TOLEDO, OH (WTOL) – The U.S. Postal Service confirmed Thursday that it will move mail processing operations from its Toledo facility to facilities in Detroit and Columbus.
American Postal Workers Union Local 170 president Arnie Cowell said a representative from the postal service told workers about the plan at two separate meetings on Wednesday night.Cowell estimates 365 jobs would be lost in the consolidation.
Cowell also said mail from Lima that is shipped to the Toledo plant would instead be sorted in Columbus and outgoing mail from Toledo would be shipped to Detroit. There could be delays in delivery service as a result of the changes.
The processing facility is in city councilman Mike Craig's district. He said of the possible closing, "It makes it look like a second class city because we can't maintain our own postal hub here. And out of that hub I am sure they deliver to way over half a million people."
The postal workers union president said they were not given a date when the facility would close but a moratorium on any action by the postal service will be lifted on May 15. A final decision could be made at that point.
Councilman Craig said his biggest concern right now is the families affected by the news. "This is not what Toledo needs. Toledo needs 350 more jobs, not 350 less," Craig said.
The postal service sites a 25 percent decline in First-Class Mail volume since 2006 as the cause of the consolidation.
"The decision to consolidate mail processing facilities recognizes the urgent need to reduce the size of the national mail processing network to eliminate costly underutilized infrastructure," said Chief Operating Officer Megan Brennan. "Consolidating operations is necessary if the Postal Service is to remain viable to provide mail service to the nation."
Postal Service sorting centers in Akron, Athens, Canton, Chillicothe, Dayton, Ironton, Steubenville and Youngstown will also be closed.
The union president said the USPS has not made a decision yet on closing other local facilities, like the Point Place post office.
Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown is a co-sponsor of the Postal Service Protection Act, which aims to prevent these moves from happening. However, it is uncertain if the act will make it to Capitol Hill before May 15.
