GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) has scrapped one of West Michigan’s four flat mail sorting machines because the catalog and magazine mail volume is down, according to union representatives.
The remains of the massive machine, which has five feed stations and sorts thousands of catalogs and magazines every day, were being disposed of Wednesday, Aug. 19 at the USPS facility on Patterson Avenue in Kentwood.
These machines are key pieces of equipment used to expedite the mail delivery process. News of the machines being scrapped and disabled comes as concerns have been raised over recent cuts and changes at the USPS ahead of the November general election.
“They took out a fully-functioning flat sorter machine,” said Jim Haggarty, president for the Michigan chapter of the National Postal Mail Handlers Union.
“They say it’s because the mail volume is down … When things start to normalize, that mail could go back up.”
Haggarty said that, if needed, flat mail sorting machines could also sort absentee ballots.
The machine is just one of at least several functional mail-sorting machines in the Grand Rapids area being taken apart this week by the USPS officials.
Amy Puhalski, president of American Postal Workers Union Local 281, told the Holland Sentinel on Wednesday that USPS officials this week took the electrical components out of two mail sorting machines in downtown Grand Rapids.
Puhalski said the machines sort letters and that their removal would delay mail processing time.
She said the machines are unusable without the components and that officials have not given word to put them back in.
Officials were working on gutting a third machine, she said, but stopped after U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy on Tuesday ordered a halt to equipment scrapping and other organizational changes until after the election.
Related: Snail mail and a ‘pinky promise’: Why Michigan is still suing after USPS walked back changes
Decreasing the number of mail-sorting machines as well as mail drop boxes are initiatives DeJoy has branded as cost-cutting measures.
They’ve raised concerns of voter suppression in the upcoming general election, where absentee ballot voting is expected to skyrocket because of the pandemic.
DeJoy said on Tuesday he would suspend the measures until after the general election “to avoid even the appearance of impact on election mail.”
“I don’t have any other information to share beyond what is in our Postmaster General’s statement,” Grand Rapids-area USPS spokesperson Sabrina Todd said, declining to talk about the machines.
Michigan is joining other states in filing a federal lawsuit against the U.S. Postal Service over recent changes that have caused mail delays, Attorney General Dana Nessel announced Tuesday.
Related: Michigan joins lawsuit against USPS over mail delays
USPS engineer Jeffrey Werth was on site Wednedsay at the Patterson Avenue facility overseeing the flat mail sorting machine being scrapped.
“The only thing I’ll say is it’s not what’s put out there. It’s an exaggeration,” Werth told MLive. “I really suggest you contact our public relations department.”
He declined to say what the machine being scrapped was or whether it was functional before it was tossed out.
“You’re not supposed to be on public property,” Werth said. “I’m going to have to ask you to leave right now.”
The removal of the machines is the latest challenge for postal workers trying to get mail out on time.
In addition to pandemic-related challenges, recent cuts to overtime have hamstrung a workforce still short employees from before the Great Recession, Haggarty said.
“They’re setting us up to fail,” he said. “Even the supervisors and the managers get frustrated. The people like me that have been around 20, 25, 30 years, we’re very concerned because we see the degradation of our service.”
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