HARDWICK – U.S. Postal Service (USPS) changes being proposed are a concern in the Hardwick Area and elsewhere in Vermont.
Hardwick Postmaster Kristine McAlister said mail for area postal patrons is now delivered to Hardwick from the White River Junction facility. She wouldn’t speculate on what any changes might mean for the local area.
Postal patrons in Cabot and Montpelier have been frustrated by long delays in restoring service after their post offices were closed.
Montpelier’s post office has reopened in a new location last month, 14 months after flooding closed the building. More than four months after the USPS began occupying the newly leased location, there has been no counter service. Oversized packages must be picked up at the Berlin office. A USPS spokesperson was unable to announce a date for reopening, or an explanation for the delay, reported VTDigger on August 19.
Cabot’s post office remains closed after vermiculite that may have contained asbestos was noticed filtering down from the ceiling in March. Select board member R.D. Eno said work remediating that problem was completed in late August, but the HVAC system was removed at some point after the vermiculite was discovered and work has not begun to replace it. He indicated that USPS employees have been seen in the building refurnishing it, leading him to believe reopening is assured at some future time.
Situations like those bring concern from Vermonters whenever changes to USPS operations are proposed.
Lt. Gov. David Zuckerman is among those with concerns. He wrote in an email message sent September 20, “Trump-appointed Postmaster General Louis DeJoy is back, pushing for more slowdowns, price hikes, and service cuts at the USPS.”
Greensboro Post Office
Zuckerman suggests that DeJoy intends to see the USPS become privatized and changes being proposed impact rural communities the most, writing, “Under DeJoy’s leadership, service quality in Vermont has already suffered, with mail being delayed for days, sometimes even weeks. And now he’s pushing for higher postage rates and further cuts to services that will hurt small businesses, the elderly, veterans and anyone who relies on affordable, reliable mail delivery. We also saw huge delays in reopening a post office in our capital after the flood.”
An October 2021 report by the government’s Congressional Research Service notes new regulations that went into effect on October 1 that year adjusted USPS service standards to add one to two days for approximately 40% of First-Class Mail traveling longer distances, while local First-Class Mail traveling three hours or less kept its two-day standard.
A USPS plan to move sorting operations from White River Junction to Connecticut was put on hold earlier this year following concerns expressed by U.S. Senators about the impact of a nationwide reorganization plan on mail services.
In May the West Lebanon, N.H., Valley News reported “The White River Junction plan, which is estimated to save up to $940,000 a year, is part of USPS’s 10-year nationwide reorganization strategy, called Delivery for America, an initiative by USPS.
“The plan is supposed to improve efficiency and lower operating costs by consolidating mail processing operations of multiple regions into fewer facilities.”
Before that plan was put on hold until at least early 2025, Vermont Senator Peter Welch signed a joint letter from 26 Senators stating, “While USPS claims these changes overall will improve service while reducing costs, there is evidence to the contrary in locations where USPS has implemented changes so far,”
In 2020, Zuckerman says DeJoy first tried to gut the USPS, but public outcry and pressure from elected leaders forced the USPS Board of Governors to intervene, halting mail delays and reversing critical changes to USPS operations.
Now, wrote Zuckerman, “The USPS Board of Governors and Congress have the power to stop DeJoy. They can reinstate the 2012 delivery standards, which ensured that mail was delivered promptly and reliably.”
Paul Fixx is editor of The Hardwick Gazette and lives in Hardwick.
