The City Council in Superior, Wisconsin passed a resolution opposing the closure of the Duluth Processing and Distribution Facility and  three Duluth branch post offices.

The Duluth Processing and Distribution Facility is one of 82 mail processing facilities under consideration for closure/consolidation beginning in January 2015.

The City Council’s resolution stated:

• The Duluth/Superior area could stand to lose 70+ jobs from the closure;

• Mail delivery times within the Duluth/Superior surrounding areas would slow from the current overnight delivery to three to five days for delivery.

• The proposed closures would have a significant impact on many, many local businesses and commerce.

The City Council resolution also reminded USPS that it is required to consider any and all harmful consequences a closure would have on rural communities. They were concerned the closures would adversely affect many small rural post offices in Northern Wisconsin and Northern Minnesota that currently receive mail from the Duluth facility.

The City Council urged the PMG to reconsider and re-evaluate the potential closure of the Duluth, MN mail processing and distribution plant.

Last month Congressman Rick Nolan announced that Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe agreed to personally review the decision to close the Duluth mail processing facility.  Nolan said Donahoe “made no promises, but did listen carefully to his (Nolan’s) concerns that the move would be particularly harmful to rural communities.”

Nolan said “There is no logical, sensible reason to abandon this cost-effective, expanding facility in Duluth – and put 70 good-paying jobs at risk,” Nolan said.“The fact is, there are not enough jobs in rural communities – so what possible sense can it make to take these jobs away from Greater Minnesota, and send them to a densely-populated and congested metropolitan area?”

According to Nolan: “The one and only public meeting the Postal Service saw fit to hold on this critical decision took place more than two and a half years ago – in November of 2011. Since they have refused to hold another.

 

Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) also pressed the U.S Postal Service to reconsider its plan to close four mail processing centers (Bemidji, St. Cloud, Mankato) throughout Minnesota. The closures, he said, “will hurt Minnesota’s rural communities and drive more and more customers away from using the Postal Service.”

In a letter to the Postmaster General Sen. Franken said that” shutting down these facilities is a shortsighted, irrational plan that will ultimately degrade customer service and cause more harm than good.”

There has been no announcement as yet on the fate of Duluth Processing and Distribution Facility.