After deep diving into the Post Office issue that percolated in April 2023, when people thought that the Beacon Post Office was closing, it has become clear that the USPS Mail Carriers and Clerks are working in a system that is designed to fail. The new USPS 10 Year Plan designed by Trump appointed Postmaster General Louis DeJoy has presented several decisions that contradict each other. One such decision is diverting all of Beacon’s mail carriers to not go to the Beacon Post Office to sort mail at their home base, but to pick up Beacon’s mail from the Newburgh facility out by the Stewart Aiport, involving a twice daily commute. A Little Beacon Blog drove the commute and took pictures for you to imagine what the new extra drive would look and feel like for the carriers. See pictures below.

Beacon’s Post Office is just one of 7,000 across the country that is slated to lose their mail carriers. Steve Hutkins, founder of SaveThePostOffice.com who follows Post Office news like a hawk, told A Little Beacon Blog: “The number of post office closings that could happen is still unknown, but the 7,000 refers to how many post offices may lose their carriers, not close. The number comes from comments made by the Postmaster General at a forum sponsored by AEI on July 27. He says the Postal Service ‘will be aggregating much of our carrier base into larger properly equipped and strategically located sort and delivery centers,’ and (at about 50 minutes in) he says that 19,000 carrier units (post offices) would be reduced to 12,000 or 13,000 by consolidating them into bigger facilities. In other words, 6,000 or 7,000 post offices could lose their carriers.”

The 10-12 mail carriers who report to the Beacon Post office now would be driving this commute, if the changes goes through in September, 2023. Diana Cline, the president of the clerk’s union American Postal Workers Union, has begun organizing gatherings to inform the public. The first one is a Town Hall Meeting in Rock Castle Rd Rock Tavern on Friday, June 16th at 6:30pm.

Pictured here is the beginning of the route that a carrier would drive across the Newburgh/Beacon bridge to retrieve Beacon’s mail. While Postmaster General Louis DeJoy has designated some of the billions of dollars that the USPS received in pandemic money to new electric trucks for the mail carriers, those have not arrived yet in Beacon.

Diana is concerned about how the mail carriers will service their trucks if they break down on the highway or other roads outside of Beacon. Usually, she told ALBB, local service garages help the local mail carriers. “You can't just have your local service guy doing it on his truck. If you break down, there is only one company that can be on the thruway. You're going to get that one company. Beacon will have a local service guy service the car if it breaks down. That's not going to be able to go through on the highway. These vehicles are not meant to go on highways.”

Once mail carriers leave the bridge, they drive toward the Stewart Airport.

And they keep driving.

And driving. Until they hit the turn down an enterprise area of other facilities.

It will be a while before they see other loading facilities.

Oh look! There’s FedEx…

Ah ha. The USPS Newburgh sorting facility driveway is at the end of the winding road.

Watch for deer though…very important.

The USPS entrance. It’s a narrow driveway. With a sign that says “No Left Turn.” It’s not clear where you would turn left. Because turning left would put you directly into the woods.

The Newburgh sorting facility. Other facilities across the country are getting created into grand, very tall, well-lit with natural light, facilities. Newburgh may not be slated for this treatment. These new facilities are called Sorting & Delivery Centers (S&DC). You can read all about them here.

Diana sees a problem with this. Other than the fact it is not in the community of where the mail is being delivered, she sees a money and accountability problem that is benefiting the Postmaster General Lous DeJoy. “In the Stewart Post Office, there are 2 entrances. The PO Boxes front, and back for carriers. In the back is where the S&DC ‘facility’ is going to be. Take an imaginary line, where workers on this side do this, and workers on that side to that.”

Diana wants to see a report from Postmaster General DeJoy about how he is saving money with these organizational changes that include increased transportation costs and a decrease in the number of clerks. Which she sees resulting in the sale of the Beacon Post Office building, because only 1.5 people will be working in it.

“This is what we need the Congresspeople in the country to see,” Diana told ALBB. “No one is making him do a report to say ‘here's how I'm going to save the money.’”

As for a financial report or analysis, Diana explained why the technicality of the type of building may excuse Postmaster DeJoy from doing a such a report: “PS408 requires that they do ‘amp’ studies. But the Newburgh location is a plant. Carriers are going to a plant, calling it Stewart Post Office. That’s a function 4 because then DeJoy doesn't have to do the report.”

Diana continued: “When you go through that 10 year plan, he's going to have to close them [Post Offices] to save money. Maybe it won't be Beacon, but I can assure you he's not going to keep that big building for 1 person. When you're saying this is going to save money.”

DeJoy said in his own words that he sees no high value for Post Offices during his panel discussion, where he also said he saw no reason to put electrical chargers in the parking lots of Post Offices because the buildings are so old. He demands that electric chargers be put in his new S&DC facilities he’s building.

Beacon has car chargers in the DMV parking lot, and that building is not brand new.

Once Beacon’s mail carriers pick up the mail from the Newburgh sorting facility, they head back to Beacon to deliver it. If there is a package that is undeliverable, or needs a signature, it will sit for longer, Diana says.

Upcoming Town Hall Meeting

S&DC Town Hall Meeting
When: Friday June 16th, 2023
Time: 6:30 PM
Where: Teamster’s Hall
15 Rock Castle Rd Rock Tavern, NY 12575

Towns affected when USPS changes take place:
September 2023: Newburgh, Cornwall, Cornwall on Hudson, Clintondale, Maybrook, Salisbury Mills, Rock Tavern, Wallkill, Beacon

February 2024: Walden, Modena, Montgomery, Fishkill

On Hold no date: Wappingers Falls, New Paltz, Pine Bush

According to the flyer: “Get Information on what this proposed change will do to your Postal customer services, local post office changes, future of your town Post Office, and town safety concerns.”

Speakers from APWU, NALC, Rural Carriers will be there. Light refreshments will be served.