US Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley joined a letter led by Senator Bernie Sanders to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, urging him to stop any changes to United States Postal Service standards that would result in job losses and further degrade mail delivery performance, especially in rural areas like Southern Oregon.
While the USPS claims that its "Mail Processing Facility Reviews" will not result in closures or career employee layoffs, the Senators wrote "we are concerned these facility reviews will functionally result in both."
In many instances, outgoing mail processing will move hundreds of miles to a regional facility, outside reasonable commuting distance and -- in some cases -- to another state entirely.
In Oregon, mail processing at the Eugene and Medford facilities is now being transferred to a facility in Portland, distances of around 110 and 227 miles, respectively. These changes are already producing reports of mail delays in the Medford service area that includes Jackson and Josephine counties.
Americans all over the country -- particularly in rural areas -- depend on reliable and expedient mail service to conduct business, pay their bills, receive medication, get their Social Security checks and stay in touch with loved ones.
Wyden, Merkley and other lawmakers have asked USPS leaders to hold public hearings about its plan to consolidate mail sorting in Oregon. They requested that USPS convene at least one listening session in every requested location that is open to all affected employees including in Medford and Eugene.
