Bloomberg Businessweek - USA (2020-09-07)

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BLOOMBERG BUSINESSWEEK

4. THE VOTE

DeJoyseemstounderstandthathe’ll

nevertransformtheUSPSaslongasit’s

engulfedincontroversy.Hetestifiedto

theHousecommitteethat,yes,he’dhad

contactwithsomeofhisfriendsinthe

Trumpcampaign.Butit wastoaskthem

todosomethingaboutthepresident’s

unceasingattacksonvote-by-mail.“I’ve

putthewordouttodifferentpeople that

thisis nothelpful,”DeJoysaid.

InlateAugusttheUSPSreleaseda

reportshowingthaton-timedelivery

formostmailcategorieshadstartedto

recover.DeJoyhasbeenfilminga pub-

licserviceaddresswithunionleaders,

someofwhomfeartheservice’srepu-

tationis beingdamagedbythecontro-

versy.“We’redoinga videoshowingthe

Americanpublicthatvotingbymailis

safeandthatthePostalServiceis ready,

willing,andabletoprocessballots,”

saysHogrogian,oftheNationalPostal

MailHandlersUnion.“Ithinka joint

messageis good.There’sbeenenough

negativepressgeneratedbytheWhite

Housethatwecan’thandleit.”

If theattacksonmail-invotingdis-

couragea large number of people

fromcastingballots,effectivelydisen-

franchisingthem,theimplicationsgo

beyondthevote count.Whatcould

makepeoplemorecynicalaboutan

institutionthathasbeena democratiz-

ingforcefor 245 years?Thisjadedness

couldleadtoAmericansnolongersup-

portingitsmission—andoncethathap-

pens,whynotchargemorefora letter

toAlaska?Orwhydelivermailatallin

sparselypopulatedpartsofMontana

andNorthDakota,wheresometimes

postalworkerscancarryeveryletter

fromtheirrouteintheirshirtpockets?

Whenthetimeforthatlogicarrives,the

post master general has a plan. <BW>

And

now,

the

question

that’s

on

everyone’s mind ...TURN THE PAGE

presidentwhowasdiscouraging people

fromvotingbymail.

OnJuly 29 therewereoutragedcries

fromDemocraticleaderswhenMarshall

sentlettersto 48 statesandtheDistrict

ofColumbiawarningthat“certaindead-

linesforrequestingandcastingmail-in

ballotsareincongruouswiththePostal

Service’sdeliverystandard.”Ina state

suchasMontana,henoted,voterscan

requestballotsfromelectionofficials

aslateasthedaybeforetheelection.

Marshalladvisedstatesto urge residents

toaskforthemearly.

Healsorecommendedthatstates

sendblankballotstovotersviafirst-

classmail, which arrivesin two to

fivedays,ratherthanviathecheaper

optionofmarketingmail,whichtakes

aslongas 10 days.Aswithothermoves

underDeJoy,it mighthavebeeninter-

preteddifferentlyina differenttime;

Marshallhadsentouta similarwarn-

inginMay,beforeDeJoy tookover,

andnooneseemedtotakeoffense.“I

mean,it’ssonormal,”saysPaulVogel,

a formerUSPSchiefmarketingofficer

whooversawvote-by-mailoperations

from 2010 to2013.“Especiallyif there

arestatesthatdon’t[votebymail]tra-

ditionally.”Nevertheless,a half-dozen

statescitedthenewletters,alongwith

thevanishingmailboxes,inlawsuits

accusingDeJoyofscheming to suppress

themail-invote.

Ata USPSboardmeetingonAug.7,

DeJoyvowed thatthePostalService

woulddowhateverit tooktosafeguard

votingbymail.Hedismissedallegations

thathewastakingordersfromTrump.

Heremainedcircumspect,however,

aboutthe changeshe was making,

speakingonlyvaguelyabouthowhe

wastryingtogettheUSPStosticktoits

scheduleandavoidunnecessaryover-

time.Asfordelays,hesaidtheywere

“isolatedoperationalincidents.”

DeJoy’sassurancesdidlittletoquell

thefuror.Nordidhisattempttoassuage

hiscriticsby halting theremovalof

sorting machines and

mailboxes until after the election.

Protesterscongregatedoutsidehishomes

inGreensboro,N.C.,andWashington,

beatingdrumsandcallingforhimtobe

removed.RonnieStutts,presidentofthe

115,000-memberNationalRuralLetter

CarriersAssociation,visitedthepost-

mastergeneralatUSPSheadquarters

aroundthistime.“Hewas almostin

tears,”Stuttsrecalls,addingthatDeJoy

said,“I’vehadtohirea bodyguardto

escortmydaughtertoandfromschool.

She’sreallyupsetwithme.She’sasking

me,‘Whyareyoudoingthis, Daddy?

Whywouldyoudothis?’”

MostAmericansdidn’tgettheirfirst

lookatDeJoyuntillateAugustduringhis

appearancesbeforeSenateandHouse

committees.Asmuchashetriedtobe

polite,heoftencameacrosslikesomeone

who’srarelyhadtoexplainhimselfand

wasoffendedbytheveryideaofbeing

interrogatedbypeoplewho’dneverrun

a business.Askedbyonecongressman

whyhedidn’tjustleaveallthesorting

machinesinplaceuntilaftertheelection,

DeJoyreplied,“InWashingtonit makes

plentyofsense.Tomeit makesnone.”

DeJoytriedto portray whathe’d

doneinhisshortstintattheUSPSposi-

tively,sayingon-timetruckingdispatch-

inghadrisenfrom89.4%to97%,which

hepredictedwouldleadtoannualsav-

ingsof$1billion.Democrats,onthe

otherhand,producedinternalUSPS

documentsshowingthatsinceDeJoy

hadtakenover,on-timedeliveryofall

classesofmailhadplummeted,insome

casesby7%or8%.DeJoysaidhehada

mitigationstrategy,butit wasn’twork-

ingasquicklyashe’dexpected.“I’m try-

ingtofigurethatout,”hesaid.

Atanyrate,thepostmastergeneral

toldtheHouseoversightcommittee,

hecouldn’tbeblamedforeverything

that went wrongat theUSPS. “I’m

nottheCOO,”hesaid.“I’mtheCEOof

the organization.”Republicanswere

understanding, butDemocrats pro-

claimed astonishment. “You’resup-

posedtobea logisticsexpert,right?”

askedDemocraticU.S.Representative

JimmyGomezofCalifornia.“Ithink

it’stimeforyoutoresign,notbecause

necessarilythereis thisgrandpoliti-

calconspiracy,butjusttheincompe-

tencethatwe’veseenwhen it comes

tothe Postal Service.”

○ COLLECTION

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