Maine’s postal workers, city councilors, the Senate president and the secretary of state vehemently opposed the U.S. Postal Service’s plans to transform the Hampden mail processing facility during a meeting Thursday.
The USPS revealed in November that it was reviewing the Hampden facility as part of its 10-year Delivering for America plan to invest $40 billion into operations, which it claims will expand services to the public and improve working conditions. The agency introduced the plan in March 2021 to reverse $160 billion in projected losses by 2030.
Last month, the agency told the American Postal Workers Union that the facility will remain open and be modernized, but some mail processing operations will move to a USPS facility in Scarborough roughly 130 miles away.
Questions have persisted since then about the Hampden facility’s future. During Thursday’s meeting in Brewer, Myles Donoghue, executive plant manager for the Springfield Network Distribution Center in Massachusetts, told the public that the postal service will invest $10-15 million in the facility, for new equipment and other upgrades.
But postal workers, politicians and members of the public spoke against the plan, claiming it lacked transparency and would only result in delayed mail delivery. Postal workers warned for months leading up to the meeting that the USPS is selling the consolidation as an improvement, but that it will likely result in job losses and worse service.
The postal service has been fundamental to Mainers’ participation in democracy for a long time, and absentee balloting only works if mail delivery is timely, Secretary of State Bellows told USPS executives Thursday.
“I am deeply concerned that moving processing to Scarborough is going to make overnight delivery of ballots — even if they are prioritized and despite the best work of people processing — impossible for Mainers to cast their ballot,” she said. “That concerns me both as a violation of Maine law and everyone’s fundamental right to vote.”
Republican U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, in a letter to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy that an office staffer read aloud Thursday, called the proposal “a euphemism for reduced operations,” and urged the USPS to reject any consolation. Democratic U.S. Rep. Jared Golden, through a staffer, said timely deliveries are critical for Mainers needing medication, farmers and small businesses, and he remains skeptical of the agency’s plans.
Thursday’s meeting was scheduled for the USPS to share results of its Hampden facility review and collect public feedback. The review was intended to inform the agency about how to best allocate its resources, improve delivery services and save money, Donoghue said.
He read a prepared script and gave a short slideshow about the proposal to convert the facility into a local processing center, which is estimated to cost $6 million. It involves upgrading equipment, specifically spending $2 million on a single package induction sorter machine, and renovating employee break rooms, lockers and restrooms. Outgoing mail operations would move to the Scarborough facility.
A sorting and delivery center is also proposed for the Hampden location. It would have the infrastructure to support electric vehicles and the charging stations needed to power them, which would replace vehicles that are more than 30 years old, Donoghue said.
The postal service estimates that its plan will save $610,000-810,000 annually in mail processing, maintenance and management costs, he said. The slideshow listed no savings for transportation.
Donoghue said there would be no career-employee layoffs in Hampden, but 13 craft workers and one management position may be reassigned.
In total, the USPS plans to invest $10-15 million in the Hampden facility, a regional spokesperson for the postal service, Stephen Doherty, clarified after the meeting. The figure differed from an initial findings document, dated Jan. 30 and provided by Doherty the day before the meeting, which proposed investing $15-25 million.
Maine Senate President Troy Jackson urged the USPS to keep the Hampden facility functioning as it is currently and reverse any decision to consolidate, especially considering Maine’s unique geography and climate. That’s a unanimous message from the Maine Legislature, whose members signed a joint order.
Jackson, a Democrat from Allagash, held up a large, laminated copy of the resolution, which earned applause from the crowd.
Scott Adams, president of the Portland chapter of the American Postal Workers Union, described the plan as a done deal that would hurt USPS customers and workers.
“Down in southern Maine, they’re saying, ‘Well, aren’t you going to gain jobs?’ Probably not because we’re going to lose customers,” he said. “How can you go home at night and still carry that banner that you’re delivering for America when you’re delaying for America?”
Wayne Robbins, a letter carrier who has spent 37 years at the postal service, questioned how Scarborough will handle an influx of mail and whether the facility will need to expand or hire more people.
Doherty said the postal service will take Thursday’s feedback into consideration before making a final decision about the fate of the Hampden facility. He did not say when a decision would be reached.