Welcome to HickoryRecord.com. Skip directly to: our Keyword Search, Section Navigation, Content.

HickoryRecord.com - Hickory Daily Record

HomeNewsEntertainmentSportsLifestylesOpinionCommunityWeather Online Tools Jobs | Real Estate | Shopping | Classified

Opinions divided over potential postal service shift

Robert C. Reed

The United States Postal Service held a public meeting at the Hickory Arts and Science Center auditorium Thursday night. Here, local postal workers Liz Eckert and Joshua McCroan discuss shifting some of the operations from the Hickory Sorting and Distribution Facility to Greensboro.

DETAILS

Public comments mailed to Consumer Affairs Manager, Greensboro District, P.O. Box 24799, Greensboro, N.C. 27498-9631 and postmarked by Dec. 4 will be compiled in the Area Mail Processing Feasibility Study.

The USPS’ position can be read at usps.com/all/amp.htm under Hickory.

The American Postal Workers Union position is available at www.conovernc.gov under “Local Postal Service Operations Could Be Cut!”

By Richard Gould | Hickory Daily Record

Published: November 19, 2009

HICKORY - The United States Postal Service says shifting some of the sorting operations from Hickory to Greensboro will save a lot of money without any impact on jobs or service.

The local American Postal Workers Union disagrees, and says the consolidation will deteriorate customer service and is the first step toward closing the Hickory Sorting and Distribution Facility altogether.

Opinions are divided among local residents and all sides gathered at the Hickory Arts and Science Center on Thursday to discuss the USPS' proposed changes in a public forum.

Hickory Mayor Rudy Wright summed up the concerns felt by many in the audience.

"This area has lost more than 30,000 jobs since 1999. We have suffered greatly because of free trade and some other government actions," he said. "We do want you to consider the effect this will have on an already crippled economy."

Matters under consideration in the consolidation are cost savings and maintenance of service, said Greensboro District Manager Russ Gardner of the USPS. He pointed to dwindling mail volumes he said are linked to the surge in electronic communications and the current economic downturn as the reason for the need to streamline operations.

The consolidation is part of an aggressive plan to sort and move mail more efficiently in an effort to "rightsize" an organization that lost $7 billion last year and stands to lose another $7 billion this year, he said.

"Come on, everybody's got to know you can't lose $8 billion a year and continue to be viable," he said in answer to a question from another member of the audience. "The mail volume is not coming back."

Audience members questioned whether the consolidation would affect service and, although the USPS representatives maintained it would not affect service in any ZIP code beginning with 286, they admitted it would delay mail sent within the 270 ZIP codes.

A letter mailed from Morganton to Marion will take two days if the consolidation is enacted, Gardner said.

"That could be the lynchpin that holds it all up," said postal spokesman Don Kelly.

The result of the USPS study said that 32 of the 190 employees would be impacted by the proposed consolidation.

It concluded that the consolidation would save the USPS $1.6 million annually, said USPS spokeswoman Enola Rice. She added the move would not cost any of the employees their jobs.

"We've been doing Area Mail Processing studies for decades," Rice said. "In all that time, not a single employee has been laid off and that will not change."

Nine temporary jobs stand to be eliminated during the consolidation, Gardner said.

The local American Postal Workers Union has been rallying public opinion against the consolidation since the study was announced. Their efforts have resulted in 20 municipalities passing resolutions against consolidating the distribution center.

Gardner said the study will continue and it may be two months before a final decision is made.