The United States Postal Service is removing mail sorting machines from facilities around the country without any official explanation or reason given, Motherboard has learned through interviews with postal workers and union officials. In many cases, these are the same machines that would be tasked with sorting ballots, calling into question promises made by Postmaster General Louis DeJoy that the USPS has “ample capacity” to handle the predicted surge in mail-in ballots.
Motherboard identified 19 mail sorting machines from five processing facilities across the U.S. that either have already been removed or are scheduled to be in the near future. But the Postal Service operates hundreds of distribution facilities around the country, so it is not clear precisely how many machines are getting removed and for what purpose.
Even to local union officials, USPS has not announced any policy, explained why they are doing this, what will happen to the machines and the workers who use them.
DeJoy, a logistics executive and GOP mega-donor, released a statement Tuesday defending his changes – including the removal of mail sorting equipment and collection boxes – as an attempt to “secure the success of this organization and its long-term sustainability.”
But he also announced the suspension of those changes to “avoid even the appearance of any impact on election mail” amid fierce backlash from Democrats in Congress and the general public over concerns about widespread delays leading to difficulty in counting mail-in ballots.
But new reporting on Wednesday suggests that much of the damage has already been done and that some of DeJoy’s changes weren’t immediately halted after he released the statement.
Photos of a postal facility in Portland, Ore., first reported by ABC News, appear to show dismantled mail sorting machines sitting in parts and wrapped in “caution” tape, with postal union leaders saying it’s “highly unlikely” the decommissioned machines will return to use at all, let alone before the election, CNN reported.
Parts of mail sorting machines were also found in a parking lot in Grand Rapids, Mich. by WOOD-TV reporter Heather Walker, who also reported that sorting machines are still being dismantled as of Wednesday, and that the “order came from Postmaster General DeJoy.”
As questions over recent changes implemented at the U.S. Postal Service continue to mount, new images obtained by ABC News appear to show mail sorting machines -- critical pieces of equipment used to speed up the mail delivery process -- sitting in parts in a postal facility in Portland, Ore.
The machines are wrapped in yellow caution tape after having recently been decommissioned and broken down into parts within the last month, according to the postal employee who took the photos, who requested anonymity because they are not permitted to take photos inside the facility.
My mail carrier confirms that machines have been removed from our post office. He said that the machines sort thousands of pieces an hour, and now they have to be sorted by hand.
He also said they are removing sorting boxes used to separate the mail for each address. Now two or three houses' mail goes into a single slot. That further slows down processing.
He said the whole post office is in an uproar and is a complete disaster right now.
-------------------------------- When the world wearies and society ceases to satisfy, there is always the garden - Minnie Aumônier
Posts: 38223 | Location: Somewhere in the middle | Registered: 19 January 2010
The United States Postal Service proposed removing 20 percent of letter sorting machines it uses around the country before revising the plan weeks later to closer to 15 percent of all machines, meaning 502 will be taken out of service, according to documents obtained by Motherboard outlining the agency’s plans. USPS workers told Motherboard this will slow their ability to sort mail.
One of the documents also suggests these changes were in the works before Louis DeJoy, a top Trump donor and Republican fundraiser, became postmaster general, because it is dated May 15, a month before DeJoy assumed office and only nine days after the Board of Governors announced his selection.
The title of the presentation, as well as language used in the notice to union officials, undermines the Postal Service’s narrative that the organization is simply “mov[ing] equipment around its network” to optimize processing, as spokesperson Dave Partenheimer told Motherboard on Thursday. The May document clearly calls the initiative an “equipment reduction.” It makes no mention of the machines being moved to other facilities. And the notice to union officials repeatedly uses the same phrase. Multiple sources within the postal service told Motherboard they have personally witnessed the machines, which cost millions of dollars, being destroyed or thrown in the dumpster. USPS did not respond to a request for comment.
There probably is a good case to reduce the number of sorting machines, reduce mail sorting capacity in general -- for the simple reason that first class mail volume has been going down for years; commercial junk mail usually comes pre-sorted. But dang it, reducing capacity in the middle of a pandemic when people rely on postal services more, not less, is a bad idea. Help the people get through the pandemic first, then do your cost reduction properly -- after we get a handle on the pandemic.
Yea, there has to be a better way of implementing these changes. Businesses and individuals rely on the USPS.I don't think it's reasonable to adversely impact service levels to this extent.
-------------------------------- When the world wearies and society ceases to satisfy, there is always the garden - Minnie Aumônier
Posts: 38223 | Location: Somewhere in the middle | Registered: 19 January 2010
In November, I-1 will claim the election was flawed because millions of people were unable to return their mail-in ballots, so he should just get to stay in the White House another four years by default.
In the weeks before Republican donor Louis DeJoy was installed as postmaster general, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin held a series of one-on-one meetings with members of the Postal Service Board of Governors, multiple people familiar with the encounters told NBC News....
Because Mnuchin's meetings were private one-on-one discussions, they were not subject to the Government in the Sunshine Act, which requires that federal agency meetings be disclosed to the public. Yet many on the board were aware of the get-togethers, one person said. Mnuchin was requesting briefings before a decision was made, which the person called "unusual." There was also discussion with Mnuchin about the "need to move quickly" on a selection, the person said.
White House or Treasury involvement with the Postal Service is a breach of its charter as an independent, nonpolitical public entity, said Tim Stretton, a policy analyst for the nonpartisan Project on Government Oversight. The Postal Service operates on its own revenues separate from any federal appropriations process....
Mnuchin's undisclosed meetings with Postal Service board members add to a broader narrative about financial and political conflicts of interest by DeJoy and some newly appointed board members, as well as White House influence over the Postal Service.
Dave Williams, a former vice chair of the board who resigned in May, told members of the House Progressive Caucus on Thursday that Mnuchin had been actively engaged in the activities of the board.
Before they were confirmed, Republicans nominated to the board had to meet with Mnuchin and "kiss the ring," Williams said.
Once they were confirmed, Williams said, the board members would continue to hear from Mnuchin, who would convey "his approval and disappointment with their performance."
He added, "I've never seen anything like that."
Williams told lawmakers that he stepped down "when it became clear to me that the administration was politicizing the Postal Service with the treasury secretary as the lead figure for the White House in that effort."
As for DeJoy, Williams said, "he didn't strike me as a serious candidate" when he sat for two interviews with the board. But, Williams said, "it was apparent he was going to be selected."
quote:
Mnuchin late last month finally reached a deal to release the loan, negotiating specific terms with the board even though it is supposed to operate independently of the executive branch. Among the terms: The Postal Service had to disclose its proprietary, negotiated service agreements with Amazon and other outfits to the Treasury Department.
The Postal Service, amid the coronavirus, became "desperate" for a cash infusion, and "Treasury got the upper hand," said Stephen Crawford, who was a board member in the administration of President Barack Obama.
Originally posted by pianojuggler: In November, I-1 will claim the election was flawed because millions of people were unable to return their mail-in ballots, so he should just get to stay in the White House another four years by default.
You heard it here first.
Hardly the first.
But that's not the way the Constitution works. Assuming there is no outcome, come inauguration, we get an interim President Pelosi.
I wonder who pays. USPS for late delivery (doubtful), or the vendor who eats the cost and sends a second shipment. If the vendor refuses, and I'm the one who bought the chicks, I just put a stop on the check or call my credit line and tell them to refuse payment. Either way, I suspect more farmers will cease to trust the USPS and will resort to other means.
This is another reason why some people don't care much about USPS and are happy with cutting its budget. It's often not perceived as an efficient operation. Instead it's thought of as a government-coddled nest of shirkers who fight technological changes that have diminished its monopoly power over time.
Posts: 12759 | Location: Williamsburg, VA | Registered: 19 July 2005
