Senator Jon Tester (D-MT) recently sent a letter to Postmaster General Megan J. Brennan expressing concerns about reports of mail being inaccurately reported, and in some cases, intentionally misreported.
One of the reports in question was issued by the Postal Service Office of Inspector General in August. It found that from March 1, 2016, through February 28, 2017, mail processing facilities underreported late arriving mail by about 2 billion mailpieces.
The IG also found that not all processed mail was reported; less than 12% of processed mail was actually reported in Mail Condition Reporting System reports.
The report said that the problems generally stemmed from a lack of training for the employees. Consequently, the IG recommended that management require formal training for all personnel involved in supervising, conducting, and reporting daily mail counts.
The IG report did not, however, make reference to mail that was deliberately delayed or misreported. In his letter, Tester also referenced a separate investigation in which he said “Postal Service supervisors manipulated mail delivery records and inaccurately reported delayed mail” and that “employees have reported mail being intentionally delayed in order to meet local goals of having workers in their offices at arbitrary times.”
“Any employee who deliberately delayed mail delivery or knowingly misreported mail delivery should be terminated for violating the trust of America’s hardworking taxpayers and postal ratepayers,” wrote Tester.
He went on to conclude the letter by telling Brennan that he is ready to assist her with helping the Postal Service serve the needs of Americans but said “that begins with your commitment to get rid of any supervisors or senior managers who intentionally provided inaccurate ports of delayed mail.”
2017-09-18 Senator Tester Letter to Postmaster General
