Postmaster general announces he is 'suspending' policies that were blamed for causing mail delays

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Washington Post

The U.S. Postal Service will halt its controversial cost-cutting initiatives until after the election -- canceling service reductions, reinstating overtime hours and ceasing the removal of mail-sorting machines and public collection boxes, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy announced in a statement Tuesday.

The declaration comes as lawmakers prepared to question DeJoy and USPS board of governors Chairman Robert M. Duncan in a Friday hearing in the Senate and at a Monday hearing in the House on those policy changes, which have caused mail slowdowns and threatened to jeopardize ballot collection during the November election.

DeJoy, a former logistics executive and ally of President Trump, took office in June and swiftly made organizational changes to the nation's mail service, cracking down on overtime hours and banning extra trips by postal carriers trying to ensure on-time mail delivery. The result was mail delays in localities across the country that ensnared prescription medications and election mail during some mid-summer primaries.

The Postal Service also planned to take 671 mail-sorting machines, roughly 10 percent of its inventory, offline to cut costs, and had in recent days removed, relocated and replaced public mailboxes in a number of states including Oregon, Pennsylvania, California, Ohio, Montana and Arizona, among others. Democratic lawmakers had begun in recent weeks to take DeJoy to task over those changes, with several calling for him to resign. Postal Service Inspector General Tammy Whitcomb launched an investigation of those policies last week, along with DeJoy's financial portfolio.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/senate-will-hold-postal-service-hearing-with-dejoy-on-friday-as-mail-delay-fears-grow/2020/08/18/5f978e76-e14f-11ea-8dd2-d07812bf00f7_story.html

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Original article -

Postmaster general announces he is "suspending" policies that were blamed for causing mail delays

By
Jacob Bogage
August 18, 2020 at 1:47 p.m. EDT


Breaking: Amid intense scrutiny, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy said that he is expanding a task force on election mail and he expects the Postal Service to deliver "election mail on time and within our well-established service standards."

He said retail hours would not be changed, neither mail-sorting machines nor blue mailboxes would be removed, no mail-processing facilities would be closed, and that overtime would be available as needed.

This story will be updated.

NYT article -

The postmaster general suspends widely criticized cost-cutting measures.


Louis DeJoy, the postmaster general, said on Tuesday that he would suspend cost-cutting initiatives at the United States Postal Service until after the election. Mr. DeJoy's announcement came in response to an onslaught of criticism that the cutbacks would derail mail-in voting and disenfranchise voters seeking to vote safely during a pandemic.

"There are some longstanding operational initiatives -- efforts that predate my arrival at the Postal Service -- that have been raised as areas of concern as the nation prepares to hold an election in the midst of a devastating pandemic," Mr. DeJoy said in a statement. "To avoid even the appearance of any impact on election mail, I am suspending these initiatives until after the election is concluded."

He vowed that retail hours at the Post Office will not change, that no mail processing facilities would be closed, and that overtime would continue to be approved. His announcement came days before he was set to testify before both chambers of Congress, after lawmakers in both parties and voter rights advocates charged that the policy changes were jeopardizing not only voters' ability to cast their ballots safely in the general election, but the delivery of important medicines, paychecks and documents.

In a sign of the severity of the backlash, the House was set to return from its annual summer recess and vote on legislation put forward by House Democrats that would revoke policy changes until Jan. 1, 2021, or the end of the pandemic, as well as include $25 billion in funding for the beleaguered agency.

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2020/08/18/us/dnc-convention-election#the-postmaster-general-suspends-widely-criticized-cost-cutting-measures

[durablend]

1. So what's he gonna do *instead* ?

[BumRushDaShow]

4. Someone posted the past couple days that they probably

already removed what they intended to remove (and will probably not replace either), so anything that might have happened after that would be icing on their cake.

[NCjack]

15. Restore the stuff taken out. On the same schedule that the workers removed it.

[BumRushDaShow]

21. There have been anecdotal reports of equipment having been surplussed and destroyed

so there will need to be a line-item accounting of everything that was touched that was not already scheduled for surplus (e.g., non-functional equipment that might have already been replaced and/or obsolete equipment that needed disposal, etc).

[catrose]

33. Yes. Put the sorting machines back, return or reopen to the mail boxes.

[Thomas Hurt]

2. sure but how many sorters and mail boxes have already been removed and are they being returned.

[Mike 03]

6. This is key.

Return or replace the mail sorting machines.

[barbtries]

3. the people win.

I would like to engage my postman in an ongoing conversation to be sure he's living up to his word.

He knows he is criminally exposed for what he's been doing.

[SheltieLover]

5. Ass in hot water?

Lock that pos up!

[Miguelito Loveless]

7. IS he going to return the mail sorting machines

and mail boxes he stole?

[stillcool]

14. in the statement he says "machines and mail-boxes

will remain where they are"....wherever the fuck that is.

[groundloop]

51. That's just double talk for "we've already done what we intended to do"

It's not a win for us until they replace every last sorting machine and mail box that has been removed. I doubt if that's going to happen.

[ArizonaLib]

20. He also needs to account for those missing ones and return EACH and every one of them

His answer should not be 'they have been placed in service, just in different locations'. It would be like asking your teenager where they were when they went out for the evening and receiving an answer to the effect of 'what does is matter, I was out'.

[BumRushDaShow]

29. Or taking your analogy a step further

the teen returning home after borrowing the car and you looking out the window at the driveway while asking where was it parked, since it's neither in the driveway, nor in the garage, nor anywhere on the street nearby, and you getting the answer - "I parked it and came right home!!111!1!!!1".

[ArizonaLib]

37. Yes!!!

nm

[Squinch]

8. Who believes him, raise your hand.

[Javaman]

9. The system is already fucked but...

It’s interesting that this piece of shit came out with this before he’s scheduled to testify.

I think he’s trying his best to mitigate the worst of his, soon to come, vey public ball crushing.

He will be proven very wrong lol

[kimbutgar]

10. Will he return those mail sorters to the blue areas he removed them from ?

And the post office boxes. No his word his not good enough those mail sorting machines And mail boxes need to be returned also.

It is not enough!

[stillcool]

11. He writes "machines and mail-boxes

will remain where they are". But, where the fuck are they?

[durablend]

43. DeJoy: "Not tellin...nuh uh"

[crickets]

49. Key point. I wonder if he really thought no one would notice the phrasing and call him on it. nt

[CaptYossarian]

12. He blinked.

[Baked Potato]

13. They squeeze the thumb screws, then let up for awhile for reaction.

Trump is sadistic.

[Auggie]

16. Sure could use a whistleblower about now ...

and a nice little e-mail thread that traces to the West Wing.

[MFGsunny]

27. YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS! n/t

[benld74]

17. Return all boxes where pulled and pick up dates revert

Return or turn on all sorters.
Proof needed on all

[catrose]

35. Proof. We need oversight.

[ashredux]

18. He blinked big-time, for his ass was on the line. He knew he might have criminal liability

[bucolic_frolic]

22. Throw him in the klink! 30 years to life for this! No more Mr. Nice Guy!

Subverting democracy is as fundamental and broad-based as it gets!

[bonniebgood]

23. I am sure the sorting machines are all in jared kushner warehouses to be used to start their

own postal service in Russia. return every f8ing one of them, NOT replace.

[C_U_L8R]

24. DeJoy forgot to attach his resignation.

Anyone who can create such chaos and damage should not be in public service.

[Eugene]

25. As a wise woman says, watch what they do, not what they say.

Up to now, Trump officials have openly lied about the changes they made on the ground. Don't expect them to get truthful about reality now.

[ExtraGriz]

26. Didn't he stopped counting mail ballots at sorting facilities too?

I wish the press/congress investigate this matter...

[ToxMarz]

28. And Trump will let this guy hang out to dry

and pile on top of him.

These self imagined "smartest guys in the room" like lemmings follow each other over the cliff for this guy. EVERY ONE of them, the same thing happens, and yet they are still lined up to fill the never ending void left behind.

[George II]

30. "Suspending" is useless, in many areas the damage has already been done. They should RESTORE....

....what they've removed (boxes and sorting equipment).

Mark Meadows went on and on about this on Sunday, "no additional sorting machines will be taken offline", and when asked if those removed will be replaced, he repeated "no additional machines will be taken offline".

No one has ever mentioned is that removed boxes and sorting machines would be put back where they were.

It's a word game to them.

[BumRushDaShow]

32. Exactly.

They took what they could while they could (most likely carefully planned and prioritized) and had all their bullshit talking point ducks in a row for when the uproar happened. I expect some have already been destroyed and if demands come to replace the equipment, they will then say - "well the contracting process is going to take at least 90 or more days to complete for replacements, so maybe it'll all be in place by the end of the calendar year".

That's how they have always rolled.

[IronLionZion]

45. I thought so. This is all kabuki theater

They've done permanent damage and have no intention of fixing it.

[Chakaconcarne]

31. Well I guess our postal workers will be making good money this election

If they don't replace the removed sorting machines.

[murielm99]

34. So they are resuming their sabotage of the post office

right before Christmas? That will go over well.

[beachbumbob]

36. there will be an investigation one day and felony charges filed on all those who conspired

IF we have a DOJ willing to protect the public

[louzke9]

38. GOOD!

Three weeks ago I ordered some household products on line (not Amazon). Ordered on Wednesday, received on Sunday! Not bad! THEN ordered a few more things from the same company, Two weeks ago Friday. Still haven't received my order. Fortunately I can wait, no hurry. I don't blame the USPS for this. Thank you Mr. Dejoy!

[The Daily Irishman]

39. I'm Sure it has NOTHING to do With This:

[littlemissmartypants]

40. Welcome to DU. nt

[Evolve Dammit]

44. Thanks for the Kirschner link. He's one of the best. Welcome to DU DI!

[ffr]

41. I want Joe Biden's presidency to be 100x more toxic than what these imperialists are doing right now

If they can dish it out to blue/purple states, I hope red states can take it.



Get ready red states. You might feel a little pinch in your back side, you SOBs!

[qwlauren35]

54. NO!

Build Better.

Unite, not divide.

Get with the program.

Aren't you sick of the fighting?

[grobertj]

42. Late Priority Mail

A few weeks ago, I send some business letters via Priority Mail to Philadelphia. It took 2 weeks to arrive. When I talked to the Post Office folks, they told me they weren't surprised. Thank goodness they weren't more important!

[totodeinhere]

46. This administration makes a lot of promises but follows up on very little.

I will believe this when I see it actually being done.

[BlueIdaho]

47. It's all just bullshit unless

He restores all the high speed sorting machines and mail drop off boxes that have been removed. Otherwise it’s “mission accomplished” for the forces of evil.

[Ford_Prefect]

48. Horseshit promise from a professional asshole with no intention to follow through. No replacement of

services interrupted, mail boxes removed or sorting machines removed and cut up, or delays of stamps and other supplies, or furloughed employees restored.

This guy needs to stand in court every day until after the election and swear to the judge that correct and complete service will continue. The day it doesn't he's in a cell.

[seta1950]

50. Ok

What about the damage he’s already done , is that being reversed as well?

[BigmanPigman]

52. Investigate the crap out of his personal financial investments with

companies who compete with the USPS...then lock his ass up.

[dsharp88]

53. I don't see that he's reinstalling the millions of $ worth of sorting machines...

We bought those. They're ours. And he stole them.

We need them back, or he's buying us and installing new ones immediately. Otherwise, he deserves to be indicted.

[truthisfreedom]

55. Revert. Put it all back. Or face prison.

[Acornsouth]

56. He has already committed the crime...

He cant say that he will not commit a crime after he already committed the crime.... We don't get get any 'do overs" when we commit a crime....throw his ass in jail along with anyone else that went along with this crime...https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/1703