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Friday, July 31, 2009
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564 shift: Area mail sorting going to St. Cloud
Senior Reporter With the recession and the Internet reducing mail volume, the Brainerd Post Office enacted a few changes Thursday.
Mail collected from the area is sent to St. Cloud for sorting. Previously mail for the 564 ZIP codes returned to Brainerd for a final sort in the middle of the night. Now that sorting will take place in St. Cloud with mail returning to the Brainerd Post Office already set in trays in a letter carrier's walking or driving route order.
Previously, mail for area cities - Brainerd, Baxter, Fort Ripley, Wadena, Aitkin, Crosby, Staples and Park Rapids, was sorted in Brainerd. Now all that will be done in St. Cloud.
Postmaster David Fuchs said with outdated machines in Brainerd's facility, that date back to the early 1990s it will take St. Cloud five hours to do what Brainerd was doing in 20 hours.
"There isn't any job loss," Fuchs said of the changes. "And there is not going to be any lack of service. Nobody is going to lose their job here right now. We're trying to be more efficient."
The post office, which employs about 85 people, is anticipating two to three retirements. And since February three clerks transferred to other positions as mail carriers or maintenance, one transferred to Arizona and another retired.
The poor economy has reduced advertising mailings and caused declining mail volume as people pay bills online and use e-mail and other social networks to communicate. Fuchs said in the last year mail volume has declined by 15-20 percent and is expected to drop further.
"I don't think anybody expected it to be this bad," Fuchs said. "The economy is in rough shape and everyone is affected by it."
Chuck Plante, American Postal Workers Union local president, said two workers, who provided mechanical maintenance for the sorting machines here, will see changes in duties and likely in days off or hours. Plante said the post office remains a 24-hour operation. He said the mail volume, particularly with the reduced advertising mailing, doesn't justify running machines in Brainerd, St. Cloud and Willmar.
"The whole idea is to be more efficient with mail volume dropping," and with mail drying up, Plante said there just isn't the volume there used to be. "We're hoping it doesn't affect anyone's work status."
While Plante said he expects there to be lost hours, particularly with three part-time flexible workers, he doesn't believe there will be a job loss. Plante said the union receives a six-month notice when there is a job loss.
On Aug. 12, the post office plans to reduce its number of city routes from 11 to 10. That means some residents who previously received their mail by 11 a.m. may not get it until noon or 3 p.m.
As for a consolidation of Brainerd and Baxter facilities from this change, Fuchs said he doesn't foresee that here anytime soon as the post office has about 33 vehicles to park and has a 20-year lease at its processing facility in the Baxter Industrial Park. Changes expected in Brainerd should move the drive-up mail boxes farther south and create about eight additional parking spaces for consumers. Fuchs said the flat-rate boxes for domestic mailing have been well received and customers continue to come in for passports.
In 2009, the U.S. Postal Service reported it processed and delivered nearly 29 million pieces of mail per hour.
RENEE RICHARDSON may be reached at renee.richardson@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5852.
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