Last Friday, Congresswoman Veronica Escobar (TX-16) sent a letter to El Paso Postmaster General Cindi J. Tabbot to express her deep concern regarding prevalent United States Postal Service (USPS) issues in the El Paso region that have been brought to her attention by constituents and postal workers alike.
Below are excerpts from the letter:
“As you know, on August 21, 2025, we had a comprehensive meeting with senior regional leadership, including yourself,” wrote Congresswoman Escobar. “As we discussed during our meeting, our community needs answers to casework issues, updates on current and future operations and maintenance, staffing challenges, and infrastructure needs.”
“USPS is an agency that my constituents seem to consistently have problems navigating, and in turn, open casework with my office,” she continued. “There have been several types of USPS casework inquiries, with the most recent trend being El Pasoans not receiving mail at their designated cluster box for months on end.”
“In my effort to address the needs of my constituents, and especially because of our inability to get an appointment to discuss these issues with the Postmaster for an entire year, my staff and I have been communicating regularly with the local National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) branch 505 to learn about ongoing issues with staffing, vehicle maintenance, facility conditions, and overall morale,” she wrote. “It was concerning to hear from you during our meeting recently that no action plan has been developed to address the concerns NALC 505 has brought up to your management, as well as meaningful steps toward implementing facilities and fleet improvements needed in our district. For example, over a year ago, significant damage was done to the Northgate Postal Office when a vehicle crashed into the building, creating a large hole in one of its walls. That damage has not been repaired, one year after the accident. When I brought up this incident and others during our meeting, there was no meaningful acknowledgment of the issue and certainly no sense of urgency or responsibility to fix it. In fact, there was deflection instead of concern. This is totally unacceptable and illustrates one of the likely reasons why morale among employees is so low.”
“Much of this could have been resolved with regular communication between NALC 505 and management, but I have heard conflicting reports about how often the two speak to each other,” Congresswoman Escobar continued. “It is the responsibility of the Postmaster to ensure she is aware of all issues and is communicating proactively and frequently with the workforce, especially with union leadership. I would encourage both sides to make every effort to engage in good-faith conversations to solve the myriad of local issues that have grown progressively worse in the last year.”
“I understand and appreciate the value of USPS and the postal workers who serve El Pasoans every day. That is why I do not take lightly my obligation to conduct oversight when I consistently hear from my constituents that USPS is not meeting acceptable standards in our region.”
Congresswoman Escobar then included that the Postmaster General answer her questions on the following topics:
- Staffing and Hiring Challenges
- Work Conditions
- Leadership Engagement
- Operations and Maintenance
- Facility Conditions
“El Pasoans deserve high-quality USPS service, and I look forward to working together to do just that. Thank you for your full and fair consideration of this matter, consistent with applicable statute and agency guidelines. I respectfully request a response to the questions and concerns I have raised above, no later than October 1, 2025,” concluded Congresswoman Escobar.
To read the full letter and the Congresswoman’s list of 31 questions for the Postmaster General, click here.
