Is The Us Postal Service Closed Today

The merits: The Us Post volition shut down past June and be replaced by corporate partnerships.

Amid the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, an already beleaguered US Postal Service faces a daunting financial situation while rumors spread about the agency's potential shutdown.

On April 5, a Facebook user shared a mail service claiming that the USPS would shutter in June. The post, which likewise describes hush-hush plans by major corporations and the federal government to capitalize on USPS'southward demise, has been shared over 250 times.

"All packages and majority items will at present be picked up at your home or place of business organization past Fed-Ex, the small items will be taken by you to ...Wal-Mart. What? You tin can't mail packages at Wal-Mart? Not yet...." the post alleges.

Specific claims about how workers volition exist treated in the prospective layoffs are too made, including that "All the 600+ thousand electric current employees will exist given a ane year's severance package with 1 year's benefits. Those employed for 20+ years will be given no retirement package."

The Facebook user did non respond to a request for comment.

The post also cites a Fortune story that details alarms raised by some officials near the health of the Postal Service. "With a negative net worth of $65 billion and an additional $140 billion in unfunded liabilities, the USPS originally expected to run out of liquidity by 2021 without intervention," the story reads.

"That has accelerated rapidly because of COVID-19. Fewer people and businesses are sending post considering of the outbreak, which could hasten the pass up of the Mail service and close its doors every bit early as June, officials warned."

The finances of the USPS and COVID-xix

The US Postal Service was already hurting financially before COVID-19 ravaged the economy. The agency, which relies on fees rather than taxpayer funds to finance itself, has seen rising net losses in acquirement for over a decade.

The coronavirus pandemic has exacerbated the trend, with lawmakers and USPS officials raising alarm. According to reports from the agency, the total volume of mail delivered during the week of March 29 is downwardly a quarter from the same fourth dimension in 2019. While deliveries of packages were up eleven.7% over the same period, the acute losses have raised concerns.

"As the Postal Service continues to spend resource in response to this crisis, the national pass up in economic activeness has led to a rapid drop in mail volumes and a meaning loss in needed revenues, which puts our ongoing ability to provide our vital federal service at gamble," U.S. Postal Service spokesman David Partenheimer said in a statement to The states TODAY.

Mail carrier Jasmine Armstrong wears a mask while delivering the mail in Peekskill, N.Y. March 23, 2020. Armstrong says the the postal service supplies gloves and a mask, and she is maintaining the recommended six feet from others in order to avoid being exposed to the Covid-19 virus.

The price of delivering post has too risen: The agency is bearing the cost of equipping its workers with personal protective equipment like masks and gloves as they continue to operate amid a global health crisis.

"In that location is no question that the post office at the national level has put serious effort into protecting the health and safety of workers during this exceptional time," said Mark Dimondstein, president of the American Postal Workers Marriage, which represents over a third of USPS's 600,000 employees. "But the post office has to fund these provisions out of its existing funding," he cautioned.

"It has become clear that the Postal Service will not survive the summer without immediate help from Congress and the White House," a March 23 statement from Reps. Carolyn B. Maloney and Gerry Connolly reads. The press release also notes Postal Service officials accept warned that without aid it "could exist forced to cease operations every bit early equally June."

"We will keep to work with policymakers in the months ahead to ensure that Americans have admission to the post during this disquisitional fourth dimension in our nation'due south history," they continue.

The bureau reported a loss of $748 million in the first quarter of 2020, citing "systemic profitability challenges due to our restrictive concern model and mandated costs." USPS also reported a loss of $8.eight billion in fiscal twelvemonth 2019, which was itself about more than double its losses for the year prior.

"We now approximate that the COVID-19 pandemic will increase the Postal Service's cyberspace operating loss past more than $22 billion over the next 18 months, and by over $54 billion over the longer term, threatening our ability to operate," said Megan Brennan, the Postmaster General and CEO of USPS, in a statement Th.

"The inquire of the postal board of governors, the postal unions and even major mailers is very specifically requesting that Congress address the huge negative impact that this pandemic is having," Dimondstein said of the situation, adding that without relief the agency would not be able to finance operations or compensate workers.

The agency has not announced it will cease operations. A liquidity crunch, or lack of on-mitt cash, would hamstring the agency'south power to function and probable lead to a far higher debt burden.

The postmaster full general'due south ain comments imply that such a crisis would force the USPS to borrow heavily to finance itself. While debilitating, especially without intervention from the federal government, that situation does not automatically mean the US Postal Service would exist forced to shut down considering of its troubles.

"As Congress and the Assistants accept steps to support businesses and industries around the land, information technology is imperative that they also take action to shore up the finances of the Postal Service and enable u.s. to continue to fulfill our indispensable role during the pandemic, and to play an effective role in the nation'due south economical recovery," Brennan also said of the Postal Service's state of affairs.

No private takeover

USPS denies claims that individual companies are expected to accept over operations from the agency.

"Predictions of the Mail service'southward imminent collapse are dramatically overstated," said Michael Plunkett, president and CEO of the Clan for Postal Commerce, an advocacy group for the mail industry.

"Individual-public partnerships are already a prominent feature of the Us postal system. Our members produce, transport sort, and runway mail on behalf of their concern clients and work closely with the Postal Service," Plunkett added.

FedEx declined to annotate on its corporate development activities, however, said it "has long supported reforms that would give the U.S. Postal Service the ability to adapt and prosper in a quickly changing marketplace with e'er-shifting customer needs," in a statement to The states TODAY.

Walmart did not respond to requests for comment.

The U.S. Postal Service has been designated as an essential service in emergency orders across the country. The $two trillion stimulus package enacted by the federal authorities to ease economic fallout from the virus included a $10 billion loan to the USPS, though in that location was no direct funding.

On Thursday, the Mail Board of Governors requested Congress approve $75 billion to the USPS through a mix of direct cash, grants and loans that would be used for alleviating the electric current crisis and upgrading aspects of the agency.

Our ruling: False

The coronavirus pandemic has seriously impacted the financial stability of the U.S. Postal service, to the point that the agency is expected to run out of cash on mitt sometime this summer. It is unlikely, still, that whether without intervention the agency would shut downwardly completely. Experts and advocates close to the manufacture, while cognizant of the urgency of the state of affairs, are skeptical of closure. Claims that private firms volition have over the agency's operations are also groundless. We rate this claim Simulated considering it is non supported by our research.

Our fact-check sources:

USA TODAY, Trump signs $2 trillion coronavirus stimulus intended to halt economic meltdown
Mar. 23 Statement from Reps. Connelly and
USPS Statement on COVID-19
USPS Financial Written report for FY19
USPS Statement on Starting time Quarter Finances for FY20
Government Executive, USPS Requests $75B in Emergency Funds to Continue Agency Alive

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