This story by Patrick Adrian was first published by the Valley News on May 16.
The U.S. Postal Service plan to move sorting operations in White River Junction and Burlington to Connecticut is currently on hold, following concerns expressed by U.S. senators about the impact of USPS’s nationwide reorganization plan on mail services.
Postmaster General Louis DeJoy said that USPS will delay its plan at least through this year to reorganize nearly 60 regional postal hubs around the country, including the White River Junction post office, a processing and distribution center that serves 150 post offices in New Hampshire and Vermont, including all Upper Valley communities, and another facility in Burlington.
“In response to the concerns (U.S. senators) expressed, I pause any implementation of these moves at least until January 1, 2025,” DeJoy wrote in a letter to Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., on May 9. “And we will not advance these efforts then without advising you of our plans, and then only at a moderated pace of implementation.”
USPS will also consider obtaining an advisory opinion on the plan from the Postal Regulatory Commission, an independent agency that has oversight over the Postal Service, DeJoy said.
Upper Valley residents, postal employees and politicians have criticized the plan, which would send outgoing mail from area post offices from White River Junction 144 miles south to Hartford, Connecticut, for sorting. The trip would add an additional travel time of nearly three hours each way.
The White River Junction plan, which is estimated to save up to $940,000 a year, is part of USPS’s 10-year nationwide reorganization strategy, called Delivery for America, an initiative by USPS.
The plan is supposed to improve efficiency and lower operating costs by consolidating mail processing operations of multiple regions into fewer facilities.
USPS also plans to move mail sorting operations in Burlington to Hartford, Connecticut, and mail sorting operations in Manchester, New Hampshire, to Boston.
Many U.S. senators, including Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H. and Peter Welch, D-Vt., had voiced concerns that the USPS plan needed more thought and time to implement.
“I am encouraged USPS listened to the concerns we raised from our constituents, and finally paused these misguided facility reviews,” said Welch in a statement on Wednesday. “I will keep fighting to improve mail delivery in Vermont, which has been terribly deteriorated. Cutting costs should not come at the expense of timely delivery, customer service and a safe working environment for Vermont’s USPS workers.”
A May 8 letter signed by 26 senators, including Hassan and Shaheen, asked the postmaster general to suspend the plan until a study by postal regulators is complete.
Welch had signed a similar joint letter of concern to DeJoy on April 16.
“While USPS claims these changes overall will improve service while reducing costs, there is evidence to the contrary in locations where USPS has implemented changes so far,” the joint letter stated.
USPS has only implemented a few consolidation plans so far, though several of those regions have experienced challenges in the early transition, according to USPS reports.
For example, a consolidation of postal operations around a Richmond, Virginia, processing and distribution center last July incurred an additional $8 million in questioned labor and transportation costs in its first four months, as well as a decline in service performance, including a decrease in on-time mail delivery, according to a USPS audit report in March.
“And it is uncertain if expected savings will be achieved,” the report said.
Email and phone messages to Stephen Doherty, a USPS communications specialist, were not returned on Thursday.
Even before DeJoy’s announcement, the implementation of consolidations were not anticipated to start until next year, at the earliest, Doherty said in an interview earlier this month. Many postal facilities will need major infrastructure or equipment upgrades, as well as additional staffing, which could delay implementation longer, he added.
But having a guarantee of a delay is important, as it will allow more time to reevaluate the plan, including whether to proceed at all, said Aaron White, communications director for Welch.
“The pause will end sooner than we would like, but we will keep pushing for improvements,” White said in a phone interview. “We want to be sure that these changes will actually improve service.”
Read the story on VTDigger here: Amid criticism, postal service pauses plans to restructure facilities in White River Junction and Burlington.