Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, left, is escorted to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2020.

Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, left, is escorted to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2020. Carolyn Kaster/AP

Beleaguered Postal Service Rolls Back Some of Its Controversial Reforms

Postmaster General Louis DeJoy bows to pressure on some issues, but it's unclear if he'll roll back all changes causing delays.

The U.S. Postal Service will pause some of the operational changes it implemented in recent months, ceding in part to significant pressure from lawmakers and the American public. 

Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, who has promised sweeping changes to the cash-strapped mailing agency since his swearing-in last month, said in a statement Tuesday the Postal Service will suspend reform initiatives underway prior to his arrival. That will include any changes to retail hours at post offices, decommissioning or relocating processing equipment, removal of blue collection boxes and processing facility closures. Such changes have led to widespread outcry that the Postal Service was interfering with the timely delivery of mail, causing particular concern in the run up to the November election. 

DeJoy’s statement did not address, however, changes he has implemented since taking charge. He did not indicate that his push to ensure network, plant and delivery trips take place on schedule, even if that means leaving mail behind for the next day, would be subject to any pause. Dave Partenheimer, a USPS spokesman, confirmed only the initiatives DeJoy specifically mentioned would be affected. The prioritization for on-schedule trips—rather than the usual emphasis on getting all the mail out—has had a significant impact on service disruptions, which have been reported by employees, large-scale mailers, unions and DeJoy himself. 

The announcement also does not appear to impact a pilot program USPS is running at 200 sites around the country to push mail sorting to the afternoon in order to get letter carriers on their routes earlier in the morning. Under the Expedited to Street/Afternoon Sortation initiative, city letter carriers are expected to return to their post offices by 2 p.m., at which point they sort any new items and mail left behind for delivery the following day. They are also responsible for taking some of the unsorted mail to be "routed in delivery sequence while on the street."

DeJoy said he was pausing the operational changes that are affected due to the timing and concerns many have raised. 

“To avoid even the appearance of any impact on election mail, I am suspending these initiatives until after the election is concluded,” he said. 

Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., who has launched an investigation into DeJoy as the top Democrat on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, said the postmaster general's statement created "too many unanswered questions."

"The American people deserve to know whether he will be returning sorting machines he already removed from facilities across the country, the details of any changes he is leaving in place and any future changes he plans to enact that could continue to harm the millions of Americans who count on the Postal Service for reliable, timely delivery," Peters said.

The postmaster general reiterated that overtime will be approved as needed, though USPS has maintained that overtime was never disallowed in the first place. While the agency’s push to operate on schedule regardless of mail volumes had the goal of lessening its dependence on overtime—the extra work category has made up 19% of total work hours paid to city letter carriers in fiscal 2020—at least some postal employees have told Government Executive they have had no issues getting overtime approved since DeJoy’s policies went into effect.  

DeJoy’s statement also did not address a limited hiring freeze on the small portion of the USPS workforce that is not unionized, nor did it mention the practice of treating ballots designated as marketing mail as first-class pieces for the purposes of prioritized delivery. Government Executive reported on Monday that USPS had begun rerouting mail away from some smaller processing plants, though the suspension of changes to processing equipment will likely also pause those efforts. DeJoy’s reorganization of the Postal Service into three business operating units, which shifted around several executives but kept long-time postal officials in key positions, appears to remain in effect. 

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said he spoke to DeJoy Wednesday evening and asked him for more clarity on what exactly he was rolling back. 

"I told Mr. DeJoy I want a specific, written document from him outlining exactly what changes he is rescinding, which reforms will remain, and an explicit confirmation that all election mail will continue to be treated as first-class priority," Schumer said, adding that DeJoy promised a written response shortly. 

In his statement, the postmaster general recommitted to instituting all of his reforms after the election. 

“I came to the Postal Service to make changes to secure the success of this organization and its long-term sustainability,” DeJoy said. “I believe significant reforms are essential to that objective, and work toward those reforms will commence after the election.”

He also announced he is expanding his task force on election mail, which will include union officials and management associations. USPS will put transportation and other resources on standby starting Oct. 1 to “satisfy any unforeseen demand.” 

“Because of the unprecedented demands of the 2020 election, this task force will help ensure that election officials and voters are well informed and fully supported by the Postal Service,” DeJoy said. 

DeJoy’s reversal comes after mounting pressure from states and lawmakers in both parties. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., called lawmakers back from an August recess to vote on postal legislation to roll back operational changes and provide the agency with a cash infusion of $25 billion to offset losses stemming from the novel coronavirus pandemic. DeJoy is set to testify at a Senate hearing on Friday and a House hearing on Monday. The USPS inspector general has launched an investigation into the reforms, while several lawmakers are engaged in probes of their own. Twenty state attorneys general said they plan to sue the Postal Service over the changes, The Washington Post reported on Tuesday, arguing DeJoy violated various federal laws, including a requirement to bring major changes that impact service standards before the Postal Regulatory Commission.

Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., who chairs the House Oversight and Reform Committee's panel on Government Operations, called DeJoy's announcement a "victory for all voters and every American that relies on the USPS," but said congressional oversight must continue unabated. 

"Postmaster General DeJoy cannot put the genie back in the bottle," Connolly said. 

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.