NewsNational

Actions

Mail delays likely as new postal boss pushes cost-cutting

Posted at 12:00 PM, Jul 16, 2020
and last updated 2020-07-16 13:00:50-04

Mail deliveries could be delayed by a day or more under cost-cutting efforts being imposed by the new postmaster general.

The plan eliminates overtime for hundreds of thousands of postal workers and says employees must adopt a "different mindset” to ensure the Postal Service survives the coronavirus pandemic.

"The initial step in our pivot is targeted on transportation and the soaring costs we incur, due to late trips and extra trips, which costs the organization somewhere around $200 million in added expenses," the 2-page notice states.

The plan calls for limiting overtime, late or extra trips are "no longer authorized or accepted."

"One aspect of these changes that may be difficult for employees is that.- temporarily - we may see mail left behind or mail on the workroom floor or docks (in P&DCs), which is not typical."

Postal Service leaders say in a document obtained by The Associated Press that if postal distribution centers are running late, “they will keep the mail for the next day."

The document is dated July 10, and says many of the changes will happen immediately.

The changes come a month after a major donor to President Donald Trump, Louis DeJoy, took over the sprawling mail service.