Post office changes put on hold

May 15—CHAMPAIGN — Planned changes to the Mattis Avenue post office, along with other U.S. Postal Service facilities, have been paused through at least early 2025.

U.S. Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., said he received a from Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, who has agreed to "pause the movement of processing operations associated with the mail-processing facility reviews."

"In response to the concerns you and your colleagues have expressed, I will commit to pause any implementation of these moves at least until after January 1, 2025," DeJoy wrote. "Even then, we will not advance these efforts without advising you of our plans to do so, and then only at a moderated pace of implementation."

He added that the agency will consider seeking an advisory opinion from the Postal Regulatory Commission.

The office of U.S. Rep. Nikki Budzinski, D-Springfield, confirmed Wednesday that all consolidations of processing and distribution centers have been delayed, including those in Champaign and Springfield.

"This does not mean that USPS has changed their mind about downsizing the facilities," said Budzinski's communications director, Philip Shelly. "It just means it won't happen until 2025."

The Postal Service's plans for the Mattis Avenue facility — which were announced in April and expected to result in a loss of about 100 local jobs — included transferring outgoing-mail processing to facilities in the Chicago suburbs of Bedford Park and Forest Park.

Critics of the strategy, including Budzinski, have expressed concern about the impacts on delivery times and employees.

DeJoy issued his announcement following a conversation with Peters, who has called for a stop to Postal Service network changes, including those planned for the Iron Mountain processing center. The senator's efforts have included leading 25 of his colleagues to sign a bipartisan letter to the postmaster general.

In his correspondence to Peters, DeJoy said his agency's facility reviews primarily focus on "whether to move originating volume to fewer regional plants to create consistency, precision and efficiency."

He added that the Postal Service does not see these actions as damaging to service but rather as a means of providing greater reliability "in a cost-effective manner."

"The career workforce will not see layoffs, new equipment will be installed, the facilities will not close, deferred maintenance will be performed and working conditions will be substantially improved," DeJoy wrote. "I acknowledge that we have not been able to convince Congress of this, even though these efforts will both improve the facilities and facilitate the significant reductions that we absolutely must achieve to have any hope of financial sustainability."