First Class mail to take extra day under Postal Service plan

The U.S. Postal Service will announce plans to add a day to its standards for First Class mail delivery, and to reduce Post Office hours, as it seeks to deal with declining mail volume, financial deficits and slow delivery, a person briefed on the agency’s plan said.

The service plans a formal announcement Tuesday of a 10-year plan devised under Postmaster General Louis DeJoy. The person who described the plan did so on condition of anonymity because it hasn’t been made public.

The service now says it delivers First Class mail in 1-to-3 days.

David Partenheimer, a Postal Service spokesman, declined to comment.

DeJoy last month told lawmakers some mail could be delayed under his plan to revitalize the service. “Only about 30% of First Class Mail would be impacted with any additional delays,” DeJoy said at a hearing.

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DeJoy told the congressional panel that the Postal Service is on a “dire financial trajectory” with declining mail volume and other problems.

Mail delivery has remained sluggish since slowing down last year after DeJoy cut overtime and extra trips by delivery trucks in an effort to rein in costs. DeJoy, a donor to former President Donald Trump, was appointed by a Republican-majority board last year.

Some Democratic members of Congress have called for replacing DeJoy. Last month White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki didn’t directly answer when asked if President Joe Biden has confidence in DeJoy.

Biden can’t directly fire DeJoy, whose employment is decided by the independent agency’s board. Biden has nominated three new board members who would break Republican control of the body.