he U.S. Postal Service has agreed to pause planned changes to mail delivery in the Upper Peninsula. The changes would have moved a portion of mail operations from the Iron Mountain area to Green Bay. The move set off widespread concern in the U.P. With national, state and local leaders taking a stand against the decision.

In a letter sent to U.S. Senator Gary Peters, chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, following his repeated calls to stop implementation of changes to the United States Postal Service (USPS) mail delivery network, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy has committed to pause changes planned at the Iron Mountain Processing Center that would move a portion of mail processing operations to a facility in Green Bay, Wisconsin. As part of this announcement, DeJoy committed to pausing similar changes at facilities across the United States until after Jan. 1, 2025. Following the recent USPS Iron Mountain Processing Center announcement, Peters spoke directly with Postmaster General DeJoy on May 8, 2024, and led 25 of his colleagues in a bipartisan letter calling on USPS to stop the facility and transportation changes in its network plan until they can be studied to ensure they will not harm mail delivery service. Peters slammed USPS decision to move forward with these changes last week, following a recent oversight hearing he convened to examine these changes and the impact they have had on mail delivery performance. Peters will continue to push for the Postal Service Board of Governors to request an advisory opinion from the Postal Regulatory Commission that will comprehensively study the potential impacts of these changes.

“I’m glad I was able to secure this pause on changes to the Iron Mountain Processing and Distribution Center, which will help ensure that residents and businesses across the Upper Peninsula that depend on the Postal Service for reliable mail delivery will continue to be able to count on that service,” said Senator Peters. “I appreciate Postmaster General DeJoy’s efforts to work with me on this issue. However, I still have concerns about additional changes, including to local

See MAIL page 3A