President of the New York Metro Area Postal Union, APWU
A reminder to the Postmaster General Louis Dejoy. The United States Postal Service has a mission to provide prompt, reliable and efficient service to the American people. This mission does not exist just during the election season, but all year long. Your recent cuts in service have had a damaging impact on the delivery of mail to all Americans. While elections are of extreme importance, to
millions of Americans receiving their life-saving prescriptions through the mail in a prompt, reliable, and efficient manner is absolutely essential. To small businesses, being able to conduct their day-to-day operations knowing that they can rely upon the prompt, reliable and efficient service of the Postal Service, is a major factor in their success. To members of our armed forces, knowing that they will receive those life and spirit-sustaining packages and letters from home, no matter where they are stationed, is paramount.
The overwhelming majority of veterans receive their medical prescriptions from the Veterans Administration through the Postal Service. The prompt, reliable and efficient service that the post office provides them, helps them maintain a decent quality of life. To those who receive unemployment checks, dividend checks, and yes, paychecks through the mail cannot tolerate a slowing of the mail. These basic services to the American people cannot vanish after the November 3 election cycle ends.
Postmaster General Dejoy apparently is pulling back his service cuts temporarily. This may seem like a victory of sorts, but until this pull back is permanent, we have a lot of work to do. Many of these changes cannot be undone. There was no commitment to return the postal sorting machines that have already been removed from many mail processing facilities. While he was careful to say that he
would return the overtime as needed. There was no commitment to evaluate the drastic shortage in staffing, which is the real problem. There was also no pledge to return the mailboxes that have been removed from the streets of our cities.
Also, there has yet been no transparency on his financial conflicts of interest with his and his wife’s substantial investments in postal competitors and contractors.
PMG Dejoy has proven to us quickly, that you cannot go by what he says, you must watch what he does. What needs to happen is that the impact of the ongoing CQVID-19 pandemic effects on Postal operations cannot be ignored any longer by Dejoy and Congress. He needs to join us and lobby for the much needed relief funds for the Postal Service. He also needs to rally for the
elimination of the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act (PAEA), the initial culprit behind the post office financial crisis. It is necessary that Congress vote for relief funds for the Postal Service now! With both Houses of Congress coming back into session, now is the time for such action. The Postal Service should receive the $25 billion dollars that was included in the Heroes stimulus package that passed the House months ago. The Senate needs to do the same.
What we postal workers and postal customers need to do is to stay vigilant, make sure that the American people continue to receive the quality mail service that they deserve and that Postmaster General Dejoy does his job, not just until Nov. 4, but every day after. And if he does not, we need to find a quality person who can.
Postmaster General Dejoy: Sir what you offer is a band aid not a solution.
