Ohio Lawmakers Express Concern Over USPS Lack Of Transparency in Toledo Mail Processing Plant Study
Filed under: consolidations, postal, postal news, press releases, usps
WASHINGTON, D.C.—U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and U.S. Representative Marcy Kaptur (OH-9) are asking U.S. Postmaster General Patrick Donohoe to give further review to a study of the Toledo Processing & Distribution Center (P&DC). Brown and Kaptur, in a letter to Donohoe sent last week, expressed concern over the lack of transparency in the study, as well as a lack of communication with constituents in Northwest Ohio, and requested more detailed information on how service quality and USPS jobs would be affected.
“The USPS must work with the Toledo community as it further studies the effect consolidations would have on the Toledo Processing & Distribution Center. To date, it appears that key guidelines have not been followed, and I urge the USPS to work with the residents of Northwest Ohio as it moves forward on the study,” Brown said. “The USPS is our nation’s 2nd-largest employer. Any proposal to streamline the USPS must be carefully considered to protect our still-recovering economy and to minimize job losses and service degradation across our state.”
“Our workers in Toledo have met every benchmark and consistently provided quality service to residential and business customers,” Kaptur said. “Senator Brown and I will continue fighting for the Toledo center and fighting for Toledo jobs. Postal workers weave the thread that binds our communities together. They have my complete support.”
“While we understand the difficult financial situation that USPS is facing, we are concerned that realignments or consolidations will result in significant job losses and will negatively impact the level of service provided to Ohioans,” Brown and Kaptur wrote. “It has been brought to our attention that the study has been expedited and that community members have not been consulted.”
“Before any decision is made regarding the future of the Toledo Processing Plant, we urge that USPS: (1) conclusively establish that consolidation would not provide a disruption in service quality; (2) consult with interested stakeholders in accordance with USPS guidelines; (3) detail the net cost savings of any potential consolidation; and (4) work with USPS employees in Toledo throughout this process,” Brown and Kaptur added.
The Honorable Patrick R. Donahoe
Postmaster General
United States Postal Service
475 L’Enfant Plaza S.W.
Washington, District of Columbia 20260-0010
Dear Postmaster General Donahoe:
We are writing to express our concerns about the haste with which the United States Postal Service (USPS) is conducting a consolidation study of the Toledo Mail Processing Plant.
While we understand the difficult financial situation that USPS is facing, we are concerned that realignments or consolidations will result in significant job losses and will negatively impact the level of service provided to Ohioans. Furthermore, to prevent the upheaval caused to impacted workers and communities, USPS has clear guidelines and processes – including the opportunity for community consultations – for how area mail processing (AMP) studies are conducted.
Regrettably, neither the process nor clear guidelines seem to be in place for the evaluation of the Toledo Mail Processing Plant. It has been brought to our attention that the study has been expedited and that community members have not been consulted. We ask that the USPS clarify its process for studying consolidation in Toledo. Much of our state relies on the Toledo Mail Processing Plant; eliminating the Toledo facility and its productive workforce jeopardizes the availability of the essential services that it provides. Read more
Rep. Womack’s Statement on USPS Proposed Consolidation Plans in Arkansas
Congressman Steve Womack (R-Ark) released the following statement regarding the latest announcement by the United States Postal Service affecting the Third District of Arkansas:
“The latest news from USPS is very disturbing and has crossed the boundary of reason. This is not a study. It is a “trial balloon” and we don’t need to waste resources on studying an unacceptable course of action.
“The USPS not only has a funding problem; it has a management problem. And the answer is not to continue to seek relief at the expense of workers, patrons, and service. Enough already.”
The U.S. Postal Service plans to conduct a study at the Harrison Customer Service Mail Processing Center to examine the feasibility of consolidating its operations into the Little Rock Processing and Distribution Center. Harrison AR USPS Press Release
The U.S. Postal Service plans to conduct a study at the Fayetteville Processing and Distribution Facility to examine the feasibility of consolidating its operations into the Little Rock Processing and Distribution Center. Fayetteville AR USPS Press Release
source Congressman Stephen Womack Press Release
Iowa Rep., Senators Ask USPS To Delay Consolidation of Sioux City Mail Processing Facility
Filed under: Congress, consolidations, postal, postal news, usps
Washington, D.C.- Congressman Steve King (R-IA), Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) announce that they have formally requested that the United States Postal Service delay the implementation of its plan to consolidate mail processing operations in Sioux City with a mail processing center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The request was made in a letter sent by the three Members of Congress to Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe this afternoon. The letter notes that a delay in the final implementation of the consolidation proposal is warranted and necessary because the USPS has spent weeks stalling the release of information sought by Sioux City officials attempting to prepare a counter proposal in advance of the September 16 deadline. Read more
Twin Falls, ID Mail Operations move will change service standards from overnight to 2-day
Filed under: consolidations, delivery, mail delivery, postal, postal news, press releases, usps
As a result of the consolidation, service between ZIP Code areas 832, 833 and 834 will change from overnight to 2-day
TWIN FALLS, ID – As a result of a study begun April 13, the Postal Service has made the decision to move mail processing operations from the Twin Falls, ID, Customer Service Mail Processing Center to the Boise, ID, Processing and Distribution Center. Read more
Congressman: USPS Continues To Run Out the Clock on Providing Sioux City Info
Filed under: consolidations, politics, postal, postal news, usps
Washington, D.C.- Congressman Steve King (R-IA) today released the following statement regarding the meeting held in Sioux City between city and community leaders and representatives of the United States Postal Service regarding the Postal Service’s plans to move Sioux City’s mail processing operations to Sioux Falls.
“Today, city and community leaders in Sioux City were finally given an opportunity to ask questions about the proposed move of Sioux City’s mail processing operations and to discuss the rationale used to justify it – but only after the Postal Service withdrew its original request that participants agree to keep the details of the meeting secret. And although meeting participants were able to view the data used by the Postal Service to support the move, that data was not released to the community as the Postmaster General had promised.
The Postal Service did share some information about the kind of proposal needed to keep Sioux City’s processing plant open. However, city and community leaders should have been given this information months ago. I will continue to work with Sioux City’s leaders to develop a competitive counter proposal, but it is clear that the Postal Service’s continued stall tactics throughout this process were designed to ensure that there would be little time remaining to do so.”
source: Congressman Steve King
Congressman Says USPS is Stalling on Release of Sioux City Info
King Releases E-mail Chain Suggesting USPS is Stalling the Release of Information the Postmaster General Promised to King, Senators Weeks Ago
Washington D.C.- Congressman Steve King (R-IA) today released a series of emails between congressional staff and USPS officials which document the weeks’ worth of effort that has gone into the work of King, Grassley, and Harkin to hold the USPS to the promises made by the Postmaster General earlier this month to release important data to city and community leaders regarding the decision to move Sioux City’s mail processing operations to Sioux Falls, SD. On August 1, the Postmaster General personally promised Congressman King, Senator Grassley and Senator Harkin that he would provide Sioux City’s community and business leaders with the un-redacted data used to justify the USPS decision to move Sioux City’s mail processing operations to Sioux Falls. Despite repeated requests since the August 1st meeting for the information from Congressman King’s office, the Postal Service has refused to follow through on the Postmaster General’s commitment. Read more
NY Lawmakers Urge PMG Not To Consolidate Mid-Hudson General Mail Facility
Filed under: consolidations, postal, postal news, press releases, usps
Newburgh, NY — Congressman Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) and U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) this week urged U.S. Postmaster General Patrick R. Donahoe to maintain and continue full mail sorting operations at the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) facility in Newburgh, New York. The lawmakers sent a letter yesterday to Donahoe in response to a current study that the U.S. Postal Service is conducting to potentially consolidate mail sorting operations at the Mid Hudson General Mail Facility (GMF) in Newburgh with the USPS processing and distribution center in White Plains. Hinchey and Gillibrand oppose consolidation, arguing that it would reduce the quality of mail services for the region’s residents and businesses, result in the loss of local jobs in the area, and fail to deliver significant, if any, cost savings for the USPS. Read more
USPS Moving 4 Wyoming Mail Processing Operations to Casper Postal Center
As a result of a study begun on Feb. 10, 2011, the Postal Service has made the decision to move mail processing operations from the Worland, Gillette, RIVERTON and Sheridan Wyoming Customer Service Mail Processing Centers to the Casper, WY, Processing & Distribution Facility. Read more
Iowa Lawmakers Seek Meeting With PMG After Info Request on Sioux City Facility Closure Ignored
Filed under: consolidations, postal, postal news, press releases, usps
Lawmakers seek meeting after USPS fails to respond to requests for information about decision to close Sioux City Facility
July 15, 2011
Washington D.C.- Congressman Steve King (R-IA) announces that he, Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), have requested a meeting with Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe to discuss the Postal Service’s plan to move the operations of the Sioux City Processing and Distribution Facility to a facility in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The lawmakers are requesting a face-to-face meeting with the Postmaster General to discuss the Postal Service’s failure to respond to concerns the lawmakers and the community have expressed about the Sioux City AMP decision. King, Grassley and Harkin made this request by letter to the Postmaster General. Read more
Iowa Lawmakers ask PMG to suspend decision to close Sioux City Mail Center
Filed under: consolidations, politics, post office closings, postal, postal news, press releases, usps
The delegation members said that the Siouxland community should have an opportunity to respond to information the postal service provided less than two weeks ago. The information was sought with the understanding that the community would be able to provide more informed input about alternatives for preserving mail processing in Sioux City.
“The postal service gave us assurances that the community’s input was carefully considered, but the timing of the notice put out on Friday cut off the community’s input before it was complete in any meaningful way. At the very least, there out to be a full accounting of what the postal service did consider and to what degree it actually considered options for Sioux City,” Grassley said. Read more