Virginia Congressmen Confirm USPS Audit of Roanoke Mail Center Consolidation into Greensboro NC after increase in customer complaints of lost or destroyed mail
June 22, 2016 Congressmen Bob Goodlatte (VA- 06) and Morgan Griffith (VA-09) today announced the United States Postal Service (USPS) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) has confirmed it has begun a review of the consolidation of the Roanoke Processing and Distribution Center (P&DC) mail processing operations into the Greensboro P&DC.
After Goodlatte and Griffith began receiving a significant increase in communications regarding lost or delayed mail, the timing of which strongly suggested a connection to the closing of the Roanoke processing facility, on May 26, 2016, they sent a letter to the USPS OIG requesting an audit. The audit was requested to review the mail processing operations to determine whether constituents’ mail is being processed in a timely manner. The Congressmen also requested that the audit determine if a business case exists to support this particular consolidation, given that USPS has cited cost savings to support network consolidations.
The USPS OIG has confirmed that such a review is underway, and indicated the final report is expected in December 2016.
Goodlatte and Griffith said, “Folks in Southwest Virginia deserve quality, efficient, and cost effective postal service, just like those living in larger urban areas. We remain troubled about the timeliness and quality of service for mail delivery in our districts, and thank the Inspector General for investigating our concerns. We are also concerned that the Postal Service may have made arbitrary and speculative decisions which ultimately affect the reliability of its service in the Roanoke region, and possibly in other rural areas around the nation. We are pleased an audit is underway, and look forward to thoroughly reviewing the final report.”
Prior to moving mail processing and jobs to Greensboro, Goodlatte and Griffith joined Congressman Robert Hurt (VA-05) and Senators Mark Warner (D-VA) and Tim Kaine (D-VA) in sending a letter to the Postmaster General outlining their concerns with the decision to close the Roanoke P&DC. In their letter, the lawmakers expressed their doubts that this action would improve the financial condition of the USPS. They also noted that the decision would leave Central, Western, and Southwest Virginia devoid of reliable mail processing, and voiced their concerns that the Greensboro facility would not be able to handle the timely processing and distribution of Virginians’ mail.
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The OIG is about as worthless as a shark that lost its dentures. They can only “suggest” remedies and have no legal means to enforce their findings. Since the OIG personnel of the postal division answer to postal management, just what kind of report do you think they’ll give? And given the arrogance, ignorance and flat out disrespect for the customer by management, they won’t do anything unless absolutely forced to.
Brennan and her pals are on a pedestal in their minds and answer to no one. They have and continue to lie like dogs to media, Congresspersons, Senators and the customer. And don’t get me started on how they treat employees. Roanoke and the surrounding area has enough population and towns to merit its own PD & C. So do lots of other cities who were robbed of their plants, resulting in the same results – shitty handling by overworked clerks and mail handlers, delays getting mail worked up and out to individual offices, and terrible DPS sorting errors (automatic sorting machines that are allegedly putting mail in the correct mail delivery order for the carrier, but tear up the mail, mix it up so it’s undeliverable and sometimes smeared with black gunk all over the letters, which are torn and crumpled.)
I’ve said it before and I’ll probably say it again even though it’ll never happen: you want real postal reform, get an independent committee, a bipartisan one that isn’t out to kill unions and take away jobs from craft, and investigate the shit management pulls from every angle. It’ll keep that group busy a long time, but they’ll find bribery, abuse, financial mishandling, embezzlement, and incompetence by the ton. Until then, or maybe if Congress passes some real laws that make sense, save jobs and make the Service viable for decades to come, the service will be as terrible as ever.
Who listens to the OIG anyway ? The postal service certainly does not give a damn what they say.