Rep. Payne, Jr. Leads Congressional Support for Postal Workers     

Washington, D.C. — Congressman Donald M. Payne, Jr. led a Congressional effort to support postal workers and the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) during the coronavirus public health crisis.  The move comes at a time when letter carriers must handle a record-setting amount of mail-in election ballots despite efforts to undermine their effectiveness from President Trump and Postmaster General Louis DeJoy.

Rep. Payne, Jr. wrote a letter yesterday to express this public show of support to the presidents of the American Postal Workers Union, National Association of Letter Carriers, National Postal Mail Handlers Union, and National Rural Letter Carriers’ Association.  The letter stated that the members of Congress wanted to “ensure that postal workers know that they have our support to do everything in their power to protect the sanctity of the postal service, especially in a time such as the present.”

“We need to let the patriotic men and women of the Postal Service know we support them during this public health crisis,” said Congressman Donald M. Payne, Jr.  “They are doing everything they can to get our mail to us in a timely manner.  We need them now more than ever to handle this unprecedented number of mail-in ballots to secure the integrity of the November election.  I never thought I would see the day a sitting American President would attack the Postal Service.”

In the letter, Rep. Payne, Jr. outlined the lack of support from government officials and said that many “reports over the last two months… go into detail about Postmaster General Louis DeJoy actively sabotaging the USPS. Most shocking of all, President Donald Trump himself confirmed that these actions are intended to silence those who choose to vote by mail during a pandemic. While DeJoy has suspended further changes to USPS policies, he has yet to reverse any of the damaging policies he has already put in place.”  The letter was co-signed by 19 members of Congress.

The full letter is listed below.

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October 19, 2020

Fredric V. Rolando                                                                 Paul V. Hogrogian

President                                                                                 National President

National Association of Letter Carriers                                 National Postal Mail Handlers Union

100 Indiana Avenue NW                                                        815 16^th St, NW, Ste. 5100

Washington, DC 20001                                                          Washington, DC  20006

Ronnie W. Stutts                                                                   Mark Dimondstein

President                                                                                 President

National Rural Letter Carriers’ Association                           American Postal Workers Union

1630 Duke Street                                                                    1300 L Street NW

Alexandria, VA 22314                                                           Washington, D.C. 20005

Dear President Rolando, President Hogrogian, President Stutts, and President Dimondstein:

We write to express our support for the men and women of the United States Postal Service (USPS). We want to ensure that postal workers know that they have our support to do everything in their power to protect the sanctity of the postal service, especially in a time such as the present. The full functionality of the USPS during this pandemic has provided a critical lifeline for millions of Americans and will be essential to state and local governments having the necessary assistance to counter the unprecedented levels of mailed ballots.

Unfortunately, USPS leadership’s actions over the past three months have only increased concerns. Daily new confirmed cases of COVID-19 remain high, continuing to highlight the importance of allowing voters to vote safely and by mail if they choose. Many reports over the last two months also go into detail about Postmaster General Louis DeJoy actively sabotaging the USPS. Most shocking of all, President Donald Trump himself confirmed that these actions are intended to silence those who choose to vote by mail during a pandemic. While DeJoy has suspended further changes to USPS policies, he has yet to reverse any of the damaging policies he has already put in place.

These delays have forced Americans who rely on mail-order medications to wait weeks for deliveries that normally take 3-5 days to arrive. Mail-order prescriptions are an indispensable service that has saved some of the most vulnerable Americans from having to pick up prescriptions in-person, protecting them from exposure to COVID-19.

Ballots are already being mailed to voters nationwide, and it is no exaggeration to say that USPS workers are on the very front lines of the American experiment. We hope morale remains high amongst postal workers during this time. They are some of our most important essential workers and the work they do each day and will do in the coming months will help to protect or nation and our democracy.

Sincerely,

Donald M. Payne, Jr.

Member of Congress