Postmaster General Louis DeJoy announces sweeping new organizational changes to the United States Postal Service. The changes include cutting overtime for postal workers.
A week later, Trump admits he’s targeting USPS to interfere with the upcoming election.
Seven Democratic members of Congress urged the inspector general for the Postal Service to audit the new policies imposed by the postmaster general, saying they were concerned the changes “pose a potential threat to mail-in ballots and the 2020 general election.”
In a letter to the inspector general, Tammy L. Whitcomb, the lawmakers referred to reports that Mr. DeJoy had limited overtime pay and made other changes that critics say have slowed mail delivery and made it less reliable.
The lawmakers urged Ms. Whitcomb to investigate the effect of the changes on the delivery of critical mail, including medication, paychecks and bills.
The New York Times, August 7
While the official change is announced August 7, letter carriers actually stopped receiving overtime pay weeks ago.
In recent weeks, at the direction of a Trump campaign megadonor who was recently named the postmaster general, the service has stopped paying mail carriers and clerks the overtime necessary to ensure that deliveries can be completed each day. That and other changes have led to reports of letters and packages being delayed by as many as several days.
The New York Times, July 31
Sources
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/31/us/politics/trump-usps-mail-delays.html?searchResultPosition=1
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