Postmaster general eyes aggressive changes at Postal Service after election

The plans under consideration, described by four people familiar with Postal Service discussions, would come after the election and touch on all corners of the agency’s work. They include raising package rates, particularly when delivering the last mile on behalf of big retailers; setting higher prices for service in Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico; curbing discounts for nonprofits; requiring election ballots to use first-class postage; and leasing space in Postal Service facilities to other government agencies and companies…

DeJoy has told associates that he was brought in to stem the Postal Service’s losses and that drastic changes were needed to make the agency solvent. He is determined to stay the course and make wholesale changes after the election, an associate who spoke with him recently said.

The Postal Service carries $160.9 billion in debt and has struggled financially for years as volumes of first-class and marketing mail — its most profitable products — tumbled. The USPS also is grappling with a crush of packages as consumers have become more reliant on e-commerce to avoid venturing out during the pandemic, creating logistical problems for an agency designed to move paper, not boxes.