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Disgruntled postal employees protest

Dozens of postal workers deliver message: Don't close Fort Myers center

By Nicholas P. Alajakis (Contact)

Friday, October 27, 2006

One of the most controversial lists in Southwest Florida has nothing to do with music, sports or movies. And it’s definitely not one you want to be on.

Just how bad is it? More than 100 postal workers from around the state came to Fort Myers to protest the fact that the local mail distribution center is one of 139 around the country that the U.S. Postal Service may review for consolidation.

The distribution center in question is on Daniels Parkway in Fort Myers. Its consolidation would make a Sarasota center the main sorting center for all Southwest Florida residents, something members of the American Postal Workers Union say they are adamantly against because it would slow service and eliminate the Fort Myers stamp on all local mailings.

“This is huge for Southwest Florida to have our mail go up to Sarasota,” said Sam Woods, president of the local postal union.

Woods was one of the more than 100 people from across the state who marched in front of and around the downtown Fort Myers post office on Monroe Street and chanted, while holding a sign that read, “Don’t Let Our Mail Service Fall Apart.”

Similar protests were planned around the country Thursday. They all were conducted to rally against a three-year-old list obtained by the American Postal Workers Union in July that details which distribution centers may be reviewed for consolidation.

Mike Sullivan, a union president from St. Petersburg, said he was angry that the list was kept a secret for so long, and that postal workers were not told that their distribution centers may be moved.

“There’s no communication with them,” Sullivan said of his bosses.

The consolidation is far from a sure thing. In fact, U.S. Postal Service officials say Fort Myers is as safe as any on the list because it serves a large, growing community. It’s merely a list that recommends which sites can be reviewed, said Gary Sawtelle, spokesman for the Postal Service out of Tampa.

Before even a review of he facility is done, the public and media would be contacted and a forum would be conducted, Sawtelle said.

Lulla McMiller, 71, of Fort Myers, who was in the area during the protest, said she’d be against anything that slowed her mail service.

“I’m already getting the mail late,” she said. “Bills are not going to get sent on time if they move.”

A review likely would show that it would not be a smart move, because it would not save money and it would slow service, Sawtelle said. Sites in St. Petersburg and Daytona are the only ones in the state being reviewed right now, he added.

“If it’s not a big deal, then why don’t they take us off the list?” Woods asked, as other around him nodded in approval.

Sawtelle said the union can work on getting the Fort Myers center off the list by contacting Postal Service officials and asking that the center be reconsidered.

Still, the risk of losing a distribution center, a postmark and the relocation of nearly 400 jobs scared those at the rally.

Jack Baldwin, a postal worker from Key West, said his distribution center was consolidated with Fort Lauderdale about 10 years ago. Since then, he said local service has slowed, because all mail must first be driven four hours away to be processed. And post cards sent from the island no longer feature a Key West postmark.

“Tourists care about that, local businesses care,” Baldwin said.

Organizers decided to conduct the rally in downtown Fort Myers rather than at the distribution center, which is located near Interstate 75, because they wanted to get the attention of more people.

The consolidation, as unlikely as it may be, concerned some residents who were stopping by the post office Thursday afternoon.

“I think it’s a shame,” said Loretta White, 69, of Fort Myers, who heard about the possible consolidation on the news. “It doesn’t make sense to drive our mail up there. It’s stupid as far as I can tell.”

Anyone who wants information on potential distribution center consolidation may call 1-877-OUR-MAIL.

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