Press Release

WASHINGTON, DC- U.S. Senator Bob Casey today joined the congressional delegation and Lawrence County leaders in announcing that the United States Postal Service (USPS) has decided to keep the New Castle Mail Processing Facility open.

In the weeks leading up to this announcement, Senator Casey; Lawrence County Commissioners Rick DeBlasio, Steve Craig and Dan Vogler; New Castle Mayor Anthony Mastrangelo; Senator Arlen Specter (D-PA); Congressman Jason Altmire (PA-04); State Senator Elder Vogel; State House Representatives Jared Gibbons and Chris Sainato; and local union officials, postal workers and community members all worked together to show USPS how vitally important the New Castle Mail Processing Facility is to the local community. Had the facility been closed, Lawrence County could have lost 175 jobs and possibly seen a decline in the quality of its mail service.

As part of its announcement, USPS said that it would transfer the processing of a small portion of its mail to Pittsburgh. It is expected that the 23 New Castle Post Office employees affected by this change will be offered other USPS positions.

“I am grateful that the United States Postal Service has listened to the outpouring of support the New Castle Mail Processing Facility has received from local community leaders and the congressional delegation,” said Senator Bob Casey.  “This facility and these jobs are very important to Lawrence County.  This is a great victory for all members of the community who have worked so diligently to sway the USPS.”

 “USPS’s announcement that they are going to keep the New Castle Mail Processing Facility open is a huge victory for this community,” U.S. Congressman Jason Altmire (PA-04) said. “For months, elected officials at every level of government, local community leaders and thousands of Lawrence County residents have worked together to save this facility. I want to thank everyone who wrote letters and fought to keep this facility open for all their hard work — it certainly paid off.”

“I am pleased to hear that the USPS has agreed to keep mail processing operations at the New Castle facility,” said Senator Arlen Specter.  “This is important for the New Castle economy and the hundreds of employees that provide a vital service to the community.  I will continue to dialogue with the USPS to retain jobs in the region.”

 “This is a great example of everyone working together to keep the New Castle Mail Processing Plant in New Castle open, the employees, management, Congressman Altmire, Senators Specter and Casey, Governor Rendell and other local officials,” Commissioner Richard DeBlasio said. “My fellow Commissioners were involved from the first day we heard about the possibility of the facility closing. This means a lot to the community and my appreciation goes out to everyone involved.”

“Considering the fiscal situation in which the Postal Service currently finds itself, I am relieved to know that the majority of the employees at the New Castle facility will not be affected at this time,” Commissioner Dan Vogler said. “My appreciation goes to our federal legislative delegation for working with the Lawrence County Commissioners in expressing our support for the New Castle facility. I also must note that fact that my colleague Commissioner Rick DeBlasio took the lead here at the County level on this important issue.”

“The retention of jobs at the New Castle Mail processing facility was a team effort, beginning with the great workers at the New Castle facility, their union representation, Federal and State officials; including Senator Specter, Governor Rendell, Congressman Altmire;  and local officials led by the efforts of Commissioner DeBlasio,” Commissioner Steve Craig said.

“The news that the U.S. Postal Services Processing and Distribution facility will stay in New Castle is just great news! The Postal workers are to be congratulated for all their work in making this happen,” New Castle Mayor Anthony Mastrangelo said. “We also want to express our deep appreciation to Congressman Altmire, Senator Vogel and Representative Chris Sainato for all their work to keep the facility in the New Castle Area. This is just great news.  It shows how this community along with our U.S. and State Representatives can work together in the interest of our community.”