HOUSTON — Rep. Al Green on Tuesday said he might have found out what has been causing delays at Houston-area USPS facilities.
Green said he thinks the problems began at the North Houston Distribution Center.
Some people have started to receive their packages while others have been waiting for weeks.
Green said he started asking questions after KHOU 11 News alerted him to the problems.
"I thank the press for continued coverage of USPS mail delays, especially KHOU 11 for bringing this issue to my attention. The persistent coverage has compelled USPS to address mail delivery delays by bringing in more than 30 additional employees," Green said in a release.
On Tuesday, Green said he had spoken to United States Postal Service union representatives and they backed up an insider's claim that the delays started with the decision to install a new piece of equipment at the north Houston facility.
That piece of equipment didn't fit, but staff members had already been transferred with the expectation of a lighter workload thanks to the new machine.
Something that was supposed to help, ended up making things much worse.
"I think we can be patient, but only when we understand the nature of the problem. So we have to deal with their transparency, the lack thereof, and we have to deal with the delivery. Those things are important, especially now that we are approaching the tax season as well as the elections that are coming up in the month of March," Green said.
Green said it could be necessary to hold a congressional hearing on the issue if USPS doesn't start being more transparent.
When asked if he would feel comfortable mailing an important document right now, Green said he would rather hand-deliver the document instead of relying on USPS.
Are you having issues with the post office? Send an email to mailproblems@khou.com and let us know. You can see our coverage of delays at Houston-area USPS processing centers on KHOU.com/PostalProblems.