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'Save Our Service': Postal workers fight for their jobs

Meeting set for Thursday

Robert C. Reed | Hickory Daily Record

Postal worker Charles Gregg, of Conover, gives a flier to Van Elledge of Hickory. The flier advertised a town hall meeting planned for 6 p.m. Thursday at the Arts and Science Center auditorium in Hickory.

Want to go?

What: Town hall meeting about a study to consolidate Hickory’s mail processing distribution plant with Greensboro’s

When: Thursday at 6 p.m.

Where: Arts and Science Center auditorium at 243 Third Ave., NE, in Hickory

By Sarah Newell Williamson | Hickory Daily Record

Published: November 17, 2009

HICKORY - Postal employees picketed outside the Hickory post office on Monday, hoping to raise awareness of their own plight.

About 25 postal employees, most of whom work as mail processing clerks, gathered to tell postal customers that the convenient postal service they enjoy might be a thing of the past if the U.S. Postal Service moves the distribution center operations to Greensboro.

Angela Kemper and Tracy Taylor are automation clerks at the Hickory distribution center. They spent their day off trying to save their jobs.

Kemper held a sign that read "Save our service" in big letters with a mailbox, along with information about the proposed consolidation. Taylor handed out fliers with information about the town hall meeting Thursday at 6 p.m.

"We decided to come today, because Monday's usually a busy day at the post office," Kemper said. "We have to get the word out. It's crunch time. It's now or never."

Josh McCroan, who works as a mail-processing clerk, said the employees are letting customers know that moving operations to Greensboro will hurt services.

"Mail has to travel 160 miles round trip to Greensboro and back to be processed and returned to us," he said. "They're saying there will be $1.6 million in savings. They'll have to just shift that cost to employee salaries elsewhere."

The U.S. Postal Service contends no employees will lose their jobs if the operations are shifted to Greensboro. Thirty-two positions in Catawba County could be shifted to the Greensboro facility.

McCroan said people will, in fact, lose their jobs.

"There will be layoffs of temporary employees who are not protected by the union," he said.

Six to eight temporary employees who work at the distribution center have flexible shifts and can change their hours and days off, McCroan said. They will likely lose their jobs if the consolidation happens. He said the people who work at the Hickory facility likely will not be transferred to Greensboro.

"Greensboro and Charlotte are also getting rid of employees," he said. "They'll probably be transferred out of state. These are people who are married, their spouses have jobs, their kids go to school here. They don't want to be uprooted."

These are just some of the things McCroan wants to address at Thursday's town hall meeting.

Another side effect of moving operations to Greensboro is that Hickory will lose its "Hickory" postmark on the mail. It will be stamped "Greensboro" instead.

"That's an identity to the community," McCroan said.

Resident Randy Stillwell expressed concern about the mail going to Greensboro to be processed.

"I think the mail will be more delayed than usual," he said. "The mail should be kept here for jobs and the service."

Stillwell signed a letter the postal employees were handing out to citizens, which addressed concerns about the mail going to Greensboro. The letters will go to the consumer affairs manager of the Greensboro district.

Kemper said postal service customers have been very interested.

"We've had a very good response," Kemper said. "A lot of people are aware of what's going on and are interested in showing up to the town hall meeting."

Carol LaGrand is planning to attend the town hall meeting.

"I knew that the post office was now closed on Saturday, but I didn't know why," she said. "Hickory's hurting way too much as it is, we don't need to lose those (32) jobs."