Address USPS problems
Virginia’s worst-in-the-nation mail service demands remedies, accountability
Hampton Roads residents who rely on timely mail service for a variety of needs have no doubt noticed serious delivery disruptions in recent months. The U.S. Postal Service itself reports that service in Virginia has the nation’s worst delivery performance, and it’s not exactly close.
A recently released audit by the USPS inspector general identified the culprit as the new distribution center in Richmond, that first-of-its-kind facility that is the vanguard of the agency’s modernization efforts. Federal officials should see the auditor’s recommendations implemented swiftly to get our mail service back on track.
Perhaps you’ve noticed lately that your mailbox is empty more frequently than before. Or maybe you’ve wondered why an expected delivery didn’t arrive on time — if it arrived at all.
That’s not a matter of perception, but rather a fact borne out in data.
The USPS Inspector General maintains a dashboard tracking postal performance across the country, with a goal of delivering items on time at a rate of 93%. For the first quarter this year, that number stands at 87.2%, not stellar but not terrible.
That varies widely from state to state. In five of California’s six postal districts, for instance, the performance rates are all above 91%. Maryland residents enjoy an 81.7% service rate.
In Virginia, that number is 66.1%. The second-worst performing district is Wyoming, at 79.6%.
The problems can be traced directly to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy. In 2021, he introduced a 10-year “Delivering for America” plan to modernize the postal service to improve efficiency and lower costs.
The scheme involved a massive reorganization of how mail is collected, processed, sorted and delivered based around regional processing and distribution centers. The first of these facilities opened last year in Richmond, serving central Virginia, Hampton Roads and some parts of eastern North Carolina. Subsequent centers opened in Atlanta and Houston in recent months.
As outlined in a Richmond Times-Dispatch investigation, problems were apparent immediately. Some Richmond-area residents reported going months without delivery. Hundreds of cancer screening tests for veterans were delayed, rendering many unusable. The city’s top elections official even discouraged voters from using mail-in ballots due to the unreliability of postal service there, which some critics of DeJoy’s plan contend was the point.
Public outcry echoed by Richmond Commonwealth’s Attorney Colette McEachin and U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., among others, helped prod the USPS inspector general into conducting an audit of the facility. The findings, released March 28, were as bad as one could expect, and arguably worse.
Auditors “witnessed idle terminal handling service staff waiting for mail, and in one instance, a mail handler sleeping on a parked forklift” as well as “mail left on or around machines, large amounts of machinable mail in manual processing, and in one case, mail over two months old left in a container in the truck yard.”
Rather than decrease postal costs by
$15 million as promised, work hours and overtime have increased at the $23 million facility. The plant has employed three managers in a four-month span, turnover that affected continuity, and a cascading effect that resulted in extraordinary delays in delivery for customers.
Unreliable mail processing and delivery have serious consequences. The unusable cancer tests are one example, but plenty of people also rely on the mail for timely delivery of prescription drugs. Many businesses, both small and large, need efficient service to survive. And other items, such as greeting cards and periodicals, are diminished if they arrive weeks late.
The inspector general’s report outlined 10 recommendations to address these problems that the USPS says it will implement immediately. These include expanded training for employees, improved logistics coordination and better communication among staff. While these are not groundbreaking suggestions, that they are needed shows how deeply fractured the system is.
If Virginia’s experience is what Postmaster DeJoy meant by “Delivering for America,” then the nation should be deeply concerned. What’s happening in the commonwealth is unacceptable and Hampton Roads residents have every right to expect action and great accountability for those, including DeJoy, who are responsible.