USPS Response "Wholly Inadequate" Said Rep. Ruppersberger, As Frustrations Rise With Baltimore-Area Delivery
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Congressman Dutch Ruppersberger isn't satisfied with the response he got from the office of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy after the representative requested a meeting with USPS leadership and an audit of Baltimore-area post offices.
Ruppersberger's office said his constituents have gone weeks without critical mail like paychecks and life-saving medicine.
The congressman, who represents Maryland's second district, said DeJoy's response was a "litany of excuses, finger-pointing and faulty logic."
Ruppersberger said his request to meet with leadership was ignored.
"We received a response from a government relations representative on behalf of Postmaster General DeJoy that was wholly inadequate. It did not respond to my request for a high-level meeting nor did it include a single data point that was requested. Instead, we received a litany of excuses, finger-pointing and faulty logic that fail to explain why there is such disparity of service levels across the country and even within our own state and counties. If this was all Congress' and COVID's fault – as Postmaster General DeJoy would have us believe – we would be getting complaints from every post office. That is simply not the case. Moreover, issues in our local communities clearly pre-date the pandemic." -- Rep. C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger
Ruppersberger said some of the area's mail issues have nothing to do with the pandemic, such as a report that rodents and insects ate perishable mail at one post office.
Resident's just outside of Ruppersberger's district, in zip code 21217 of Baltimore, told WJZ that many haven't had mail in months.
"People are starting to worry, important first-class mail, medicines and checks to pay bills are just sitting in the post office," said one resident.
Dionne Shelton, another resident, said her local post office needs to train 9 people and is 3 weeks behind schedule. She said her son's missing mail lead to an arrest warrant.
"My son missed a court traffic date and received an arrest warrant," said Shelton. "He's gonna turn himself in on Sunday, he did not see this mail."
WJZ reached out to USPS about the ongoing issues and customer frustration. They said they have made some changes.
"The Postal Service knows that reliable and affordable mail service is paramount to our customers and we take mail issues seriously.
We have taken specific actions to continue service to our valued customers, which includes:
- Continue to fully authorize overtime to allow employees to work the time necessary to deliver mail.
- Expanded mail deliveries to earlier in the morning, later in the evening, and on Sundays to ensure customers receive mail at the earliest date possible.
- Use additional carriers from nearby offices, when necessary, to maintain mail deliveries.
- Hiring additional personnel. To view available positions, go to https://about.usps.com/careers/.
This has been an extraordinary time of unprecedented challenges given the COVID-19 pandemic. We apologize for any inconvenience and appreciate customers' patience and understanding and thank all our employees who continue to deliver for our customers during the pandemic."