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Deciding which plants to close will be difficult and face opposition
from community leaders. Actually closing all of them could take a
few years, and most workers will stay employed under union rules.
The bulk of the job cuts will actually come from attrition and
retirements, not layoffs, while the remaining workforce is shuffled
into new locations and positions. What's about to unfold in cities
from Reno, Nev., to Chicago will illustrate the complexity of
cutting a workforce protected by strong union contracts and of
shrinking operations dependent on intricate logistics.
"The downsizing or the demise of the postal service, it's going
to be a mess, and it's going to be a mess for a long time," said
John Zodrow, a retired Denver attorney and former Postal Service
arbitrator who wrote a book about its labor relations. "It's a huge
undertaking."
The proposed closures are among several moves aimed at helping
the agency avert bankruptcy and adjust to declining mail volume as
customers migrate to the Internet to communicate and pay bills.
Delivery changes announced Monday would virtually eliminate the
chance for stamped letters to arrive the next day, for the first
time in 40 years, and would pave the way for closing more than half
of the 461 plants where the mail gets processed and sorted.
Postal officials say they can save up to $3 billion by 2015 by
following through with the cuts -- getting rid of buildings, running
equipment more efficiently, operating fewer mail trucks and cutting
employees.
The postal service's manager of collective bargaining said Monday
that the agency foresaw the "potential for significant attrition,"
given that more than 20 percent of postal workers were eligible for
early retirement. Managers and non-career employees could be laid
off, while no decisions have been made on how any early retirement
incentives will be offered, said the official, Kevin Rachel.
For most workers and communities, the uncertainty is terrible,
but the economic impact might not be as catastrophic as feared. Most
workers in the facilities are represented by the American Postal
Workers Union, which reached a four-year contract in May
guaranteeing that its 220,000 clerks and maintenance employees
cannot be laid off or transferred more than 50 miles away.
Employees in plants that are closed will have to decide whether
to relocate to the places where work is consolidated, which will
need to rapidly expand in size. If they stay behind, they will fight
for remaining jobs in the area and will likely have to switch
duties. Many post offices, for instance, have deliberately left open
retail clerk and letter-carrying jobs.
"It's ‘grab a job before there are no more jobs left to be
grabbed.' It's the proverbial musical chairs," Zodrow said.
Zodrow said the turbulence could motivate more workers to take
early retirement, which he warned would be a mistake for some.
Postal workers do not have skills that transfer well to the private
sector and are making more than they would elsewhere, he said.
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The outcome of negotiations between the postal service and unions
representing mail handlers and letter carriers, which both have
deadlines of next week, could be crucial in determining how
cost-cutting plans are carried out. Mail handlers, who are
represented by a union of 47,000 members, are bargaining about job
protections and reassignment rules.
Kate Bronfenbrenner, director of labor education research at
Cornell University, said she wonders whether the postal service will
get as many retirements as it is counting on. "Nobody in this
economy is retiring unless they are really ready. There has to be
some incentive," she said.
The agency first has to decide which plants to close.
While they have had a list of 252 prospective targets since
September, postal officials say final decisions will not be made
until they assess the potential savings, the impact on mail delivery
and whether other plants in the area could handle the volume.
There will be intense local opposition. The city council in Reno,
Nev., passed a resolution Wednesday protesting any plans to close
its processing facility and move 177 jobs to West Sacramento,
Calif., one of the proposals under review. Members of Congress in
Iowa, Illinois and elsewhere are already going to bat for local
plants. Businesses that rely on speedy mail delivery are fighting,
too.
Once a closing decision is made, it could take a year or longer
to wind down operations and transition work elsewhere, postal
service spokesman Richard Watkins said in a phone interview from
Kansas City.
The closing of the mail processing center in Sioux, City, Iowa,
in October illustrates what may be awaiting other postal workers.
Some mail handlers and clerks moved 90 miles north to the
facility in Sioux Falls, S.D., where their operations were
transferred. Some union employees filled vacant positions for letter
carriers in Sioux City and are now walking routes. Others have been
performing temporary assignments while they wait for permanent jobs.
"I can't imagine what the hell they are going to do with all
these employees," said Scott Tott, the president of the American
Postal Workers Union chapter in Sioux City, who lost his job sorting
pallets of magazines but still shows up to work every day. "This is
a nightmare."
[Associated Press;
By RYAN J. FOLEY]
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or
redistributed. |
