BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Postmaster General Louis DeJoy's Delivering for America Plan is delivering the mail late, according to the regions that have already implemented it.
And with the plan on track to come to the Lehigh Valley, it's causing concern.
"We should be moving towards faster delivery service, not slowing things down," said Andy Kubat, President of LV local APWU.
The plan, designed to cut costs, moves away from local mail sorting and creates regional distribution centers to do the processing, then the mail is returned to be sent out.
It's already been implemented in places like Atlanta, Georgia, Fort Meyers, Florida, and Richmond, Virginia.
All of those locations have seen a drop in on-time deliveries, says Kubat.
"They're seeing trucks lined up at the docks waiting to unload. Stuff that we haven't seen since the pandemic," Kubat said.
"On-time delivery has dropped by as much as 28%."
An audit of the Richmond facility released by the USPS Office of Inspector General in early April found "egregious issues" and questioned the effectiveness of the new plan.
The Post Office has pushed back on the report.
We reached out for further comment but haven't heard back.
For the Lehigh Valley, the plan would mean that all local mail would be sent roughly 80 miles each way to Harrisburg for sorting and stamping, before being sent out in the Lehigh Valley.
It also changes the frequency the mail is picked up.
"When we mail things like our bill payments, our election ballots, contracts, any kind of legal documents that require a postmark to determine whether or not it's been mailed on time, you're losing a day," Kubat said.
This issue has become big enough that it's also getting the attention of lawmakers in Washington. There was a heated Senate oversight hearing on this last week.
