Casperson authors resolution to stop Kingsford mail processing center closure

Courtesy: Senator Tom Casperson’s Office

LANSING — Sen. Tom Casperson authored a resolution on Tuesday that formally requests Congress to prevent the U.S. Postal Service from consolidating the processing of all U.P. first class mail to Green Bay, Wisconsin from the current processing center in Kingsford, Michigan.

“The postal service certainly has some challenges that need to be addressed. However, shipping all of the first class mail from the U.P. for processing at the Green Bay facility is not a fair or reasonable response to those challenges,” said Casperson, R-Escanaba.

“Eliminating first class mail from the Upper Peninsula’s only mail processing center and outsourcing that work to Wisconsin will most certainly lead to a situation where first class mail in the Upper Peninsula stands no chance of next day delivery. It is simply unacceptable and unfair to the U.P.’s business community and area residents.

“Countless U.P. businesses depend on overnight first class mail delivery, and the discontinuation of this service will, with real significance, adversely impact many small businesses-that are already facing a number of other real challenges locally.”

Senate Resolution 192 states that the U.S. Postal Service plans to close or consolidate the Kingsford location on Jan. 5, 2015.

The resolution urges congressional intervention to stop the proposal, stating: “The consolidation will severely delay first class mail delivery and result in a degradation of postal service standards by virtually eliminating overnight first-class mail delivery in large portions of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.”

SR 192 was adopted by the Senate and will be sent to the president of the U.S. Senate, the speaker of the U.S. House of Representative and each member of the Michigan congressional delegation.