Bend Mail Center Closure May Not Cut Jobs

A U.S. Postal Service study claims it makes financial sense to close Bend’s mail processing center and move the sorting to one central location: Portland.

But the agency was looking for public input Tuesday night at The Riverhouse in Bend on whether or not to close it.

They heard from about a dozen speakers, with several dozen folks in attendance, mostly Postal Service workers with their families.

“If I was a postmaster today, and a customer came up to me and asked, ‘When will this be delivered?’ I would be highly embarrassed to have to tell them that it has to move across the mountain — twice,” one former postmaster said.

“What kind of studies have you done to figure out how much business you’re going to lose?” asked a community member. “Because people are going to say ‘No, I’m not going to use the Postal Service, I don’t want my mail going to Portland, over the pass back and forth.'”

Officials say closing the sorting center doesn’t necessarily mean local employees will lose their jobs, even if positions are cut.

“The Postal Service does have a no-layoff clause for many of its employees,” said agency spokesman Kerry Jeffery. “If we do close a facility like Bend, they won’t be out of job, necessarily. They may be doing something else for the Postal Service. They may be working in another capacity in another facility, or a completely different job.”

Even if the closure happens, the Bend Post Office won’t be shut down, and there still will be a retail and business mail presence. But these and other cuts mean there would be changes in the service standards for First Class mail, from 1-3 days, to 2-3 days.

Also, mail would be collected earlier.

And if the Bend processing center is closed, it could cost about 17 jobs, but could save the Post Office almost $2 million a year.

“Is this really worth saving a little bit of money to lower the service standards that we have here in Bend?” a speaker asked.

While the representatives were only there to take down comments, they did want to remind everyone that the goal is a healthier Postal Service.

“I want to assure you that even as we pursue the operational changes, that if implemented will affect nearly everyone who uses the mail and many of our employees, the Postal Service remains committed to providing the best possible service to you our customers,” a USPS representative told the audience.

The Postal Service will accept written comments on the proposed closure through January 11th.

If you would like to send a comment, you can write to:

Manager, Consumer and Industry Contact

Portland District

PO Box 4759

Portland, Oregon 97208-4759