On 25 Feb 2021 at 2:40, Rod Hower via EV wrote:

> Why is the partisan hack Dejoy even employed?

I really don't want to get into the partisan politics of it - that's best 
avoided here so we can keep this list focused on what we have in common. 

Please, let's stay away from the many hyper-politicized issues that have 
split this nation into warring tribes in recent decades.

But to try to briefly answer the question, as I understand it, the USPS 
management structure was designed with an effort to keep political influence 
minimized.  There's a layer of "political insulation" in the form of a board 
of governors. The board members are appointed by the president and confirmed 
by the senate.  The board then selects the postmaster general. 

If I'm not mistaken (please correct me if I am), we ended up where we are 
mostly because the senate refused to confirm any new governors' board 
members during the last years of the Obama administration.  The board was 
literally empty in 2017.  

Six new board members have been confirmed since then, and they're the ones 
who put Dejoy into office.  None of their terms will be up until October 
2022.

For us to get a different postmaster general, Dejoy would have to either 
quit or be forced out.  The current president could name 3 more members to 
the board - it can have up to 9 members - but even then the board would 
still have the same 6 who chose Dejoy in the first place, a majority.  So no 
PMG change is even possible until 2 more rotate off the board in late 2022.  
An election then follows almost immediately; take that as you will.

I'm far from a legal expert, again I welcome correction, but I *think* that 
congress could direct the existing USPS management to buy more EVs.  They'd 
probably have to allocate and earmark funds for the purpose.  An executive 
order may also be possible.  

Any of this could be reversed by a future congress or administration, 
however.  

Another possibility is legal action against the USPS.  That could be brought 
by one of the losers in the vehicle bidding process.  Workhorse Group is 
making such noises.  I'm not sure it would be a good thing if Workhors won, 
though.  Honestly I wasn't that impressed with their EV entry.  Others here 
may have different opinions.

Moreover, the USPS's history with EVs is not good.  Many previous pilot 
projects and proposals failed, going back to at least the 1970s.  (Can you 
say "Comuta-Van"?)  There's been evidence of deliberate internal sabotage in 
some of those cases.  In the 1980s I heard stories of maintenance crews 
watering flooded lead batteries by taking off all the caps and spraying them 
with a garden hose.

For USPS EVs to really succeed they need an absolute cast-iron top-to-bottom 
management and staff commitment to them, a lot of internal education, and 
possibly some personnel changes.  

If you want your mail delivered by EVs, try moving to Germany.  

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-03-24/even-germany-s-post-
office-is-building-an-electric-car

https://v.gd/cSfqDI

David Roden, EVDL moderator & general lackey

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