USPS draws fire for plan to shift some operations from Hampden to Scarborough [Video]

The United States Postal Service announced on Tuesday that it plans to shift some mail processing operations roughly 130 miles south from Hampden to Scarborough, a move criticized by union leaders and opposed by members of Maine’s congressional delegation.

The Eastern Maine Processing and Distribution Center in Hampden will get a $12.1 million investment and be converted to a local processing center, while outgoing mail processing operations will be moved to the Southern Maine Processing and Distribution Center in Scarborough, the Postal Service said. 

Local Processing Centers sort letters and flats to individual mail carrier routes in an area. Consolidating plant operations will allow the addition of a sorting and delivery center at the Hampden site, the USPS said. 

The sorting and delivery center will allow the Postal Service to “provide faster and more reliable mail and package delivery over a greater geographic area” with upgraded sorting equipment, faster delivery options and better …