Postmaster General Louis DeJoy is standing his ground and has no plans to hit the pause button on his Delivering for America (DFA) plan anytime soon. The 10-year initiative, which is currently in its third year, has made measurable strides in rebuilding the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) from an “organization in financial and operational crisis to one that is self-sustaining and high performing.” However, it’s also ruffled feathers among regulators and senators, and in some instances, postal workers and customers as well. Nevertheless, DeJoy is keeping his eyes on the prize. In a passionate op-ed published by The Washington Post, DeJoy confronts doubters head-on and reiterates why the DFA is the only way forward.
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The USPS plays an “important role in the communications that bind the nation together,” writes DeJoy. In case you needed a reminder, “640,000 employees operate 32,000 retail and operational centers across our nation, and use 45,000 trucks, 256,000 delivery vehicles and 200 aircraft to accept and deliver 425 million pieces of mail and packages to and from more than 330 million people” every day, he adds.
But despite all this, he says the USPS is in a “death spiral.” As a self-funding agency, the USPS isn’t aided by tax dollars and is tasked with managing its own costs—something the agency wasn’t previously equipped to handle, as DeJoy has vocally asserted time and time again.
With the DFA, DeJoy hopes to make the USPS a more progressive network, and he says the plan is working.
“We have used our regulatory authority to make the pricing adjustments necessary to correct for more than a decade of defective pricing. We converted nearly 180,000 non-career workers to full-time employment, stabilizing our workforce and providing our employees an opportunity for a long-term career,” he explains. “By September 2023, 98 percent of Americans received their mail and packages within three days.”
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A major cornerstone of the DFA plan is restructuring the USPS’ operating conditions, including opening new mail processing and distribution centers and consolidating facilities where possible. These plans are in action but have yet to come to fruition. However, DeJoy assures this is only a minor setback: “We will soon be back to a performance level that can make the nation proud.”
As far as numbers go, DeJoy says the USPS has reduced transportation costs by nearly $1 billion, seen a significant increase in revenue and market share, and put an annual estimate of $2.5 billion back into the organization’s pockets after slashing work hours. Additionally, the USPS has reduced its projected 10-year losses by nearly $100 billion thus far.
“Our progress clearly demonstrates the effectiveness of our plan, and it’s imperative we continue on this path,” stresses DeJoy. “‘Delivering for America’ is the only comprehensive strategy in existence that can save the Postal Service and empower this indispensable organization not just to survive but thrive.”
