The United States Postal Services (USPS) is one of the oldest institutions in America. In the past, it was established as one of the only ways that people could communicate over large distances. It was and continues to be one of the cornerstones of our election process. The Postal Service was a beacon among government agencies as it made a profit and was completely self-sufficient through the sales of stamps and other postage. 

This all changed when the 2006 Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act (PAEA) was passed. The postal service had been struggling for quite some time due to the popularity of email and other high-speed package courier services like United Parcel Service or Federal Express. However, this bill put further strain on the agency as they were instructed to begin building reserves for their employees who would be receiving pensions for the next 75 years. This was an attempt to avert a crisis for the pensions, but it also put the postal service in an even worse position of financial strain. The 10-year plan ended in 2016, but that didn’t mean that the postal service’s troubles were over.

Under the PAEA, the Postal Service could no longer request changes to the price of postage and other services like first-class letters which the USPS has cornered the market on. Instead, they had to rely on the Postal Regulatory Commission, an outside government agency, to decide rates. However, this regulation has led to the undercharging of postal services and has left the USPS with no way out of the debt that they have found themselves in. 

In early 2020, President Trump appointed a new Postmaster General, Louis DeJoy. In the early days of his appointment, DeJoy made sweeping changes that left the agency unprepared for the influx of ballots that would be coming due to the election. DeJoy’s main objective was improving efficiency and in his opinion, that meant everyone working on a strictly set schedule. He banned overtime, and he also banned extra trips to deliver the mail. 

According to Business Insider, Postmaster DeJoy ordered the removal of over 700 high-speed mail sorting machines without the intention to replace them. This sparked public outcry across the nation. Overall, the changes were incredibly disruptive to USPS as it meant that there was an unprecedented backlog of mail with some trucks leaving empty to meet their time restraints. This left the sorting centers having to deal with a problem they never had to deal with before, storing tons of mail.

These changes were incredibly startling and upsetting for many long time workers at USPS. The standard has long been that they are to deliver every piece of mail, rain, or shine, and the changes seemed counterintuitive to many of them. 

“We were just shaking our heads,” William Khong said according to Los Angeles Times. “Why would you have a policy where you then have to run the mail twice—if all you have to do is have the trucks wait a few more minutes?”

Khong is the president of Orange County’s postal union, and he was among many leaders in the USPS who pushed back against the policies. In one instance, he recounted the facilities having to turn away a large Amazon delivery due to lack of space. To add to these problems, many locations of the USPS are understaffed as COVID-19 has impacted them greatly. Online shopping is also up so this has combined to make the overburdened system even more at risk. 

The election caused many of these changes to be halted or reversed with many high-speed sorting machines reinstated. Overtime was also allowed, but the long-standing impacts of Postmaster General DeJoy’s guidelines are yet to be seen with many of them set to go back into effect in the weeks after the election. 

In spite of these difficulties, record high numbers of mail-in ballots were cast safely and securely in this past election despite all the obstacles put in the agency’s path. The fate of the Postal Service lies in the hands of the new administration, but no matter how the agency proceeds in the future, they have proven themselves to be a strong force for democracy. 

Photo courtesy of CNN.COM