Heitkamp Blasts Postal Service, Calls on Agency to Reverse Harmful Decision that would Reduce Mail Service throughout North Dakota
Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., left, meets with U.S. Postal Service Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe and USPS COO Megan Brennan on March 12 in Washington, D.C photo credit: The Dickinson Press
Senator Launches New Fix My Mail Petition for North Dakotans to Pressure Postal Service after it Went Back on Promise to Keep Full Hours of Operation at Post Offices around State
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp today slammed the U.S. Postal Service after it went back on its promise to keep more hours of operation at rural post offices across North Dakota.
Heitkamp today called on the agency to reverse its destructive decision and launched a new petition, as part of her Fix My Mail initiative, for North Dakotans to join together and express their outrage while pressuring the Postal Service to change its new plan. In March, the Postal Service committed both in person and in writing to Heitkamp that it would maintain hours of operation at 30 post offices around North Dakota that may otherwise have been reduced.
“How can we trust anything the Postal Service says when it promises one thing and then does another? North Dakotans across our state have faced serious problems with mail delivery and service,” said Heitkamp. “Through my Fix My Mail initiative, I’ve heard incredible stories of how folks haven’t received their prescriptions on time, and got mail that was damaged or even thrown in a ditch on the side of a road. And now the Postal Service is reducing service when North Dakota’s population is only growing as we are one of the fastest-growing states in the nation and need better services. To push back on the Postal Service, I’m launching a petition as part of my Fix My Mail effort and I encourage North Dakotans to visit my website and sign it. Working together, we can pressure the Postal Service to reverse its reckless actions.”
In January, Heitkamp launched her Fix My Mail initiative to gather stories from North Dakotans about problems they have encountered with delayed mail delivery and poor service. Through Fix My Mail, she received stories from more than 140 North Dakotans all across the state. After sharing these stories with Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe in March, the Postal Service committed – in person and in writing – to improve mail service and delivery throughout the state, including keeping more hours of operation at 30 rural post offices in North Dakota. Now, however, the Postal Service is going back on its promise and is planning to reduce hours of operation at nearly all of these rural post offices, as well as nearly 300 additional locations throughout the state.
In response, Heitkamp today launched a new petition on her website through her Fix My Mail initiative to pressure the Postal Service to reverse its decision.
Since launching Fix My Mail, Heitkamp has heard from North Dakotans about a variety of problems with mail delivery and service. The main themes included:
- Not receiving bills and prescription medication on time
- Letters are delivered to the incorrect address
- Letters are not being delivered and disappear in the online tracking system
- Mail forwarding is ineffective/wrong mail gets forwarded
- USPS is having employment retention and hiring issues resulting in extremely challenging working conditions for employees
- Post offices are not open during regular hours
During her meeting with the Postmaster General, Heitkamp received several commitments to improve mail delivery and standards in North Dakota in addition to keeping more hours of operation, including deploying Mobile Point of Sale devices and installing Self-Service Kiosks.
He refuses to help the post office so why should the post office help him?
How do you know when Postal management lies when they speak? When their lips move!
If I recall correctly, I posted a response here to the good Senator and warned her that the Postal Service and Donahoe were liars in the extreme and that it would indeed be foolish to believe anything they said. Hate to tell you I told you so, Senator, but maybe after this episode it’ll piss off enough of the right people to have some sort of positive results. The best would be firing Donahoe, and I can’t figure out what’s keeping him there. He’s a proven liar, out to destroy the USPS and a butt boy for the GOP. Why can’t anybody who can do anything about it see that?
DONAHOE AND THE REST OF POSTAL MANAGEMENT NEED TO BE FIRED IMMEDIATELY. THEY ARE BEING PAID TO MAKE SURE THE POSTAL SERVICE FAILS MISERABLY IN ALL ASPECTS OF RUNNING A BUSINESS. IF NOTHING IS DONE SOON THE POSTAL SERVICE WILL CEASE TO EXIST AND PRIVATE INDUSTRY WILL SUCK ALL US CITIZENS DRY TO SHIP ANYTHING, ANYWHERE!!!!!!!!
Entire management team of Dakotas USPS District lies to every postal employee daily. They are headquartered in Sioux Falls, SD and take their orders from Denver(Western Region). Senator Heitkamp knows a liar like Donahoe who is destroying the USPS in America has no fear of closing post offices wherever. A few good postal employees are left, but none trust they will have a job in two or three years. Most new employees expect there will be no retirement benefits reaching them ever. Remember the USPS is being dismantled by postal managers whom lack any loyalty to their customers.
Shocking, management of the USPS lied, They lie to the employees every time they open their mouths,
The entire management of Donahoe and all of his vice presidents need to be fired immediately. I suggest they go work at McDonald’s flipping burger if they can figure it out.
Well senator Heitkamp, the Postal Service is treating you like they treat everyone else. The truth is, the Postal Service wants to fail! The big time operators are getting paid to sink the Postal Service. Bain Capital would like to take over.
It is not only north dakota it’s everywere,most small offices dont open until 9am close at 11am for lunch reopen at noon and close at 4pm.If you work that makes it impossable to get to the post office, then upper management(ha ha)says we need to close these offices because of lack of revenue.
You get what you pay for
welcome to the lying zone.
1. A politician blasting someone else for lying………….priceless.
2. Welcome to our world Senator.
Postal mgmt/eas are pathological liars.
You get what you pay, dude.
You cannot believe a single word the USPS says. They will LIE right to your face. Partly because they believe they are right and partly because in the USPS mindset the LIE should be truth.
Welcome to our world, Senator Heitkamp! National Agreements are made, and then Postal Management does everything to break it. PMG, and his cronies are nothing but liars, and looking to dismantele the Postal Service.