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About USPS Consolidation Plans

In October 2005, the USPS announced plans to consolidate its network of mail processing and distribution centers. If the Postal Service succeeds, parts of many facilities will be shut down and moved far from the communities they serve — in some cases more than 100 miles. The plan will hurt service and make mail less reliable for all of us.

What exactly will the plan mean for all those who rely on the Postal Service?

• Mail will be collected earlier and arrive later in the day — perhaps even in the evening.
  
  
• There will be long delays in sending and receiving our mail — in fact, there could be week-long delays.

And what about the many areas around the country that are particularly affected by consolidation plans?

• Local jobs will be moved out of areas and small businesses will suffer because of the slower, less reliable mail service.
  
  
• Many local postmarks could be lost.

Just think about what that means for America’s mail service. Checks will arrive late, bills will not get paid on time and important medications that are delivered by mail could take longer to arrive.

With so many negative effects on the horizon, why would Washington even consider implementing such a plan? They say the consolidation of postal facilities will lead to greater efficiencies. But they have no conclusive evidence to support this.

The reality is that the plan was devised by lobbyists for big corporate advertising mailers. These corporations pre-sort their mail and this plan will make it easier and cheaper for them to operate. So big special interests get bigger profits while citizens get slower and less efficient mail service.

View APWU's TV & Radio Ads       TV Ad - MPG version (5.3 MB)         TV Ad - WMV version (1.4 MB)         Radio Ad - MP3 (2.3 MB)

APWU's TV and Radio Ads

In July 2006, the APWU began sponsoring TV and radio ads to inform citizens and community leaders about Postal Service’s consolidation effort.

The ads were initially launched in Beaumont (TX), Bloomington (IN), Cumberland (MD), St. Petersburg (FL), and Yakima (WA), cities where APWU activists had already begun to inform citizens and elected officials about the negative effect consolidation would have on mail service for individual postal customers and small businesses.

“The radio and TV ads are only the opening salvo in what promises to be a long campaign,” Burrus said when the ads were launched. “The USPS plan was created without any input from the American people, whose mail service will deteriorate. The plan is the result of an effort by big mailers to reduce their own postage costs at the expense of all others.”

The ads were subsequently run in other cities where proposed consolidations threatened mail service, most recently in Flint (MI) and Detroit (MI).

The radio and TV ads call on citizens and community leaders to get involved in a grassroots movement to consolidation efforts that would degrade mail service.

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