Champaign USPS goes back on plan to reroute local mail to Chicagoland hubs
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (WCIA) — Officials with the main Champaign United States Postal Service (USPS) post office said they will stop sending local mail to Chicagoland facilities.
Last spring, postal service officials said they were going to start sending Champaign mail up to hubs in places like Bedford Park and Forest Park for processing, only to be sent back. Now, they're saying mail will stay local in an effort to be more efficient.
USPS announces reversal of plans to Champaign facility, operations and jobs staying put
But one employee at the Mattis Ave. branch, Barbara Bridges, said that word could have different meanings.
'We really have to question that word, 'efficiency,' and what does it really mean?' she said.
Bridges has worked for Champaign's post office for a couple years, but last spring she began to worry about her, and her coworkers' job security.
'They started last summer to send letters to some of the supervisors,' Bridges said. 'But those letters were later recalled, and the consolidation plan was put on hold until after the election.'
She said people were notified about potential layoffs as part of the postal service's 'Delivering for America' plan. Now however, officials said there'll be no anticipated layoffs.
'Our job isn't to turn a profit for a small number of shareholders,' Bridges said. 'Our job is to provide a service to all of the American people.'
City of Champaign asking for input on downtown area upgrades
The postal service is also stopping a practice that sent local mail up to Chicagoland post offices for processing, and then back to Champaign for delivery.
'Hopefully it'll keep the mail here local and not be, you know, going up north and coming back,' said USPS customer, Vanessa Thompson. 'So hopefully our mailbox will be full.'
She said she's been noticing a change in mail frequency.
'I do work for a company here and we pick up our mail, you know, every morning,' Thompson said. 'And it does seem like it's not as forthcoming as normal.'
Last year, officials said they wanted to invest $16 million to modernize Champaign's hub, and that hasn't changed. What has changed is Bridges' and her coworkers' ability to do their jobs without the fear of losing them.
'We really feel strongly about the postal service and protecting, you know, people's mail, protecting election ballots and people's medications,' Bridges said. 'People are depending on the mail for a lot of things.'
Officials said the plan will save USPS $3 billion dollars a year, nationwide.
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