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Postal workers protest processing plant's grand
opening
By Erica Thoits
Reporter
SCARBOROUGH (Nov 2, 2006): The grand opening of the
Scarborough mail processing plant went ahead despite a protest
staged by U.S. Postal Service employees.
Despite the cold and rainy weather, about 70 to 100
people showed up to picket the opening of the $82 million mail
distribution center said Scott Adams, president of the American
Postal Workers Union Local 458. Adams also said he spoke with both
Sen. Olympia Snow and Sen. Susan Collins who showed up for the
opening. Both, he said, agreed not to cross the picket line and take
a tour of the distribution center.
“It was nice to have that kind of support,” said
Adams of all the people who demonstrated in the cold weather. “Our
voice was heard.”
The new distribution center is a state of the art
facility that will create vast improvements in efficiency, said
Christine Dugas, spokeswoman for the U.S. Postal Service. The new
center replaces the old one on Forest Avenue in Portland and a few
other satellite facilities.
The problem, said Adams, isn’t the new center but how
management is choosing to staff it. According to Adams, the center
is understaffed due to workers getting shuffled around to other
postal centers in Maine in an effort to save money.
“It’s because we can’t get things running properly,”
said Adams. “Once we do, the mail will flow, it’s a state of the art
facility. We just need the staff.”
“Certainly no one has lost a job or been laid off,”
said Dugas. “We feel that the facility is appropriately staffed.”
What did happen, said Dugas, is that about 8 percent of the 635
plant employees either went to a different shift or a different job.
Some reassignments, she said, were voluntary.
“Some people wanted to take jobs that were closer to
home,” said Dugas.
Additionally, said Dugas, there is a process based on
seniority that allows an employee to retrieve his or her old
position.
Adams, however, said that many reassignments were not
voluntary and a number of employees are unhappy.
About 22 workers, said Adams, were taken out of their
positions and told they would be working in other postal centers.
Some were moved to Bath and Brunswick, said Adams. Then, he added,
temporary staff with less seniority replaced the displaced workers.
“This is not about benefits or wages, this is about
taking care of people,” said Adams. “It’s a numbers game. They need
a return on the $82 million investment.” Adams said that while new
and better machines do replace some jobs, postal workers are used to
that and understand that technology changes.
“We’re going to lose jobs to new machines, we
understand that. But they went too far,” said Adams. From here, he
added, he plans to file an official grievance.
"We would not automatically initiate anything after a
picket," said Dugas. "We understand and respect their right to voice
their opinions."
Based in Westbrook, Reporter Erica Thoits can be reached at
207-854-2577 or by e-mail at ethoits@keepmecurrent.com.
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