Rep. Summer Lee Presses Postmaster General Louis DeJoy on Local Worker Complaints and Service Failures in House Oversight Committee Hearing
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Vaibhav Vijay, Vaibhav.Vijay@mail.house.gov
Kyla Gill, Kyla.Gill@mail.house.gov
Rep. Summer Lee Presses Postmaster General Louis DeJoy on Local Worker Complaints and Service Failures in House Oversight Committee Hearing
Washington, DC – Today, during a House Oversight Committee hearing, Congresswoman Summer Lee questioned Postmaster General Louis DeJoy about alarming complaints from Postal Service employees and constituents regarding deteriorating working conditions, delayed mail deliveries, and a lack of accountability within the U.S. Postal Service (USPS). Lee emphasized the vital role USPS plays in connecting communities and delivering essential services, while highlighting how unresponsiveness and inefficiencies have eroded trust in the institution.
“Fifteen employees from my district in Pittsburgh reached out to my office about an abusive and hostile work environment,” said Rep. Lee during the hearing. “These workers had exhausted every avenue within USPS, making formal complaints to their superiors without resolution. It is unacceptable that employees feel ignored and abandoned by their own leadership.”
The Congresswoman also pointed to constituent concerns, including a local tax collector who faced significant delays in receiving undeliverable mail and encountered barriers when attempting to file complaints with USPS. Rep. Lee pressed Postmaster General DeJoy on why there is no follow-up process for customer complaints and whether the current system is intentionally difficult to navigate.
Postmaster General DeJoy faced direct questioning about the Postal Service’s processes to address employee grievances and constituent complaints. A transcript of the full exchange is attached below.
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Hearing Transcript
Rep. Summer Lee:
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
It can’t be overstated how vital the Postal Service is to this country. It is the only mail delivery service that reaches every single address in the United States. Yet what’s being seen during Postmaster General DeJoy’s time is slower deliveries, increased costs, poor and even deadly conditions for employees, and an erosion of trust in this institution.
From what I’m hearing in my District of Pittsburgh, the Postal Service’s unresponsiveness has added to that distrust.
Just this year, fifteen of your employees working in my District reached out to my office with complaints of an abusive and hostile work environment. They came to my team because they had nowhere else to turn to at the Postal Service. They had made the complaints, they had gone to those above them, and they still got no help. These workers sent letters to every one of my office locations because they were so used to being ignored and unheard. It is completely unacceptable to have so many employees reaching out for help and for no one at the Postal Service to do anything about it.
Q1: Mr. DeJoy, do you have a formal process to address employee complaints? Is it just being ignored, or do you not have a way to address employee issues?
Postmaster General Louis DeJoy:
Congresswoman, we have a formal process in place for employee complaints that is overseen by our Human Resources department and local management. If issues are not being addressed properly, I need to look into this case specifically to understand what went wrong.
Rep. Summer Lee:
Q2: Can you commit to improving or creating this process to ensure employees are heard and action is taken to improve their working conditions?
Postmaster General Louis DeJoy:
Yes, I can commit to reviewing the process and making any necessary improvements to ensure employee concerns are addressed effectively.
Rep. Summer Lee:
Another issue from my District involves a local tax collector. A job that is an important local government function and relies on timely and accurate mail delivery. Not getting those bills on time or at all can mean late fees or missing out on pay-early discounts. One of the problems is mail that is coming back as undeliverable, yet she doesn’t get the “return to sender” until a year later, way past the time needed to catch and fix the issue.
Q3: Can you explain how it takes over a year to receive a “return to sender” piece of mail?
Postmaster General Louis DeJoy:
Congresswoman, I would need to investigate this specific case to provide a more accurate answer. Delays of this length are not typical and could indicate an issue at a local facility.
Rep. Summer Lee:
This constituent has complained to the Postal Service multiple times about both the return time and the undeliverable addresses themselves. My office has also brought the problem to both the local and federal level Postal Service offices, and it still hasn’t improved.
The most recent response from the Postal Service is that they considered the problem solved because they no longer received any complaints.
Do you know why they aren’t receiving complaints anymore? In order to make a complaint, the constituent has to speak to a manager, yet every time she goes to the office, no manager can be found.
Q4: Mr. DeJoy, why is there no follow-up process for customer complaints to ensure a problem has actually been solved?
Postmaster General Louis DeJoy:
I will need to look into the complaint procedures in that area and work with local management to understand why this constituent’s concerns have not been adequately addressed.
Rep. Summer Lee:
Q5: Do you intentionally make the customer complaint process difficult so you can pretend problems have been solved or don’t exist?
Postmaster General Louis DeJoy:
Absolutely not. That is not the intention of the Postal Service. Our goal is to serve the public, and we will take steps to review and improve our complaint process if necessary.
Rep. Summer Lee:
The Postal Service is not going to improve its major problems until they actually listen to their customers and employees. Right now, it’s clear that they aren’t doing that.
It’s unacceptable that such a vital part of how our country functions has become so unreliable and controversial. They need to do better for the American people.
Thank you, I yield back.
About Congresswoman Summer Lee
Since taking office in January 2023, Rep. Lee has delivered over $2 billion in federal investments to Western Pennsylvania, including funding for infrastructure, clean energy manufacturing, and affordable housing. As a member of the House Oversight Committee, Rep. Lee continues to fight for accountability and fairness in government operations and services.