The new Postmaster General of the United States Postal Service is Louis DeJoy. Mr. DeJoy is a multi-millionaire Republican fundraiser. News reports indicate he is the first person in decades appointed without USPS experience. His family owns $30 to $75 million in stocks of USPS competitors, a striking conflict of interest. He recently directed distribution centers to delay processing first-class mail.

Upon the announcement of the appointment of Mr. DeJoy, the president of the American Postal Workers Union (APWU), Mark Dimondstein, stated:

“Fifty years ago, postal workers waged a heroic nationwide strike to win better pay, benefits and the right to collective bargaining. This strike also recreated the United States Postal Service as an independent agency, designed to be free from the political patronage and cronyism that had plagued the old Post Office Department.

“The APWU is deeply concerned with the appointment process to make Mr. Louis DeJoy, a multi-million-dollar major donor to President Trump, the next Postmaster General and whether the Administration has returned to the days of political interference and patronage.”

The postal service was financially devastated by the pandemic. The USPS Board of Governors asked Congress to shore up the service. Now, with elections coming and the postal service running out of money, the Senate and executive branch are withholding funds and delaying mail service. One must ask why would the Postmaster General want to slow mail service? Folks do not wait, ask for your absentee ballot and mail in your vote two weeks early.