Background
The Postal Vehicle Service (PVS) moves large mail volumes between U.S. Postal Service sites, intra-city delivery offices, local firms, and mailers. In fiscal year (FY) 2024, PVS incurred operating expenses of $1.3 billion. On November 30, 2022, the Postal Service and the American Postal Workers Union agreed to initiate a pilot that created a new bargaining unit position, Postal Vehicle Operators (PVO). The Postal Service also uses highway contract route (HCR) suppliers to transport mail between plants and other designated points. However, to facilitate the PVO Pilot Program, the Postal Service insourced several HCR contracts and established PVS operations at pilot sites.
What We Did
Our objective was to evaluate the Postal Service’s management of PVS operations. For this audit, we visited four sites and headquarters (HQs), and interviewed management at site, division, region, and HQ levels to gain an understanding of PVS operations, HCR insourcing, and the implementation of the PVO Pilot Program. Also, we analyzed data from various Postal Service systems to identify trends, patterns, and anomalies.
What We Found
Opportunities exist to improve PVS operations. Specifically, for the Pilot Program, management did not always insource HCR contracts when economically advantageous to the Postal Service, and there were opportunities to more effectively execute the PVO Pilot Program rollout. For the PVS program more broadly, management did not always maintain adequate staffing levels to effectively perform PVS operations or maintain adequate driver’s personnel records in appropriate Postal Service systems. During FY 2024, the Postal Service incurred $39.3 million in questioned costs for grievances and unauthorized overtime related to these issues.
Recommendations and Management’s Comments
We made 11 recommendations to address PVS operational deficiencies. Postal Service management agreed with two of our recommendations and disagreed with nine. Management’s comments and our evaluation are at the end of each finding and recommendation. The U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General considers management’s comments responsive to recommendations 4 and 11 as corrective actions should resolve the issues identified in the report. We will work with management through the audit resolution process on the remaining nine recommendations.
