VIDEO: Postal workers protest possible shutdown of McAllen mail processing center

McALLEN — Picketers carrying signs that read, “Save our service” and “Keep Valley mail in the Valley” marched around the U.S. Postal Service’s mail sorting operation in McAllen on Wednesday afternoon.

The picketers, made up mostly of postal employees, protested the possibility of the Postal Service closing the processing center at 620 E. Pecan Blvd. and moving its sorting duties to Corpus Christi. Mail from one Rio Grande Valley city to another would first go to Corpus Christi and then head back down to the Valley.

On Monday, the Postal Service released feasibility study results that showed the service would save $6.2 million if it shut down the McAllen center. About 69 positions would be cut, according to the Postal Service’s release on the study.

Other employees could be moved to another area, said Sam Bolen, Postal Service spokesman.

The cuts would help the service, which is struggling financially because of a decrease in mail volume and a congressional order that requires the pre-funding of retirement health benefits.

The Postal Service will not make the final decision on whether to shut down the McAllen center until after a public meeting Dec. 1 to see what the community thinks, Bolen said.

Sylvia Olivo, the president of the McAllen Area Local 4326 Texas Postal Workers Union, said the picket and the community meeting are important ways to show the Postal Service that the processing should not be moved.

“I believe that’s the only thing that is going to save us … that’s our last hope: today and the town hall meeting,” she said.

The McAllen chapter of the union organized Wednesday’s picket, which included about 100 people, Olivo said.

The McAllen Chamber of Commerce, and the offices U.S. Rep. Rubén Hinojosa, D-Mercedes, U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, and U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, are working together to get more information about the study and make sure that residents pack the Dec. 1 meeting.

“We think the only way we’re going to get their attention in Washington and the regional San Antonio office is to have a large turnout,” said Steve Alhenius, the president and CEO of the McAllen chamber. 

Postal workers cannot afford to lose their jobs or move to Corpus Christi, Olivo said.

“It’s hard to find a job nowadays,” she said.

Cindy Martinez, who is a Valley resident and the president of the statewide Texas Postal Workers Union, said she and others want to know more about how the feasibility study was done and its results.

“Where are the details?” she said. “We’ve never seen (the study).”

Bolen wrote in an email that releasing the full study could disclose “commercially sensitive” information, but unions can request redacted copies and the public can see a summary.

Picketers said they couldn’t see how moving mail sorting to Corpus Christi would save money or follow common sense, especially because the Rio Grande Valley is larger.

“There’s no growth in Corpus … and the Valley is one of the fastest-growing areas in the country,” said picketer Gilbert Hernandez, a custodian for a post office in Mission.

Hernandez added that the job loss will hurt the economy.
“How can you help the economy by losing jobs?” he said. “It doesn’t make sense to me.”

Bolen said the Postal Service has to make cuts in order to be able to continue to deliver mail.

“I understand there’s a concern for job losses in the community,” he said. “But if we don’t do something pretty significant to change the way we operate, there won’t be any (Postal Service) jobs.”

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Gail Burkhardt covers Mission, western Hidalgo County, Starr County and general assignments for The Monitor. She can be reached at gburkhardt@themonitor.com and (956) 683-4462.

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BACKGROUND
An earlier chapter in this story:
Postal Service: Routing Valley mail through Corpus Christi would save $6.2 million