Picketers oppose Postal Service merging

Consolidation with Tacoma has drained money, union says

By Adam Wilson | The Olympian • Published November 18, 2008

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The U.S. Postal Service is losing $345,000 a year by consolidating Olympia mail services with Tacoma, said Olympia postal employees picketing Monday outside the Jefferson Street post office.

But a spokesman for the post office says the Postal Service is actually saving money through the consolidation as expected.

Picketers provided a written review of the merger by the federal agency that shows $345,000 in ongoing added expenses. Documents also show it cost $1.2 million to initially consolidate the mail services.

"It took two years for them to do that review, and they finally admitted it was a $1.5 million loss," said John Libert, a steward with the Olympia Local of the American Postal Workers Union.

He provided The Olympian with a copy of the "six-month Post-Implementation Review."

Ernie Swanson, a spokesman with the post office, confirmed that starting the merger in 2006 was expensive, but he said it has paid off since. He said he confirmed the figures with regional officials based in Denver.

"The first year savings were significantly less than what we were expecting. That was largely because when we moved the mail from Olympia and Tacoma, we had to put some new equipment in," Swanson said. "Since that time, the savings have been significant. ... In excess of a million dollars a year."

But members of the union who protested Monday are convinced the consolidation costs postal customers more, and their union president, Clint Burelson, was fired for opposing it and other management moves, they said.

"He's a whistle-blower in their minds," union Vice President Mike Arnett said. "He's a very strong union president, very pro-worker."

Swanson said he could not discuss Burelson's status, because it is a confidential employee matter.

During the week, the Tacoma processing site handles letters mailed in the South Sound, which is why a letter mailed in Tumwater is stamped with a Tacoma postmark. A Seattle center processes mail on the weekend.

Shipping letters dropped in Lacey mailboxes to Tacoma, postmarking them, and hauling them back to the city where they were mailed is more costly than handling them locally, Arnett said.

"They're sticking to their guns. They steadfastly refuse to admit they made a mistake," he said of Postal Service leadership.

Swanson said the consolidation is permanent, and there are no plans for further review. "I'm sure that we're committed to it, and there won't be any change."