2020 United States Postal Service crisis facts for kids

The 2020-2021 United States Postal Service crisis was a time when mail delivery by the United States Postal Service (USPS) faced many delays. These problems started mainly because of changes made by Postmaster General Louis DeJoy. He took office in June 2020. These delays caused big issues for laws, politics, money, and even people's health.

On August 18, 2020, after a lot of pressure, DeJoy said he would "pause" these changes. This pause would last until after the November 2020 election. He then spoke to the Senate and the House of Representatives about the changes and their effects.

Why Mail Delays Happened

The USPS has had money problems for a long time. This goes back to a 2006 law. This law made the USPS pay for future health benefits for its retired workers 75 years in advance. No other government group or private company has to do this. This law was called the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act.

The USPS's money troubles got worse during the financial crisis of 2007–2008 and the Great Recession. During these times, fewer people sent mail. Then, the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic effects also caused more problems for the mail service.

Key Changes Made to Mail Delivery

Louis DeJoy became the Postmaster General on June 15, 2020. He was the first person since 1992 to get this job without having worked for the United States Postal Service before.

Hundreds of fast mail sorting machines were taken apart and removed. This raised worries that mail-in ballots for the November 3 election might not arrive on time. The USPS later explained that these machines are often taken offline. This happens because less letter mail is being sent. They said that 671 machines, about 10% of all machines, were set to be removed. Most of these were removed by August 1.

After DeJoy said he would pause the changes, workers were told not to put the machines back. This was true even if their local managers told them to.

Mail collection boxes were also removed from streets in many cities. The Postal Service has been removing these boxes for years to save money. So, it was not clear if these removals were new or part of an old plan. After pictures of removed boxes spread online, the Postal Service said they would stop removing them until after the election.

On August 18, DeJoy announced he would pause all changes until after the November election. He said this was "to avoid even the appearance of any impact on election mail." He promised to bring back overtime hours and stop removing machines and collection boxes. However, 95% of the machines planned for removal were already gone. DeJoy later said he did not plan to replace them.

Legal Challenges and Investigations

Federal law says that no Postal Service employee can delay mail. The Postal Service inspector general started looking into the changes DeJoy made. They also looked into any possible conflicts of interest. This means checking if DeJoy's personal investments, like his $30 million in XPO Logistics, affected his decisions. XPO Logistics is a company that handles mail for the USPS.

Many state attorneys general also started their own investigations. They wanted to see if DeJoy broke any state election laws. By August 18, 2020, attorneys general from at least 20 states had sued the USPS and DeJoy.

One lawsuit was led by Washington state. Other states like Colorado, Connecticut, and Illinois joined it. Another lawsuit was led by Pennsylvania, joined by states like California and Delaware. All the attorneys general involved were Democrats.

Even after DeJoy paused the changes, the lawsuits continued. On September 17, 2020, a federal judge named Stanley Bastian stopped the Postal Service from continuing the changes. He called the changes "a politically motivated attack on the efficiency of the postal service."

Some people also filed lawsuits in federal court against the Postal Service.

Questions were raised about DeJoy's connection to XPO Logistics. This company received $14 million in contracts from the USPS between June and September 2020. This was much more than the $3.4 million they received in the same time in 2019.

On November 4, 2020, federal judge Emmet G. Sullivan told DeJoy to search USPS buildings for undelivered mail-in ballots. He ordered them to deliver any found right away. DeJoy did not fully follow this order.

How Delays Affected Voting

Voting by mail has become more common in the United States. In 2016, about 21% of voters sent their ballots by mail. This was up from about 8% in 1996. Military members and their families also vote by mail.

The coronavirus pandemic in 2020 was expected to cause a big increase in mail voting. This was because it might be unsafe to gather at polling places. For the 2020 election, experts thought that 76% of Americans could vote by mail. This was a record number. They predicted that 80 million ballots could be sent by mail in 2020. This was more than double the number from 2016.

Because of the changes causing mail delays, the Postal Service sent letters to 46 U.S. states in July 2020. They warned that the USPS might not be able to meet deadlines for requesting and sending absentee ballots.

In the end, a record number of voters, over 65.6 million, cast their votes by mail.

Money Problems for Businesses and People

Some companies said the mail delays were hurting their business. Their reputation depends on delivering products on time. A businessman in Wisconsin said that some packages that used to be only a day late now went missing for weeks. Even faster mail services like Priority Mail could take a week or more. These problems were especially hard for small businesses.

Individuals also faced serious money problems. They reported not getting checks or important papers they needed. Some bill payments arrived late, causing people to get charged extra fees. In some cities, people said they got no mail at all for two or three weeks. They had to wait in long lines at the post office to see if their mail was there.

Impact on Animals and Food

Farmers in Maine reported that thousands of baby chicks died in the mail. This happened because of delays at a mail center in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts. At a sorting center in South Los Angeles, packages piled up after overtime was cut. Rodents were seen around rotting fruit and meat. Baby chicks were found dead in their boxes. The building also filled with gnats.

Postal Workers' Feelings

DeJoy made changes without much input from Postal Service workers or their unions. In many states, postal workers and union leaders said the changes made workers feel bad. Their morale was low.

Some postal workers tried to stop the bad effects on the election and customer service. For example, in New York, some mechanics ignored an order to take apart a mail-sorting machine. In Michigan, some letter carriers ignored an order to leave election mail behind. In Ohio, some workers made sure that delayed prescriptions and benefit payments were delivered. Workers in at least two plants in Washington state put their letter-sorting machines back together. They did this even after the Postal Service said not to.

Mark Dimondstein, who leads the American Postal Workers Union, spoke against DeJoy's orders. He said that DeJoy's new policies were truly slowing down mail. He added that customers and postal workers could see it, and mail was getting backed up.

Public Protests

The mail crisis led to protests against DeJoy's changes. Protesters called for the postmaster general to step down. One protest happened on August 15 outside DeJoy's home in Washington, D.C.. Another took place on August 16 at his home in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Holiday Shipping Problems

In December 2020, there were big problems with package shipping delays. This was due to DeJoy's cost-cutting changes and a lot more packages being sent for the holidays. USPS facilities became too full. A supervisor in Indianapolis said workers were "just throwing [packages] in the trucks without scanning them." In Allentown, Pennsylvania, mail sat in the parking lot because there was no room inside. A worker in Philadelphia told a newspaper, "Don’t be using the post office right now, because we can’t deliver the mail."

A postal worker in Maryland called the situation a "logistical nightmare." They said the USPS should have known a holiday shipping crisis would happen. But they failed to warn customers. Another worker said, "As bad as you think it is, it’s worse.” In late December, the USPS admitted there were delays. They blamed COVID-19 issues and not enough workers. They told people to mail packages early. But for many, it was already too late.