This is not good news for Tulsa but I wonder if it means more jobs for OKC. The center in Tulsa has 600 employees.

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=11&articleid=20120223_11_0_TheUSP35992

The Tulsa union hopes as many as 400 workers can be transferred to Oklahoma City. Some of the other post offices in the state will have some vacancies. There are probably early retirement deals for those eligible. There is a no layoff clause in the labor contract, so no one will probably be without a job.

I think the government should do more to keep post office delivery standards high by not requiring it to fund retirement so far in advance. It certainly will not require diverting tax dollars to save the Post Office as we currently know it. I sure hope Netflix is among the many businesses that should be yelling against the closures.

Here's how the national union looks at the situation:

APWU Members Must Continue the Fight!

Of 264 facilities studied for closure, 223 were approved for consolidation.
Six are still being studied. Only 35 consolidations were disapproved — at this time.

The Postal Service’s announcement on Feb. 23 that it has approved 223 mail processing plants for consolidation leaves union members just one option, APWU President Cliff Guffey said: We must continue the fight!

The Numbers
Total Mail Processing Facilities 461
Studied for Consolidation 264
Approved for Consolidation 223
Still Being Studied 6
Consolidation Disapproved* 35

“That means getting Congress to act now to Save America’s Postal Service,” he said.

In “stand-up talks” with employees on Feb. 22, managers emphasized that consolidations would not take place until after May 15, when a six-month moratorium on consolidations expires. The moratorium was intended to give Congress “the opportunity to enact an alternate plan,” postal officials pointed out.

“The Postal Service has sent a clear message,” Guffey said. “If Congress does not take action before the moratorium expires, management intends to dismantle the mail processing network.

“APWU members must reach out to their senators and representatives now and urge them to support legislation that will correct the underlying cause of the USPS financial crisis without slashing service, eliminating jobs, and destroying the network of plants and post offices that keeps the mail moving,” he said.

“This is a Congressionally-manufactured crisis caused by mandates in the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006,” Guffey said. “It has taken just six years for that terrible law to bring the Postal Service to the edge of extinction.”

Guffey asked every postal employee to join the struggle. “The folks that got good news should keep up the fight, too,” the union president said, “because the Postal Service was clear: 35 consolidations were disapproved at this time.”

Why Service Standards Are Crucial

Management also pointed out that the consolidations can only be implemented if service standards are revised. The APWU, along with a committed group of senators, has been working to prevent changes to service standards, by seeking support for amendments to the 21st Century Postal Service Act (S. 1789), which is expected to come up for a vote in the Senate soon.

“It is critical that APWU members ask their senators to support the amendments,” Guffey said. In its current form, S. 1789 fails to adequately address the cause of the Postal Service’s financial difficulties.

“The amendments offered by the 27 senators would prevent the closures of hundreds of mail processing plants and thousands of post offices, halt the elimination of tens of thousands of jobs, and stop drastic reductions in service to the American people,” Guffey said. “We must urge Congress to act now.”

The Tulsa World says: "The U.S. Postal Service confirmed Thursday it plans to close the Tulsa Processing and Distribution Center and move its operations to Oklahoma City." I take that to mean more jobs here. Though, the USPS also announced today they will definitely end one-day "in town" delivery to save costs on overnight shifts. I don't like that. Postal services around the world are facing tough choices due to email, websites instead of catalogs, so many things stacked against them.

McAlester, Poteau and Woodward processing centers will be closing as well.

Finally doing what needs to be done. Now if they would just raise the cost of postage to a dollar or 75 cents and be done with it.

It is similar to what the military has done with BRAC. A large postal service and military are elements of a past era that can no longer be supported in the 21st century.

Bad news for Tulsa but another solid 300-400 government jobs for OKC.


Mailing a letter is still the biggest bargain on the planet.

Finally doing what needs to be done. Now if they would just raise the cost of postage to a dollar or 75 cents and be done with it.

Old folks who don't get on the Internet would certainly be opposed to what you're talking about. I'm all for keeping the post office as it is. As already pointed out, it just needs to stop the requirement that it overpay retirement funds to fix much of the problem. If Republicans in Congress block doing that, then the Democrats could use this as a good issue against them for the November elections.

An update.

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=297&articleid=20120517_297_0_Aunion594465


Most of the Tulsa jobs are expected to be eliminated or shifted to Oklahoma City.