The U.S. Postal Service has a new postmaster general. Meet David Steiner, on Friday, USPS Board of Governors announced about the new Postmaster General, a member of the FedEx board. He was formerly the CEO of Waste Management. This news comes as the U.S. Postal Service’s independent mail agency faces significant financial struggles and questions about its future under the current government.
Steiner said, “I deeply admire the public service and business mission of this amazing institution, and I believe strongly in maintaining its role as an independent establishment of the executive branch”.
Who is David Steiner?
David Steiner the new postmaster of USPS, 67, had led waste-and-recycling firm’s overhaul following a financial scandal in the 1990s, was the favourite for the job. He is on the board of directors at leading Postal Service competitor FedEx, where he has held the title of lead independent director.
New USPS chief role
Steiner will now oversee a mail delivery service that employs 635,000 workers. In a statement Friday, he said he is committed to maintaining the USPS’s independence.
Announcing the new USPS postmaster, the board chair Amber McReynolds said in a statement Friday, “Dave is the right person to lead the Postal Service at this time to ensure this magnificent and historic organization thrives into the future,” Adding, “Dave is a highly regarded leader and executive with tremendous vision, experience and skill that can be applied to the long-term mission and business needs of the Postal Service.”
Previous USPS Postmaster General resignation
Louis DeJoy, the previous USPS Postmaster General abrupt resignation led to the appointment of Steiner. Democratic lawmakers for years called for DeJoy to be fired but agreed to give USPS $50 billion in financial relief in 2022.
DeJoy worked over the past 5 years of his tenure to dramatically restructure USPS, including cutting forecast cumulative losses over a decade to $80 billion from $160 billion even as mail volumes fell to the lowest level since 1968.
Just after board announced David Steiner as the new chief of USPS, Connolly and Government Operations Subcommittee ranking member Rep. Kweisi Mfume said the panel “will be keeping a very close eye on the actions of the new Postmaster.”
Is David Steiner’s appointment conflicting
Brian Renfroe, president of the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) union that represents thousands of active and former postal workers, deemed Steiner’s history with FedEx a conflict of interest with Postal Service’s long-term mission and “a direct assault on the workers who keep the mail moving and the public connected.”
Renfroe said in a statement, “His selection isn’t just a conflict of interest — it’s an aggressive step toward handing America’s mail system over to corporate interests.” He added, “Private shippers have been waiting to get USPS out of parcel delivery for years. Steiner’s selection is an open invitation to do just that.”
Postal Service in loss
The Postal Service reported a wider net loss of $3.3 billion for the three months ending March 31 as it continues to hike stamp prices and seek ways to cut costs.
USPS said on Friday its controllable loss was $848 million, up from $317 million in the same quarter last year as mail volume continued to fall. In February, President Donald Trump called the agency a “tremendous loser for this country” and has said is considering merging the Postal Service with the U.S. Commerce Department. Democratic lawmakers have said such a move would violate federal law.
David Steiner appointment
Steiner will step down from FedEx’s Board of Directors, USPS said in its announcement. The former executive is expected to formally join the independent agency in July.
FedEx Executive Chairman Fred Smith praised Steiner’s selection.
