Local postal union concerned about potential changes to service, delivery delays
Nati Harnik, Associated Press
In this Aug. 18, 2020, file photo, mail delivery vehicles are parked outside a post office in Boys Town, Neb.Neither adverse weather nor gloom of night “stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.” So it has long been said about messengers and mail carriers, from the time of ancient Greece to the modern day.
But there’s fear, particularly among the American Postal Workers Union’s Provo Local 42, that those “appointed rounds” may soon come with some significant delays.
“With little notice to the employees and no real notice to the community, the U.S. Postal Service announced their intention of removing all collected mail and the sortation and distribution 337 miles away to Las Vegas for most of the southern half of Utah. This includes all cities that begin with 847 zip codes from Beaver and Richfield south,” said Alice Clarke, president of Local 42. Additionally, she says, all areas with 845 and 846 zip codes — not including those within Utah County — would also have their mail routed to Las Vegas.
According to Clarke, Utah County mail, along with other areas further north into Idaho, would see their mail go to Salt Lake City’s sorting and distribution plant. Such a scenario has her worried that Utah residents could experience a delay of two days to up to two weeks in delivery, by her estimates.
New Postmaster General Louis DeJoy has initiated a 10-year plan called “Delivering for America,” which is intended to provide cost savings and give better service.
“As part of our 10-year Delivering for America plan, the Postal Service is working to modernize our mail and package processing network by combining and centralizing mail processing operations in approximately 60 new Regional Processing and Distribution Centers (RPDCs) over the coming years,” said Rod Spurgeon, USPS spokesman, in an email.
The USPS has already moved some mail out of Utah to Las Vegas, according to Clarke. She said 31 jobs are on the line and there are already service delays.
“I don’t see the efficiency in this,” Clarke said. She noted a number of concerns, particularly for large companies that do a lot of mailing, and she worries the delays will affect mail-in voting ballots that will travel by truck out of state to be processed then brought back to elections offices.
“The Provo plant will probably lose half of its jobs,” Clarke said. “Only 25% of mail will be left at the Provo plant.”
“There is no recognition of Provo’s growth as a community and its thriving businesses,” she added. “Likewise, there is no recognition of the postal workers who strive to perform to an efficiency standard.”
Spurgeon takes exception to these concerns, noting that, “These new RPDCs will allow USPS to better use resources — including space, staffing, processing equipment and transportation — to take advantage of state-of-the-art technologies that process mail and packages more efficiently, while also creating brighter, cleaner and more modern workplaces for postal employees.”
But that doesn’t ease Clarke’s mind.
“We are very concerned over the quality of postal services to everyone in the community. We are concerned over processing and delivery of our communities’ mail,” she said. “Every 10 years, they come up with another 10-year plan that’s not needed.”
To help postal workers and the community at large understand what is intended to happen, USPS will hold a community meeting at 1 p.m. Nov. 2 inside the Provo Library ballroom. All local businesses and customers are invited.
“As of this date, local management has refused to talk about the move,” Clarke said.
From the Union’s vantage point, she added, the restructuring plan so far has not resulted in the savings promised and in many instances has delayed service, prompting an increase in customer complaints.
According to Spurgeon, the USPS started conducting reviews of select processing facilities this summer.
“In July, USPS began conducting (mail processing facility review) studies at two locations in Georgia and two locations in Oregon to assess how these facilities can best support USPS service and operational goals, as well as provide platforms for launching new products and competitive services for mailing and shipping customers in the future,” Spurgeon said. “These reviews constitute the beginning of a multi-year process to modernize the postal mail processing network. The Postal Service has requested customer and public input and feedback from the local communities, will continually monitor the impact of any changes that are implemented, and will adjust plans as necessary and appropriate.”
Spurgeon added that performing the number of reviews they are doing will take time.
In Provo, Clarke said, “the initial results of the facility review supports the business case for keeping the Provo facility open and modernized as a local processing center.”
In a Sept. 7 union letter is says, “the Postmaster General’s Delivery for America plan has been widely criticized by many in the union, congress and the Postal Regulatory Commission.”
“We are concerned over the processing and delivery of our communities’ mail,” Clarke said. “It will also have an impact to our retail services at the post offices.”
The public is encouraged to attend next week’s meeting. Comments from the public will be considered before any final decision is made. However, if the plan carries through, it will be in operation by next spring, according to Clarke.
Editor’s note: A previous version of this article mischaracterized allegations of which parts of the state would have their mail diverted to Las Vegas under new USPS plans.
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