BY: LORI KERSEY – NOVEMBER 28, 2023 6:39 PM
Gov. Jim Justice said Tuesday the United States Postal Service’s review and potential downsizing or closure of a South Charleston facility has “deeply concerned us in West Virginia.”
In a letter to Postmaster General Louis Dejoy, Justice said potential changes to the Charleston Processing and Distribution Center “strikes at the heart” of the state’s postal services and West Virginians’ livelihoods.
“The presence of this distribution facility is integral to our state’s economic prosperity and growth opportunities,” Justice wrote. “We pledge to stand as steadfast partners to the USPS, committed to fostering not just exceptional community services but also a robust sense of belonging among its employees within our state.”
In a notice Nov. 22, the postal service said it would evaluate its processing operations at the South Charleston center and whether efficiency could be increased by transferring some operations currently performed there to Pennsylvania. The review is a part of the postal service’s $40 billion, 10-year strategic Delivering for America plan to modernize the nation’s aging postal network, the agency said in a news release.
As a part of the review, members of the public may submit written comments on the potential changes online. If the review supports the business case for changing the facility’s operations, representatives of the Postal Service will hold a public meeting so that the local community may provide additional feedback, the release says.
In a statement posted to Facebook early Tuesday, Tim Holstein, vice president of the American Postal Workers Local Union, opposed closing or downsizing the center. Holstein said the union believes that potentially consolidating with the Pennsylvania centers would “further delay mail processing and diminish the plant’s current role.
“President Craig Brown and I have been in communication with Senators Manchin and Capito as well as Congresswoman Carol Miller regarding this ongoing issue,” Holstein wrote. “We will continue to fight for the sanctity of the mail and the residents of WV.”
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