On Tuesday morning, the controversy surrounding the United States Postal Service became local as Congressman Henry Cuellar (TX-28), members of the Laredo Veterans Honor Guard and USPS employees and retirees gathered for a press conference on the steps of the Laredo Veterans Post Office in downtown Laredo.

The press conference served as a protest to President Donald Trump’s administration’s handling of aid for the USPS as it has become a political issue in recent weeks due to the topic of mail-in voting. Cuellar said the postal service is also an essential service that needs hep to bring products and letters to the public, especially as people aim to limit their time outside the home due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The postal service has been a pillar of our democracy. It is enshrined in our U.S. Constitution,” Cuellar said. “In fact, if you look at Article I, Section VIII, Congress shall have the power to establish post offices and post roads. In the old days, they would put a post house and then do a post road, so they could have the post rides deliver the mail, so this started form the very beginning of our Constitution.”

The congressman also laid out how the post office is not a constitutional duty set to Congress but is also critical for the everyday American as its services help them stay in communication with others, work with businesses and also get much needed products they order online including medications. Other benefits outlined include how people receive their Social Security checks, tax return refunds and absentee ballots through the mail.

According to Cuellar, the USPS is also essential because it handles 48% of the world’s mail volume as it does not only operate domestically but also around the world. It services military personnel in 67 countries and diplomats in at least 113 countries.

Due to the policies enacted recently by Postmaster General Louis DeJoy and the fact that the service had already been struggling, Cuellar pointed out the USPS has reported a loss of $2.2 billion in their second quarter.

People involved with the USPS locally voiced their concerns for what is happening and called for action against the Trump Administration’s inaction to save the agency.

“Our country struggles to withstand the public health and economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 virus as this pandemic threatens the very survival of the USPS as the postal employees are at the frontline providing essential services to the public every day,” said Luis Palacios, District representative of the Texas State Association of Letter Carriers (TSALC). “Yet, the current administration refuses to provide the necessary financial relief that threatens the agency during this pandemic. The post service cannot be allowed to fail, and we must do everything that we can to help the postal service thrive not only for the men and women of the postal service but also for the community and the businesses that we serve in this critical time.”

According to Palacios, not only is the lack of funds making it harder for the postal service to do their job and provide the services that people need such as the elderly getting their products and checks in a safe manner at home, but also the postal service does not have enough money to sanitize their areas as their funds are being lowered.

Local veteran and USPS retiree Rodolfo Aguilar, who is the vice commander of the Laredo Veterans Honor Guard, attested to how service disruption could affect him if things get worse as the effects have not been felt in the Laredo areas yet.

“I get my Veteran’s Administration medicine through the mail, one of my checks and all the important mail that they send us from the VA and other government agencies,” Aguilar said. “One of the things that hurts me the most is that the current administration is using the agency as a weapon against the American public by taking away the machines out of several post offices around the country.”

Although these machines have not been taken away in the area, Aguilar said such machines are essential for postal workers as they do the work of hundreds of postal workers in sorting the packages and letters. Without them it would take workers much longer and would cause delays.

Instead of going out and delivering the packages, postal workers will now have to stay back at the office sorting out the mail if these machines are taken away, according to Aguilar.

He also pointed out how the future of the USPS could be affected as potential employees may not see any future in an agency whose future has become so uncertain.

“What they are doing with the USPS is not hurting anyone but just the public,” Aguilar said. “Also, if the situation continues like this, we might see many people get discouraged of getting a job or making a career out of the USPS. In a sense, however, this will inspire more people to come and join the fight in ensuring the USPS continues the way it is or even better.”

There is already a plan to hire temporary part-time workers in efforts to help satisfy the need. Ignacio Flores, the branch president of City Carrier Assistant in Laredo, announced the plan to tackle the problem.

“Right now, we are actually a little bit underemployed,” Flores said. “In a week right now we are going to contract part-time clerks, like five for each station, and 10 CCAs employees who will be part-time also where they will help in the delivery of packages as right now we are slow as we are getting 30 to 40 pallets of packages, and this will help facilitate the transport of the packages for postal employees locally in Laredo.”

Palacios said each postal office gets different amounts of packages but that each handles a large amount. The Del Mar station gets about 5,000 packages daily, and the main post office gets about 1,000-2,000 packages.

Congressman Cuellar also announced in the press conference that on Saturday the House of Representatives will vote on a relief package called the Delivery for America Act for the USPS, which he cosponsored. He expects it to pass with bipartisan support then head to the Senate where its fate will be determined.

Cuellar also said his main claim was against the postmaster general who put into policy the changes that would make services at the USPS take longer due to insufficient funding.

“The postmaster general, you know, Trump’s donor, continues to push for policies that will accelerate the prices at the postal service which would delay mail and jeopardize the integrity of our election,” Cuellar said. “This is unacceptable. Again, we are supporters of the USPS.”

However, just a couple of hours after the press conference downtown, DeJoy announced he was suspending all of the policies he had laid out that would affect the USPS until after the election.

Cuellar spoke to LMT about the policy reversal and cautioned that it is only temporary.

“It might be a temporary pause on those operational changes that have been delayed now, but we are still going to continue with our legislation on Saturday to make sure that we reverse the damage that has been done be the Trump Administration and the Postmaster General DeJoy,” he said.

Cuellar said the legislative act still needs to be done as the $25 billion in critical aid will help the USPS survive the uncertainties faced amid the pandemic. According to Cuellar, the suspension of the operational shifts means postal workers can now get more overtime for their work and maintain the resources they have in efforts to continue providing necessary services.

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