HARRISBURG (Newsradio 100.1 FM and AM 1020 KDKA) – Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro, 21 attorneys general, and two cities are asking the Postal Regulatory Commission to oppose Postmaster General DeJoy’s proposed service cuts that would slow down 40% of all first-class mail throughout the United States.
“Pennsylvanians, particularly rural communities and seniors, rely on the mail to deliver their prescriptions, necessities for their home and their families, and have relied on the Postal Service to successfully deliver mail in three elections — the work of the men and women of the Postal Service has been, and continues to be, essential,” said Attorney General Shapiro. “The service cuts issued last year were reckless, went against the very purpose of the Post Service and, because they skipped the experts who get to review changes — illegal. My office filed suit, and successfully blocked DeJoy’s efforts. We took action then, and will continue to act to keep these essential services running on time.”
If passed, the changes would hinder the Pennsylvania and federal government in delivering essential services in a timely manner, including necessary, life-saving goods.
Shapiro’s statement to the Postal Regulatory Commission, an independent federal agency that provides transparency and accountability to the U.S. Postal Service’s operations, urged the USPS to focus attention on improving from past mistakes, not implementing changes that would degrade service.
“One year ago, the Postal Service implemented a series of purported cost-saving initiatives that had a devastating effect on mail service. Those initiatives, which included drastic changes to USPS’s policies with respect to extra and late trips, were implemented virtually overnight without any prior input from the Commission. Mail delivery across the nation slowed, and Americans who depended on the Postal Service for the delivery of prescription medication, paychecks, and other necessities were left stranded. The increased delays also made it more difficult for the States to perform a variety of essential functions and provide critical services to their residents...Regrettably, it appears that the Postal Service is poised to repeat many of these mistakes.”
The group included the added difficulties the cuts would have on postal service workers, especially after the past year.
“Indeed, the events of the past year caution strongly against imposing sweeping changes of the type the Postal Service proposes. The Postal Service has faced enormous challenges as a result of the pandemic, and postal employees have performed their jobs admirably under incredible strain…The Postal Service has already once imposed sweeping changes in the face of these unprecedented challenges, and the result was disastrous. As the Inspector General found, the July 2020 cost-saving initiatives were implemented without adequate planning and were poorly communicated, leading to a rapid decline in service from which the Postal Service has not fully recovered...The Postal Service should abandon its current effort and refocus its energies on fixing its ongoing performance deficiencies.”
The station was submitted by Shaprio with New York AG Letitia James, along with attorneys general of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawai’i, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Vermont and Virginia. The attorneys general were also joined by the City of New York, and the City and County of San Francisco.