The City Council accused the U.S. Postal Service of ignoring an emergency public hearing aimed at addressing service disruptions, saying residents were unable to pick up their bills and prescriptions and raised concerns about voting by mail.
Councilwoman Sharon Durkan, who called for the hearing last month, said Tuesday that the USPS chose not to participate in today’s discussion because the City Council had a “political purpose” in taking up the issue and said it was “not interested in our customers.” “I don’t really think about it,” he said. ”
Durkan cited a private email that he said was “forwarded in error” by the USPS.
“That couldn’t be further from the truth,” Durkan said. “We are gathered here to address the declining quality of USPS service, which is an urgent concern to our constituents.”
Other City Council members took this disdain to the USPS after the hearing was highly publicized (drawing out live virtual testimony from U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley) and the topic was widely reported.
“It’s outrageous that someone at the Post Office accused us of having political motives,” said City Councilor Benjamin Weber. “Our challenge is to make sure that Boston residents get their mail, they get their checks, they get their medications, they get their ballots, and we make sure that happens.
“It’s not political,” Weber added. “We’re just making sure Boston residents have access to basic public services.”
Weber went on to accuse the USPS of being politicized, at the same time naming U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, who was appointed by former President Donald Trump, adding that “Biden will appoint someone else to the board.” It remains there because of Senate obstruction.” ”
“We’ve tried to run the Post Office as if it were a business that needs to make a profit, and that’s unreasonable. The Post Office, like the T and Water Departments, provides necessary public services,” DeJoy said. That’s because I do.”
City Councilwoman Gabriela Coletta also harshly criticized the “deplorable leadership” of the USPS, saying, “We’re just trying to represent our constituents, and it’s an honor to hear from his cronies that he’s politicizing this issue.” ” he said. Prescriptions don’t arrive or ballots get lost in the mail.
Durkan said this is a misleading claim by the USPS, which issued a statement last month that mail delivery in the city was within “performance standards” during its most recent financial quarter, which extended from July 1 to September 30. and pushed back what she saw.
“The reality on the ground tells a markedly different story,” Durkan said.
He said residents across Boston are experiencing “unacceptable delays and inefficiencies in the Postal Service,” which prevents “critical communications, including legal documents and financial statements,” and “critical This led to delays in the delivery of medical supplies.
“An unreliable Postal Service threatens to undermine our democratic process,” Durkan said in his opening remarks regarding mail-in voting, which has become more prominent in recent years.
But she then noted that Secretary of the Union William Galvin said over the weekend that his office is “working very closely” with the USPS to ensure it does not influence state and federal elections. .
Representatives from the USPS union who attended the hearing cited staffing issues as a major factor causing service problems. Union representatives largely agreed with City Council members that mail and package delays are a problem worthy of major concern, and even joined in bashing Postal Service leadership.
But they noted that the union is not as concerned about voting by mail heading into next month’s election, noting what Scott Hoffman, national affairs agent for the American Postal Workers Union, said was a widespread vote. He testified that he did not think there was. A review process that negates “gamesmanship and failure.”
“This is the one thing I can say you don’t have to worry about, but everything else you do need to worry about,” Hoffman said. “I think that’s the message today.”
Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)
First published: October 8, 2024 at 8:12 p.m.
