Thursday's postal meeting (12-15-11) at the Wharfinger in Eureka

From Fred Nelson: I spent some time researching the series of meetings that have been held in the various cities that will lose mail distribution facilities. Also talked with a APWU (clerks union) official who attended the meeting held in Redding. As you know, the Eureka meeting is scheduled at the Wharfinger building. I understand that they are setting up for 100 people. The meeting notice states that the meeting will start at 6 PM and end at 7:30 PM. They do not extend the meeting for any reason but cut it off at 7:30. In Redding there were four tables set up for sign-in. They were labeled “Media”, “General Public”, “Unions” and “Speakers”. Most of us would sign in at the “General Public” table and if you want to speak, you must also sign in at the “Speakers” table. The P.O. presentation is first with about 45 minutes left for speakers (2 min. per speaker). They call the speaker by name in the order in which they have signed up. When 7:30 arrives, they cut it off and leave, no matter how many speakers are left on the sign-up list. My union contact did not have his name called in Redding even though he had signed up. There were others who did not make the cut either. If you go, go early and sign in. Remember, 2 minutes does not leave any time for questions of any length. I have never met the District Manager, Rose Marie Fernandez, but all my sources tell me that she is autocratic and loves to wield her authority. She is the District Mgr. for S.F. and her husband is District Mgr. of Oakland but nobody wants to talk about that. These “Dog and Pony Shows” are designed for little verbal input from the public so I urge you to prepare letters and send them to: Manager of Consumer and Industry Contact, San Francisco District, P.O. Box 193000, San Francisco, CA. 94188-3000. They must be postmarked by December 31, 2011.

Thoughts to consider; NO PARTICULAR ORDER


◼ Medford, OR. is not part of our trade area. Most of our 955 mail is addressed to the S.F. Bay area and Sac. At least Redding mail will be sent to the facility at West Sac, not Medford.

◼ Most of you know the the instability of keeping Highway 199 open between C.City and G. Pass, especially during the winter months. Falling rocks and slide are common.

◼ The letter that you mail from your house in Eureka, or Arcata, or Fortuna, to a friend on the other side of town, will also go to Medford and be returned for delivery in a day or two. That includes a letter addressed to a PO box in Eureka. We already have poor service as far as I am concerned. Last week a card was mailed to me in Eureka and I received it three days later. The same week, two prescriptions were mailed to my wife and me on the same day. My meds were delivered three days after my wife’s meds arrived.

◼ Either pay your bills early to avoid late fees or pay them on the internet (if you have a computer).

◼ What kind of impact on “vote by mail”. I understand that our County Election Dept. is none too happy.
◼ Eureka will lose 11 positions

◼ Redding will lose 59 positions

◼ North Bay distribution center (Petaluma) will lose 275 craft positions and 7 manager positions. So far, they have found jobs for 30. Their mail will go to Oakland and the center will be shut down.

◼ Reno will lose its dist. to the facility in West Sac. losing 176 craft positions and one manager Can’t you see the mail being trucked over the Sierras during one of their storms on I-80? Although distant from Reno, Elko is in their trade area but will send its mail to Salt Lake City.

◼ Those people who lose positions can be assigned to another post office within a 50 mile radius according to collective bargaining agreements. Where are you going to relocate over 250 positions within a 50 mile radius of Petaluma?

◼ Salinas dist. facility has already been closed with a decrease of approx, 26 craft positions and mail is now sorted in the San Jose facility. (I love this story) The distance between the two facilities is 61 miles. Postal mgmt. approached the clerks union and asked if they would forfeit the 50 mile radius so the excessed employees could be reassigned to San Jose. The union refused, Result? Each day, the excess employees clock in at the Salinas PO and are taken by bus to the San Jose facility, then bussed back to clock off at the end of their shift. 120 miles per day in Bay area traffic? They are lucky to get four hours worth of work out of each one. Possible overtime if the return trip gets stuck in traffic? Salinas had their public hearing last January with a low public turnout. Postal management has been keeping a low profile with only minimal media coverage and the public (and the unions have been caught off guard.)

◼ One thing that I have not been able to get a handle on is what happens to the 2nd (publications),3rd (junk mail)and 4th (parcel post)class mail. For years, 2nd, 3rd and 4th class mail has been processed at the Bulk Mail Facility in Richmond, a facility specially designed to process such mail. The forty foot van that you see backed in at the Eureka P.O heads out of Richmond each day. If that facility is closed, bulk mail would have to be processed along with the first class. These proposed distribution points are not equipped to sort bulk mail in any volume. It is questions such as these that one cannot ask and receive an answer within the 2 minutes allowed per speaker. If that Richmond facility stays open, the 40 foot van would run with room on board for all of our mail (as it presently does)

◼ For many years now, District managers (in large part) and their underlings manage with an iron fist. Yelling at Postmasters accompanied by threats is not uncommon. Ask a Postmaster about this and they will be hesitant to reply as they want to keep their jobs. After my retirement in 1985, I was followed by a number of other Postmasters over the years. At least four of those Postmasters left their position due to stress related illness. The morale among both managers and employees is at an all time low.

The Postal Service lists big savings through consolidation. On your computer, type in “Area Mail Processing” where you will find a list of all the distribution centers by alphabet. Eureka is listed and the meeting agenda is included. If you have time, look at some of the cities that have already had their meetings, it will tell you the number of attendees and the number of letters written. Most businesses consolidate to save money with the intent of continued good service to the customer, not reduced service. To add insult to injury, USPS still talks of rate increases. Give me an example of one business which has been able to weather a storm such as this. The USPS is clearing a path for self destruction. Whether or not it is being done through sheer stupidity or intentionally is an unanswered question. Customer service went out the window years ago. Try and find a “customer complaint” form. They pulled those years ago.

I suggest that you encourage everyone you know to write, not only the Postal Service but also to your Congressman and U.S. Senators. You also might want to know that the USPS is a U.S. Government “quasi- corporation” that is ultimately responsible to the U.S. Executive Branch.

Sorry for the soap box dissertation, but I am “stoked”. Feel free to share this with anyone you would like. There are no secrets here.

Fred Nelson


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Send letters to:
Manager of Consumer and Industry Contact, San Francisco District
P.O. Box 193000
San Francisco, CA. 94188-3000.
They must be postmarked by December 31, 2011.