Letter to Hon. Louis DeJoy, Postmaster General - Push to Halt Post Office Consolidations, Mail Delays

Letter

Dear Postmaster General DeJoy,

We are writing to express deep concern over the United States Postal Service's (USPS) planned
facility consolidations under the Delivering for America plan. As you are aware, these 18
facilities that USPS has targeted for consolidation of mail processing operations were originally
part of Phase 2 Network Rationalization Initiative (NRI) that was indefinitely paused in May
2015. We believe that at a minimum, these consolidations should be paused until further
information about the justification and impact is made public.

Stakeholders have continuously raised concerns about some of the proposed changes under the
Delivering for America plan, with the Postal Regulatory Commission writing in their July 20,
2021 advisory opinion that USPS hasn't provided evidence that customer satisfaction won't be
adversely impacted by the changes and that the potential cost-savings that may be realized would
not significantly impact the financial condition of the Postal Service. In testimony before the
Senate Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee on July 13, 2021, USPS OIG
Tammy Whitcomb concurred that further analysis should be conducted before any restructuring
under this plan moves forward.

It is our understanding that hundreds of mail handlers, clerks, and maintenance workers could be
impacted by these consolidations, many of whom live close to their workplace and walk and bike
to work. If consolidations require these employees to work at different facilities, they could face
a significant increase in commute times and costs yet limited to no communication has been
provided to them about any potential impact to their livelihoods. Consolidating operations from
the Seattle East DDC to the Seattle P&DC could result in impacted employees having to
commute through Seattle's significant traffic congestion. For other facilities like the Pocatello
CSMPC, operations will be consolidated to the Salt Lake City P&DC which is in a different state
and over 160 miles away.

We are worried that moving forward with facility consolidations during the ongoing public
health emergency, which continues to impact staffing availability, would result in further service
delays and erosion of public trust in one of our nation's most important institutions. Some reports
have suggested that facility consolidations could begin as early as August 2021 and conclude by
November 2021. If the proposed consolidations proceed on the originally stated timeline, we fear
that similar to last year, they will interfere with the timely delivery of election mail in states that
have vote-by-mail systems and further degrade mail service heading into the busy holiday
season.

When USPS initially launched Phase 2 NRI, the process was conducted with far greater
transparency, with USPS providing a publicly available, detailed spreadsheet that disclosed more
than 10 data points, including the dates that mail and packages would be processed in the
originating and activating plants. This time, USPS has provided only the list of facility changes.

To date, we have not seen any documents detailing the analysis or rationale for resuming these
facility consolidations. In particular, we are concerned that USPS is relying on Area Mail
Processing (AMP) feasibility studies that may be close to a decade old. A 2015 OIG report noted
that in April 2014 when the NRI was underway, 88 of the AMP studies contained data that was
over 3 years old. The OIG also noted that "over time, there is more likely to be changes in mail
volume, labor rates, and labor hours that could impact an AMP's projected cost savings" and
when Phase 2 was indefinitely paused, the OIG expressed concern that were these consolidations
to resume they would be based on "untimely data." We echo these same concerns and do not
believe it is appropriate for USPS to carry out their operational mail moves using data this old.

In March 2016, a bipartisan group of lawmakers expressed similar concerns about planned
consolidations under the 2015 NRI. In response to their letter, on March 18, 2016, then Deputy
Postmaster General Ronald Stroman (who is now a member of the Board of Governors of the
United States Postal Service) wrote that "Prior to resumption of these [consolidation] activities,
the Postal Service will update and review the Area Mail Processing feasibility studies using the
most recent available data." We look forward to seeing the Postal Service uphold that
commitment.

We respectfully request your response to the following questions:

 Will USPS abide by its March 18, 2016, commitment to update the AMP feasibility
studies with the most recent available data before proceeding with these consolidations?

 What analysis and impact studies has USPS conducted that led to the announcement
earlier this year to consolidate these facilities, and when were these studies conducted?

 What impact will the mail moves at each of these 18 facilities have on the timely delivery
of mail?

 On what date are consolidation activities slated to commence and end at each of the
facilities?

 What will happen to the employees at each of these facilities and when will they be made
aware?

 Does USPS plan to expand the list of facilities beyond the 18 that were announced in
May 2021, and if yes, how and when will that determination be made?

 Please provide the following categories of information for each of the impacted 18
facilities, in accordance with the level of detail provided during Phase 2 NRI:

o The first date that all originating letter mail, flat mail, and packages will be
processed in the activating plant

o The first date that all destinating letter mail, flat mail, and packages will be
processed in the activating plant

o The first date that all delivery point processing letter mail and flat mail will be
processed in the activating plant

o The date when redirections will begin

o The change date and new location where parcel return service will be available
for pickup if applicable for the facility

Thank you for your prompt attention to this important matter. We look forward to receiving your
response by October 15, 2021.

Sincerely,

Source