Opinion: The Subtle Effects of The Mack Robinson Processing Facility Closure

Recently the Mack Robinson Processing Facility closed without fanfare. This closing affects some 125+ employees, their families, and the community as a whole. Employees have been dispersed to other facilities around the greater Los Angeles area. These dispersals could be permanent, temporary, or end up in lay-offs. Families face the possibility of being uprooted and the uncertainty of unemployment.

But it isn’t just the employees and their families that are affected. It is the entire Pasadena community. Mail faces delivery delays of 2-4 days because it now has to go to a facility further away. Prescriptions, social security checks, small business mailings, and parcels from online businesses like eBay and Amazon will be affected. Want to send a package or buy stamps? Well, if your station has closed, you have to find one elsewhere. We have already seen the closure of the Washington and Raymond Annex stations. Orangewood could be next. San Marino and Sierra Madre – your stations could be shut down as well.

Some people will say that this is the Post Office’s own fault. But most of the current problems can be traced to Congress passing the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act (PAEA) in 2006. PAEA forced the Post Office to have to pre-fund healthcare benefits for future retirees for the next 75 years all within a decade. No other public agency or private business has had to carry this type of burden.

And it doesn’t end there, if members of Congress, like Rep. Darrell Issa, and Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe have their way, more stations will be closed. They are trying to pass H.R. 2309 which will destroy the Post Office. Call your Representative and tell them to vote against H.R. 2309. Visit www.savethepostoffice.com to learn more. It is vital to the Post Office’s existence.