USPS reports local mail will not be shipped out of state for processing
In April 2024, the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) announced it was proposing changes to the Wyoming mail system, but with pushback from workers and the National Postal Mail Handlers Union, as well as federal and state officials, U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy postponed these proposed changes to January 2025.
Due to the impeding changes, U.S. Reps. Harriet Hageman (R-WY) and Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO) introduced the Postal Processing Protection Act on Feb. 21 to require the USPS to follow the same standards for closing or consolidating sorting, distribution or processing facilities as it does for storefront post offices under existing law.
However, on the same day, USPS announced in a press release they would not implement proposed changes and will continue processing mail in Casper and Cheyenne, investing up to $9.2 million to enhance service efficiency.
Original plan
In August 2024, USPS began the regulatory process with the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC), proposing operational improvements and refinements within current service standards.
These enhancements aimed to strengthen service reliability, increase cost efficiency and boost overall productivity.
The original plan intended to revamp the postal system to cut costs and would have shifted mail processing out of Wyoming.
“Earlier in 2024, the Cheyenne processing facility was part of a Mail Processing Facility Review (MPFR). The main objective of this review was to find cost efficiencies, primarily through transportation savings,” the press release states.
“By implementing the changes proposed in the request filed with the PRC, USPS intends to achieve further operational efficiencies and optimizations. These would be in addition to transportation savings but achieved through different strategies than those used in certain MPFRs,” the brief adds.
However, USPS has decided local-originating mail processing in Cheyenne will remain the same, meaning single-piece mail sent from Cheyenne to be delivered in Cheyenne will continue to be processed at its current location.
Staying local
According to the most recent USPS press release, the agency plans to retain certain local mail processing operations at the postal facility in Cheyenne.
“The decision to leave operations in Cheyenne is made possible due to a proposed operational strategy aimed at increasing efficiency, improving service quality and saving USPS an additional $3 billion per year nationwide,” reads the press release.
By adopting this operational strategy, USPS will obtain substantial savings, enabling it to maintain the vital local cancellation services in Cheyenne without incurring additional costs.
“This initiative reflects a dedication to balancing operational efficiency with the needs of the community,” states the press release. “As a result, USPS will not need to relocate certain local originating mail processing operations outside of the Cheyenne facility.”
In addition, USPS announces the Cheyenne facility will also see changes designed to boost its services, thanks to a USPS-planned investment of up to $3.5 million, and these changes will not impact business mail entry, Post Office, station or branch retail services.
The Cheyenne facility is set to become a local processing center and is expected to handle package mailing, shipping, letters and flats, while offering express services and accepting bulk and permit mail, further improving its delivery services.
“Our proposed operational strategy will generate substantial savings for USPS, and this strategy provides a solution which will ensure our organization can cover the cost of local originating mail processing operations in the Cheyenne facility,” states DeJoy.
“By upgrading the Cheyenne facility, the investment goes beyond enhancing the work environment for our employees, it is about equipping the facility with the necessary technology and resources to deliver top-notch service to the local community for the foreseeable future,” DeJoy adds.
Employee impacts
USPS initially anticipated staffing impacts due to the proposed move of certain local originating mail processing operations to the Processing and Distribution Center in Denver.
However, with the decision to keep these operations at the Cheyenne facility, there would be no anticipated employee impacts.
This remains consistent with the stance taken in March 2024, where no career layoffs were part of the initiative.
“As part of its investment strategy in the Cheyenne facility, USPS is focusing on enhancing package processing and shipping capacity,” the agency states. “This could potentially lead to increased plant activity and a future need for additional staffing support.”
Melissa Anderson is the editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. Send comments on this article to roundup@wylr.net.
