“Long gone are the days where Americans could expect next-day delivery of their local mail; we cannot take yet another step back.”

Denver — Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet alongside U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and 19 of their Senate colleagues urged United States Postal Service (USPS) Postmaster General Louis DeJoy to stop any changes that could result in job losses and further degrade mail delivery performance for Colorado and states across the country. 

“We write regarding Mail Processing Facility Reviews and service standards at the United States Postal Service, and to urge you to stop any changes that will result in job losses and further degrade mail delivery performance across the network, especially in rural states,” wrote Bennet, Sanders and the senators. “While the Postal Service continues to work toward financial stability, it cannot come at the expense of the many small businesses, seniors, and other Americans who rely on the Postal Service for their daily life.”

The senators warn that USPS’ Mail Processing Facility Reviews could affect mail delivery times as possible facility closures and job losses would require mail to travel longer distances for sorting. These delays and closures would especially burden Coloradans living in rural communities who already face staffing shortages, and mail delivery issues.

“In Colorado, mail processing at the Grand Junction facility will likely transfer to a facility in Denver, a distance of nearly 200 miles. Frequent closures on the highway between Denver and Western Slope-communities have led to significant concerns about the timely delivery of prescription medication, local mail, and Colorado’s mail-in ballots,” continued the senators. 

“The Postal Service is at its best when it treats its workers right and delivers mail in a timely fashion. We therefore urge you to prevent facility changes or outright closures that will result in any job losses and slower mail,” concluded the senators. 

Bennet has consistently pushed USPS to address mail service issues in Colorado. Last year, Bennet invited DeJoy to tour a mail facility in Colorado to see the ongoing service and delivery challenges that Coloradans face. Earlier this year, Bennet called on DeJoy to address persistent delivery issues identified by a USPS audit of mail service in Colorado’s mountain communities.

In addition to Bennet and Sanders, the letter was signed by U.S. Senators Laphonza Butler (D-Calif.), Bob Casey (D-Penn.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Angus King (I-Maine), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.).

The text of the letter is available HERE and below.

Dear Postmaster General DeJoy:

We write regarding Mail Processing Facility Reviews and service standards at the United States Postal Service, and to urge you to stop any changes that will result in job losses and further degrade mail delivery performance across the network, especially in rural states.

As part of your Delivering For America plan, the Postal Service is conducting “Mail Processing Facility Reviews” to study the network and consider changes at mail processing facilities. The Postal Service’s website currently lists 59 locations where a review is intended, in process, or recently completed in the following states: AR, CA, CO, DE, FL, GA, IA, IL, IN, MA, ME, MI, MN, MO, MS, MT, NC, ND, NE, NH, NJ, NV, NY, OK, OR, PA, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VT, WA, WV, and WY. The Postal Service claims that reviews will not result in closures or career employee layoffs, and that facilities losing outgoing mail processing will very likely be modernized and converted to “a Local Processing Center, a Sorting & Delivery Center, or both, consistent with the broader network redesign outlined in the DFA plan.” The Postal Service also claims that these reviews will not result in slower mail delivery.

While the Postal Service states there will be no career layoffs or slowed service, we are concerned these facility reviews will functionally result in both. In many instances, outgoing mail processing will move hundreds of miles to a regional facility, outside reasonable commuting distance and, in some cases, to another state entirely. For example:

• In Wyoming, mail processing at the Casper facility will likely transfer to a facility in Billings, Montana, and mail processing at the Cheyenne facility will likely transfer to a facility in Denver, Colorado. These represent distances of around 280 miles and 100 miles, respectively.
• In Vermont, mail processing at the Burlington and White River Junction facilities will likely transfer to a facility in Hartford, Connecticut, distances of around 230 and 145 miles, respectively.
• In Oregon, mail processing at the Eugene and Medford facilities is transferring to a facility in Portland, distances of around 110 and 270 miles, respectively. These changes are already causing mail delays in Medford. 
• In Nevada, mail processing at the Reno facility will likely transfer to a facility in Sacramento, California, a distance of over 130 miles.
• In Colorado, mail processing at the Grand Junction facility will likely transfer to a facility in Denver, a distance of nearly 200 miles. Frequent closures on the highway between Denver and Western Slope-communities have led to significant concerns about the timely delivery of prescription medication, local mail, and Colorado’s mail-in ballots.
• In New Hampshire, mail processing at the Manchester facility will likely transfer to a facility in Boston, Massachusetts, which is estimated to add significant delays to NH mail distribution and threatens as many as a third of the postal worker jobs at the Manchester facility.
• In Illinois, mail processing at the Quad Cities facility in Milan will likely transfer to a facility in Des Moines, Iowa, a distance of around 170 miles.

Wyoming, Vermont, and New Hampshire are set to lose all outgoing mail processing from within the state, forcing many career employees into different positions at locations in another community. Moreover, there are no guarantees about preventing non-career layoffs at facilities under review, coming at a time when the Postal Service is struggling with both turnover and ensuring consistent service across the network.

Furthermore, for communities near facilities under review, it is unclear how local First-Class mail will meet its 2-day standard while traveling hundreds of miles for sorting. This is especially concerning for Americans who need reliable and expedient mail service to conduct business, pay their bills, receive medications, and stay in touch with loved ones. It is also highly troubling for many of the Postal Service’s most loyal customers, such as home delivery medication companies and newspaper publishers. The Postal Service competes with private services for market share, including virtual options, and risks even further volume declines if the mail continues to slow. Long gone are the days where Americans could expect next-day delivery of their local mail; we cannot take yet another step back.

For rural communities across the impacted states, the loss of local jobs—at the Postal Service and nearby businesses that serve postal workers—and even slower mail service represent further setbacks to the revitalization of rural life. While the Postal Service continues to work toward financial stability, it cannot come at the expense of the many small businesses, seniors, and other Americans who rely on the Postal Service for their daily life.

The Postal Service is at its best when it treats its workers right and delivers mail in a timely fashion. We therefore urge you to prevent facility changes or outright closures that will result in any job losses and slower mail.

Sincerely,