Letter mail will continue to be processed at West Virginia USPS facility: Union

SOUTH CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WOWK) — The only remaining U.S. Postal Service processing facility in West Virginia will continue to process letter mail, despite plans to convert it to a local facility earlier this year.

Vice President of APWU Local 133 Tim Holstein confirmed on Thursday that the facility near Southridge in Kanawha County will continue to process certain letter mail.

Back in April, it was announced the center would be turned into a local processing center , with “mail processing outgoing operations” moved to Pittsburgh and Warrendale, Pennsylvania. The USPS said this would “result in expanded and streamlined package and mail processing and distribution capabilities for the facility.” But for West Virginia, it would have meant that every single piece of mail, even if it was being sent within the state, would have had to go to Pennsylvania for processing.

With that conversion, reassignments and reductions would be made in compliance with the USPS’s union and collective bargaining agreements. The initial findings report said that more workers could be hired with an estimated decrease of 24 craft and one management position after the initiative is finished .

Now, the Charleston facility will continue “certain” mail processing operations, and the USPS will still invest $22.8 million into the facility, according to a press release. There are also “no anticipated employee impacts” since the operations won’t be outsourced to Pennsylvania.

Tim Holstein, Vice President of APWU Local 133, said this was long-awaited news and that letter mail will continue to be processed through the facility near Southridge.

“This decision could not have come at a more critical time, right before the holiday season,” Holstien said. “Although there will be slight changes, the members of APWU 133 are pleased and bargaining in good faith on Postmaster Dejoy’s word. We are happy to have this cloud of uncertainty lifted from above our facility, allowing us to concentrate on getting mail processed and ready for delivery.”

Sen. Joe Manchin (I-WV) said in a statement, “It never made economic sense to send our mail from Charleston to Pennsylvania and then back to West Virginia, and I commend the union for fighting for their members and all West Virginians throughout this process. I also want to thank all the West Virginians that submitted public comments and spent their Valentine’s Day at a public meeting making their voices heard.”

Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) released a statement that said she was pleased with the plans, but the senator, “still [has] concerns that need to be addressed.”

“Not only do many West Virginians work at this facility, but others depend on it for reliable and timely mail delivery, which is why it is important that the facility is maintained with its current operations or with enhanced services,” Sen. Capito said. “As I have conveyed directly to Postmaster DeJoy throughout this entire process, I am hopeful that USPS will continue to reevaluate its future plans to better serve West Virginians.”

Rep. Carol Miller (R-WV) said, “This decision ensures that West Virginians in rural areas who rely on the postal service will have quicker access to their life-saving medication and veterans who depend on the postal service will receive their hard-earned federal benefits.”

Charleston Mayor Amy Shuler Goodwin also thanked Sen. Manchin (I) and Sen. Capito (R-WV), as well as APWU Local 133. In her statement, she said “They never gave up fighting to keep jobs and services locally and we all benefit from their efforts.”

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