Video: Hundreds of Western New Yorkers join fight to save mail center
Filed under: consolidations, post office closings, postal, postal news, usps, videos
WNYers join fight to save mail center: wivb.com
CHEEKTOWAGA, N.Y. (WIVB) – Frustration and fury reigned the night as hundreds of western New Yorkers joined the fight to save Buffalo’s William Street Post Office.
About 200 outraged citizens, elected officials and Postal Service employees lit up the mic at a public meeting to discuss a proposal to close the William Street processing and distribution center.
Congressman Brian Higgins said, “But I want you to know something. This is not the end of our fight, it’s the beginning.”
The Postal Service argues consolidating with the Rochester facility would save $28.8 million a year.
source: WNYers join fight to save mail center | WIVB.com.
Rage over plan to close postal plant: wivb.com
Some tempers flared at a public hearing Wednesday night on the plan to shut down the main post office on William Street.
People refused to yield the microphone, and lit into Postal Service managers over the plan to close the William Street facility.
“Fatally flawed” and “lacking integrity” – those are just a few of the more polite terms used by citizens, elected officials, and Postal Service employees, who are outraged over a proposal to close the Processing and Distribution Center on William Street.
source: Rage over plan to close postal plant| WIVB.com
Video: Another Siouxland USPS Processing Plant on the chopping block
Filed under: consolidations, postal, postal news, usps, videos
Norfolk USPS closure could cause pharmacy headaches – Folks in Norfolk, Nebraska will try to convince the United States Postal Service to keep their postal processing center open Monday night. The Postal Service will host a meeting to discuss its proposal to close the operation, just as it did with Sioux City’s processing center. The Norfolk operation would be moved to the processing center in Omaha as a way to save the postal service money. The meeting begins at five at the Lifelong Learning Center at Northeast Community College. Last month, Sioux City’s mail processing center closed for good as operations went north to Sioux Falls, South Dakota.Now another Siouxland processing plant is on the chopping block as the US Postal Service looks for ways to save. Read more
USPS Drive Initiative In High Gear To Study Closing 250 Mail Processing Plants
Filed under: consolidations, postal, postal news, usps, USPS News Link
DRIVE INITIATIVE ON NETWORK OPTIMIZATION MOVES AHEAD
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| Members of the Network Optimization team — including employees whose expertise spans most USPS functions — discuss the plant consolidation/closure study. Vice President, Operations, David Williams, the team leader, is second from right. |
The Postal Service’s Network Optimization Initiative — a study to determine whether more than 250 processing plants should be closed or consolidated — is well underway.
The goal of the network optimization initiative is to create a smaller, simpler and more flexible processing system scaled to mee t projected mail volume, which has declined by more than 43 billion pieces in the past 5 years. First-Class Mail has dropped 25 percent and single piece First-Class Mail has declined 36 percent in the same timeframe. The decline has created substantial excess capacity within the postal processing network.
The study — one of 36 initiatives that make up the Delivering Results, Innovation, Value and Efficiency (DRIVE) program — is being conducted by an integrated team of employees that span nearly all functions within the USPS. The cross-functional team is headed by Dave Williams, vice president, Network Operations.
Team members are coordinating the steps necessary to meet DRIVE goals. Operations representatives, for example, are designing the new network, while representatives from Government Relations and the Law Department are coordinating with Capitol Hill and the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC). Additionally, members from Corporate Communications, Supply Management, Consumer and Industry Affairs, and other departments are managing the planning, communications, and implementation activities.
The team expects to submit its proposal to the PRC for review next month. If the PRC approves the proposal, the Network Optimization activities could begin early in calendar year 2012.
Administered by the Postal Service’s Strategic Planning department, the DRIVE program management process is based on a well-established methodology used by many corporations to improve the development and execution of major business strategies. The ambitious initiatives include revenue generation, cost reduction, and capability enhancement necessary for the Postal Service’s long-term success.
Click here to learn more about DRIVE.
source: USPS News Link
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
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
Congressman Asks PMG to Halt Move of Mail Operations from Oshkosh to Green Bay, Wisconsin
Press Release from GOP Congressman Tom Petri, representing Wisconsin’s 6th congressional district
In a letter to Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe, Rep. Tom Petri called on the U.S. Postal Service to immediately halt the transfer of processing and distribution work from Oshkosh to Green Bay.
Concerned that the decision to close the Oshkosh facility was unjustified, Petri had asked the post office’s Inspector General to study the issue. The findings, released July 29, found that cost savings from the move would be less than anticipated and confirmed suspicions of Petri and others that adequate capacity did not exist at the Green Bay facility in terms of floor space and machine capacity to process the additional mail. The Office of the Inspector General “also found that service may be impacted, in direct contradiction to assurances I had received in a letter earlier this year from the former Lakeland District Manager,” Petri wrote.
“These findings have renewed my belief that USPS has failed to conduct a fair and well-rounded study that is based on merit,” Petri wrote. “I understand the USPS is facing economic challenges and needs to operate in an efficient manner; however, any consolidation of facilities must be done in a fair and objective manner that results in what is best for USPS and the citizens it serves. So, again, I strongly urge USPS to halt any further action on the consolidation of the Oshkosh facility until the USPS can clearly verify the legitimacy of the Oshkosh AMP (Area Mail Processing) study and the decision to close the Oshkosh facility.”