Hoo Boy ... DeJoy! By Jim Hightower

[justaprogressive]

Woe is us (the American people) for having our jewel of a national Postal Service saddled with a corporate-minded postmaster general, Louis DeJoy. Formerly CEO of a private shipping contractor, DeJoy's chief qualification for running this invaluable public service is that he's been a major donor to Republican politicians — including Donald Trump, who appointed him to the post.

In 2020, the new honcho put forth a 10-year scheme to "save" the people's post office by imposing boilerplate corporate tactics — downsize staff, cut service and raise prices. He gave his plan a zippy PR slogan: "Delivering for America." But delivering less for more is a hard sell, and people soon started rebelling against absurdly late delivery, closure of local branches, long lines at understaffed postal counters, and relentless price hikes, including another 8% increase this year.

Excuse my bad play on words, but there is no joy in seeing an essential public service needlessly gutted. Millions of us rely on timely mail delivered by the amazing network of public postal workers. Their linking any one ZIP code to all others is a pillar of our democracy, not only servicing the well-off and corporate elites, but crucial to small businesses, rural communities, people getting medicines by mail — as well as to millions of us wanting to vote by mail this November.

Four years of DeJoy's corporate gimmicks to "improve" our postal service by shriveling it have proven disastrous — and the harm is spreading. Enough! This is a time when your voice can matter, for a bipartisan outcry is demanding that Congress and/or the postal board of governors step in pronto to terminate DeJoy's political meddling. For information and action go to: TakeOnWallSt.com.

more...

[Hotler]

1. Kick and rec for Jim. nt

[marble falls]

2. I think he's got to go - three years ago. For whatever reason he's been kept on ...

... but in my years using the post office (I'd never use UPS with their 1950s Brown Truck mentality, the class of mailing I'd use with FedEx is going to be delivered by the Post Office, anyways.) I have never had a problem with the post office that wasn't my fault, like the one time when my wife sent out socks to customers that never made it to the delivery. She used mailing bags instead of the boxes we usually use because "bags are cheaper". The automatic processing definitely ate the socks bags and all. The single pair packages made it, the multiple pair packages did not.

Between my wife and myself over our careers before retiring and doing a little home business, we've used post offices on just about every continent, except Antarctica and the part of Asia that is the Middle east.

I love the US Post Office. Even the Canadian post office was a royal pain. Very gruff and unhelpful desk personal every time. And I love Canada, could live there gladly.

[NJCher]

6. the post office spreads good jobs around all of America

One thing a lot of people probably don't realize is that the post office spreads well-paying jobs with benefits all across America. In small towns you don't find many job opportunities, but if you can get with the post office, you can have a good income, insurance, and can provide quite ably for a family.

Here's the specific page that tells what you can do:
https://takeonwallst.com/action/

[marble falls]

8. I think the post office rank and file have completely obliterated the meme of "going postal". I think ...

... DeJoy is fully capable of bringing the bad old days back.

I'm still pissed with the way he dumped and wrecked millions of dollars worth of sorting machinery that was never installed or used just because the Post Office under the Obama administration ordered it.

[calimary]

11. Maybe DeJoy and his minions see all of that as part of the problem?

Good reliable service provided to the masses? Good golly gee whiz, can’t have THAT, can we?

[NJCher]

14. yeah, as well as the jobs!

eom

[duckworth969]

3. What is the political calculation for Biden not to remove DeJoy from his position?

If anybody has ideas, I would sure like to hear them.

[Botany]

7. Biden needs more people on the Postal Service Commission to have enough votes for DeJoy's removal

Hopefully President Joe will have enough people on the Postal Commission sometime soon. DeJoy is
like Clearance Thomas in that he sees his job as working for the right and not the American people.

[marble falls]

10. I don't think DeLay is an ideologue, he's more a heartless corporate numbers cruncher with no consideration for ...

... for people - the public or employees. He's all about "trimming fat" and staying in budget all the while cutting it.

[NJCher]

18. not that this matters, it doesn't

but I saw this jerk on television and watched his communication skills and was disgusted and appalled that anyone that crude could make it to that position.

No finesse whatsoever. Just a crude jerk, like his benefactor, trump.

C'mon, when you get to that level, at least have some grace and charm. Examples on our side would be former "Mayor" Pete, people like Sheldon Whitehouse, and way out in the stratosphere would be Barack Obama. Jen Psaki has lots to say on this point.

My idea of a damn near perfect communicator is Andrew Weissman, though. I have to get my daily fix of him, which fortunately is not difficult. His level-headedness, his acutely keen listening skills, his delivery--all endlessly engage me.

Now that I've taken you through my perceptions of a good communicator (from the POV of a communications professor), I'm hoping you see how skilled our side is and how virtually nonexistent theirs are. OK, Reagan, but that was decades ago.

[former9thward]

15. Biden has appointed a majority of the Board.

Biden and the Board don't have the same feelings on this matter as you do.

[quakerboy]

28. he has those people

The majority of the board are now biden appointees, if memory serves, with either one or two trump appointees that have stayed past their terms and havnt had anyone nominated to replace them.

For whatever reason, the biden administration has chosen not to act on this front. It's frustrating and baffling

[Celerity]

48. Because the board members Biden appointed, when combined with the others still there, do not want to remove him.

I posted on this extensively ages ago, back in February and March 2021 and then multiple times after that.

I said DeJoy was going nowhere, and people just refused to believe it and/or attacked me, ridiculed me, said, 'Do you ever get tired of being wrong?', etc etc.

I told all who took issue with my positings back then to bookmark it and get back to me when they proved me wrong.

Not one has.

Biden's Postal Board Nominees Unlikely to Spell Quick End to Postmaster General's Tenure

The president's picks are probably not going to vote to remove DeJoy and are knowledgeable on postal issues, observers say.

https://www.govexec.com/management/2021/02/bidens-postal-board-nominees-unlikely-spell-quick-end-dejoys-tenure/172314/

FEBRUARY 25, 2021

President Biden’s nominations to fill out the U.S. Postal Service’s governing board will give his priorities greater weight in the mailing agency’s future, but appear unlikely to bring about a swift end to Louis DeJoy’s tenure as postmaster general. Biden on Wednesday put forward Ron Stroman, until recently the deputy postmaster general; Amber McReynolds, a voting rights activist; and Anton Hajjar, a former American Postal Workers Union official, to fill the three vacancies currently on the board. If confirmed, the board of governors would see all nine Senate-confirmed seats occupied for the first time in more than a decade and a more balanced makeup with four Republicans, four Democrats and one independent.

Only the board would have the authority to remove the embattled DeJoy—as some congressional Democrats and stakeholders have sought—a process that would require a majority vote from the panel. The existing members, however, all of whom were appointed by President Trump, have shown little interest in taking such a drastic step. Earlier this month, Ron Bloom, a Democrat and former Obama administration appointee, became chairman of the panel. Bloom reiterated on Wednesday he worked closely with DeJoy on the postmaster general’s forthcoming 10-year business plan and it would have his support.

Bloom, who once helped write a report commissioned by the National Association of Letters Carriers that castigated then-postal management for proposing to slash services and standards, has called DeJoy’s plan—which is set to include a slowdown of mail delivery standards—“bold and comprehensive” and said it would “make the necessary changes and do what is right for this great organization.” The chairman, who is serving in a holdover year that will expire in December, approved of DeJoy’s appointment last year. Some lawmakers have called on Biden to lean on the existing board members to oust DeJoy or replace them with all of his own nominees, but the White House has shown little interest in pursuing such an aggressive path.

“It’s up to the board of governors, of which we just nominated three individuals to serve, and we certainly leave it up to their discretion,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said on Thursday when asked about DeJoy’s future. She added that “most Americans agree that the Postal Service needs leadership that can and will do a better job,” but those remarks were in reference to Biden’s nominees. John McHugh, chairman of the Package Coalition, an alliance of large-scale mailers such as Amazon and eBay, said it would be surprising for Bloom to endorse DeJoy’s messaging and then “turn around and vote to remove him.”

snip

DeJoy himself does not see his job as in jeopardy.

"Get used to me," he told lawmakers on Wednesday, adding he would remain in his job for “a long time.”

snip

[Botany]

49. Thanx. K. I. G. knowledge is good

[usaf-vet]

35. Biden should recognize that DeJoy's personal mission is voter suppression in the form of slowing and losing ballots in..

... swing states, where there are heavily Democratic zip codes. A lost ballot here, a late returned ballot there, and he might swing enough votes to alter an election. There is also a fundamental question of whether his changes will affect overseas military ballots, again altering an election outcome.

His secondary purpose is to make the USPS perform poorly enough to make a case for privatization.

[brooklynite]

36. Point to any actual complaints of delayed ballot delivery in 2020.

No evidence whatsoever.

[usaf-vet]

38. Point to evidence that that is not part of the plan for the 2024 election to put 45 back in office.

We won't know until it does or doesn't happen.

If it doesn't happen, then my speculation was wrong. I'm all right with that.

If it does happen, what recourse will those voters have?

Would you be happy with that if it does happen nationwide and it puts 45 back in office?

[brooklynite]

39. I don't start with "we know they will"; I start with "show me the evidence"

Especially when there was no evidence, or even claims, in the last election.

[usaf-vet]

40. The big event for them is the 2024 election. It is conceivable that they have data with everyday mail that show they....

.... can delay delivery if and when they want to. It could be when the ballots are in play.

Here is a small sample of what happened to my family recently. We sent out Christmas cards from our regular list. Some were delivered on time using the exact same address, including the 5-digit zip code. Let me extend this example with a made-up zip code. So we sent it to a family member's name, address, city, state, and 98765 zip code, which is the same zip code as ours.

A handful of the cards were returned as undeliverable without the extended 4-digit code on the end of the 98765 they wanted 98765 4321
We re-addressed some of them exactly as before with only the 98765 zip code. They arrived fine this time. As did the few, we added the 98765 4321

I have developed dozens of databases for clients over the years and know that a simple check of a box could cause different sorting results for a one-day mailing.

When I asked the local post office, they had no idea why this happened. The local post office no longer sorts our mail; it is sent overnight on a 300-mile round trip to Minneapolis Mn and back the next morning for delivery. A DeJoy improvement.

With our historical voting records available to those who need that info and can afford it. I could combine those two data points and generate a list of only Democrats or only Republican historical voters.

This is how they decide how to gerrymander districts to restrict voter access. Slowing mail-in ballots is just another way to gerrymander voters.

The GOP sees 2024 as the make-or-break fulfillment of their dream to destroy our Democracy as we know it. They have shown that they will do whatever it takes to get what they want, including re-electing a treasonous former president.

If I'm wrong, I'm wrong noting lost. But if I am right, our democracy could be lost to a Putin puppet.

[brooklynite]

41. "It is conceivable"

Evidence.

[AllaN01Bear]

4. he was hired by trump to delay or stall the mail in vote . also to destry the ups .

[DENVERPOPS]

34. DeJoys goals are

Destroy the USPS so Fed Ex, UPS, etc get the entire business.

Sabotage the mail in ballots once again, like he did in the 2020 election.....

Obliterate one of the largest if not THE largest unions in the nation.......

As I remember, he also owns a trucking firm, that mostly transports mail....He supposedly stepped down as CEO, so maybe he just owns the business.......

[brooklynite]

37. Wrong

Destroy the USPS so Fed Ex, UPS, etc get the entire business

.

Actually, USPS now gets a substantial amount of revenue for last mile delivery of private firm packages

Sabotage the mail in ballots once again, like he did in the 2020 election.....

No authoritative claims of ballot delays in 2020.

Obliterate one of the largest if not THE largest unions in the nation.......

No evidence whatsoever,

[DENVERPOPS]

42. I disagree

I guess time will show....................Thanks for commenting.............

[brooklynite]

43. Consider that apparently President Biden disagrees as well...

[Kid Berwyn]

5. DeJoy helps deliver chaos.

Which is what Putin ordered.

[Cosmocat]

9. He was put into that position to kill the USPS

and everything described in the OP was done toward that goal, not the usual counter intuitive right wing happy, happy bullshit branding they put on the things they do to dismantle our country.

[AverageOldGuy]

12. DeJoy and his type . . .

Do not understand that the government is there to provide services, not to make a profit.

Yes it’s nice if the USPS can make a profit but service comes first.

[elocs]

13. Well I have young people delivering my mail who never had to take a test to get a job with the USPS.

Once it was a plum job to go to work for them, now they have a hard time keeping good people.
My current carrier will be retiring in another year and feels like after making the Post Office his career that he has had enough.

[NJCher]

19. I dont' know how they got out of any tests or screenings

according to this page from Indeed, if you read all the way down, there are numerous screenings, tests, etc.

[FakeNoose]

16. It's hard to believe DeJoy has only been in the USPS for 4 years

Somehow it seems like so much longer! It seems there's no way to stop him either.

[quakerboy]

29. there's every way, but apparently no desire

Whoever is responsible for this in the administration has chosen not to take on that fight. They have the people in place to deal with it, and trump appointees in place who have overstayed their terms with noreplacements nominated. It's apparently not a priority.

[BoRaGard]

17. Republicans pissed all over our US Postal Service

what a disgrace

[dalton99a]

20. Kick

[Wonder Why]

21. While he's guilty of poor service, his prices are not high. Check out this Mother Jones diagram when we were 55 cents.

[DENVERPOPS]

44. DeJoy

has removed and destroyed hundreds and hundreds, if not thousands of letter sorting machines over the past 3+years.... Forcing the USPS to hand sorting each and every letter...............Surprised that any of the costs are going down, and not up.......

I am sorry, but from what we have witnessed, realizing that Biden cannot fire him legitimately, I would just fire him, and tell him to take me to court, and watch the suit go through the same slow crawl thru our legal system, that the Republicans are good at doing.....Of course, the Supreme Court would step in immediately, and put him back in, although they would have absolutely no Constitutional ability to do so, not unlike what they did in the 2000 election......

WASF...............and folks, it is gonna get alot worse in the next six months, believe me. I fully expect, that the Republican's "October Surprise" will begin happening every week at some point.........

[Wonder Why]

46. I agree wholeheartedly with you that he needs to go. I was just pointing out that U.S. postal prices are

better than those in European countries so I don't object to them going up IF he uses the money wisely - like better service, faster service, better customer interaction, electric vehicles, better pay for postal employees, better mail security, etc.

[DENVERPOPS]

47. Agree with you 100%......

thanks for clarifying your point...........

there are so many shameful inequities between the U.S. and other civilized countries, it is mind boggling.........

WASF

And as I have stated before, the perfect title for a book about the last 45+ years would be: WHILE THE NATION SLEPT

[Historic NY]

22. Shipping costs

Apparently he is trying to keep up with the major shipping companies.

[IronLionZion]

23. The myth of conservative business efficiency needs to die once and for all

we've seen too much of this during GOP administrations.

[jalan48]

24. Neoliberalism. Privatization and market based solutions for public programs. Ronald Reagan shit.

[DENVERPOPS]

45. Publicize the costs

and privatize the profits.........

A perfect example is UPS, FedEx, etc dumping their outrageously expensive "last mile" deliveries on the Post Office......

ALL of Rural America is served by the USPS, not Fedex, UPS, etc If those private companies all had to deliver to the "last mile".....their profits would take a Major Hit................

[Number9Dream]

25. President Biden could have appointed two new officials to the USPS Board of Governors - Please sign petition

President Biden could have appointed two new officials to the USPS Board of Governors in December when the terms of two board members expired, and put an end to DeJoy’s plan to destroy the Post Office as we know it. President Biden can still do it now, and he must before things get even worse.

Sign the petition: Urge President Biden to fill two openings on the USPS Board of Governors to save the USPS from DeJoy. We need a USPS Board who will get the USPS back on track and stop DeJoy’s disastrous privatization plan.

https://act.demandprogress.org/sign/dejoy-accountability-24/?t=1&akid=32189%2E8290174%2EktOF4g

[live love laugh]

26. Hahahaha "Congress" won't budge on Trump's appointee. They love the government sabotage.

[llmart]

27. I frequent two or three post offices near me.

All three of them have the worst parking lots of any businesses in the area. Huge pot holes, parking area striping is barely visible, the lawn is unkempt and there's litter. One of the post offices is in a very upscale city and it is always busy. I have to bring in big packages and sometimes lots of them. The front doors are not automatic open and close. I can't believe in a place where people are toting packages that they have to hope that someone is going in or out so they'll open the door for you.

[NowsTheTime]

30. DeJoy: Simply a major player in Repub anti mail in vote plan....

[ChazInAz]

31. These clowns

Have forgotten that government is not supposed to make a profit. Of course, if it did they be able to skim a lot more off the top.

[diva77]

32. I've probably called my Rep & Senators at least 10 times over the years to ask why DeJoy is still there!!!!!!!!!!!!

He has GOT to GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

!

[summer_in_TX]

33. Why oh why is DeJoy still there in the 3rd year of Biden's term?

I just looked up the Board of Governors of the USPS. Four Rs, 3 Ds, 2 independents, 2 vacancies. Both independents were nominated by Biden. Biden nominated former Labor Secretary Marty Walsh at the beginning of March but he hasn't been confirmed yet. I'm disappointed that apparently the independents are not willing to replace DeJoy, at least at this point. Surely there are discussions on the board about the issue.

Of course the evidence of the ineptitude of his leadership and of his ten-year plan have greatly increased lately.

[karin_sj]

50. He's going to do all he can to sabotage the mail-in vote

I can't believe this corrupt, arrogant, incompetent POS is STILL there!! Infuriating!

[oasis]

51. Get rid of Dejoy...PRONTO