WASHINGTON, D.C. (WLUC) - Postmaster General Louis DeJoy has committed to pause changes planned at the Iron Mountain Processing Center that would move a portion of mail processing operations to a facility in Green Bay, Wisc. following U.S. Senator Gary Peters’ repeated efforts to stop the implementation of changes.
As part of the announcement, DeJoy committed to pausing similar changes at facilities across the United States until after Jan. 1, 2025.
According to a press release from the senator’s office, Peters spoke directly with Postmaster General DeJoy on May 8, 2024, and led 25 of his colleagues in a bipartisan letter calling on USPS to stop the facility and transportation changes in its network plan until they can be studied to ensure they will not harm mail delivery service.
Peters says he will continue to push for the Postal Service Board of Governors to request an advisory opinion from the Postal Regulatory Commission that will comprehensively study the potential impacts of the changes.
“I’m glad I was able to secure this pause on changes to the Iron Mountain Processing and Distribution Center, which will help ensure that residents and businesses across the Upper Peninsula that depend on the Postal Service for reliable mail delivery will continue to be able to count on that service,” said Senator Peters. “I appreciate Postmaster General DeJoy’s efforts to work with me on this issue. However, I still have concerns about additional changes, including to local transportation trips, that impact Michiganders. I urge the Postal Service to pause and reverse local transportation changes in addition to facility changes, until we have more information about their effects. I will continue to push for a comprehensive study by the Postal Regulatory Commission to ensure any changes implemented do not impact mail delivery. It’s absolutely critical that we understand the full scope of these changes, as well as their impact on service and communities, before moving forward.”
In his letter to Peters, Postmaster General DeJoy wrote: “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.”
In February, Peters wrote a letter to Postmaster General DeJoy requesting further details into changes at the Iron Mountain Processing Center.
Republican Representative Jack Bergman applauded DeJoy’s plan to pause the changes; however, he finds it concerning in the long term.
“The decision today by Postmaster DeJoy to ‘delay’ changes to the Iron Mountain Processing Center is welcomed news in the short term, but a major cause for concern going forward,” said Bergman. “DeJoy showed today what we have been saying all along – the proposed changes to the Iron Mountain Processing Facility in Kingsford are not founded in reality. The move to ‘postpone’ ending next-day mail in the U.P. and other rural areas until after the 2024 election seems likely to be nothing short of a political stunt at the expense of rural America.”
Rep. Bergman sent several letters to Postmaster General DeJoy – outlining his deep concerns with USPS’s plan to reduce mail processing operations at Kingsford, and demanding the agency terminate its review of the facility.