US Postal Service adjusts in wake of complaints

Complaints about poor service from the U.S. Postal Service are mounting against a backdrop of increased holiday mail volume, worker shortages and a report from the White House Postal Task Force that would eliminate the rights of postal employees to negotiate over compensation.

Area residents report in letters to The Laconia Daily Sun and in interviews that they have seen little change in the last 10 days, since The Sun reported on the first complaints about mail delivery. Some say that, instead of improvements in delivery, they are receiving less mail than before.

Some residents wrote in to say they have been told by carriers that mail would only be delivered on Wednesdays and Saturdays, or that “because of manpower shortages, we should expect deliveries and/or pick-ups only every two or three days.”

Laconia’s postmaster, Steven Legro, has not returned messages seeking comment, but Steve Doherty, the United States Postal Service’s strategic communications specialist for the Northeast Area, acknowledged that manpower is an issue for the postal service.

“It’s different from years ago when people wanting to work got onto a list and were brought in for an interview,” he said in a phone interview. With so many carriers retiring, he said, “Now we’re in a constant state of hiring. People are going out pretty much every month.”

However, Doherty said, “The information of delivery being curtailed is just absurd, and we’re told by management that there’s no backlog of mail; everything is going out.”

He said there is an obvious disconnect between customers and management.

In an email on Thursday afternoon, Doherty further explained the measures the postal service has been taking to address delivery problems.

“While customer service remains a top priority for the Postal Service, the safety of our employees and the public factors into every decision we make,” he wrote. “As a result, we have extensively reviewed everything from staffing and delivery methods to the types of vehicles used to insure [sic] that we have the best resources in place while assuring the safety of those who serve this community.”

Adjusting to the times

In discussing the postal service’s review of local mail delivery, Doherty wrote, “First, let me stress that, over the years, the way our customers use the mail has evolved dramatically. While letters, cards and bills have seen a shift to electronic communications, the rise of E-Commerce has created a surge in the delivery of packages. This has caused us to make adjustments to sortation and delivery methods and to retool our vehicle fleet to larger, boxier types of vehicles that can handle the increase in these larger mail pieces.

“In the very challenging Gunstock [delivery area] terrain, portions of the delivery routes are difficult for those vehicles to navigate in moderate to poor conditions. We did see one serious accident on wet roads this fall and some of our earliest snow days were hampered by difficult driving.

“We have been able, over the past two weeks, to take the extraordinary measure of obtaining an all-wheel-drive vehicle to supplement the local delivery fleet. Please note, this is not a typical assignment of a postal vehicle but we do believe it will meet local driving conditions more impactfully; our drivers have also received additional training in safe operation of the all-wheel-drive. We will monitor its performance and its impact on regular mail service in the area. This may not be the final decision in this matter.

“We are flexing our resources regionally to provide additional assistance to this office through the peak holiday season and we are stepping up our management presence to support operational reviews on a regular basis. We also adjusted one of our overburdened delivery routes, a phrase we use to describe a route that has 48 hours of work in a six-day workweek and regular overtime requirements on a daily basis to meet the workload.

“We did this by creating a smaller auxiliary route that helps dial back some of the workload of the overburdened route and will help stabilize regular, routine delivery times under normal conditions.

“All of these actions, combined with our ongoing hiring and training efforts, should insure that we have the resources in place to benefit delivery for this community.”

He concluded by making “one last pitch for access to the mailbox and its potential to disrupt service on occasion. The safety of our carriers is a management obligation. For that reason, we rely on the cooperation of our customers to provide a clear, safe path for delivery in all seasons. This includes mitigating all hazards — including snow, ice, loose dogs and even children at play — so we can deliver effectively. While we will do all we can to minimize disruptions, we can and will curtail delivery until conditions are abated or we may revisit our options to provide service.”

Silence from local management

From the customers’ perspective, the lack of callbacks from their postmasters has made late deliveries more vexing.

Ken Knowlton of Belmont described a problem he had with the Laconia Post Office a year ago.

“I received no response from Laconia Post Office at any time,” he said. “After being ignored, I then followed USPS missing package protocol by contacting each department listed: USPS Technical Support, Postal Regulatory Commission, USPS Consumer and Industry Contact, USPS Office of Inspector General, USPS Criminal Investigation Service Center. I was informed by each department that they could not do anything to help me, although some did apologize. (I did not receive any such consideration from anyone at the LPO). Being ‘overworked’ and ‘underpaid’ is absolutely no excuse for failing to offer at least a minimal apology. Attempting to resolve this issue by writing letters and making calls to the above-named departments kept me quite busy. In the end it was a waste of time.”

On Thursday, Knowlton said, “I have seen a change in the matter of picking up packages addressed to a PO Box. Before, they would put a yellow card in the box that said you had a package. You would go to the desk and they would ask for your box number. Now they also ask for an ID … smart!”

Steve Fiorini of Laconia suggested a route to better service: “Here is a radical idea, let's privatize the mail because it sure doesn't seem to be working the way things are now.”

President’s Task Force

The White House Postal Task Force released a report on Dec. 4 and, according to Government Executive, a business news daily for leaders in government, the task force has recommended eliminating the rights of postal employees to negotiate over compensation, instead instituting a dual-tiered pricing model — one for essential services and another for deliveries “deemed to have a profit motive.”

President Donald Trump established the task force in April and asked for a report by August. Led by the Treasury Department, with participation by officials from the Office of Management and Budget and the Office of Personnel Management, the task force concluded that “The USPS has been losing money for more than a decade  and is on an unsustainable financial path,” according its executive summary.

It issued the report on deadline, but Trump decided not to make it public until after the midterm elections in November, and not to implement the findings until a new Congress is installed in January, according to a number of sources.

Union representatives got an early look at the report and were not happy. Mark Dimondstein, president of the American Postal Workers Union, issued a statement saying, “This report calls for slashing universal service. Recommendations would slow down service, reduce delivery days and privatize large portions of the public Postal Service. Most of the report’s recommendations, if implemented, would hurt business and individuals alike.

“No institution is better suited for the e-commerce revolution than the USPS,” he continued. “This is why some on Wall Street and their enablers on this task force want to position the Postal Service for sale to private interests.”

Postmaster General Megan J. Brennan said, “The recommendations contained in the report should be evaluated together with legislative and regulatory reforms to address our urgent financial challenges. Reforms are necessary to enable the Postal Service to further reduce costs, grow revenue, compete more effectively, function with greater flexibility to adapt to a dynamic marketplace, and to prudently invest in our future.”

Government Executive says the task force stopped short of calling for privatization of the postal service, but it did recommend a change.

“USPS’ dual-labor model — combining private sector collective bargaining law with government employee compensation law — creates unsustainable labor costs,” the report states. “USPS employee rights should be more closely aligned with other federal employee rights by eliminating collective bargaining over compensation. … USPS employees should not be afforded protections and rights not enjoyed by other federal employees.”

By using separate pricing for “essential services” and those based on profit, “The mail monopoly would be maintained, and the Postal Service would still deliver to all addresses,” an unnamed official told Government Executive. “But there would be a distinction between essential services and the more commercial services, where the government doesn’t need to necessarily provide a subsidy in the form of a rate cap. That’s the key definitional change."