Article by Cameron Taylor, Maintenance Steward and Website Editor.
On May 9, 2024, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy wrote a letter responding directly to Sen. Gary Peters. While he defended many of his plans changes and its very public failures, he finally relented:
Further to our conversation yesterday, I agree to pause the movement of processing operations associated with the Mail Processing Facility Reviews. In response to the concerns you and your colleagues have expressed, I will commit to pause any implementation of these moves at least until after January 1, 2025. Even then, we will not advance these efforts without advising you of our plans to do so, and then only at a moderated pace of implementation. I will also continue to consider whether we should seek an advisory opinion from the PRC as a discretionary matter on our part, consistent with the process provided by 39 U.S.C. section 36611, taking into account the relevant legal requirements.
While he didn’t completely surrender to the senators’ demands, it’s an important step in the right direction of stopping his downward spiral into failure, disaster, and ruin for the Postal Service, its workers, and the Public that we serve.
Important note: the above pause doesn’t appear to include S&DCs (Sorting & Delivery Centers, popularly called “carrier hubs”) or other transformations. It seems to exclusively pause places like the Citygate P&DC in Columbus being downgraded and losing their mail processing operations to Cincinnati. That means many carrier units may still end up being consolidated if nothing else changes.
Below is a timeline of significant events that led to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s letter:
On March 13, 2024, a group of 21 senators, led by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), wrote a letter to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy “[urging him] to prevent facility changes or outright closures that will result in any job losses and slower mail.”
On April 17, 2024, U.S. Representatives Nikki Budzinski (D-IL-13) and Jack Bergman (R-MI-01) introduced the Protect Postal Performance Act into the House of Representatives, which would “halt the Postal Service’s ill-conceived consolidation plans in areas where the agency is already underperforming.”
On May 2, 2024, Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) introduced the Protecting Access to Rural Carriers for Every Location (PARCEL) Act, which would restrict consolidation unless it met the following criteria:
- Does not result in processing operations being relocated outside of state boundaries or harming local mail delivery.
- A geographical review is completed, particularly examining mountain passes and the implications of moving operations.
- Public input reflects favorably on the decision to move operations.
On May 8, 2024, a bipartisan group of 26 senators, led by Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI), wrote a letter to DeJoy, complete with footnotes. Among other things, they called “on [the] USPS to pause all changes, pending a full study of this plan by its regulator.”
On May 9, 2024, APWU participated in a “We Won’t Be Silenced” rally at Headquarters, where Sen. Bernie Sanders issued a letter in support of postal workers, called for an end to consolidation plans, among other things.