Under the guise of consolidation and saving money, the U.S. Postal Service is executing a major nationwide policy change–a deliberate plan to shift from the overnight delivery we’ve had for decades to something closer to a week and more–without the approval of Congress or the president.
At a press conference and rally last week in Duluth, I called on Postmaster General Megan Brennan to reverse the decision to consolidate the Duluth Processing and Distribution Facility, keep our hard working postal employees working in the remarkably efficient regional distribution centers and permanently restore top quality service across our nation.
Moreover, we made it clear that Congress needs to call a nationwide halt to a wave of post office consolidations that could be a death knell for the U.S. Postal Service as we know it.
The situation in Duluth is a clear case in point. Since the postal facility began shifting its sorting operations to the Twin Cities, service from what was once among the nation’s most efficient state-of-theart facilities is deteriorating rapidly. Businesses are suffering. Consumers are complaining. Some postal employees are being forced to travel hours back and forth to work. It’s taking up to six days to deliver a letter from one end of Duluth to the other. And no one–least of all the Postal Service–is saving any money.
Delivery horror stories abound. Just prior to our rally and news conference last Wednesday, we stopped to visit with Jake Benson and Diane Giuliani, publishers of the weekly Proctor Journal, Hermantown Star and Floodwood Forum newspapers. They’re keeping a list of customer complaints–the April 30 edition delivered on May 21; the May 7 edition delivered May 22; many more complaints of newspapers previously delivered in two days that now take two weeks to reach local mailboxes.
Jake’s situation is typical of how small businesses all over the nation are being hurt by ill-conceived, inefficient and wasteful postal consolidations.
Back in Washington this week, we are drafting legislation to keep the Duluth postal facility and similar operations throughout the country open permanently, with services restored and employees back on the job. This is a tough fight, but it’s a fight worth having.
Congressman Rick Nolan
Minnesota’s Eighth District
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