IRON MOUNTAIN, Mich. (WZMQ) – This morning, the Michigan Senate made a decisive move, passing a resolution adamantly opposing the relocation of mail processing operations from the Iron Mountain Distribution Center to Green Bay.
Senator Ed McBroom, deeply concerned about the impact to the Upper Peninsula, emphasized the disruption to outgoing mail processing and pickup routes across the U.P. He has actively engaged with federal authorities, addressing his response to the President, the Postmaster General, and Congressional delegates, urging reconsideration.
“The legislature of Michigan, well the Senate in this case,” he informed, “until the house passes it, too, oppose these changes. And we’ve addressed the letter to the President, the Postmaster General, and to our delegates in Congress.”
In response to the Senate’s resolution, McBroom stated, “This shuttering of just the outgoing mail out of Kingsford, only to send it back to the U.P. afterward, is just not right.”
Senator McBroom pointed out that Michigan legislators can draft responses asking the federal government to reconsider, but ultimately the power is in the federal government’s hands regarding the fate of the distribution center.
Tomorrow’s anticipated public meeting at the Kingsford Armory, where Senator McBroom planned to present his concerns, has been postponed. WZMQ will provide updates once that public meeting is rescheduled.
Representative Jenn Hill echoed McBroom’s sentiments, calling the transfer “a step in the wrong direction.” Representative Hill emphasizes the detrimental impact on communities and the Postal Service’s mission. She urged action and support from Michigan’s lawmakers from the house floor: “For these reasons, I urge my esteemed colleagues to support this resolution and stand in opposition to this ill-conceived plan. Let us send a clear message that we prioritize the well-being of our constituents over profit margins,” stated Hill. Hill pointed out: “It disregards the unique needs of our communities, and undermines the postal service’s mission to serve the American people.”
WZMQ’s update from Michigan’s Capitol states that Representative Jen Hill’s drafted opposition was passed. Other Michigan lawmakers, like Representative Greg Markkanen, have also voiced opposition and taken legislative action against the transfer.
Senator McBroom highlighted the need to focus on preserving outgoing mail processing and ensuring timely delivery services across the U.P. Highlighting the constitutional mandate for a postal system, Senator McBroom emphasized the importance of USPS as a public service rather than a profit-driven entity. He emphasized that the postal system is crucial for timely deliveries, including vital supplies for businesses and medications for our veterans.
Senator McBroom criticizes the deceptive nature of USPS communications regarding the recent changes, highlighting the lack of transparency regarding job losses and service disruptions. “A lot of people are dependent on the delivery of products and being able to ship those products. We look at Stormy Kromer, and how vibrant that business has become for the Upper Peninsula, and timely shipping is very critical. People don’t want to wait. Not just here in the U.P., but all across the country they want to receive their orders as quickly as possible as affordably as possible,” he commented.
Amidst confusion and frustration, Senator McBroom calls for citizens to speak up. “I think that it’s really incumbent for citizens to speak out. The folks who know the most about it are the folks who work at the post office, and yet because of their role in their employment, they have a lot of restrictions on what they can say to us and there are so many acronyms, and so much confusion from these press releases and things it’s really difficult to narrow down, and so I think the thing that we have to focus on is the loss of the processing of the outgoing mail, the alteration of pick-up routes across the U.P., and how that’s affecting the timeliness of delivery and services that we all expect to have.”
As the fate of Iron Mountain’s mail processing hangs in the balance, lawmakers are rallying to keep mail distribution operations within the Upper Peninsula. WZMQ will continue to follow this story as it develops.
