Colorado lawmakers are pressing again for improvements at the U.S. Postal Service, demanding “immediate and substantial action” to resolve persistent mail delivery problems around the state — focusing on working conditions, appropriate pay in mountain towns, and training for employees.
“Colorado residents shouldn’t have to wait weeks for their prescriptions, bank documents, or other important deliveries,” U.S. Rep. Brittany Pettersen said Wednesday after distributing a letter that she and Rep. Joe Neguse, joined by Sens. John Hickenlooper and Michael Bennet, sent on Dec. 21 to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy.
“It is unacceptable to not see improvements on these long-standing issues,” the lawmakers said in their letter.
For years, postal service in western Colorado has deteriorated amid shortages of mail carriers to deliver packages and post office clerks. A public protest in Buena Vista and reports on the problems led to a Government Accountability Office investigation last summer. The USPS Inspector General launched an audit of mail service in 13 western Colorado mountain towns, completed on Dec. 5. The USPS is mired in debt exceeding $144 billion, according to the GAO report, and administrators have been cutting costs and considering the closure of “rural” facilities.
The audit concluded that western Colorado residents have experienced above-average delivery delays, especially for packages, compared with residents elsewhere in the state and the nation. It found that the USPS faced challenges in hiring and retaining workers, and deficiencies in facilities, the handling of mail and packages, and scheduling transportation. The auditors cited “inadequate management oversight” and “a lack of communication” resulting in “significant delays, incorrect package returns, and misinformation for customers.”
USPS officials have committed to addressing some problems by conducting reviews, monitoring mail handling, improving communication, and increasing on-the-job training.
The lawmakers have urged USPS officials also to follow audit recommendations to assess the effects of USPS work environments on workers, explore the feasibility of increasing pay based on living costs in Colorado mountain towns, and require essential training for anybody serving as postmaster.
“The cost of living in these mountain towns has increased substantially, and the hourly pay of USPS has not kept up with the cost of living in these areas,” the lawmakers wrote in their letter to DeJoy.
Since January 2023, Pettersen has sent several letters to DeJoy and established a bipartisan Delivering Postal Solutions Caucus in Congress. Bennet and Hickenlooper have met with DeJoy and invited him to tour a USPS facility.
USPS spokesmen could not be reached on Wednesday. Postal officials have acknowledged difficulties in western Colorado and promised a hiring blitz, touting “great jobs” with full benefits and starting salaries ranging from $17.32 to $22.18 per hour.
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