Local Postal Workers Hold Informational Picket

PROVIDENCE -- Postal workers in Providence and across the country were taking steps Thursday to inform the public about a change in the way the mail is delivered.

A proposal to consolidate 139 facilities across the country could have devastating effects on the average consumer, postal workers said.

"You've got Social Security checks," said Frank McCabe, president of the American Postal Workers Union Local 387. "You have medications by mail, and a lot of people are getting their medications through the mail. That affects somebody's life."

But the postal service said the proposed consolidations are simply due to a loss in traditional mail and would not affect delivery.