Louisville congressman urging Washington to look into local USPS delays

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- As questions about U.S. Postal Service delays in the area go unanswered, Louisville Rep. Morgan McGarvey is asking Washington to step in.

The Democratic congressman sent a letter Jan. 24 to U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, who told McGarvey the problems were weather-related. But his office pushed back, and asked Washington to look into Louisville's facility and the delays there.

For weeks, questions to postal service leaders about long delays have gone unanswered as many people still wait on packages, medication and bills. McGarvey noted in his letter that he has received "an alarming number of messages" from residents about the delays. He wrote that when they check the delivery status for items, some are finding their packages are still stuck at the Gardiner Lane Regional Post Office in Louisville.

McGarvey added that broken equipment and mismanagement are an "unacceptable burden" on USPS employees to work with.

"There has been a frustrating lack of transparency between USPS and the people of Louisville," he wrote. "Louisvillians have read reports of broken equipment, staffing shortages, and severe mismanagement of resources, but USPS continues to report that the cause of this issue is recent inclement weather, despite employees alleging these issues started far before the winter storms."

On Friday, he sent another letter to Washington saying his office had reports of mail delays before the winter storms. He also said his office learned that the Gardiner Lane mail facility was not allowed to hire seasonal employees and that requests were denied to backfill positions for workers who retired or left.

"Public reports of staffing shortages, mismanagement of resources, and broken equipment indicate broader systemic issues within the facility causing the delays – not acute problems caused by winter storms," McGarvey said in the second letter dated Feb. 7.

Earlier this week, Art Campos, the president of the union representing about 800 local postal workers said things are starting to get back to normal at the Gardiner Lane facility. Still, McGarvey wants to fix any problems to keep a mail delay from happening again.

"We want to make sure that the Postmaster General in Washington knows about the problems in Louisville and is honest about what's causing them," he said Thursday. "And make sure that we have the support in Louisville from the Postmaster General that we need, that we have adequate staffing levels, that if there's equipment broken that it's being fixed, and that they're using resources to address the serious backlog we're all experiencing right now."

McGarvey said just last week he got a Christmas card that his parents, who also live in Louisville, sent Dec. 16.

The USPS has received numerous complaints from customers, prompting WDRB to investigate the ongoing delays.

One employee at Louisville's regional post office filmed a video showing a backlog of mail inside the facility, even before the winter weather set in.

In a recent report, WDRB captured drone footage of several dozen trailers filled with mail, along with empty crates and pallets behind the post office. The following day, the area was cleared up.

USPS representatives have declined or not responded to repeated interview requests from WDRB.

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