Petaluma mail centers threatened with closure again

<p>The U.S. Postal Service said Thursday it may shut down two mail distribution centers in Petaluma as part of a plan to consolidate hundreds of facilities nationwide.</p><p>The two Petaluma centers are on a list of nearly 250 mail processing facilities being studied for consolidation or closure.</p><p>At least 360 postal workers staff the two centers, which handle mail for Marin, Sonoma, Lake and Mendocino counties.</p><p>The locations will be reviewed over the next three months. There are 487 such locations now.</p><p>The Postal Service wants to save $3 billion a year by closing distribution facilities, reducing processing equipment, shrinking its transportation network, cutting up to 35,000 positions and changing service standards for first-class mail. </p><p>“We are forced to face a new reality today,” said Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe. “With the dramatic decline in mail volume and the resulting excess capacity, maintaining a vast national infrastructure is no longer realistic.”</p><p>The agency lost $8.5 billion last year and is facing more losses this year, as email replaces first-class mail and the sluggish economy reduces the flow of advertising mail.</p><p>The two Petaluma facilities are the North Bay Delivery Distribution Center on Southpoint Boulevard and North Bay Processing and Distribution Center on North McDowell Boulevard.</p><p>Earlier this year, the Postal Service said it would shift some mail processing from Petaluma to Oakland to save $1 million a year.</p><p>A Postal Service study said the move wouldn't affect North Bay mail delivery. But a postal workers union vowed to fight the move, saying it wouldn't save money and would delay mail delivery.</p><p>Valerie Schropp, local president of the American Postal Workers Union, couldn't be reached for comment on Thursday's announcement.</p><p>But the union's national president called the potential cuts “misguided and counterproductive.”</p><p>“Degrading service is not the answer to the Postal Service's problems,” said Cliff Guffey.</p><p>It's unclear where the North Bay's mail would be processed if the Petaluma locations are closed. Postal Service spokesman Gus Ruiz didn't return calls Thursday.</p><p>With the proposed change, first-class mail would be delivered in two to three days, ending next-day delivery for much local mail.</p><p>The Postal Service has closed 186 facilities, cut more than 110,000 jobs and slashed costs by $12 billion since 2006. The flow of mail has dropped by more than 43 billion pieces over the past 5 years, the agency said.</p><p>The Associated Press contributed to this story</p>