Editor’s Note: Sinikka Melvin is the president of the Clarksburg, West Virginia Area Local of the American Postal Worker Union. The opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author. Read more opinion on CNN.
In postal years, I am a baby. Six years ago, I found myself at a career crossroads and applied as a clerk for the United States Postal Service. I started at the tail end of the great consolidation. West Virginia had lost a mail-sorting plant and several processing centers.
Many post offices in rural areas had their hours slashed to non-existent, which meant that mail traveled a longer distance to other post offices just to get to its destination.
Not only were the employees angry and discouraged for this injustice, but so were our customers. Despite these setbacks and challenges, my colleagues persevered and worked diligently to fulfill the US Postal Service’s mission to “provide prompt, reliable, and efficient services to patrons in all areas and shall render postal services to all communities.”
As time went on, the post office continued to make more cuts, jobs were eliminated, and the hours got longer for those who remained. But we stayed strong, still working relentlessly to ensure the mail was delivered to every one of our customers on time. With barely any time to catch our breath from the Christmas peak season of 2019, we were suddenly faced with the Covid-19 epidemic, just like every citizen and business. Yet we did not stop.
We accepted every package, every envelope. We shipped out facemasks from concerned relatives. We continued the mission of the Postal Service despite in some way being personally affected by the coronavirus. Just like you, we juggled home schooling, day care and this sickness firsthand. Postal employees are proud people. We know our job and we do what it takes to get it done, from carrier to custodian, from our newest employees to our longest veteran, who has 47 years with the Postal Service, in my area. We have most definitely been busy.
When it was announced that a new postmaster general was being appointed, expectations were guarded. We knew the mandate, requiring the Postal Service to prefund the health benefits of retirees, hindered us.
We knew things needed to change. We knew Covid impacted our revenues, transportation and staffing. We were understaffed and overworked at the expense of our personal lives and health, but we still committed to maintaining postal standards.
Perhaps this new regime would reach out to hardworking employees at ground zero for a helpful insight into improving the post office because who would know better? Perhaps they would reach out to our union leaders for the same. To our surprise, we received no notice, no input, nothing.
Our members began frantically texting and calling union leaders on July 10th because an email was sent out from upper management advising that some offices were closing during lunch, their busiest hour.
On July 24 we were surprised when signs were posted in lobbies of 12 locations in West Virginia, advising postal employees that their offices were going to close in less than 30 days.
Numerous others were cutting back on their operating hours and ceasing Saturday services.
The announcement sowed a lot of confusion. How could this happen to us without proper notification or discussion? How could this happen to West Virginia? Hadn’t we been downsized enough? Our infrastructure lacks reliable internet service, with many rural communities located in areas without access to anything but their post office. They’re dependent upon the US Postal Service for checks, medicines, supplies and much more.
Our rural customers come to our post office every month for money orders for things like their water bills and a stamp to mail it in. And a clerk, who gladly helps customers address their envelope because their eyesight just isn’t what it used to be, is there too. What about our neighbor who just started their new business selling wares from their home and dropping them off at their local post office. This wasn’t just about the employees; this was about our communities.
Postal employees and citizens all across this state immediately jumped into action and called upon Congress for help. We reached out to all of our senators and representatives, regardless of their party. Because that’s not what this was about. This was the US Postal Service. Every community’s Postal Service.
Now, after West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin asked for clarification from Postmaster General Louis DeJoy about what was going on, government liaison manager Sheila Meyers said, in a letter to Manchin, that it was a so-called “misunderstanding” and those 12 offices in West Virginia wouldn’t be closing at this time but were under a financial feasibility study.
While plans to close offices are being put on hold, we still faced a new battle: Delayed mail. The phrase itself is taboo amongst postal employees.
Yet here we were, having no choice but to delay mail because the new strict guidelines meant we couldn’t make extra or late trips.
This is not the Postal Service we’ve fought so hard to maintain. This is not the mission statement of the post office. We are here to provide a service to every community. It undermines our integrity and work ethic. We’re now stuck in the middle of an unwanted political battle.
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We’re Republicans, Democrats, Libertarians, and everything in between. Regardless, we’re still postal workers who, come snow, rain, heat or politics, will get the mail to our communities. We want our new postmaster general to give us the tools to do our job and do it well. The impacts of a failed post office are incomprehensible. Increased shipping costs for not only consumers and businesses but local governments will greatly impact everyone as they pass the burden onto the consumer.
Delayed deliveries harm the public. It’s the customer who comes first thing in the morning to get a medicine they urgently need and can’t wait for. It’s your paycheck you need to put food on the table. It’s that new coat your child needs for winter. It’s your passport you’ve eagerly waited on. Your reading list for the new semester. Your 12th birthday card. Your new face mask. The ways the Postal Service affects our lives are endless. We must find a way to save the post office without disenfranchising American communities and harming the high integrity of the USPS.