Postal workers rally amid threat of Buffalo USPS facility’s move to Rochester
BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Dozens of workers at the United States Postal Service processing center on William Street took their fight to the streets Friday in Buffalo, as the USPS is considering uprooting the facility and moving it to Rochester.
If the move is approved, the center that processes 30,000 letters per hour and hundreds of employees would be relocated 60 miles east. This would mean all the mail that now moves through Buffalo would have to be processed in Rochester first, which could lead to delays across Western New York.
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Workers at Friday’s rally said the postal service is making its regional operations less efficient.
“Your medication is going to take longer, getting your bills paid on time is going to take longer, all of these things are getting longer,” David Grosskoph Jr., president of the Letter Carriers of Buffalo and Western New York, said.
The USPS has faced struggles for years and says consolidation has to happen for the postal service to survive — but they’re saying very little else. Multiple emails sent to USPS reps over the past few weeks about this plan rolled out last year were answered only partially or not at all.
“Their position is it’ll improve the health and the business of the postal service, the business,” American Postal Workers Union president Frank Resetarits said. “The service is what’s at question here that the public wants to keep their services the way it is.”
This is also a bi-partisan issue, with polls at the local, state and federal levels on both sides of the aisle calling for the USPS to reconsider. Buffalo Common Council President Chris Scanlon penned a letter to Postmaster Louis Dejoy, saying this move would have far-reaching consequences, cost hundreds of jobs and affect people’s daily lives.
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Union members say they are thankful for the support the community has shown throughout their fight.
“It’s a major shot in the arm, and that’s what we’re extremely proud of here at the US Postal Service is we have the public’s backing, we have the public’s support and that’s why we’re all out here fighting,” Grosskoph said. “We’re all out here fighting not necessarily for us and our jobs. We’re out here fighting for the public. The postal service for the last 10 years has been taking that service standard and making it later and later and later, and this is the latest attempt to do that.”
The public is invited to a meeting hosted by the United States Postal Service at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Creekside Banquet Facility in Cheektowaga. It will be the first time hearing from USPS officials regarding the potential move and for the public to ask questions.
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