mail delivered for as long as eleven days. It tanked one person's business since she was not getting checks from her clients.

Problem is, now I know nothing can be done about it and that things will not improve until at least next year.

LAS14

(13,749 posts)
40. Yeah, that's what I'm wondering all the time. You'd think the older GOP would be more...
Wed Aug 12, 2020, 04:23 PM
Aug 2020

... prone to vote by mail.

But, hey! I'm assuming Trump has a brain cell ior two nstead of rice pudding.

Ferrets are Cool

(21,063 posts)
70. It's not about voting by mail. That is a distraction. It's about
Wed Aug 12, 2020, 05:31 PM
Aug 2020

privatizing the mail. There is a TON (billions) to be made by some.

NBachers

(17,004 posts)
35. If I threw a paint balloon at a post office I would be arrested. This guy
Wed Aug 12, 2020, 04:18 PM
Aug 2020

is destroying Post Offices. He should be served with an arrest warrant on Inauguration Day.

 

Awsi Dooger

(14,565 posts)
36. This is what Roy Cohn would do
Wed Aug 12, 2020, 04:18 PM
Aug 2020

And there will be more of the same, along with underhanded tactics that we won't piece together until months/years after the fact.

None of the historical parallels apply at all. I've posted that here for years, ever since there were lengthy attempts to compare to Watergate, etc.

Kablooie

(18,571 posts)
39. Geez. When will this hit the big time news.
Wed Aug 12, 2020, 04:23 PM
Aug 2020

There’s got to be national outrage before anything can be done and there is Very little time

Just as we thought, there will be last minute election disruptions without time to Correct them.

LiberalLovinLug

(14,154 posts)
42. So what happens after Trump steals the Election?
Wed Aug 12, 2020, 04:27 PM
Aug 2020

If they deny, disrupt, delay, and destroy enough ballots for him to “win “?
Of course he’ll probably also order Barr to do an investigation, which will probably conclude that Trump would have won even BIGGER if the deep state Dems hadn’t screwed with it.

But what I’m asking is do you think anything could actually be done about it?

 

Laura PourMeADrink

(42,770 posts)
103. IMHO this is infinitely more probable than him refusing to leave
Thu Aug 13, 2020, 06:57 AM
Aug 2020

The WH after losing. And it's much scarier too. Say we are ahead in Wisconsin by 3 pts on election Eve. Dip "wins" by 2. Or more than recount threshold for recount to kick in. Then what do we do? Complain.

LaMouffette

(2,013 posts)
43. We need hundreds and hundreds of drive-by ballot boxes set up in the following places:
Wed Aug 12, 2020, 04:27 PM
Aug 2020

1. Food bank distribution sites: Drop off your ballot while you pick up the food you can't afford to buy for yourself anymore because Trump, the greatest businessman in the world, has devastated the U.S. economy.
2. State unemployment offices:See reason for #1.
3. Covid-19 drive-through testing sites: Get a Covid-19 test and vote Typhoid Trump out of office at the same time.
4. Post office stations: Drop off your ballot and buy a roll of postage stamps to try to save the US Postal Service while you're at it.
5. U.S. military recruiting offices: Might as well use these places for something. They're probably not very busy these days, what with fewer people wanting to enlist in the service due to undoubtedly getting a Russian bounty placed on their heads.

Any other ideas?

yellowdogintexas

(22,119 posts)
92. courthouses, city halls, public libraries. These drop boxes would be
Wed Aug 12, 2020, 09:56 PM
Aug 2020

managed by the county elections office and bypass USPS. This is how they do it in the states which have mail in voting.

My daughter lives in Phoenix and she told me those boxes were everywhere. Their system is sort of a hybrid - once you have voted in person 1 time your ballot will come to you in the mail thereafter. If you move and change your address on your Driver's License it will update your voter registration information.

LuvNewcastle

(16,820 posts)
94. Offices that register peop!e for WIC and EBT
Wed Aug 12, 2020, 10:29 PM
Aug 2020

Without the Republicans in power, people wouldn't be needing those services in such high numbers.

KPN

(15,587 posts)
110. Good question. Do States have standing? Do State Election Boards have standing?
Thu Aug 13, 2020, 10:22 AM
Aug 2020

We know the federal government won’t do a thing with the GOP Senate. The State’s need to step in. Especially States like Oregon and Colorado who unquestionably have standing since their elections are all handled via mail in.

louzke9

(296 posts)
66. DEJOYS AND WIFE....
Wed Aug 12, 2020, 05:22 PM
Aug 2020

have between 35 to 50 Million invested in private mail services! He has FINANCIAL INCENTIVES to trash the USPS. Where are those postal sorters going? Are they being sold off to private mail service? Who is pocketing the money?

BarbD

(1,191 posts)
67. Squeaky wheels get the most attention.
Wed Aug 12, 2020, 05:23 PM
Aug 2020

We need to make a lot of noise. Yes, to our congressmen and senators, but also to our State Representatives, State Senators, State Secretary of State, Town Clerk, Town Registrar of Voters. Did I leave anybody out?

Kid Berwyn

(14,651 posts)
77. What conspiracy?
Wed Aug 12, 2020, 06:57 PM
Aug 2020
It’s treason.



Great post, LiberalArkie! DU makes plain how Trump and DeJoy are interfering with the US Mail, a federal offense.

May the next AG be very busy. Oh, and a person of integrity.
 

AmyStrange

(7,989 posts)
80. I mailed a first class letter to my sister last Tuesday (2020-08-04), and...
Wed Aug 12, 2020, 07:54 PM
Aug 2020

-

she promised to text me when it came (Seattle to CT).

It's 8 days later (2020-08-12), and it still hasn't arrived.

My books arrived last Friday from Amazon (Pennsylvania to Seattle), and it was shipped on the same day as my sister’s letter (by the same USPS)!

Something kooky is definitely going on.
=========

TexasBushwhacker

(20,044 posts)
98. Pretty simple really. USPS has a contract with Amazon
Wed Aug 12, 2020, 11:05 PM
Aug 2020

to deliver packages within a certain time frame for a certain amount of money. They do not have a contract that requires a first class letter to be delivered (coast to coast) in a certain time frame for 55 cents. Sad but true.

However, the USPS would not be going broke if it weren't for the GW Bush era law requiring them to pre-fund their retirement pensions for 75 years in advance. No for-profit business is expected to do that, and the USPS is not for profit.

The thing is, UPS, FedEx and all the other package delivery companies that DeJoy has invested $75 MILLION into would love to take over USPS's package deliveries, but no one wants to deliver daily mail. NO ONE! So DeJoy will fuck it up just enough to interfere will the election, and then it will MIRACULOUSLY be revived after the election if Trump wins. If Trump loses, he'll leave it fucked up and drive a lot of holiday shipping to FedEx and UPS. Merry Christmas everybody! This is what Republicans call a WIN-WIN!

 

AmyStrange

(7,989 posts)
101. You are so damn cynical, but...
Thu Aug 13, 2020, 01:03 AM
Aug 2020

Last edited Thu Aug 13, 2020, 01:35 AM - Edit history (1)

-

I must be too, because I agree.

It usually takes five days tops to get to her, but this going on nine days now is freakin’ ridiculous.


=======

bucolic_frolic

(42,675 posts)
81. Weakening it for the election, to diminish public confidence and profitability, for privatization
Wed Aug 12, 2020, 08:10 PM
Aug 2020

As soon as the public realizes their mail and packages aren't speedy, people will move to private carriers. End of revenue for the USPS. Crash by Nov 1, sell in January.

bucolic_frolic

(42,675 posts)
82. Almost sounds like selling off the technology for imminent privatization
Wed Aug 12, 2020, 08:25 PM
Aug 2020

Those machines must be worth money. Private business buys them, the USPS goes haywire and broke, so they break it up with a Trump executive order. ?

yellowdogintexas

(22,119 posts)
93. I honestly think that is the plan.
Wed Aug 12, 2020, 09:59 PM
Aug 2020

I read somewhere that UPS and FedEx are not interested in picking up the USPS business. They need USPS for their far out deliveries.

JudyM

(29,122 posts)
115. Some states, like VA, are printing scannable codes on mail-in ballots to track them out and in.
Thu Aug 13, 2020, 12:50 PM
Aug 2020

An absence of electronic sorting would kill this intended control.

randr

(12,408 posts)
85. This is no conspiracy!
Wed Aug 12, 2020, 08:54 PM
Aug 2020

It is flat out in our face voter manipulation and the theft of an election. He no longer cares about possible criminal behavior. He will do anything to win knowing if he does nothing will happen to him.
He is obviously choosing chaos over democracy. All those who aid and abet him need the harshest punishment if we can pull this election off and remove him at last.

leighbythesea2

(1,200 posts)
100. Protests Needed
Wed Aug 12, 2020, 11:13 PM
Aug 2020

The day anything leaves the premises that is sorting equipment "shaped". People on the inside are talking, so its no secret.
Its an assault on democracy, health and safety.

My aunt worked there 30 years. She passed last year but would be so mad about this.

 

Laura PourMeADrink

(42,770 posts)
104. The devil is always one devious step ahead. He's got his
Thu Aug 13, 2020, 07:05 AM
Aug 2020

side thinking that every US city is on fire with protests and looting. I O W,. Do something atrocious, don't let his people see it, our side protests, he tells them we are wild and crazy. Everything always circles back to him and Fox controlling info

Nyleve

(3 posts)
111. Post Office
Thu Aug 13, 2020, 10:22 AM
Aug 2020

Like I said, have the states call in the National Guard to help the Post Office, with mail in ballots, and arrest those that interfer with the delivery of mail, and the election process.

ancianita

(35,812 posts)
114. Treachery with intent to subvert a national election is treason under the Alien&Sedition Act.
Thu Aug 13, 2020, 12:33 PM
Aug 2020

Sounds intuitive and non-lawyerly, which it is, yet it can also be proven true.

I hope our intel agencies have been surveilling this situation.

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