Despite strong opposition from Nevada officials, the U.S. Postal Service said Tuesday it is going ahead with a plan to move Reno’s mail-processing operations to Sacramento, California.
The change will affect all mail sent in Northern Nevada and part of the Lake Tahoe area.
According to the USPS, it is part of a $40 billion investment strategy to improve postal processing, transportation, and delivery networks nationwide.
But members of Nevada's congressional delegation and other elected officials have opposed the move.
“I am outraged that out-of-touch Washington bureaucrats think they know what’s best for our state, and have decided to move forward with a misguided plan to move mail processing operations to Sacramento,” Rosen published on X.
Meanwhile, the USPS said the plan won’t result in any layoffs of career employees. Reno’s Vassar Street postal facility will be converted to what USPS calls a local processing center, which is a facility that sorts mail and flates to individual mail carrier routes in the regional area.
The agency also said it will spend up to $13 million in Reno for new workplace amenities and expanded distribution capabilities.
On March 25, Rosen joined Rep. Mark Amodei and toured the Reno USPS processing and distribution center to see how the proposed downsizing and relocation of Reno’s mail processing operations to Sacramento would impact Nevadans.
The change will affect mail service reliability and local jobs, Rosen said.
“Anyone who's lived in Northern Nevada for a while understands that the I-80 is the only way between here and Sacramento,” Rosen said. “And throughout the year, it's closed because of wildfires and snowstorms. We can't lose a processing center, that means we only have them in Las Vegas. That's not fair to our state.”
Having local mail processing operations remain in Reno is critical for the families that rely on the U.S. Postal Service for timely mail service, especially the seniors who receive medications or social security checks through the mail, she said.
