U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin Demands Answers from Postmaster General Louis DeJoy about Ongoing Delays in Mail Delivery to Wisconsinites

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin is demanding answers from Louis DeJoy, Postmaster General and Chief Executive Officer of the United States Postal Service, after continued mail delays in Wisconsin.

Baldwin repeatedly called on Postmaster DeJoy to reverse the changes he implemented that were causing mail delivery delays in Wisconsin. Several Federal Court orders have since been issued blocking the Postal Service from continuing with DeJoy’s operational changes, including removal and disconnection of mail sorting machines, denials of overtime and bans on late or extra trips to deliver mail, that were put in place in July 2020.

However, Baldwin has continued to receive reports from USPS employees indicating that the Postal Service continues to engage in practices that delay mail, in violation of court orders. 

In a letter to Postmaster DeJoy, Baldwin writes, “Employees of the Milwaukee Processing and Distribution Center report certain managers are pressuring employees to continue sending out trucks, even if it means leaving mail behind. These employees report that, following the Postmaster General’s instructions this July, signage was placed at the facility instructing trucks not be held back for late or extra trips and that this signage has not been removed. Additionally, employees report that not all machines have been reconnected, including a digital barcode sorter that could be reassembled. In Madison, a postal employee sent photographs (which I have attached) of signs on sorting machines directing that they should not be run or operated. The employee noted that the machines, including a digital bar code sorter, have been reconnected but are still not being used to process mail. The employee alleges this was done to demonstrate in USPS data that the machines have not been disconnected.”

Senator Baldwin has also continued to receive reports from Wisconsinites who are also still experiencing delays in receiving their mail, including a veteran from Gleason, Wisconsin who relies on USPS for receiving prescription medications from the Tomah, Wisconsin Veterans Affairs Medical Center, but is experiencing delays of five to six days to get his medication. 

These anecdotal reports are bolstered by USPS’ own data. Service Performance Data for the two districts of which Wisconsin is a part – Lakeland and Northland –demonstrates on-time delivery rates for first-class mail have failed to recover in the months of September and October to levels achieved before the summer mail slowdown caused by DeJoy’s orders.

 The full letter to Postmaster General DeJoy is available here.