Below is a letter sent to the USPS Office of Inspector General surrounding the problems of delayed mail after closing the Fredrick, Maryland Processing and Distribution Facility. It was sent to the Inspector General by two former Frederick workers now in Baltimore and four Baltimore postal workers.
To the Inspector General of the United States Postal Service,
On behalf of all employees of the Unites States Postal Service and the American People, we, the below signed hereby inform you of the following:
On November 19, 2011, the Frederick Processing and Distribution Facility in Frederick, Md. was closed. Employees were excessed to multiple facilities, including the Baltimore, Md. Processing and Distribution Plant and the Incoming Mail Facility in Linthicum, Md.
The transfer of mail processing and distribution formerly performed in the Frederick P&DF has resulted in severely delayed mail and serious safety violations as follows:
1. During December 2011, mail was delayed and kept on trailers in the yard of the Baltimore P&DC and the IMF in Linthicum for 10 days or longer.
2. Trailers of mail were diverted from Baltimore P&DC to the IMF because the Baltimore P&DC could not process the mail.
3. At times there were in excess of 30 trailers of mail at the IMF, so many that trailers were dropped in the employee parking lot for days.
4. At the Baltimore P&DC there were up to 24 trailers full of mail dropped in the yard for days.
5. Mail in the form of Black Friday ads were still on trailers in the yard of the Baltimore P&DC at least until December 13, 2011.
6. Mail on contractor vehicles was parked outside the facility, on public roadways, some with trailer doors open and carrying first class mail, because it was impossible for inbound vehicles to enter the yard or be unloaded due to congestion and scores of vehicles waiting to be unloaded. This was in addition to the trailers dropped in the yard noted above.
7. Mail was stored in certain areas and held delayed days and weeks.
8. Managers of some stations in the Baltimore District were ordered to their stations on a Sunday in December to clear space, including the moving of cases, so that mail could be sent to the stations for storage. This mail was subsequently retrieved after December 25th, 2011
9. Certain large mail customers were given preference over others because the Baltimore P&DC and the IMF combined could not process the mail. Those customers not given preference had their mail substantially delayed.
10. As of on or about January 10, 2012, mail dated December 5, 2011 was still in the Baltimore P&DC.
11. As of on or about January 12, 2012, there was still mail placed in the system prior to Black Friday, unprocessed, at the Baltimore P&DC.
12. Since the closing of the Frederick P&DF, safety violations have increased dramatically, including:
A. Fire extinguishers blocked
B. Tray Management System E-Stops blocked
C. Fire exits blocked
D. Walkways leading to means of egress are blocked by equipment.
E. Powered industrial equipment impacting other equipment multiple times per day.
F. Mail sortation and distribution being performed in walkways because there is no other space in which to conduct the operations.
G. Countless near misses between equipment transported through the plant and employees.
We believe the above instances of delayed mail and safety violations are the tip of the iceberg. Mail was and is being delayed intentionally and with the full knowledge of top management officials and daily reports are being falsified as a matter of course with the full knowledge of top management. We believe that since the closing of the Frederick P&DF, there have been multitudinous and continuous violations of 18 USC Code 1703 and that these violations have been ordered by the highest-level officials of the United States Postal Service, up to and including the Postmaster General of the United States, Patrick R. Donahoe. It is evident that the Baltimore P&DC is incapable of processing the mail from the Frederick P&DC in a safe and timely manner and that the study used to justify the consolidation was flawed, arbitrary and capricious or intentionally falsified.
We, the below signed, request an immediate, thorough and objective investigation of the above allegations and the totality of effects of the closing of the Frederick P&DC, including possible crimes committed by Postal management officials up to and including the Postmaster General of the United States.
CC. President Barack Obama
All United States Senators
All Members of the House of Representatives
All members of the U.S. Conference of Mayors
you guys…this has all been a seamless and transparent closing of the frederick p&df with no effect on service, just ask the masterminds spending their bonus checks for saving so much money
Big surprise! This has been going on forever, and they pick and choose who they want to “nail.” For instance, Brian Fisher, Plant Manager in Indy, was seen by employees the Christmas before last taking color codes off of the backed up equipment…but what do they do? Promote him to Michigan! Oh, yes, this is they way the USPS works. Promote the higher ups, no matter what they do, and squeeze the little guys and the supervisors that want to do the right thing and a good job! It’s all about who is sucking up to the people in power, not anything to do with the job you’re doing.
The employees at L’Enfant Plaza are working on a solution…..
BAMMMM!!!!! Our New Logo.
Indefinitely suspend without pay all the employees at L’Enfant Plaza and all Area and District offices until a real solution is made.Once we see how much waste trere is all problems solved.
Like the OIG is really going to do some thing about this. Come on! They only care about employees extending their lunch breaks!
Sounds alot like Philly too…… Who do you think the OIG works for??? They will do and say whatever the Postal Service tells them to.
This is what we have to look forward to???? Great, Hope they are up to date on their insurance, I see plenty of lawsuits coming their way. Time to put the PMG out of our misery and knock him down to PSE level and see what happens. This idiot doesn’t belong in such a position as PMG. What’s taking you ( Board of Governors ) so long, fire Donahoe!!!!!
Its all messed-up in the Baltimore Distict of the USPS.They should have never closed the Frederick MD Plant. It was a bad Management decision, even the Managers would tell if they were guarenteed they would not be retaliated against by the upper 1% of Postal Management.Congress should talk to these people,employees and customers in the Baltimore District.
That’s postmaster general
The Postmaster recently approved a rule allowing Postal executives to use postal funds to purchase hard liquor and wine for business meetings.
Decision making process, Managers jobs are. to determine means to meet critical entry time to process mail to meet deadlines. Thes highly motivated creative managers should have to pay for performance as they took extra care and concern to delay mail by whatever means they could employ. Could be they lack gray matter in left brain area.
THE PMG NEEDS TO GO,AND TAKE ABOUT 50 VP’S WITH HIM.
KNEE JERK REACTIONS TO TRY AND FIX THE PROBLEMS WHEN THE ONLY PROBLEM IS THE WAY CONGRESS IS HANDLING THE PROBLEM ,AND SITS AND DOES NOTHING.
Mail? What mail? The internet has replaced it all, or so we and the public are told. Why is the PMG still employed?
This is how it will be nationwide.
I am feeling this delay and I live approx 60 miles away in Delaware. Si ce December my mail has been delayed resulting in me having to contact BofA as to where my statements are? This consolidation is NOT working and Donahue needs to rethink this ridiculous plan!!!!!
I thought this was standard operating procedure in all stations.
It’s not just there.