Cheyenne post office to 'modernize,' convert to 'local processing center'
Mar. 28—CHEYENNE — The Cheyenne Processing and Distribution Center will be converted to a "local processing center" in an effort to "modernize" the United States Postal Service.
USPS announced the decision Thursday morning, several months after spokespeople for the agency held a public forum to get feedback about possible changes.
The majority of the people at the event, which included several USPS workers from both Cheyenne and Denver, were opposed to moving mail processing to Denver, which they said could drastically impact timely mail delivery for rural Wyoming residents.
At the December meeting, along with expressing concerns about potential job losses, one of the major concerns critics had was about the prospect of sending packages and "originating" mail to Denver for sorting.
In Thursday's news release, USPS said that the changes to the facility would "improve mail and package flow through the region."
"In addition to determining the facility will remain open and modernized as a Local Processing Center, the business case supports transferring mail processing outgoing operations to the Denver (processing and distribution center)," the news release read. "Currently, a majority of mail and packages are destined outside the Cheyenne area to the rest of the world."
The release also said there would be "no career employee layoffs."
"All career bargaining unit reassignments, as well as any reduction in any number of pre-career employees, will be made in accordance with respective collective bargaining agreements," the release continued. "As part of its strategy, the Postal Service is enhancing package processing and shipping capacity, which may result in increased plant activity and the need for additional support in the future."
At the December meeting on the changes, workers at the Cheyenne mail facility questioned the proposal of drastic changes with no layoffs.
"When they're talking about no layoffs, you've heard them say that many times," said Ricci Robert, branch president for the National Postal Mail Handlers Union in Cheyenne. "... What they call (it) is 'excessing.' And, when employees 'excess,' they have the opportunity to either drive two hours to Denver or quit their job. Now, when my employees work 12 hours a day, and you add another four hours onto their time, they will be losing their jobs."
James Boxrud, a strategic communication officer with the USPS, assured the audience in December that reassignments could take people to plenty of other jobs in Cheyenne, and that those who were "excessed" would not necessarily be forced to move to Denver for work.
Initially, a report made prior to the December meeting said four employees would be "reassigned," a number USPS officials later modified to seven. There was no mention of any career reassignments in the Thursday news release.
How these changes will practically change mail sorting in Wyoming still remains to be seen.
The USPS also announced that, once the conversion is implemented, "business mail entry, post office, station, and branch retail services are not expected to change."
"After the Cheyenne facility is converted to an LPC (local processing center), it is anticipated that it will be able to mail and ship packages, manual letters and flats. The LPC is also anticipated to offer express services and accept bulk and permit mail," the release read.
The changes come as a part of the USPS's 10-year-long "Delivering for America plan to modernize the nation's aging postal network." The project, nationally, is reportedly a $40 billion project, and the changes to the Cheyenne facility will be a $3.5 million investment, the release said.
Representatives for the USPS and the Local 321 Colorado/Wyoming Mail Handlers Union were not immediately available for comment Thursday morning.
Samir Knox is the Wyoming Tribune Eagle's criminal justice and public safety reporter. He can be reached by email at sknox@wyomingnews.com or by phone at 307-633-3152. Follow him on X at @bySamirKnox.
