BANGOR, Maine — The Bangor Region Chamber of Commerce board of directors has come out against a U.S. Postal Service proposal to close the Hampden mail processing plant on the same day a public hearing on the matter is expected to draw a large crowd.
As a cost-cutting measure for the financially beleaguered Postal Service, a nationwide consolidation study was started in September. Initial study results support eliminating the mail processing operations at the Eastern Maine Processing and Distribution Facility in Hampden and having the only other USPS plant in Maine — the Southern Maine Processing and Distribution Center in Scarborough — take over those duties.
A public meeting to discuss this proposal, which would mean the loss of 43 jobs at the Hampden plant, is scheduled for 6 p.m. Wednesday at Jeff’s Catering and Banquet Center on Coffin Road at the East West Industrial Park in Brewer.
“The postal processing facility in Hampden provides a vital service to the residents and businesses of the Bangor Region, and its closure would pose a hardship on our citizens and place our businesses at a competitive disadvantage,” said a Chamber press release. “Mail service would be slowed considerably by the closing, and businesses here would face delays in sending and receiving mail. The impact on direct marketing companies and print shops would be especially dire. Additionally, the loss of nearly 200 postal worker jobs would be a severe blow to our local economy.”
The Chamber’s board called upon Congress to support the efforts of Maine congressional delegation to pass legislation that would enable the Postal Service to restructure without taking such an extreme measure.
Sen. Olympia Snowe and Sen. Susan Collins will be attending the meeting.
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Time to wake up and smell the coffee. Businesses do not require the USPS as much as they used to. With the advent of the internet and companies like UPS and FEDEX mail service has declined. I only send letters and cards via USPS. All my packages go FEDEX or UPS. The USPS is the organization that knows if it can do without two sorting facilities in Maine. People have to accept that businesses will be contracting and slimming down in order to be cost effective.
gotta love it- the ones that do the most complaining about the post office and its cost, are now the ones crying hampden is so valuable.
every USPS facility on the closing list, will be considered valuable by their local areas.
don’t get me wrong, I think the USPS is unappreciated and do a good job– but you can’t complain about costs and then
try to thwart evey cost reduction measure
I wonder if the Chamber is willing to pay the cost to keep it open? Congress and the “Tea Party” want to cut all costs.
What the postal service needs to do is close all these little small post offices. Some towns even now have 2 to 3 within their own municipal boundaries all over the country. One post office per town should be enough. That would be the most effiecient means first to tackle costs. Some of these smaller post offices might only be selling 2 stamps a day, but you are paying for a postmaster to sit there all day reading a magazine. I am not trying to be unkind, but it doesn’t seem very efficient.
maybe if the postal workers worked 8 hours a day instead of 5,and worked for 10 dollars an hour instead of 25,the postal service could survive.
and if they got paid coolie wages we could be a 3rd world country– and what makes you think they only work 5 hours a day. what makes you think?
Thanks for replying. I didn’t think his post was worthy of a response.
Do you want to know the real reason why the post office is in the shape that it’s in now ?? Because they half to pay 5.5billion yes i said billion a year for the net 10 years to fund the FUTURE (75 )retirement an health care . right now they have enough money to cover for 20 years. The post office has over paid the US Government 50 billion that they are trying to get back. So as you can see it’s not the unions fault its the Us Governments fault that they are in the shape they are in now. I got all of this on line plus i was listin to a post office meeting on cspan2 in White River jct vt an got this information too
We exchange Christmas cards with relatives in foreign countries. Formerly, it cost them less to send international mail. Now, it’s the exact opposite. It costs them almost twice as much to send me mail. Maybe the USPS should raise their rates, esepcially on advertising, to more realistic cost recovery levels.
Maineoutlaw is correct on the hrs they work and the amount they get paid. Hate to break it to you heyrube. Since they did a re-route about a yr ago, they work maybe 6 hrs a day but still.
Hate to break it to you heyrube, but maineoutlaw is correct! They may work 6 hrs a day now b/c of the re-route about a year ago. And the regulars get paid around the $25 he said as well. Some get paid more.