LAKE MARY, Fla.,None — U.S. Postal officials met Wednesday night to talk about possibly closing a sorting facility in Lake Mary.
More than 200 U.S. Postal Service workers packed the meeting to urge the agency not to close the facility.
About 500 employees work at the processing and distribution center on Rinehart Road. Officials could shut it down and move the operations to the Orlando facility.
Postal employees in Lake Mary are saying this could delay a lot of people's mail.
"I think the service would be hindered by closing the facility," said USPS employee Joe Hughes.
They recently absorbed operations from a Daytona Beach facility, and now the whole operation could be headed to Orlando.
Sixty-six million pieces of mail were handled at Lake Mary's Mid-Florida processing and distribution center last year. But, the U.S. Postal Service says closing the facility could save the agency $14 million a year.
"We lost $6 billion last year. So we're looking at every possible thing so we can be here in the future. That means consolidating some places," said USPS spokeswoman Enola Rice.
APWU Local 7138 union representative Rosemary Spade says it could also delay your mail delivery.
"If you mail a letter to your neighbor or pay a bill in town it may not be paid the next day. They may not get it until two to three days later," Spade said.
That's in line with a post office plan to make 2- to 3-day delivery the new standard for first-class mail.
Under the proposal being discussed Wednesday night, operations at the Mid-Florida Distribution Center would be relocated to Orlando's processing center. But, the Orlando facility is also on the list of 252 processing centers being considered for consolidation.
"I think the service will be as good as we're going to get and and I think it's a good idea," postal customer Joan Miles said.
The postal service relies on postage, products and services to fund its operations.
With a continued fall in mail volume, the postal service ended 2011 with a $5 billion loss. It would have been bigger had Congress not delayed a mandated $5.5 billion payment to pre-fund retiree health benefits.
"I pay my bills on my phone, I have my bills sent up through the bank, I don't need the paper," postal customer Cesar Amin said.
A consolidation wouldn't result in employee layoffs. The workers in Lake Mary would be moved to other posts. No final decisions are expected until May.
WFTV
