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appalachiablue

(41,053 posts)
Wed Jul 22, 2020, 06:54 PM Jul 2020

Maine Postmaster Ordering Carriers To Delay First Class Mail, Letter Carriers Allege

"Maine postmaster ordering carriers to delay first-class mail, letter carriers allege." By Joan McCarter, Daily Kos Staff, July 22, 2020.

The Portland, Maine postal service has a big problem that stinks of corruption: Postal workers there say Postmaster James Thornton is forcing them to prioritize the delivery of Amazon packages, making them delay delivery of first-class and priority mail. This has implications for how the Postal Service is operating around the country and what it means to have Donald Trump's pick as new postmaster general, Louis DeJoy, a political crony and big donor who has already been accused by Postal Service workers of slowing down deliveries.

Perhaps to score points with his new boss, DeJoy, “Thornton is willfully delaying thousands of first-class and priority parcels so that fourth-class Amazon parcels can go out for delivery instead,” according to the complaint to the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General, filed on July 13. The Portland Press Herald received a copy of the complaint filed by Mark Seitz, the president of the Maine State Association of Letter Carriers and the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) Local 92 and a 16-year Postal Service veteran.

Two other letter carriers corroborated his allegations, but asked the paper to keep them anonymous out of fear of retribution. Federal law makes willfully delaying the mail a criminal offense. Seitz listed three days, June 29, and July 6, and July 13 as days when Thornton made his order. They are all Mondays, when mail is particularly heavy. The other carriers say it has happened more frequently.

Three of the postal workers who work out of the Portland office say that enough mail to fill several 4-by-5-foot bins has been left overnight, undelivered in each of five of the Postal Service's area units, and that this has happened multiple days per week. They estimate that as many as 2,000 first-class and priority packages were delivered later every time this happened. That includes medications and paychecks, they say, along with other first-class pieces.
They don't know why Amazon has been prioritized, but it has. “We’ve even been told, at times, ‘I want everybody back in the office by seven, so make sure you deliver all the Amazon parcels, and if you can’t finish, then bring everything else back, but Amazon must go,'” Seitz said...

More, https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/7/22/1961575/-Maine-postmaster-ordering-carriers-to-delay-first-class-mail-letter-carriers-allege

8 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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Maine Postmaster Ordering Carriers To Delay First Class Mail, Letter Carriers Allege (Original Post) appalachiablue Jul 2020 OP
Maine? MontanaMama Jul 2020 #1
Why would Trump's guy order favoring Trumps enemy Jeff Bezos's company Amazon? IADEMO2004 Jul 2020 #2
That's my question. Dump HATES Amazon. CurtEastPoint Jul 2020 #4
Wonder if it was an executive decision just due to package bulk? forgotmylogin Jul 2020 #7
Yep, every day a new story about the postal service. I don't think we can ignore them... FM123 Jul 2020 #3
A lot of people pay their bills via mail. Cattledog Jul 2020 #5
The handlers and carriers see everytime I receive CaptYossarian Jul 2020 #6
I have noticed that mail seems to take a day or two longer PoindexterOglethorpe Jul 2020 #8

IADEMO2004

(5,538 posts)
2. Why would Trump's guy order favoring Trumps enemy Jeff Bezos's company Amazon?
Wed Jul 22, 2020, 07:08 PM
Jul 2020

Destroy USPS public opinion, Privatize,dump union jobs, mess with Amazon rates.

Church Lady Voice "Isn't That CONVENIENT"

FM123

(10,050 posts)
3. Yep, every day a new story about the postal service. I don't think we can ignore them...
Wed Jul 22, 2020, 07:17 PM
Jul 2020

Major USPS Changes Could Hamper Vote-By-Mail At The Worst Possible Time.
Election officials who were already facing major challenges in making voting accessible operations during the pandemic were thrown a new curveball this week. Mail service could be slowed down in coming months, as part of a campaign to overhaul the U.S. Postal Service launched by new agency leadership appointed by President Trump. https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/usps-delays-elections-vote-by-mail-worries

CaptYossarian

(6,448 posts)
6. The handlers and carriers see everytime I receive
Wed Jul 22, 2020, 07:29 PM
Jul 2020

mail from my "lefty" causes.

I'm white and am probably being profiled, just like drivers of color.

If Trump gets a second term, I wonder what number will be tattooed on my arm.

PoindexterOglethorpe

(25,746 posts)
8. I have noticed that mail seems to take a day or two longer
Wed Jul 22, 2020, 08:25 PM
Jul 2020

than it did six months ago. I do not have a working hypothesis as to why that might be.

Although now it occurs to me that the vast amount of on-line purchasing that people are currently doing is probably the root cause. Even without a Postmaster telling the carriers to prioritize Amazon.

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