We’re all aware that there are issues with mail delivery in our towns. It’s no secret. Digital bulletin boards are full of complaints. People who have their mail delivered to mail boxes on their roads are not getting deliveries for days and sometimes weeks.
Those people are unable to pick up their mail at their local post office because staffing issues prevent postal employees from sorting mail for post office boxes and juggling mail sorted for rural delivery.
This is not the fault of the USPS employees who are doing their best to get our mail to us. But it is also not okay that we’re not getting timely delivery of our mail.
Many people use mail order services for vital medications. Many people use the post office for important financial and legal documents. People paying bills via USPS are being penalized with late fees due to lack of timely pick up and delivery.
This issue is not unique to our community. It is occurring throughout Vermont, New England, and beyond. While local postal workers will explain the situation to individuals, they are not allowed to speak to journalists about the issue and repeated calls by journalists to official USPS spokespeople go unanswered -- as do emails.
The USPS is bound by a universal service obligation (USO) which is a collection of requirements that ensure everyone in the country receives a minimum level of mail service. The USPS is required by law to provide mail services to everyone including delivering mail six days a week.
So, what recourse do we have? In 1971 Congress made the postal service an independent entity within the executive branch governed by an 11-person board. Presumably, that means our complaints need to get registered with the White House.
That’s no remedy for the short term other than patience and seeking other ways to get prescriptions and important documents. Please don’t take it out on the employees at our local post offices. The personnel problem is not one they created. It’s painful to recognize that the lack of postal employees is another manifestation of the lack of housing here in our communities.
Here’s the phone number for the White House: 202-456-1111.
