Senator Collins Renews Call for USPS to Address Mail Disruptions in Maine
Washington, D.C.—In response to continued reports of widespread disruptions in mail delivery, U.S. Senator Susan Collins wrote to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy to urge him to take steps to address the root causes of mail delays in Maine.
In addition to slow service, mail delivery has been irregular, with some postal customers going several days at a time without receiving mail. One constituent in Greene told Senator Collins that he went five days without mail delivery, and unfortunately this type of delay is no longer uncommon. Senator Collins previously pressed USPS to speed up the delivery of mail in Maine earlier this year.
“There continue to be numerous cases in Maine where the United States Postal Service (USPS) is having difficulty in meeting its mission to provide the nation with reliable, affordable, and universal mail service,” wrote Senator Collins. “These persistent problems must be addressed.”
“If operations improve in one area, I soon hear about deteriorations in another. It is particularly frustrating that the general public, USPS business partners, and even congressional offices are left with little information or notice about these service changes,” Senator Collins continued. “The problems are frequently blamed on ‘staffing shortages,’ but there has been no guidance as to what USPS is doing to address the matter – which has been a problem for an extended period of time. The bottom line is that basic services are not being met.”
Senator Collins requested that Postmaster General DeJoy provide answers to the following questions:
- When does USPS expect to have the staff levels needed, either permanent or temporary, to meet its service obligations throughout Maine?
- What measures are being taken to implement USPS’ ten-year plan to increase employee retention?
- When a postal route has been curtailed, what steps are taken to ensure that no individual route is affected on consecutive days?
- How can a postal customer best receive updates on facilities that are not open during their posted hours and routes that are not serviced?
- In places where there is no 24/7 facility and the USPS has restricted access during regular business hours, what measures are being taken to provide access to PO Boxes?
- As recommendations provided by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) for best practices in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic have changed, has the USPS adjusted its operational procedures? When did USPS last update its COVID-19 protocols?
Click HERE to read Senator Collins’ letter.
