Trump-backed postmaster general plans to slow mail delivery

[applegrove]

Trump-backed postmaster general plans to slow mail delivery

BY NICOLE GOODKIND at Fortune

July 24, 2020 10:30 AM EDT

https://fortune.com/2020/07/24/usps-mail-delivery-postmaster-general-louis-dejoy-us-postal-service/

"SNIP.......

“These changes are happening because there’s a White House agenda to privatize and sell off the public Postal Service,” said Mark Dimondstein, president of the American Postal Workers Union. “But there’s too much approval for the organization right now. They want to separate the service from the people and then degrade it to the point where people aren’t going to like it anymore.”

The end of overtime work and other changes come as the Postal Service staff finds itself stretched thin. Nearly 40,000 workers have had to quarantine for two weeks after exposure to the virus, according to sources close to the USPS. 

Data obtained by the American Postal Workers Union, which represents about 200,000 postal workers, shows that nearly 20% of all work by mail handlers, city carriers, and postal drivers is done in overtime. 

There are no plans to hire more employees to make up for the cut in hours. Because the Postal Service is required by law to pre-fund 75 years’ worth of retiree health benefits for new hires, it is generally thought of as more cost-efficient to increase overtime rather than hire new employees. 

......SNIP"

Tanking the quality and speed of the postal service to make it unpopular so it can be privatized without backlash from the public.

[Turbineguy]

1. His mission is to destroy the Post Office

But since he's a trump appointee, he'll be incompetent. Therein lies hope.

[Cha]

2. Good point for HOPE. I hate these MFs trying

to destroy our USPS.

Why isn't that a CRIME?

[Newest Reality]

4. Ah...

His ultimate mission is to take over and destroy EVERYTHING, last time I looked. Anything and everything could be at stake until he is deposed.

He may be out to take everything down with him if he can't have his way. He is very used to having his way and the next election is where he gets to become an international, verified, big time loser.

I don't think that is being sensational or hyperbolic.

[ehrnst]

41. I think that he wants to do as much damage as he can before January.

He's bitter and vindictive.

[underpants]

6. This has been a right wing goal for a long time

Going back to the 80’s.

[Rebl2]

34. Yes

it has been. My husband worked for the p.o. in the 80’s until 5 years ago. All of the years he worked there they threatened they may try to sell off the p.o. Even the local managers and supervisors tried to use it as a threat against employees. It was sickening and tiresome. What gets me is most of the people he worked with were right wingers and didn’t care about their own self interest. For hating the unions, the right wingers sure ran to the union steward a lot to file a complaint against management.

[Ferrets are Cool]

31. His mission is to destroy America

[sop]

3. "...There's a White House agenda to privatize and sell off the public Postal Service..."

"They want to separate the service from the people and then degrade it to the point where people aren’t going to like it anymore.” What more has to happen before his supporters finally realize Trump is a one-man wrecking ball, hell-bent on destroying this country?

[Ohiogal]

5. Slow it down, mess it up

So people will be afraid to use mail in ballots....

[murielm99]

10. It's too late for that.

Most people are already getting their applications for mail-in ballots. Ours arrived today.

I live in a red county. Our county clerk is encouraging everyone to vote by mail. The county next to mine is mailing an absentee ballot, vote by mail application to everyone who voted in the last three elections. They are mostly red, too.

There won't be enough poll workers in a lot of places. The election authorities in these counties have the say in how things are done. If they screw with the post office, republicans will be hurt just as badly. I don't think this will go the way they want.

[Rebl2]

28. Exactly!

Except his fellow republicans 🤬🤬🤬

[drray23]

7. Is not it a service of government that is explicitly mentioned

in the constitution? Can't sell it.

[uponit7771]

8. K&R, Trump is ... IN EFFECT ... declaring martial law in part with his election interference

[LuckyCharms]

16. Agree. Nt

[jorgevlorgan]

9. This is part of the plan to cancel the election

Make vote by mail invalidated however possible, and use covid as an emergency to use individual state electors to cancel their states elections. I doubt t it will work, but its transparent. The fact the supreme court is allowing this nonsense with the post office, is in itself incredible which makes me wonder if they would stop him if he tried this.
https://www.sacbee.com/opinion/article243441296.html

[Thekaspervote]

15. He cannot cancel the election. Congress sets the dates for election

Even if he were able to cancel the election his term is over on 1/20/2021 at noon and the speaker of the house becomes the interim president

[uponit7771]

18. He can ... IN EFFECT ... cancel the election by actions that make it near impossible to vote

... or make it harder for the masses to vote.

[jorgevlorgan]

20. State legislature can appoint electors themselves instead of holding an election.

That could in effect cancel their states elections. Obviously any attempt to do this would go to the supreme court. Of course, in bush v Gore, the scotus did reaffirm the state legislature's authority to circumvent the will of the voters by appointing electors. On the other hand, the recent scotus case seems to have given precedent to the idea that electors must act off the will of the voter. This should be made a big deal in order to get republicans on record this is not something they will try, anyways.

[jorgevlorgan]

19. Did you read the article?

Congress sets the date for the US Senate and House election -and states cannot change that. But state legislatures have full authority to decide how their presidential electors are decided for the presidential election. If they wanted to appoint all republican delegates as part of an "emergency" who thus decide to postpone or cancel the election, the constitution allows this. Florida's state legislature nearly appointed all Republican electors in 2000 circumventing the popular vote in order to stop the vote count. Instead, the supreme court stepped in anyways and made it unnecessary.

[oasis]

11. His should be the first head on Biden's chopping block. nt

[scarletwoman]

12. Please help keep their revenues up by buying as many extra stamps as you can, plus there's lots

of other cool stuff in their catalog, like greeting cards with envelopes, backpacks, pouches, totes, beach towels, etc.: https://store.usps.com/store/home

Don't let the privatizers win!!!

As soon as we win the Senate, Congress needs to change that absurd 75% pension pre-funding immediately.

[Blue_true]

23. I don't understand why the pre-fund BS was not killed when we held

all of government in 2009-2010. We need to hold Biden, Speaker Pelosi and then Senate President Schumer responsible for removing that idiotic law in 2021.

Why do we allow awful republican driven legislation to exist, like that removing deductions for excise taxes paid on the purchase of new vehicles? Those awful laws have done serious damage, yet when Democrats gain full power, they leave them in place.

[Firestorm49]

13. Again, the only way Republicans can win is to cheat.

It’s the sleaze factor, and they’re proud of it.

[FloridaBlues]

14. The republicans always wanted to privatize the PO. They might get backlash over this stunt.

When it hurts rural areas. Hang in another 3 months wipe out republicans.

[RussBLib]

17. another way to screw vote-by-mail

it's like a race to save the country before Trump destroys it all

[Blue_true]

21. One thing that I don't understand.

The requirement for the Postal Service to pre-fund 75 years of retirement benefits was instituted during the Bush years when republicans held all of government. Why haven’t Democrats rescinded the law? We had a chance in 2009-2010. We may have a second chance after January 20, 2021. Remove that damned law and allow the Post Office to fund retirement benefits the way the private companies that still have them do, with the requirement that the PO must set aside enough money each year and not underfund.

[Mr.Bill]

22. Get a mail-in ballot

fill it out and hand deliver it to the Registrar of Voters office in your county. I do this every year. Now I admit it's easy for me because I literally live within walking distance of that office. But even if you have to drive 20 miles to do this, it beats having your ballot get lost in the mail or waiting in line all day in the rain to vote somewhere. It's no more inconvenient that going to jury duty and being dismissed when you get there.

If it's legal in your state deliver ballots for all your friends. Just follow the instructions on the ballot. I California they have to sing that I am designated to deliver their ballot.

[imanamerican63]

24. Technically that is against the law!

Hold up social security checks and disability checks along important mail is a federal offense! It a mail carrier not delivering the mail! But it’s Trump and anything is possible?

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

43. Does Social Security still issue checks?

I thought they were going to all direct deposit.

[imanamerican63]

44. There some who didn't have accounts at banks.

I have relatives that don’t and they get their checks by mail, my brother in law is one of them.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

45. Thanks for that info. nt

[iluvtennis]

25. The saving grace is there isn't enough time b4 the election to do this.

trump is a real fkn a-hole.

[Orrex]

26. If I were to cause the mail to be delayed nationwide, what would happen to me?

That's what should happen to this fucker.

And then Trump should go fuck himself so hard that he explodes like the balloon full of 370 pounds of shit that he is.

Alternatively, he could jump into an active volcano. That would also be acceptable.

[flibbitygiblets]

35. Eloquently worded, and I concur!

[Dem2theMax]

27. According to Costco mail order pharmacy, it's already happening.

I was just getting ready to post a thread about this but I will add it here.

I ordered a medication from Costco's mail order pharmacy. It's the first time I have done so. It's been over two weeks and the medication is still not here. They sent it out by UPS, and it switched to the USPS three days ago.

It's been sitting at a post office two hours from my house for the past three days.

Costco has been really nice. Responded to my email and then followed up with a phone call this afternoon.

The gentleman I spoke with told me that this has been happening for the past month. All of their deliveries have been delayed the second they get to the post office. They use UPS to get the medications to the post office. He told me not to expect my medication for at least one to one and a half more weeks. That's what they have been seeing on average.

He said some of the delay could be due to COVID-19, but I could tell he was biting his tongue. He definitely had more he wanted to say, and I could tell he was uncomfortable in doing so. I intimated that I probably know why my package isn't here yet. And we had to leave it at that.

He said more than once that this normally doesn't happen. But for the past month this is all they have been seeing. He said they have been on the phone non-stop with customers about the fact that their medications are delayed.

I don't think this is going to go over very well with all the older folks who rely on the mail to get their prescriptions, let alone their bills. And when we mail our bills, are they going to arrive late and we will have late payment charges?

[BigmanPigman]

29. Are the Kochs pushing this? Yes!

[Grokenstein]

30. It's already having an effect.

I ordered something from UK a little while ago. That was supposed to guarantee delays out of the UK, but no: the package came with tracking and it took less than four days to go from London to Chicago.

But once it reached Chicago, tracking switched to USPS--and USPS didn't update tracking until the moment the package was delivered in California...ten days later. It took more than twice as long to get from Chicago to the Bay Area than it took to get from London to Chicago. Anything I've ordered since has had the same problem IF it goes through Chicago. If it goes any other route, it reaches me incredibly quickly.

Chicago is being deliberately bottlenecked.

Which cities are next?

[SunSeeker]

32. Trump and his lackeys are pure evil.

[louis-t]

33. Not if every citizen knows he's doing it.

He's sabotaging every aspect of government. Grover Norquist might be impressed but your average Joe isn't.

[radius777]

36. Biden/Dems need to make this a campaign issue.

Most people (even Repub voters) view the postal service as an essential and respected institution - especially in the midst of a pandemic - and would not take it well that their shipments/mail/etc are being deliberately slowed down.

[flamingdem]

37. Agree. Where are the Ads discussing this? Voters don't know about it

and repubs might be swayed. They want their checks and meds.

[smirkymonkey]

38. Not going to say it.

That is the only end to this nightmare.

[Hekate]

40. Me neither

[Hekate]

39. Send your mail-in ballot very early

Have I mentioned today that I hate these MFers with the heat of a thousand suns?

[shanti]

42. I'm already seeing it

I have several online purchases which are showing up as 'in transit, arriving late' in my Informed Delivery app. They should have already arrived by now too. This rarely happens. Not good