Public comment period on Postal Service consolidations ends soon

The Postal Service has published notices of intent to consolidate thirty processing and distribution centers. According to the notices, “it is highly likely” that each P&DC “will be modernized and repurposed as a Local Processing Center, a Sorting and Delivery Center, or both, consistent with the broader network redesign outlined in the DFA Plan.”

The Casper Center is one of the centers listed, meaning Thermopolis mail could be rerouted through Billings, Montana if the proposal goes through.

Currently in the public comment and review phase, the proposal would repurpose a processing and distribution center in Casper as a local processing center, which would mean some mail processing operations would move to Billings, according to a Mail Processing Facility Review document released by the Postal Service on Feb. 14.

Consolidation studies are underway or completed for about 29 other facilities, bringing the total to 59 so far.

Similar measures are being proposed for the processing and distribution center in Cheyenne, whose processing would move, in part, to Denver.

Wyoming Secretary of State Chuck Gray has noted his opposition to the proposal for the Cheyenne USPS processing facility to move operations to Colorado, citing concerns about potential processing delays of election mail.

“I would also like to receive clarification as to the status of election mail under the Postal Service’s proposal,” Gray wrote to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy in December. “While I understand past practice has been to isolate Wyoming ballots for local processing, I believe Wyoming deserves written assurance from the Postal Service that Wyoming ballots will continue to be isolated and processed in Wyoming, rather than be shipped to Denver for processing.”

Don Cheney, of the American Postal Workers Union, points out, the service standard for local First Class Mail is two days, yet the service standard for mail sent between the ZIPs of most of the losing and gaining facilities is three days. Of the thirty consolidations, there are 19 where there’s a three-day standard for mail sent from the ZIP of a losing facility to the ZIP of a gaining facility.

Here are a few examples:

•Casper WY 82609 to Billings, MT 59101 (280 miles)

•Grand Junction CO 81505 to Denver CO 80266 (253 miles)

•Missoula MT 59801 to Spokane WA 99224 (204 miles)

Concerns over delivery times are being raised. If it takes three days to send a letter from Casper to Billings, one way, how will the Postal Service achieve a two-day standard for mail sent within the area if it has to travel to and from Billings? It’s not clear yet how many employees could be impacted by the consolidations.

The notices of intent say, “This modernization evaluation will not result in this facility’s closure or career employee layoffs.”

The Postal Service is accepting public comments through March 7 online at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/mpfr-casper-wy