SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- There was a heated showdown on Wednesday night between the Postal Service, which is hemorrhaging money, and postal workers who may be cut to save money.
USPS representatives were in town to talk about a study of whether to shutter the Springfield central processing facility on Chestnut Expressway that employs close to 250 people.
Postal officials hosted the meeting at the Executive Conference Center to reiterate their plans for operations. Currently, the proposal is to close the Springfield processing center and more than 240 others like it across the country. Operations in Springfield would be consolidated with Kansas City, resulting in an additional two to three days for mail delivery within the city.
“Clearly this hits home any time you have any proposed study of consolidating plants. It is going to impact peoples lives, so we expect it,” said Floyd Russell, a representative of the USPS operations center in Kansas City.
Mail handlers, faced with the loss of their jobs, claimed the Postal Service has exaggerated its figures and reasons for the consolidation.
Things got heated at several points, with many in the crowd booing speakers from the USPS. About 15 minutes into the meeting, individuals outside began banging on doors to cause a distraction. Eventually, the cops were called in to make sure nothing got out of hand.
Postal union leaders said they requested a bigger meeting place to handle the crowds but the USPS chose to have it at the smaller Executive Ballroom. As a result, more than 150 people couldn't get in the doors and stood outside for the duration of the meeting.
Several of the postal workers indoors gave up their seats so members of the public could come in and voice their opinions about the closure.
“The community is rising up for this occasion because it is going to impact them economically, every person in southwest Missouri, one form or another, is going to be affected,” said Bruce Lincoln, president of the American Postal Workers Union, Local 888.
The USPS said it will not make any final decision on post office facility closures until later this year.
