Aurora questions 'drastic' move to close postal facility
Postal service employees and Aurora leaders Thursday night questioned a proposal to close an Aurora mail processing facility and offered less drastic solutions to ending its operations and cutting 227 jobs.
A U.S. Postal Service study suggests closing the Fox Valley Processing and Distribution Center and consolidating it with the South Suburban Processing and Distribution Center in Bedford Park could save about $18 million.
The facility is one of more than 200 across the country proposed for closure as the Postal Service looks to cut costs because of declining mail volumes.
“We don't have enough revenue to afford our mail processing network,” said Victor Dubina, corporate communications manager for the Great Lakes area.
The plan to decrease processing facilities from 487 to less than 200 in 2013 hinges on slowing first-class mail delivery speeds to two to three days and eliminating overnight service, said Peter Allen, Central Illinois district manager.
With extra time to sort mail, it can be transported further to processing hubs that can operate around the clock, doing the work of three facilities in one location.
Aurora Mayor Tom Weisner opposes slowing mail service to cut costs.
“As mayor of the city, we've had to take measures to be more efficient,” Weisner said. “On the other hand, we don't tell our residents ‘If it snows, we'll be there in two to three days.' We perform the service.”
The Postal Service's real problem is not declining mail volume or the tricky logistics of overnight delivery, said Ken Christy, president of the Illinois state association of the National Association of Letter Carriers. It's pension obligations and other regulations imposed by Congress that are leading to the perceived need to close hundreds of mail processing centers, he said.
“I know we need cuts, but not this drastic,” Christy said.
Angela Sipes, who works at the Fox Valley processing center at 3900 Gabrielle Lane, asked what will happen to Naperville and Aurora mail rooms located there if the processing and distribution activities are discontinued.
Allen said the building could continue to house those operations until it is sold, even if processing and distribution are shut down.
“It doesn't need to be closed,” Christy said about the Fox Valley center. “It's going to reduce our standards.”
A final decision to shut down the facility has not been made. Officials at the Postal Service's headquarters in Washington, D.C. will make the call in late February, Allen said.