The U.S. Postal Service is proposing changes to reduce costs and enhance service, but some lawmakers have voiced concerns about the impact on rural communities.
One of the changes includes consolidating delivery and collection activities to reduce costs and enhance service. For post offices far from regional hubs, mail pick-up and drop-off be will consolidated in the morning, according to the postal service.
USPS officials said operational changes will not impact election or peak season mail because they will not be implemented until 2025.
USPS officials say consolidation will lower truck trips, transportation costs and emissions and bring more mail to postal service plants to begin processing sooner. USPS officials estimate the changes would save the service about $3 billion a year and better delivery.
Scott Blubaugh, president of American Farmers and Ranchers and the Oklahoma Farmers Union, said he already is hearing about long delays in rural areas and fears things could get worse.
“You know, our rural people deserve good quality mail service, just like everyone in the metropolitan areas do, and so we think the Postal Service is misguided,” Blubaugh said.
Although a lot has changed because of the internet, Blubaugh said some farmers still conduct business, pay bills, receive checks and fill out government data through the mail. He said producers also receive more packages through the USPS or other services because they order parts for machinery.
Between 2007 and 2020, the USPS has amassed about $87 billion in losses and has announced new actions to upgrade its business model.
Blubaugh said he understands the postal service is trying to cut costs but it needs to find a different way.
“I know they're trying to save money in this process, but they need to figure out a different way than to basically make their service even less viable than it is now, and it's not great now,” Blubaugh said.
Postal officials say delivery for 75% of First-Class Mail won’t be impacted, and about two-thirds of mail will be delivered in 3 days.
In a statement to KOSU, USPS spokesperson Becky Hernandez writes that if mail is sent from a rural area, it might take half or a full day more, but that is within the services’ standards.
“The Postal Service delivers to 167 million addresses six days a week – today and in the future. Any proposed change is within the existing 2-5 day service standard. All First-Class Mail will be delivered within 2-5 days.
“If a mailpiece enters the mailstream near a USPS Regional Processing & Distribution Center and is delivered to a rural area, it will get there as fast, if not faster, than current delivery. If mail enters the mailstream from a rural area, it may take 12-24 hours extra but is still within our service standards.
“Both now and in the future, a majority of mail from rural areas will be delivered within three days or less.”
The National Rural Letter Carriers' Association represents about 133,000 employees. Don Maston, the president of the association, said it might add some time to deliveries, but it's not going to be as impactful. Maston said he thinks customers want to know when to expect their mail.
Maston said he is unsure how the business decision will impact things, but he said it will not impact the carriers. His organization supports the Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s efforts to move the service forward.
“I think we have to do something different if we're going to survive well into the future for the next 10, 20, 50 years, and what the postal service has been doing for the last 20 years, certainly, is not going to work going forward,” Maston said.
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