As the U.S. Postal Service continues to shrink its operations, Tucson had a partial shut-down of the Cherrybell mail processing center back in 2011.
Since February of last year, the Cherrybell facility has been sending large flat mail items to Phoenix for processing. Now in phase two of consolidation, mail of all sizes, including packages, will make that journey.
The Cherrybell Post Office will cease all letter sorting and hand that job off to Phoenix. Home services should continue as normal, but the sorting center will cease to exist as of April 18, 2015.
The Tucson processing facility was built to handle a larger volume and mail has decreased by nearly one-quarter over the past decade.
The Tucson Letter Carriers Association president worries this might mean a delay in mail delivery, something many will find inconvenient.
But more importantly it will also mean 259 workers will need to find new jobs here in Tucson.
The USPS said it will offer them new positions, some at other facilities, maybe even other cities. But the American Postal Workers Union president said this only includes career employees, at least 100 workers will not be protected.
Rather than wait for comprehensive postal reform, the USPS is taking advantage of the delay in that legislation and has completely ignoring the concerns expressed by the Congressional offices of Raul Grijalva and Ron Barber responsible for this district.
These changes are taking place at 81 other facilities across the country and are suppose to save the USPS $750 million each year.