Postal workers protesting a proposal that could close Pensacola's mail distribution center and move it to Mobile say it will mean delayed mail delivery and 280 lost jobs.

Nor would there be a "Pensacola" postmark, something they said is important in a tourist-driven region.

"Think about mailing something here in Pensacola to another location in Pensacola," said John Olive, president of the Pensacola Area Local American Postal Workers Union. "It would have to go to Mobile first, then come back to Pensacola. It doesn't make sense."

The dozen or so postal workers picketing outside the Downtown Station Post Office on Thursday joined similar protests in about a dozen cities nationwide.

In July, the U.S. Postal Service acknowledged that 139 distribution facilities nationwide would be considered if consolidation of facilities is needed. The list includes the Pensacola Plant and Distribution Center on Jordan Street.

Jobs at the Pensacola facility carry an average salary of $40,000 to $45,000 a year, Olive said.

Joseph Breckenridge, spokesman for the Postal Service in North Florida, said the list only identifies the facilities that would be considered if consolidation plans were undertaken and nothing is definite yet.

When asked if there were plans to close the Pensacola plant, Breckenridge said: "NONE. And you can put that in capital letters."

He said that if consolidation plans affected the Pensacola area, the Postal Service must notify media and elected officials in advance and conduct public hearings.

Picketer Priscilla Fritts, 55, has worked at the Jordan Street plant for eight years. She said it's important to keep distribution operations in Pensacola.

"If (consolidation) happened, you're going to have delays in the mail," she said. "Why not let it stay here?'