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Ruppersberger<\/p><\/div>\n
By\u00a0Jeff Barker
\nDigital Edition<\/p>\n
U.S. Rep. C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger said overworked postal carriers in his Baltimore County district are scrambling to fill routes, backlogged mail has filled post office hallways, and some perishable items have become fodder for rodents and insects.<\/p>\n
The Democrat is asking the U.S. Postal Service\u2019s inspector general to audit six post office locations \u2014 Dundalk, Essex, Middle River, Parkville, Rosedale and Towson \u2014 that he said face issues that are \u201cdisproportional both in volume of complaints and severity.\u201d<\/p>\n
As part of his emailed request Wednesday, he asked Inspector General Tammy L. Whitcomb to root out \u201cthe systemic causes of the irregular delivery and staffing shortages in the Baltimore District\u201d and identify remedies.<\/p>\n
Complaints about delays in customers receiving checks, letters, prescription medication, presents and holiday cards have dogged the Postal Service during the coronavirus pandemic.<\/p>\n
The issue became politicized during last year\u2019s presidential election because Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, a former Republican fundraiser appointed during the administration of then-President Donald Trump, took actions that critics said were intended to slow the delivery of mail-in ballots.<\/p>\n
An audit like the one requested by Ruppersberger would take a few months and include surprise inspections of the post offices under scrutiny, according to the congressman\u2019s staff.<\/p>\n
Bill Triplett, a spokesman for the inspector general, said Wednesday that officials in the office received Ruppersberger\u2019s request and \u201care reviewing it for possible next steps.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ruppersberger, who is in his 10th term, said he\u2019s now receiving an unprecedented level of constituent complaints, and that delivery issues \u2014 and his frustration \u2014<\/p>\n
have reached a breaking point. He said he\u2019s seen constituents in Dundalk waiting in long lines at the post office before emerging carrying \u201cshoe boxes of backlogged mail.\u201d<\/p>\n
As of mid-May, the congressman\u2019s staff reported that it was exploring 414 mail-related constituent complaints, many targeting the Dundalk and Essex post offices.<\/p>\n
\u201cThroughout my time in Congress, I have never received complaints of this magnitude or severity,\u201d Ruppersberger wrote in an email to DeJoy, also sent this week, in which he requested a meeting with the agency\u2019s leadership.<\/p>\n
In seeking the audit, the congressman\u2019s staff members outlined specific issues \u2014 some they believe are related to staffing shortages \u2014 at each of the six area locations.<\/p>\n
In an email Thursday, the staff added they had learned of \u201chigh tensions among overworked employees,\u201d some of who were using overtime to cover routes.<\/p>\n
The Postal Service did not reply Wednesday to requests for comments. Freda Sauter, a regional spokesperson, said Thursday that the agency was preparing a response, but did not deliver one.<\/p>\n
In the first three months of this year, Baltimore was last in the country in delivery of three-to-five-day mail, according to a Postal Service report. It said 24.9% of that type of mail was delivered on time in the area.<\/p>\n
At 78.1%, Alaska had the best on-time record, the document said. It said the national on-time figure of 57.9% was about 25 points lower than the same period a year ago, but it did not provide an explanation for the drop.<\/p>\n
In April, the agency said the pandemic had limited employees\u2019 availability and affected delivery.<\/p>\n
Sauter told The Baltimore Sun in an email that month, however, that the service had \u201ctaken appropriate actions\u201d and that \u201cwe believe mail deliveries have returned to normal.\u201d<\/p>\n
Before the November election, critics accused DeJoy of politicizing the service and making cuts to slow the arrival of mail-in ballots that would likely favor Democrats. Some proposed cuts were blocked in federal court.<\/p>\n
DeJoy has said he is making the agency more efficient and fiscally sound. In March, he announced a 10-year plan, including higher prices for postage and extending a window for delivering first-class mail from one to three days to one to five days.<\/p>\n
Ruppersberger said in his email to DeJoy that some area residents have gone weeks without receiving mail and that \u201cI have been trying to no avail to get straight answers from our local USPS leadership.\u201d<\/p>\n
Among those complaining is Phil Tirabassi, owner of Advance Realty Direct, a Dundalk real estate brokerage.<\/p>\n
\u201cPrior to this year, I had never been late on a bill in 16 years of owning this office,\u201d he said Wednesday.<\/p>\n
He said mail delays have changed that.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s straining me and my business, and everybody I do business with,\u201d he said. \u201cI went from a five-star client to somebody who doesn\u2019t pay their bills.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kirby Lohff, who runs Shoe City\u2019s e-commerce and distribution center, said he had been using USPS Priority Mail to deliver tens of thousands of packages a year.<\/p>\n
But he said the Baltimore company is transitioning to United Parcel Service because of inconsistent deliveries and inadequate service.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey don\u2019t know that I\u2019m leaving,\u201d he said, \u201cbut they\u2019ll find out in the next few weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ruppersberger\u2019s staff has been working with the Greater Baltimore Postal Customer Council, which acts as a liaison between the agency and customers.<\/p>\n
His staff said it learned from a postal employee \u2014 it declined to name the worker \u2014 about alarming conditions at the Dundalk post office.<\/p>\n
\u201cLong lines and furious customers at this post office are the norm,\u201d the congressman wrote in his email to the inspector general.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have also received reports of unsanitary workplace conditions in this office leading to perishable mail being eaten by insects and rodents.\u201d<\/p>\n
The congressman posed a series of questions to DeJoy, including how many mail routes have vacancies and recent retention rates for Postal Service employees in the area. He requested responses by June 11.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n