Postal Workers and Supporters Rally to Save the USPS in Maine
Filed under: post office closings, postal, postal news, usps, videos
BANGOR, Maine (NEWS CENTER)– Postal workers and others are asking to save several smaller post offices and one distribution center in Maine from closing.
Many people including United States Representative Michael Michaud rallied near the Bangor Post office. They want the United States Postal Service to cancel plans to close smaller post offices and to keep the Hampden distribution center open.
Public, politicians, union members rally in Bangor for U.S. Postal Service
BANGOR, Maine — Exactly 219 years ago, President George Washington signed a bill into law creating the United States Postal Service.
A crowd of about 70 people, including U.S. Rep. Mike Michaud and other politicians, noted that anniversary Monday morning at a rally on behalf of the postal service and the area’s mail processing center.
The Presidents’ Day rally to save the U.S. Postal Service, held near the Bangor post office on Hammond Street, was organized by retired Ellsworth letter carrier John Curtis to urge passage of legislation pending in Congress to help ease financial restrictions on the USPS and avert the downsizing of the Eastern Maine Processing and Distribution Facility in Hampden and further cuts in service to trim $20 billion in operating costs by 2015.
“We don’t want a bailout. We just want to get the mail out,” read a few of the signs hoisted high by rally attendees, many of whom were union members or postal employees.
Congressman Owens Asks Postmaster General to Halt Flawed Post Office Closure Process
Filed under: Congress, politics, post office closings, postal news, PRC, press releases, usps
Postal Regulatory Commission finds process in need of fixes
Washington, Feb 16 – Congressman Bill Owens (NY-23) joined over 100 of his colleagues in the U.S. House of Representatives in asking Postmaster General Patrick R. Donahoe to place a moratorium on the USPS’s discontinuance process leading to post office and mail processing facility closures until problems identified with the process are resolved. Recently, the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) reviewed the Postal Service’s Retail Access Optimization Initiative (RAOI), which is being used as the basis for the possible closure of more than 3,600 post offices and 250 mail processing centers, and found several major flaws. As a result of these problems, the PRC and Members of Congress have expressed concerns that many post offices and mail processing facilities will – or have already been – improperly closed.
“I have long been against the shuttering of postal facilities because Washington bureaucrats do not understand the impact that these closures have on rural communities,” said Owens. “The PRC has raised serious concerns that need to be addressed and fixed before closure studies continue. As we look to streamline the postal service and keep it solvent, we need to be certain that we’re working off a study more accurate than the one currently being utilized.”
The USPS recently issued a moratorium on post office and mail processing facility closures through May 15, 2012. However, the moratorium only affects the actual closure of facilities and allows closure studies to continue.
There are 38 post offices and one mail processing facility that are under threat of closure in New York’s 23rd Congressional District and, with a flawed RAOI, it is possible many may have been improperly identified for closure.
In December, Owens introduced legislation to preserve vital postal services and cut costs by requiring the USPS to review and consider co-locating post offices at retail facilities and municipal buildings. The bill would include post offices that have already closed and those still under threat of closure.
The letter, signed by Owens and 110 of his colleagues, lists the problems found by the PRC.
Congress Members Letter to PMG 2-13-2012
Special Report: Towns go dark with post office closings
Some of America’s poorest communities – many of them with spotty broadband Internet coverage – stand to suffer most if the struggling agency moves ahead with plans to shutter thousands of post offices later this year, a Reuters analysis found. Nearly 80 percent of the 3,830 post offices under consideration are in sparsely populated rural areas where poverty rates are higher than the national average, demographic data analyzed by Reuters shows.
Moreover, about one-third of the offices slated for closure fall in areas with limited or no wired broadband Internet, Reuters found.
“We’re not the ones in the big cities who are just emailing everything to everybody. We’re the ones that are actually still sending our Christmas cards and our birthday cards,” said Sarah Clyden, who runs a feed store in Oakwood, Okla., where the agency is considering closing the post office.
Video: Decision to close Albany, GA processing plant may come sooner
Filed under: consolidations, post office closings, postal, postal news, usps
ALBANY, GA –A decision to close the Albany postal processing plant may come sooner than expected.
Assistant Dougherty County Administrator Michael McCoy sat in on a webinar by the US Postal Service which stated that employees would be notified of their employment status February 23.
Albany’s processing plant is in danger of being consolidated with the one in Tallahassee, Florida
Read more: Decision to close processing plant may come sooner : News : MySouthwestGA.com.
House Members Seek Moratorium On USPS Plans to Close Post Offices
From the American Postal Workers Union:
More than 100 members of the House of Representatives have signed a letter to Postmaster General Patrick R. Donahoe asking him to place a moratorium on plans to consolidate thousands of post offices “until the USPS resolves the numerous problems” identified by the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) in a Dec. 23, 2011, advisory opinion.
The PRC report blasted the USPS “Retail Access Optimization Initiative,” concluding that the Postal Service lacks sufficient data to predict cost savings from proposed closures; engages in a pattern of inaccurate and overly optimistic estimation of savings; fails to adequately consider whether alternate post offices are located near those targeted for closure, and displays a careless disregard for community concerns.
“The primary commission finding,” according to the report, “is that notwithstanding its name, the Retail Access Optimization Initiative is not designed to optimize the retail network.”
In the Feb. 13, 2012, letter to Postmaster General, 111 members of the House wrote, “We strongly urge you to rectify these issues within the RAOI before proceeding with any discontinuance studies. The closure of Post Offices, stations, and branches will undoubtedly affect communities and lead to the loss of middle-class jobs.
“We remain dedicated to protecting our nation’s postal service and ensuring that all communities are adequately served by the USPS,” the congressmen concluded.
APWU Applauds Effort
APWU President Cliff Guffey praised the effort to secure a moratorium. “The APWU looks forward to working with members of Congress to strengthen the Postal Service so that is can continue to serve the American people,” he said.
The PRC found “serious flaws in the methodology used by the USPS in developing its consolidation plan for post offices and other retail facilities,” Guffey noted. “We believe these criticisms also apply to USPS plans to close more than half of the nation’s mail processing centers.
“Despite the Postal Service’s inability to substantiate projected savings, the agency is forging ahead with plans to close 3,600 post offices and shut 252 mail processing centers,” he said. “At the same time, the USPS is proposing to degrade service standards – to eliminate overnight delivery for first-class mail and periodicals, change next-day delivery to two days, and extend two-day delivery to three days
“These actions would severely disrupt mail service, eliminate jobs, hurt local economies, and lead to the demise of the USPS,” Guffey said.
The APWU is urging union members to contact their senators and representatives to express their views on three bills that would have an extremely detrimental effect on postal
via House Members Seek Moratorium on USPS Plans to Close Post Offices.
Rep. Hinchey Leads 111 House Members Against Post Office Closures
Filed under: Congress, politics, post office closings, postal, postal news, press releases, usps
USPS Relying on Flawed Data for Closure Plan
Washington, DC - Congressman Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) and 110 other U.S. House members today called on Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe to institute a moratorium on United States Postal Service (USPS) discontinuance studies, which will determine if more than 3,600 post offices and other retail facilities should be closed. In a letter signed by the bipartisan group, Hinchey cited a Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) report that points to deep flaws with the data used by the USPS to determine which postal facilities should be considered for closure.
“The data the U.S. Postal Service used to select which post offices it would consider for closure was incomplete, inaccurate and inappropriately targeted rural post offices,” said Hinchey. “I’m calling on the Postmaster General to halt all discontinuance studies. Unless they start operating with better information, they could do more harm than good.”
The House members outlined several problems cited by the PRC’s report on the USPS Retail Access Optimization Initiative (RAOI), including: Read more
Carper, Coons, Carney & Markell Write to PMG Urging Review of Hare’s Corner Proposal
Filed under: politics, post office closings, postal, postal news, press releases, usps
Officials highlight concerns regarding USPS’s proposal to revamp Delaware’s only mail processing and distribution center
February 3,2012
WILMINGTON – Today, Sen. Tom Carper, chairman of the Senate Subcommittee that oversees the U.S. Postal Service, along with Gov. Jack Markell, Sen. Chris Coons and Rep. John Carney (all D-Del.) wrote to United States Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe urging him to review the U.S. Postal Service’s proposal that would revamp Delaware’s only mail processing facility, causing a significant negative impact on Delaware. Specifically, the Postal Service has proposed transferring the mail processing functions from the Delaware Processing and Distribution facility at Hare’s Corner in New Castle, Del., to another facility in Bellmawr, N.J.
The letter highlights several concerns with the proposal and the process the Postal Service has employed when considering revamping the Hare’s Corner facility. It includes statements from businesses and state and federal agencies noting that this proposal would negatively impact their operations. It also urges the Postmaster General to reconsider the Area Mail Processing study that led to the current proposal, explore the concerns raised regarding the proposal, and consider the possibility of consolidating other operations into the Delaware Processing and Distribution facility. Read more
Congressman Carter Calls for Post Office Closings Review
(Washington, DC) – Congressman John Carter is asking the U.S. Post Office for a review of the considerations used in determining which post offices to close in the agency’s cost-cutting decisions this month.
“We fully recognize that bringing federal spending under control requires difficult decisions and sacrifice,” says Carter. “But we also need to know that the tough decisions were made for the right reasons, and that any closings are based on what is least damaging for the postal customer, rather than the bureaucracy and unions.” Read more
PRC Announces Simplified, More Transparent Rules For Post Office Closure Appeals
Filed under: post office closings, postal news, press releases, usps
Washington, DC– The Postal Regulatory Commission today issued updated procedures for the review of Postal Service determinations to close or consolidate post offices (Docket RM2011-13).
The simplified rules will, among other things, ease requirements for persons who file appeals but do not or can not use the internet; allow interested persons to file comments without first formally intervening; and grant participants extra time to respond to Postal Service motions and briefs. The rules streamline the Commission’s review process as well.
Chairman Ruth Y. Goldway said, “It has been thirty-five years since the Commission first adopted post office closure appeal rules. As the Postal Service has moved forward to reduce its retail network, and the Commission has received an increasing number of appeals of post office closings, it is important to simplify the process and to make it easier for the public to participate in and to understand our decision-making process. The new rules will allow postal customers to submit their petitions and supporting documentation in plain language. In addition, these changes will save the Commission money.” Read more
Congressman to USPS: Reopen Shickshinny post office
Filed under: post office closings, postal news, press releases, usps
1/13/12
HAZLETON – U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta, PA-11, sent a letter to two high-ranking officials with the United States Postal Service asking that the post office in the Borough of Shickshinny reopen as quickly as possible.
The Shickshinny post office was damaged and closed during the flooding associated with Tropical Storm Lee in September 2011.
“The citizens of Shickshinny Borough currently have no grocery store, bank, or post office in their town. They have suffered extreme emotional and physical hardship in rebuilding from the worst flooding in history. Many are elderly and rely on the post office for basic communication needs. I urge you to act as quickly as possible to conduct an assessment of the damage to the post office and reopen the facility in the very near future,” Rep. Barletta wrote.
The letter was sent to Megan Brennan, chief operating officer and executive vice president of the USPS, and Kevin McAdams, manager of consumer and industry for the Central Pennsylvania District of the USPS.
“A post office is often the focal point of small communities in Northeastern Pennsylvania. It’s a place where neighbors can get caught up on each other’s lives. It’s a place where news and views are exchanged. It’s also a vital link for the people of Shickshinny,” Rep. Barletta added. “I hope the United States Postal Service acts quickly to assess the damage to this building, fix what needs to be fixed, and give the people of Shickshinny their post office back.”