USPS is Under Fire for Doing This With Your Deliveries

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The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) is a major necessity, delivering to all areas of the country, regardless of how rural or isolated. With the weight of this responsibility—and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic—the agency faces ongoing financial woes and staffing shortages. President Joe Biden put plans in motion to help assist the USPS, signing a major postal reform bill in April to provide almost $50 billion in relief over the next decade. But while those in power work to keep the Postal Service afloat, the agency is now facing additional criticism surrounding delivery processes. Read on to find out what one organization alleges the USPS may be doing illegally.

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Delivery rates have been the center of attention for the USPS. In Oct. 2021, “new service standards” (also known as the number of days between acceptance and delivery of a piece of mail) were announced for First Class Mail and Periodicals . Service standards are still considered timely by the agency, despite increases in time-in-transit standards by one or two days for First-Class Mail and Periodicals traveling longer distances. The delivery time for nearly one-third of small, lightweight packages was also slowed down as of May 1, 2022, thanks to new service standards for First-Class Packages.

Ironically, the agency has now received pushback over certain packages that some say are being delivered too quickly .

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If these allegations are true, it would violate the legal obligations of the USPS, which require the agency not to give priority to letter mail or discriminate between users. This could also impact and undermine services in rural communities and low-population-density areas, which rely on the USPS for deliveries, the motion states.

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The SOC, which includes four labor unions —Service Employees International Union, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Communications Workers of America, and United Farmworkers of America—represents over four million workers. Its mission is to survey different workers and consumers and then generate in-depth reports, according to its website.

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