On Tuesday, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy shared the U.S. Postal Service 10-year reorganization plan. DeJoy says the plan includes longer delivery times for some first-class mail, shorter hours for some post offices, and higher postal rates.
“This is a very positive vision,” DeJoy said.
According to NPR, a small percentage of post offices will have their hours cut back and some stations could close. Last month, DeJoy told a congressional panel that the U.S. Postal Service lost over $9 billion last year and owes $80 billion in unfunded liabilities.
Not everyone is enthusiastic about DeJoy’s plans.
“Cuts to service standards for first-class mail, limiting hours at local post offices, and making it more difficult for people to access postal products would adversely impact USPS customers across the nation, including in rural and underserved communities,” Sen. Gary Peters said.
“Any proposal that would either slow the mail, reduce access to post offices, or further pursue the failed strategy of plant consolidation will need to be addressed,” the American Postal Workers Union said in a statement.
The Save the Post Office coalition, a group of labor and progressive organizations, had harsh criticism for DeJoy.
“Asking Louis DeJoy to make a ten-year plan for the post office is like asking the fox to build a better hen house. After his record of destruction, incompetence and self-dealing over the last nine months, the only plans he’s qualified to make at this point are his own retirement plans,” the organization said in a statement.
DeJoy was chosen as postmaster general by former President Donald Trump’s administration. President Joe Biden announced three nominees to the postal board of governors. The board has the power to remove the postmaster general.