Rep. Morgan McGarvey sends letter to postmaster general about Louisville mail delays
U.S. Rep. Morgan McGarvey sent a letter to the U.S. Postmaster General following up after hundreds of people complained to his office about constant mail delays.
In January, the United States Postal Service (USPS) said many of the delays were due to severe winter weather sweeping across the Commonwealth.
However, McGarvey's office says several of the issues central to the mail delay may have predated the winter storms, in some cases by months.
Rep. McGarvey’s initial letter to USPS was sent on Jan. 24. On Friday, his office said it has received over 100 calls from constituents about the mail delays.
WHAS11 reported on the mail delays in January. A spokesperson for USPS at the time said "the Louisville Processing and Distribution Center is processing all mail and packages as quickly as possible."
McGarvey sent a follow up letter to U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy.
"Public reports of staffing shortages, mismanagement of resources, and broken equipment indicate broader systemic issues within the facility causing the delays – not acute problems caused by winter storms," McGarvey said.
He said his office learned USPS denied a request from the Gardiner Lane facility to hire seasonal employees during the busy holiday season. He also said USPS denied requests to backfill the positions of employees who have retired or left the postal service.
McGarvey said he is "concerned" about postal workers being forced to "make do without giving them the resources to succeed."
In the letter he goes on to ask specific questions about the Gardiner Lane facilities employment during past holiday seasons and asks about confirmation if USPS has denied the Gardiner Lane facilities requests.
In January, WHAS11 reached out to USPS about the delays.
A USPS spokesperson at the time apologized for the inconvenience to customers.
"For questions about delivery, we suggest visiting usps.com and click on “Contact us” at the bottom of our homepage, or utilize this direct web address. Customers may also request assistance through the official X account of the United States Postal Service @USPSHelp or private message on Facebook," the company said in a statement.
The day after that request they sent this statement:
We are aware of recent service delays in the Louisville area and want to provide an update on the situation.
Back-to-back severe weather events have significantly impacted our operations both locally in Kentucky and across our network. These weather-related challenges, coupled with an increase in employee availability issues following the storms, have contributed to temporary mail and package delivery delays in the region.
Senior leaders are actively working with local teams to address the situation and restore the level of service our customers are accustomed to. We are committed to resuming normal operations as quickly and safely as possible.
Customers are encouraged to visit our Service Alerts page at Service alerts - Newsroom - About.usps.com for up-to-date information on service impacts related to weather events.
By: Xan Dorsey
Source: WHAS