Status quo not viable for USPS

Recent assertions by a few Postal Service employees working at Cape Girardeau's Richard G. Wilson Processing & Distribution Facility ["Postal processing employees concerned about transparency," April 25] are grossly inaccurate.

As consumers replace letters and cards with online bill-paying, tax-filing and socializing, First-Class Mail volume continues to decline exponentially. There simply isn't enough mail volume to continue processing mail at hundreds of mail sorting centers across the country.

Consolidating Cape Girardeau's mail processing operations with the St. Louis sorting center will save the Postal Service about $3.8 million annually. Taking no action or maintaining the status quo is not a viable solution in the rapidly changing mailing and shipping market -- especially since USPS relies solely on revenue generated by the sale of stamps and other postal services to fund its daily operations.

Local postal managers continue to work with district staff to keep affected employees informed and updated on progress on the consolidation. Since late summer of 2011, when the Area Mail Processing [AMP] feasibility study was announced, USPS managers have met with all Cape Girardeau employees concerning the consolidation.

On April 9, the district office established an employee email link to answer employee questions regarding the Cape Girardeau AMP process.

Postal Service managers will continue to abide by our contractual obligation to notify affected employees of the changes taking place in the Cape Girardeau workplace. Postal employees will continue to deliver the high level of service and customer satisfaction that our Cape Girardeau customers have come to expect.

Sincerely,

MICHAEL DARLING, postmaster, Cape Girardeau