Scranton post office backers state case

SCRANTON -- As the U.S. Postal Service aims to adapt to a changing business climate, post office officials are studying the impact of consolidating a number of mail processing facilities in Pennsylvania, including the one in Scranton.

For the approximately 300 employees who work at the facility, Tuesday evening offered not only a chance to voice their opinions and concerns about the move, but also to tout the cost-effectiveness and efficiency of the Scranton facility.

Approximately 400 people were at Scranton High School as representatives from the Central Pennsylvania District of the U.S. Postal Service held a required public meeting on the proposed closing of the Scranton mail processing facility. Under proposed changes, most mail processing at the Scranton facility would shift to the Lehigh Valley facility in Allentown.

Kevin McAdams, Central Pennsylvania District Manager for the U.S. Postal Service, said moving operations to Allentown is part of a series of proposed changes that are part of a shift away from an overnight service standard toward a two-to-three-day service model.

McAdams outlined a number of logistical measures that would save money under the proposal, which is still being studied by senior administrators in the service.

“Employees at the Scranton facility are doing a fantastic job … there is not a negative thing to say about the productivity or efficiency of the facility,” McAdams said. “The postal service is in a situation where we as an agency are surviving paycheck-to-paycheck. If we were a Fortune 500 company, we would be forced to declare bankruptcy.”

Scranton facility employees -- some of whom previously worked at a similar facility in Wilkes-Barre that was closed in 2009 – turned out in force to defend work that they said is more efficient and cost-effective than that which is done in Allentown.

Many cited an August 2010 report by the Office of the Inspector General for the U.S. Postal Service as proof that the postal service can save money by keeping jobs in Scranton.

According to figures distributed by employees, figures from the 2010 study show that Scranton has a lower rate of delayed mail delivery (4.2 percent vs. 7 percent) and a lower cost of processing mail ($17.87 vs.$24.16) than Lehigh Valley. They also said the same 2010 report shows Scranton as having improved overall efficiency (20 percent vs. 4 percent) compared to Lehigh Valley.

Employees and local officials want the Scranton facility to stay open and jobs at the Lehigh Valley center moved to Scranton.

“Our service is excellent, our delays are nonexistent, and our overtime is minimal,” said Kevin Gallagher, president of the Scranton Local of the American Postal Workers Union.

“The closing of this facility could cripple the fragile local economy of Northeastern Pennsylvania,” Lackawanna County Commissioner Corey O’Brien added.

“We should be relocating jobs from the Lehigh Valley to Scranton, not the other way around.”

Tom Gavin, president of National Association of Letter Carriers Branch 17 in Scranton, took aim at a congressionally mandated payment that takes nearly $6 billion of revenue out of the postal service as a reason behind the proposed consolidations.

“Yes, the postal service is in financial trouble, but that’s because of a $5.8 billion payment we have to make every year for our future retirees’ benefits,” Gavin said.

Postal officials stressed that the proposals are still under review, and that a decision is not expected until late December or January.