Many protest South Bend mail center closing

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — A couple hundred people packed a public hearing to protest a proposal by the U.S. Postal Service to close a mail processing center in South Bend and shift that work to Fort Wayne.

That is part of the Postal Service’s plan to close seven processing centers around the state because of drop in mail volume that has left the centers underutilized. South Bend Mayor-elect Pete Buttigieg urged postal officials on Thursday to consider how the potential loss of 60 jobs would hurt the city.

District postal manager Lynn Smith tells WSBT-TV that he expected most of the South Bend center’s workers could fill vacant positions elsewhere.

Letter carriers union official Tony Flora tells WNDU-TV that slower mail processing could lead to the loss of more business.