Shrewsbury Postal Site Targeted For Closing
The Central Massachusetts Mail Processing Center in Shrewsbury is among more than 200 in the United States that the U.S. Postal Service plans to close later this year.
The postal service said the closings are part of a larger, comprehensive plan to reduce operating costs by $20 billion by 2015 and return it to profitability. Closing the Shrewsbury site would save more than $15 million, according to postal service spokesman Dennis Tarmey. The facility has 517 employees, Tarmey said, most of whom are covered by a union contract that guarantees they will remain employed since nearly all of that group have been with the postal services for at least six years. But some may choose to retire, Tarmey added.
A 25-percent drop in First Class mail since 2006 has led to significant declines in revenue, according to a USPS statement. "The dramatic decline in mail volume has resulted in an enormous amount of excess capacity within the network, creating significant opportunity for consolidation," the USPS said.
Operations now conducted at the Shrewsbury facility would be split between similar facilities in Boston and North Reading.
McGovern Slams Announcement
U.S. Rep. James McGovern, D-Worcester, said the USPS is making a mistake by targeted the Shrewsbury site.
"I'm disgusted that the U.S. Postal Service has decided to close a facility that is making money and processing an increasing amount of mail," he said in an email statement. "Shifting operations from a modern facility to the functionally obsolete Boston center makes no sense at all. None. No wonder the Postal Service is losing money hand over fist."
McGovern said it would make more sense to close and sell the Boston processing center to the state to help expand rail service. That, he said, "would have made the most sense for our region, the state, and the bottom line of the USPS." The Boston facility is located next to South Station, the rail hub for MBTA and Amtrak commuter rail lines heading west and south of the city.
"The decision to consolidate mail processing facilities recognizes the urgent need to reduce the size of the national mail processing network to eliminate costly underutilized infrastructure," said Megan Brennan, USPS's chief operating officer. "Consolidating operations is necessary if the Postal Service is to remain viable to provide mail service to the nation."
Specific dates have not been set for the transition. Until a specific date has been announced, residential and business mail will continue to be served through the current facilities.
In December, the Postal Service agreed to impose a moratorium on closing or consolidating post offices and mail processing facilities before May 15 to give Congress and the Obama Administration time to enact an alternative plan.
Last year, the postal service announced it was targeting the closing of 3,700 post offices around the nation, including two in Worcester (22 Front St. and 484 Main St.) and one in Fitchburg (477 Main St.). The recommendations for those closings are still under review.
WBJ Web Partners
Most Recent
Most Recent
0 Comments