May 24, 2012
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HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) -- Dozens of union supporters showed up Monday night at Huntington High School for a public hearing on moving postal services out of Huntington and into Charleston.
At the same time, the United States Postal Service is also considering moving services out of Beckley, Ashland and Pikeville and shifting them to Charleston.
With the rise of the Internet and other means of communication, mail service is slowing at a fast pace. This consolidation move, according to USPS, is aimed at saving money. Consolidating the Huntington and Charleston mail processing facilities would save about $2.4 million, according to USPS.
Some workers say the move will affect not only employees but also the customers.
The potential impacts of the plan are being fiercely debated.
The postal service is saying mail delivery will not be interrupted.
Robert Cavinder, district manager for the USPS, says, "We lost $3.5 billion last quarter, and we're looking at a $7 billion loss for the year, so the postal service is looking to be as efficient and cost-effective as possible."
But, the people with the American Postal Workers Union say this plan would negatively impact customers by delaying service. The organization is giving this move a stamp of disapproval.
"Anybody with any common sense is going to see that that mail has got to be delayed because there are only so many places they can work the mail in Charleston, even if they take our machinery. the time frame is, they cannot get it back here," says David Daniel, president of the KYOWVA area local of the American Postal Workers Union.
There have been jobs cut in past efforts to trim the postal service’s budget, but this time officials say no one is getting laid off. Workers will get other positions within the organization.
"We don't know where they may go. It's going to disrupt families," says Daniel.
There's another public hearing about the proposed consolidations Tuesday night in Beckley. It will be held at Woodrow Wilson High School at 7 p.m.
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