(Bemidji) The US Postmaster General’s Office has responded to a letter sent by Senator Tina Smith regarding mail delays and difficult conditions for employees at rural post offices. In it, the official response denies that the USPS has a priority delivery policy based on customer or sender. The response goes on to suggest that a deluge of mail and packages is due to an expected seasonal upswing. We talked with Senator Smith this morning, following on the response, and the listening session held earlier this week with her staff in Bemidji:
With recent reported issues with delivery, Senators Smith and Klobuchar have introduced legislation called the Postal Delivery Accountability Act designed to address flaws in the USPS tracking system identified by the Postal Service’s Inspector General:
The text of the USPS response also addresses employee shortages,
“The Minnesota-North Dakota District’s Peak Plan for delivery calls for an additional 112 employees. Currently, only 24 have been hired and five more are in the process, leaving the district 81 employees short of its seasonal goal. However, 33 applicants have accepted job offers and will be onboarded following the hiring process.”
Here is the full interview with Senator Tina Smith conducted via phone this morning:
