ALLENTOWN, Pa. (WLVT) - The Lehigh Valley had 15 mail sorting machines at U.S. Postal Service facilities. Now three have been removed.
We spoke with Andrew Kubat, president of the American Postal Workers Union in the Lehigh Valley.
"There could be more taken out in the future, I believe they have said there is a pause on the machine removal, but ours have already been taken out," Kubat said.
The government has placed a pause on removing any more machines.
U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy said in a statement that all changes to the post office will be put on hold until after the 2020 general election. It's expected that up to 60 percent of votes cast in the presidential election will be through the mail.
The U.S. Postal Service has been thrust into the political fray.
Referencing President Trump's own words, Democrats charge changes at the post office are designed to impede mail-in voting that the Trump administration opposes. Republicans say the changes are cost-cutting moves aimed at greater efficiency and necessary for an agency that is billions in the red.
U.S. Rep. Susan Wild, D-Lehigh Valley, was at the South Side Bethlehem Post Office on Tuesday. She decried post office cuts, called for greater funding and said any changes should be put on hold until the nation emerges from the throes of the global pandemic.
Wild said political party affiliation shouldn't matter when it comes to the U.S. Postal Service because it is a lifeline for so many who rely on it.
"I don't think there's a legislator out there that doesn't have constituents that would be very upset if the demise of the post office should happen," Wild said. "It doesn't matter if you're a Republican or a Democrat. You're going to be hearing from very unhappy constituents."