NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS |
August 21, 2020 | PAGE 7
...Unions say newly appointed postmaster is deliberately slowing mail
From Page 1
the Republican party.
Meanwhile, CNN reports that
DeJoy continues to hold at least
$30 million and as much as $75
million stake in his former com-
pany XPO Logistics, a United
States Postal Service contractor.
DeJoy’s appointment follows
the resignation of two members
of the Postal board of governors
earlier this year, at least in part
to protest efforts by Trump aides
to control USPS finances and
operations.
NALC’s grievance comes
just after 84 lawmakers from
both parties wrote to DeJoy de-
nouncing the shutdowns and
overtime ban.
A group of Senate Democ-
rats, led by Massachusetts Sen.
Elizabeth Warren, including
Ron Wyden of Oregon has
asked the USPS inspector gen-
eral to investigate the policy
changes DeJoy imposed and to
examine whether DeJoy “met
all ethics requirements” regard-
ing his personal finances and
XPO stake.
DeJoy’s changes were pre-
sented as a delivery initiative
test called “Expedited Street/Af-
ternoon Sortation (ESAS).”
But an internal USPS docu-
ments shows that USPS brass
knew when it imposed the
changes that the result may be
“mail left behind and mail left
on the workroom floor or in
docks” because Letter Carriers
would be banned from using
overtime and/or making extra
trips to deliver it.
DeJoy notified the union on
July 16 the ESAS test was
scheduled to start at 400 sites
nine days later.
“These changes directly im-
pact terms and conditions of
employment of city letter carri-
ers” and violate the USPS con-
tract with the 200,000-member
union, said NALC President
Fredric Rolando.
Retired transit union lawyer
publishes new historical
detective novel
Susan Stoner, retired staff attor-
ney at Amalgamated Transit
Union Local 757, has published
the ninth in a series of historical
mystery novels set in the Port-
land of 1900-1920. The series,
under her pen name S.L. Stoner,
follows a fictional trade union
spy named Sage Adair as he
delves into real-life scenarios
The delays could not only af-
fect delivery of vital items, such
as food and medicines, but also
cost consumers money by de-
laying bills so long that people
would have to pay finance
charges. Other objectors, includ-
ing Mark Dimondstein, presi-
dent of the American Postal
Workers Union, the other big
postal union, said delays could
also prevent people from suc-
cessfully voting this fall.
Nonpartisan analysts estimate
three-fourths of American adults
are eligible to vote by mail on or
before the Nov. 3 election. In its
delayed primary on August 8,
Hawaii became the seventh state
to switch to totally vote by mail.
But voting by mail assumes
USPS delivers ballots to voters
on time and it postmarks re-
turned ballots on or before Elec-
tion Day. DeJoy also later de-
cided to override past practice
and ordered no priority for han-
dling ballots.
DeJoy justifies his moves
with the same explanation prior
GOP-named Postmasters Gen-
eral used: The need to cut costs
due to the Postal Service’s flood
of red ink. He did not mention
the real reason for the ongoing
yearly deficits, but Rolando fre-
quently does: The annual $5 bil-
lion the USPS must fork over to
prepay future health care bene-
fits for current and future work-
ers.
That mandate, which Con-
gress imposed in 2006, sent the
USPS deep into the red ever
since and kept it there. The cur-
rent coronavirus-caused depres-
sion and resulting closures have
only made matters worse, lead-
ing the USPS board to approach
Congress for a $25 billion grant
as part of the next pandemic
economic stimulus package.
The House approved it, but Sen-
ate Majority Leader Mitch Mc-
Connell, R-Ky., opposes it. So
does Trump. He threatens to
veto any legislation with it.
taken from the history of the
time. Unseen, the latest install-
ment, takes place at an Indian
boarding school and reservation,
where Adair investigates the
murder of an Indian Service in-
spector. The meticulously re-
searched settings have earned
Stoner a fan base of history
buffs. Normally she gives read-
ings and discusses the books at
Powell’s. None are scheduled
due to the pandemic however.
Unions are campaigning for it.
“While these changes in a
normal year would be drastic, in
a presidential election year
when many states are relying
heavily on absentee mail-in bal-
lots, increases in mail delivery
timing would impair the ability
of ballots to be received and
counted in a timely manner—an
unacceptable outcome for a free
and fair election.”
Lawmakers also want to
know why DeJoy instituted this
“experiment” before unveiling a
long-term solvency plan for the
USPS.
Responding to a prior letter
from House Oversight Commit-
tee Chair Carolyn Maloney, D-
N.Y., on the DeJoy changes,
USPS said July 22 that “these
changes did not originate from
Postal Service headquarters.”
The House Oversight Commit-
tee will call DeJoy to testify on
Sept. 17 on his moves. That’s
Constitution Day. The post of-
fice is in the Constitution.
From all of us at Local 290
Happy Labor Day!
Happy 120th Anniversary NW Labor Press
Lou A. Christian, B USINESS M ANAGER
Joe Neely, A SST . B USINESS M ANAGER
Bob Porter, P RESIDENT
John Foote, V ICE P RESIDENT
Denny Tynan, E XECUTIVE B OARD
Robert Taylor, E XECUTIVE B OARD
Dominic DePiero, E XECUTIVE B OARD
Brad Archuleta, E XECUTIVE B OARD
Justin Turner, R ECORDING S ECRETARY
Josh Rudzik, I NSIDE G UARD
Dave Hauth, F INANCE B OARD
Robert Smithline, F INANCE B OARD
Chris McNicholas, F INANCE B OARD
UNITED ASSOCIATION LOCAL 290
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