Biden is said to nominate three Democrats to USPS board of governors
Source: Washington Post
President Biden will nominate a former U.S. Postal Service executive, a leading voting rights advocate and a former postal union leader to the mail service’s governing board, according to three people briefed on the nominees, a move that will reshape the agency’s leadership and increase pressure on the embattled postmaster general. Biden will nominate Ron Stroman, the Postal Service’s recently retired deputy postmaster general; Amber McReynolds, the chief executive of National Vote at Home Institute; and Anton Hajjar, the former general counsel of the American Postal Workers Union, said the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal policy.
If confirmed, the nominees would give Democrats a majority on the nine-member board of governors, with potentially enough votes to oust DeJoy, who testified Wednesday before a House panel that his new strategic plan for the mail service included slowing deliveries. The composition of the postal board elicited sharp remarks before and during Wednesday’s hearing. Several lawmakers have decried the lack of diversity among the governors. The move is a potential boon for voting rights groups, which have urged congressional Democrats to use the Postal Service to expand vote by mail access as a firewall against Republicans in state legislatures that have introduced bills to do the opposite.
It also is likely to be embraced by the powerful postal unions, whose leaders have privately expressed worries that DeJoy would cut jobs or contract work to private firms to cut costs. The people briefed on the nominations said a formal announcement from the White House could come as soon as Wednesday afternoon. More than 70 congressional Democrats wrote to Biden on Feb. 17, asking him to submit nominations for three of the four openings on the governing board. Bloom, the board chairman and the body’s senior Democrat, is serving in a one-year holdover role after his term expired in December.
The White House, in a statement this month, said Biden would choose nominees who “reflect his commitment to the workers of the U.S. Postal Service — who deliver on the post office’s vital universal service obligation.”The White House, Stroman and McReynolds did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Hajjar declined to comment.
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/02/24/dejoy-hearing-usps-live-updates/#link-6CTKIUPGPZCRLKIPBL2ZQAFVO4
Good! Just got done watching the hearing and as I have said on DU many times - FUCKING DEJOY.
Amber McReynolds
Ron Stroman
Anton Hajjar
= new reply since forum marked as read
It's long past time to fire DeJoy and send him to DeJail.
Who has successfully taken on the biggest job in U.S. history!!! 
(Or is it? ) I sure hope they go through. Time to beef the USPS back up to its former glory as one of the best in the world.
The Board of Governors of the U.S. Postal Service is comparable to a board of directors of a publicly held corporation. The Board normally consists of up to nine governors appointed by the President of the United States with the advice and consent of the Senate.
The nine governors select the Postmaster General, who becomes a member of the Board, and those 10 select the Deputy Postmaster General, who also serves on the Board. The Postmaster General serves at the pleasure of the governors for an indefinite term and the Deputy Postmaster General serves at the pleasure of the governors and the Postmaster General.
In 1970, when the Board was established by the Postal Reorganization Act, the governors of the Postal Service were appointed for terms of nine years. The first nine appointments were for staggered terms of one to nine years. Subsequent appointments were made for the full nine years. On December 20, 2006, President George W. Bush signed the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act, P.L. 109-435, which changed the terms of subsequently appointed governors from nine to seven years. The Act also added professional qualifications for the governors. The governors are chosen to represent the public interest generally and cannot be representatives of special interests. Not more than five of the nine may belong to the same political party. They shall be chosen solely based on their experience in the field of public service, law or accounting. However, at least four of the governors shall be chosen solely based on their demonstrated ability in managing organizations or corporations (in either the public or private sector) that employ at least 50,000 employees.
Appointments are made when vacancies occur or for the remainder of unexpired terms. Each governor’s term expires on December 8 of a given year. Governors may continue to serve following expiration of their term or until a successor is appointed but not for more than one year. No person may serve more than two terms as a governor.
The Board directs the exercise of the powers of the Postal Service, directs and controls its expenditures, reviews its practices, conducts long-range planning, approves officer compensation and sets policies on all postal matters. The Board takes up matters such as service standards and capital investments.
The governors employ a full-time corporate secretary who serves as the primary staff assistant to the Board and supervises other members of the staff of the Office of the Board of Governors. The secretary is generally responsible for coordinating the resources of the Postal Service so that the Board fulfills its statutory duties in the most efficient and informed manner possible. Michael J. Elston is the secretary of the Board.
The Board of Governors meets on a regular basis. Meeting locations are generally in Washington, D.C., but may be scheduled in some other city where the members can see firsthand a Postal Service or large mailer's operation and provide access to the Board to customers from other parts of the country.
All meetings are open to the public unless the Board specifically votes to close all or part of a meeting in line with exemptions permitted by the Government in the Sunshine Act [5 U.S.C. 552b(b)].
Each governor receives $300 per day for not more than 42 days of meetings each year and travel expenses, in addition to an annual salary of $30,000. Four vacancies exist on the Board.
https://about.usps.com/who/leadership/board-governors/
By ANTHONY IZAGUIRRE
ASSOCIATED PRESS |
FEB 24, 2021 AT 7:00 PM
President Joe Biden on Wednesday nominated three postal experts to the governing board of the U.S. Postal Service, a move that could alter the course of an agency grappling with delivery delays and rumored cuts under its embattled Republican leader.
If confirmed by the Senate, the Board of Governors nominees would bring additional Democratic scrutiny on Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, a major GOP donor whose tenure has been mired by slow service and politicization.
The nominees are Ron Stroman, a former deputy postmaster general; Amber McReynolds, a mail voting advocate who leads the nonprofit National Vote at Home Institute; and Anton Hajjar, the former general counsel of the American Postal Workers Union. A White House announcement of the move came just after a long and sometimes tense congressional hearing with DeJoy about the agency’s ailing financial health.
“President Biden is committed to the USPS’ success, and these experienced and tested leaders will ensure the USPS is running at the highest of service standards and that it can effectively and efficiently serve all communities in our country,” a White House statement read.
More:
https://www.chicagotribune.com/nation-world/ct-aud-nw-usps-biden-dejoy-20210225-vadnxrva3bgj5lthdg6umqwxqe-story.html
