Welcome to the Zoo
The USPS is becoming a complete disaster since the hiring of Louis DeJoy as Postmaster General. Let’s get this straight. Mr. DeJoy has no postal experience. He is a big-time donor to the Republican party. He is also a major donor to President Trump. I have read that his wife is under consideration to be the next ambassador to Canada. Do I hear quid-pro-quo? Since he hit the floor running the USPS has delayed first class mail. Have delayed parcels. Not worked forward mail in some cases. Changed the work methods in many areas and now the change to case equipment. In my 37 years as a letter carrier and union representative, I have never seen entire routes left on the floor. No mail delivery on some routes for multiple days. Customer service is in the crapper with no relief in sight. DeJoy states that he is here to right the ship because we are losing money. Obviously, he is a bright and intelligent businessman. He has built a company from the ground up during his career. He is an extremely wealthy man. He is so wealthy that he owns hundreds of thousands of dollars in our competitors’ stocks. Does that ring of conflict of interest? I think so, but under the Trump administration that means nothing.
I hear that he is looking to cut service and downsize the workforce. Been there – done that a couple of times in my career. I hear the same garbage wrapped in a new shiny paper wrap. Unfortunately, as a lapdog for the President, the threat is real. If this man actually wants to help the USPS, and on a personal level I don’t think he does, he should start with petitioning Congress ands the President on two fronts.
The first one is to immediately give the USPS a life preserver due to the excessive costs of the COVID-19 virus. They seem to have no problem in giving assistance to every other company in the millionaire’s club but just ignore the very institution that keeps the country running. They can bail out airlines, banks, cruise ship companies, basketball clubs and any other friend but not us. President Trump complains that the USPS is poorly run as he sites the alleged loses. What he does not say is that almost 95% of our alleged losses are on paper due to the law that requires the USPS to pre-pay towards health care for retires 75 years into the future. We are being charged every year over 5.5 Billion dollars for this even though we stopped paying a few years back. To add insult to injury is the fact that we currently have over $50 billion sitting in a low interest account already paid from the USPS under the law. They do not talk about that because it does not fit the Republican narrative.
So, the second thing this new PMG should do is to petition Congress to stop the theft of USPS funds to pre-pay that money. No other company in the world is burdened by this archaic rule. It was done by design to cripple the USPS in the effort to attempt to privatize and steal our assets. Without that mandate we run an operating surplus most of the time.
Now let us get to what I believe is the real reason that Mr. Dejoy was put in charge. My personal belief is that it is all about the mail-in ballot initiative. Trump and the Republican Party have made no bones about being dead set against any mail in ballots for this upcoming election (unless you live in Trump’s adopted state of Florida). The reason being is they believe (know) that a majority of the mail in ballots will be cast against them. They also know that if they cripple the USPS and turn the public against us it will be much easier to do. The public has loved the USPS and especially their letter carriers for years. We are consistently the highest rated government agency in poll after poll. With the public on our side it will be a major uphill battle for them to succeed in this fight.
Are there changes to be made to make us leaner and more consistent. Sure. First thing is to get rid of half the high paid people in Washington’s L’Enfant plaza. The royal kingdom of the USPS is filled with people who add nothing to the service. The same can be said for every district in the country. They are filled with useless jobs filled by friends and family. Stop picking on the very people who actually do the real work – Craft employees! Work with the unions to get the ship upright. We know the job and understand the nuances of how to get things done.
We can go on and on about all of this, but I will end with this; we are in deep trouble with this current administration. They could care less about you and I. Unless there is a change in Washington, we will continue wallow in despair. They do not want us to succeed and will make every effort to make sure we do not. So, make sure you and your family members are registered to vote. Exercise that right when the day comes. It is also more important now than ever to give to the Letter Carrier Political Fund. This fund gives to those who share our beliefs and vision for the future of the USPS. We donate to Republicans, Democrats, Liberals, Conservatives, Independents. Whoever has our back and our beliefs, we have theirs. We support those that support our efforts. This is the fight for your jobs and benefits, both active and retired. Do not think for a moment that since you retired you are safe because you are not. Get involved to protect those benefits. If you do not, you may not have anything to protect in the future.
That is the reality of the moment.
