Postal workers protest looming facility closures

Sonoma County postal workers Friday joined a nationwide protest warning that mail service is about to get slower early next year.

About a half-dozen postal employees and supporters handed out leaflets at the main Santa Rosa post office Friday afternoon. They urged consumers to write members of Congress to stop plans they said would result in slower mail service starting Jan. 5.

David Swaney, president of the Redwood Empire Area Local of the American Postal Workers Union, one of four postal unions involved in the process, acknowledged that first-class mail has declined 53 percent in the past decade. But he said the Postal Service’s plans, including the intended closure of Petaluma’s North Bay mail processing center and 81 similar facilities, will only drive away more customers.

“They’ll start looking for alternatives,” Swaney said.

Postal Service spokesman Augustine Ruiz said the proposed changes would affect only a “very small percentage of mail” and were key for the agency’s long-term survival.

“The real story here,” said Ruiz, “is that we’re going to stay in business.