Bozeman postal service takes a hit

This November, millions of Americans are expected to rely on the United States Postal Service (USPS) to deliver mail-in ballots for the presidential election. However, 46 states, including Montana, have received letters from USPS warning that, due to money-saving changes and delays in service, mail-in ballots may not be delivered in time to be counted for the election. Lawmakers in both parties have expressed fears that such delays are unconstitutional and may adversely impact the election. 

President Trump appointed six new members to the Board of Governors of the USPS in June. The board then selected Louis DeJoy to serve as the postmaster general. DeJoy was previously an entrepreneur, business executive, real estate investor and, most notably, a large contributor to the Republican Party. Since 2016, DeJoy has donated over $5.8 million to the GOP, as reported by Federal Election Commission data. Recently, he has donated a total of $1.2 million to the Trump Victory Fund and was the finance chairman for the Republican National Convention. 

DeJoy has faced criticism since his appointment for his lack of experience and his personal ties to the Republican Party. His previous business interests include the trucking company J.B. Hunt and private mail competitors known as “last mile” services —companies who pick up parcels from corporations like FedEx, UPS and DHL, and deliver them to customers. USPS is also a “last mile” service, meaning that DeJoy’s previous companies were direct competitors with the government agency he now runs. 

Although USA TODAY confirmed that DeJoy and his wife still hold multi-million dollar assets in competing companies, USPS spokesman Dave Partenheimer said, “The Postal Service determines that his participation in the matter is so crucial that he may not disqualify himself."  DeJoy later responded to accusations of conflict of interest by saying, “I take my ethical obligations seriously, and I have done what is necessary to ensure that I am and will remain in compliance with those obligations.” He now serves as the 75th postmaster general and the fifth government outsider to head the department since 1971, when the USPS became an independent government agency. 

Postal workers from across the country voiced concerns over the policy changes, which were put into effect by DeJoy. Dejoy aims to turn a profit for the USPS, which has a deficit of approximately $143 billion, over double its annual revenue. Among the new changes are restrictions on overtime, reduced service hours of post offices and the removal of mail sorting machines and blue mailboxes. These reductions in service coupled with loss of revenue due to COVID-19 have caused significant delays in mail delivery, which some fear could change election outcomes and delay the delivery of essential items like prescription drugs. The USPS has urged states to warn voters of delays and request that ballots be sent in more than two weeks prior to voting deadlines to ensure the receival of ballots and accurate vote counts. 

Along with the rest of the country, Montana has seen major changes in its Postal Service. Photos leaked to NBC Montana show disassembled sorting machines in storage rooms at a Montana USPS facility. Another anonymous source told NBC that Missoula USPS is relying on a single sorting machine, which workers fear will break down before replacement machines can be brought in. The Montana chapter of the National Association of Letter Carriers confirmed rumors that nearly 70 Montana mailboxes are to be removed, including 30 in Billings, nine in Bozeman and 13 in Missoula. In Bozeman, eight of 24 blue mail drop-boxes were removed last week.

While the cutbacks to mail services impact the entire country, the consequences of delays and reduced services affect rural communities, like those in Montana, on a much larger scale. In rural towns, USPS is the only option for mail delivery, and many Montana veterans and seniors rely upon the agency to deliver prescription drugs.

“I got nothing against UPS or FedEx, or any of those services, but if we depend on those folks, I don’t get any mail delivered to my house,” Montana Senator Jon Tester said. “The postal service is critically important.”For Tester, the USPS is the only way he receives mail to his home along a gravel road in Big Sandy, MT. 

On Saturday, Aug. 22, hundreds of “Save the Post Office” rallies took place across the country, including protests in Arlee, Billings, and Bozeman, Montana. In Bozeman, over 40 protestors stood in front of the downtown Bozeman post office holding signs and chanting. Protestors were encouraged to help fund the post office by buying stamps, sending mail, calling representatives in Congress and sending in ballots earlier than usual. 

Montana Senators Steve Daines and Jon Tester also raised concerns over the changes to Montana’s postal service. Both issued statements on Friday, Aug. 14 summarizing correspondents written to DeJoy. Daines’ statement said, “Recently, I have received concerning reports that collection boxes have been removed in many Montana communities...and the potential that the removals of collection boxes could result in delayed mail delivery and reduced mail options for Montanans. If so, that is unacceptable, and I request additional information about why these boxes have already been removed, any future plans the USPS has for other collection boxes in the state, and if these changes will affect delivery times.” Tester’s letter said that “...this seems to be occurring without any transparency or communication with impacted Montanans.” Both are awaiting a response from the postmaster general. 

The House of Representatives interrupted its summer recess on Saturday, Aug. 22 to vote on a bill that would block the changes from continuing. The bill would also require USPS to prioritize delivery of election-related mail and would grant a rare $25 million aid package to cover revenue lost since the pandemic began.

In a tweet posted just before the House’s vote, President Trump called the legislation a “money wasting HOAX” by Democrats. Twenty-six Republicans joined Democrats in voting “yes,” passing the House 257 to 150. New York Rep. Carolyn Maloney expressed discontent with DeJoy’s changes, saying “It makes absolutely no sense to impose these kinds of dangerous cuts in the middle of a pandemic and just months before the elections in November.” 

“Every piece every day” has long been a motto of the United States Postal Service. As an independent government agency, the USPS is legally obligated to deliver to every address in America, and employees are known to go to great lengths to ensure on-time delivery of mail. The $25 million stimulus package for the Postal Service, which would save the agency from budget-saving cutbacks, awaits a vote in the Republican-lead Senate. In places like rural Montana, the USPS is often the only way of receiving and sending essential mail, and the recent cutbacks have put on-time delivery in jeopardy.