Senator, union leader: Postal Service considers downsizing

[turbinetree]

Source: Associated Press

By ANTHONY IZAGUIRRE
an hour ago




CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — The U.S. Postal Service is considering closing post offices across the country, sparking concerns ahead of an anticipated surge of mail-in ballots in the 2020 elections, U.S. Sen Joe Manchin and a union leader said Wednesday.

Manchin said he has received numerous reports from post offices and colleagues about service cuts or looming closures in West Virginia and elsewhere, prompting him to send a letter to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy asking for an explanation.

The possible cutbacks come as DeJoy, a major donor to President Donald Trump who took control of the agency last month, moves to eliminate overtime for hundreds of thousands of postal workers, potentially causing a delay in mail deliveries. A recent document from the Postal Service, obtained by The Associated Press, described the need for an “operational pivot” to make the cash-strapped agency financially stable.

“It’s just asinine to think that you can shut something down or throttle it back in terms of the pandemic when basically the lifeline for voting and democracy is going to be in the hands of the Postal Service,” Manchin, a Democrat, told reporters Wednesday.





Read more: https://apnews.com/6286976131e9841c0e10b0bac26708c6

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-snip-

Maybe just maybe we should talk about that funding for 75 years into the pension program set up by the republicans...............

[soothsayer]

1. Yeah that pension thing...

Bastids

[JI7]

7. but right now specifically is about the election

[soothsayer]

8. Yeah I get that

[secondwind]

2. This is frightening beyond words........

[SergeStorms]

3. Imagine that.

Just in time for November's election. DeJoy certainly is living down to Trump's expectations, isn't he? I hate those fuckers. I REALLY hate those fuckers!

[Tommymac]

4. So it begins

Armed racist rightwingnuts running amok.

Secret Police Goons fomenting violence.

Willful disruption of the means a lot of us will use to cast our ballots.

We All gotta keep speaking out in the streets and online, causing good trouble.

[Lasher]

5. USPS problems have been manufactured by Republicans

By their pre-funding rule for pensions, just as you say. They hate the Postal Service.

[Rebl2]

9. Exactly!

Started under Bush and Obama should have fixed it so they didn’t have to do pre-funding 75 years into the future-ridiculous.

[xxqqqzme]

21. Can that act

be repealed? Or the pension provision challenged?

When we lived in West Virginia we had to go to the post office in town for packages or mail that didn't fit our rural mailbox.

[Lasher]

29. Congress and the president did this; they can undo it.

Like Rebl2 said, Obama should have fixed this during his first 2 years when Democrats controlled Congress.

These days the WV post office will bring packages to my house if they won't fit in my roadside mailbox. I had to call to let them know this was my preference.

[Rebl2]

38. I do

believe it can be undone because Democrats have talked in the past about doing so.

[Cosmocat]

27. They play the LONG game

did that a decade or so ago ...

Just never stops.

[Lasher]

30. They hate government jobs where you can earn a decent living.

Reagan got this ball rolling.

[Cosmocat]

33. Yeah

it is insane ... Even people who HAVE the jobs will vote R like their lives depend on it. You know there have been a boatload of USPS workers who were republicans. I know public school teachers who are republicans. Somehow they don't get that their guys/gals are gunning for their jobs.

[Lasher]

34. I was about to say teachers are next

And yet so many of them fail to see they are enabling our enemies.

[Cosmocat]

35. Yep

nm

[Jose Garcia]

37. The Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act had bipartisan support and was passed by a voice vote

Not one member of Congress, Democrat or Republican, opposed it:

https://www.congress.gov/bill/109th-congress/house-bill/6407/all-actions?overview=closed#tabs

[scarletwoman]

6. This is the most dangerous and disgusting outrage perpetrated by the trump maladministration.

For one thing, closing small rural post offices will literally kill off the communities they currently serve.

[Rebl2]

10. The

rural areas raise hell when they try to close their P.O. It is somewhat of a gathering place for them. I worry they will close suburban p.o. I get my mail at a P.O. Box in my suburb. He wants to make it difficult for us to mail in ballots in the fall because more suburbs are going for Biden.

[Cetacea]

11. K&R

[mdbl]

12. Maybe we should take all the money out of the Senate pensions

and transfer it to the postal workers pensions. That sounds fair to me. Also make the Senators pay for half their benefits.

[rpannier]

16. Take it out of the pensions of every idiot who voted for that law

Republicans and Democrats

[Marie Marie]

13. Hey morons - the USPS handles much more than mail in ballots.

From bills (yes, some people still actually get bills in the mail) to prescriptions and everything in between, people need to receive their mail on time.

[C Moon]

14. I have no doubt there will be mail robberies when the mail voting starts.

Putin and GOP probably have plans ready to set into motion regarding stealing ballots before they reach their destinations.

[Duppers]

22. Probably!

Although Hubs & I are in our 70s, we have decided to vote in person to make sure our votes are counted.

(And I intend to scream bloody murder if an maskless person gets with 10' of me.)

[Pobeka]

15. Trump is so lame he can't even keep the USPS open.

I hope that doesn't become a meme, and force Trump to fund the USPS to save his own ego.

[not_the_one]

17. They will reduce the # of post offices,

which will automatically slow down the delivery of mail-in ballots,

then they will do everything they can to CAUSE delays for the post offices left open,

then they will pass legislation that REQUIRES that mail-in ballots MUST be post marked one day before the election. All post marked ballots THE DAY OF the election and after, will not be counted.

Post offices will then have such a backlog of ballots they will not be able to get them post marked by the required date, although they were submitted to the post office BEFORE the day of the election.

A further possibility of interference could be if the envelope the ballot is mailed in requires the voters name and signature on the outside, one dedicated turdette working in each post office can quickly run through the names, compare to a list of registered voters and their party, and toss the democrats... If the names and signatures are required on the ballot envelope INSIDE the mail envelope, it could still be done once it is opened.

MEANWHILE, Putin has the electronic vote tallies already coded for the hackers to "make it so"...

Biden has it in the bag...

I still say we should offer HUGE rewards to anyone with verifiable proof of mail-in-ballot manipulations (or for that matter, ANY vote manipulations, electronic or mail-in), with guaranteed jail terms for the offenders, it could help.

For a large enough amount most people will report offenders, and EVERYONE hates the idea of going to jail.

Just a thought.

[Thekaspervote]

18. Options: hand carry your mail' in ballot to the ballot box yourself. No lines, no waiting!

Or vote early in person. Both are very good options

PLEASE PASS IT ON!!

[catchnrelease]

20. I just decided today to do this

I have voted by mail--with no problems--for decades. But today I was thinking that when I get my ballot and it's done, I will take it to one of the drop off points myself. Just to be double sure that there is no funny stuff about things getting lost, or too damaged to deliver, late postmarks etc. Normally I'd mail it as usual, but this year I'm not taking any chances. I'm in Calif, so really it should be safe, but still....taking no chances. A friend has said she's doing the same, so maybe the idea will spread.

[lagomorph777]

26. I hope VA will have drop-off points.

[dhill926]

28. yes...we always carry our mail in ballot...

and put it in the box. We just like the idea of voting in person, and having the mail in ballot, gives us a lot of time to think about the down ballot choices...

[Thekaspervote]

19. Remember this may hurt the gop more than us!

Older gop voters are getting very confused and rightly so. Their idiot king says voting by mail isn’t safe, yet they are afraid of becoming ill if they vote in person. This could work in our favor.

The link posted is from a FL paper, but it ran in many of the mainstream papers across the red states

https://floridapolitics.com/archives/352724-heres-how-donald-trumps-opposition-to-mail-voting-hurts-the-gop

Here’s another link..same concept

https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2020/05/9818232/trump-attack-vote-by-mail-coronavirus

[bucolic_frolic]

23. They must have had plans for this on the shelf, it was discussed several years ago

to eliminate Saturday home delivery, or deliver 4 days a week.

In the Great Recession my local PO was not vacuumed often, and floors never waxed. Lobby was cold in winter, warm in summer. Now the lobby is spotless, the floors waxed, carpet runners cleaned, lobby comfortable with air conditioning. This maintenance is done with outside contractors, so they are spending. Can't say if it's imprudence, or an attempt to further stress them financially. I'm sure these are not local decisions, it's from high up the chain of command.

[bonniebgood]

24. Any USPS Supervisor working for trump, caugTAMPERING with the Mail should be

Fired and Charges Filed. This is a Federal Crime already on the books.

Definition of 'tampering'
1.interfere with (something) in order to cause damage or make unauthorized alterations.
"someone tampered with the brakes on my car"
2.
exert a secret or corrupt influence upon (someone).

https://legalbeagle.com/12122431-consequences-mail-tampering.html

[lagomorph777]

25. Happy to see Senator Manchin caucusing with the Dems on this.

[shanti]

31. So..

They suppress voting by closing voting stations, and now that vote by mail is a thing, they want to close the post office. Transparent buggers, aren't they?

[Sunlei]

32. Republicans kill Americans mail delivery for future private for personal profit ventures.

[qwlauren35]

36. This is proof

that Trump owns the Senate.

Republican Senators, and other Republican candidates use the postal service to mail information. A lot of constituents read these blasts and make decisions based on them.

Republicans are shooting themselves in the foot by fucking with the US Mail.

I hope it backfires.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

39. Kick