Members in
La Crosse joined Thursday in a nationwide day of
picketing by the American Postal Workers Union to
protest what it says are plans to close or
consolidate more than 100 mail processing and
distribution facilities.
The possible move
of some processing operations from the La Crosse
post office would delay mail and otherwise reduce
the quality of service to area residents,
predicted John Shea, president of APWU Local 360
in La Crosse.
Last December, the U.S.
Postal Service notified mail-processing employees
in La Crosse it would study the feasibility of
moving some processing to Rochester, Minn. At the
time, an agency official said about 65 clerks and
mail handlers at the La Crosse post office are
involved in processing incoming and outgoing mail,
and the study only involved mail originating from
the 546 ZIP code area.
“It’s sitting in
Washington,” Shea said of the information gathered
so far for that study.
He also noted that
in July, the postal service gave the Postal Rate
Commission a list of 139 facilities that had been
considered for consolidation. According to the
list, prepared a year ago, potential opportunities
included moving some La Crosse processing
operations to Eau Claire, Wis., and moving some
Rochester processing operations to Eagan,
Minn.
Shea said the postal service hasn’t
done a feasibility study on moving some processing
operations from La Crosse to Eau Claire.
As
for the La Crosse/Rochester study mentioned last
December, “The study itself hasn’t been
completed,” said Pete Nowacki, spokesman for the
postal service’s Northland District, based in
Minneapolis. “The initial data gathering has been
done” and that information is at the agency’s
headquarters in Washington, D.C., he
said.
He said officials in Washington will
do one of three things with that information:
“Dismiss it, ask for more information, or opt to
move it forward.”
If the third option is
chosen, he said, “The next step in that case would
be a public meeting in La Crosse.
“It’s not
that we’re planning to necessarily close
processing facilities,” Nowacki said. “We’re
taking a look at our overall network, trying to
improve productivity and increase efficiency —
those sort of things. It’s an ongoing process with
us.”
Shea said the agency has overestimated
savings in past feasibility studies on
consolidation around the nation, and likely will
do the same with future studies.
He said
the union wants to make the public aware of the
consolidation efforts before the Nov. 7 elections.
It’s encouraging people to contact members of
their congressional delegation.
As
indicated on the fliers that members of the
American Postal Workers Union passed out, more
information can be found by clicking
here.
Steve Cahalan can be reached
at (608) 791-8229 or scahalan@lacrossetribune.com.
|
|
 |
The below ads appeared in a River Valley Newspaper Group publication within the past 7 days. Please note any effective sales dates. Click ads to enlarge  |