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Pa. Postal Service rallies decry operational changes, support post office workers

"I have three or four mail carriers in my family and extended family that will be affected by this or who are retired, and I'm standing up for them."

  • Sam Dunklau
A group of demonstrators who turned out to show support for the US Postal Service pose for a photo in front of the Hummelstown post office on Aug. 22

 Sam Dunklau / WITF 89.5 FM

A group of demonstrators who turned out to show support for the US Postal Service pose for a photo in front of the Hummelstown post office on Aug. 22

(Harrisburg) — Demonstrators scheduled rallies at post offices across Pennsylvania Saturday, part of a nationwide effort to support mail workers, and protest operational changes made by Postmaster General Louis DeJoy.

At one such rally in Hummelstown, two dozen or so people gathered, waving homemade signs and even marching on the sidewalk next to a busy thoroughfare, trying to raise awareness about what they said are dramatic changes to mail delivery in the last few months.

Keith Bentz was among those who stood on the sidewalk at the Hummelstown office, carrying a large handmade sign that played on the Postal Service’s creed:

Sam Dunklau / WITF 89.5 FM

Activist Keith Bentz displays a sign during a rally supporting the US Postal Service at the Hummelstown post office on Aug. 22

“I have three or four mail carriers in my family and extended family that will be affected by this or who are retired, and I’m standing up for them,” Bentz said.

Last month, DeJoy reportedly issued an internal memo to USPS workers that instituted a campaign of cost-cutting measures, like eliminating overtime pay, removing mail sorting equipment, and imposing a more strict processing deadline.

Demonstrators said they have noticed slower mail deliveries in the last few months, and argue it’s connected to DeJoy’s decisions to make operational cuts.

At the end of the line of people carrying signs was Allen Kenyon. He said a slowdown in mail delivery speed in his community has been frustrating.

“My wife mailed a check to her work, and it took ten days to get from Middletown to Harrisburg, downtown,” he said.

The timing of the moves has also drawn widespread criticism because of how close the November election is.

As WITF reported, 26 mail processing machines have been removed from Pennsylvania’s mail sorting facilities. While mail sorting capability has not been dramatically affected by the removal, a number of postal worker union representatives are concerned about whether the system can process an expected surge of mail-in ballots and deliver them in time to county election offices.

At the Hummelstown rally, organizers like Danielle Prokopchak said she’s worried about what’s happening to the mail right now, and what the longer-term consequences might be for those who rely on the USPS.

“There are some seniors that I’ve spoken with that said they’ve sent birthday cards to their grandchildren, [and] they haven’t been received until weeks after their birthday,” Prokopchak said.

“There’s delays in getting medications in the mail…and that’s very serious. That’s life or death when it comes to medication.”

DeJoy, who’s been accused of holding conflicting interests as a Trump campaign donor, has pledged to suspend further changes until after the election. Nevertheless, both Congress and Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro are challenging DeJoy’s handling of the Postal Service so far.

The House is expected to approve a measure that would send $25 billion to the post office and prevent executives from making further changes until January. Pennsylvania Attorney General Shapiro, meanwhile, is challenging the grounds on which DeJoy and others made those decisions in federal court.

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