As USPS prepares to roll out its plan to consolidate some operations away from post offices and into larger facilities, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy has delivered a message to employees to think of the efficiencies for the agency ahead of their own inconveniences. He also stressed that employees will report to nicer buildings with improved equipment, making their work days more pleasant overall.
“I realized that change is never easy, so I don’t want to minimize it,” DeJoy said in a recent video message for all employees. “However, I do ask you to put the changes that might impact you in perspective since I can assure you that the changes we are proposing are vitally necessary, and will significantly improve the long term prospects for the Postal Service as a great American institution.”
The changes, expected to begin at a select few pilot facilities this month, will mean letter carriers no longer go to their local facility to pick up mail for their route, instead traveling farther distances after starting at a consolidated location. The impacted post offices will still conduct their retail operations, but a lot of the back-end functions will be stripped away and relocated. Many clerks will have to relocate to new facilities and some postmasters could be out of a job or forced to find a new one.
“For some of you, this might mean you have to travel a little further to get to work,” DeJoy said. “But when you get there, you will have nicer facilities and better equipment, and you will be personally contributing to the transformation of the United States Postal Service.”