Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s efforts to modernize the Postal Service are the subject of a lengthy article in Bloomberg Businessweek.
The feature details the challenges facing USPS when DeJoy became the 75th postmaster general, in 2020, including the effects of COVID-19 on the organization’s 644,000-member workforce and the issues associated with the increase in mail-in voting during that year’s elections.
As the March 31 article points out, though, DeJoy is helping the Postal Service get back on track through Delivering for America, the organization’s 10-year plan to improve its finances and service.
For example, the postmaster general tells Bloomberg Businessweek that USPS had relied too heavily on unreliable air transportation to fly mail across the country.
His solution: Shift some First-Class Mail back to trucks, which added a day or two of delivery time to some mail, but is allowing the Postal Service to provide more cost-efficient, predictable service.
Delivering for America is also targeting employee turnover, including converting as many as 63,000 pre-career workers to full career status so they’ll stick around. Although this will be costly, DeJoy says, it will save money in the long run.
The piece also discusses the recent passage of the Postal Service Reform Act, along with the organization’s other efforts to move into the future.
“I take seriously the fact that we’re an independent agency,” DeJoy says. “I have a lot of authority, and I use it, right? And I’m getting us to be more bold.”