The United States Postal Service has postponed a Friday meeting during which it planned to share initial results of a Hampden facility review and collect public feedback.
The postal service revealed in November that it was reviewing the Hampden mail processing facility as part of its 10-year plan to invest $40 billion into operations. The agency told the American Postal Workers Union earlier this month that the facility will remain open and be modernized, but some mail processing operations will move to the Scarborough facility roughly 130 miles away.
Some of Maine’s postal workers are worried a consolidation of operations could lead to job losses and worse service. In recent weeks, they were rallying support by informing government officials and the public about a potential consolidation.
“We are postponing the posting of our initial findings as further time is needed to finalize any specific improvements we may undertake at the Eastern Maine P&DC [Processing and Distribution Center],” the USPS wrote in a Jan. 26 notice.
The agency’s director of government relations and public policy, Scott Slusher, sent the notice to members of U.S. Sen. Susan Collins’ team. The meeting will be rescheduled in the next several weeks, Slusher wrote.
Collins raised concerns about the review in late November. She and U.S. Rep. Jared Golden opposed a consolidation, warning it would have a detrimental effect on services and customers, particularly those who rely on the postal service to get medication.
As part of the review process, members of the public are able to submit comments online.