Local postal workers union president says Kansas could lose only mail processing facility in state

WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) – Thousands of postal workers in different cities across the country rallied on Tuesday to request for better staffing and mail service.

In Wichita specifically, members of the American Postal Workers Union are worried that proposed changes made by the U.S. Postal Service could lead to Kansas’ only mail processing facility being moved out of state.

The rally by postal workers follows a FactFinder 12 Investigation in late September that looked into the proposal and the potential negative impacts it could have on mail delivery speeds in rural areas. The U.S. Postal Service is trying to get back in better financial standing by saving up to $3 billion annually. In part of this effort, USPS is putting more of an emphasis on regional hubs.

Christine Pruitt, the President for the local American Postal Workers Union, said those proposed changes could end up moving the mail processing facility in Wichita out of state. Currently, the Wichita facility is the only mail processing plant in Kansas.

“We are actually the only ones left processing here in Wichita,” said Pruitt. “They want to move our mail to Kansas City, Missouri. Think about how much longer that is going to take to get your mail delivered if they ship all of it in a truck to Kansas City to get it processed.”

A CBS report states that mail would be delivered within two to five days if the proposed changes are approved, but in some rural areas, delivery could take an additional half day or full day to arrive.

Pruitt argued that the five day delivery time frame would not start until the mail reaches Kansas City. She added that because of this, people living in rural areas could see their mail delivery delayed further than just five days.

“The five days is just when it gets back to Wichita as the transfer station,” said Pruitt. “When we are talking about rural delivery, we are talking that it could be 10 to 12 days from the time they mail it in Wellington until it gets across the street in Wellington. That’s unacceptable.”

The APWU and the local mail carriers union said they do have a plan in place to ensure that they have workers on each shift every day handling mail-in ballots with the November 5 election coming up.

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