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Cumberland mayor to join postal picketers |
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Tuesday, 29 September 2009 |
By JOSEPH FITZGERALD
CUMBERLAND — Joined by Mayor Daniel McKee, members of the American Postal Workers Union (APWU) Local 0387 will be walking an informational picket line Friday to protest the possible closing of the Valley Falls Post Office on Broad Street.
The picket will take place outside the 197 Broad St. facility from noon to 5 p.m., according to Michael Vinal, steward for Local 0387.
“The reason (for the picket) is that the United States Postal Service has notified customers that they have only two weeks to express their concerns against the proposed closing of their post office,” Vinal said. “The two weeks expires on Monday, Oct, 5, and we will make ourselves available for any assistance the public may need to prepare their response.”
Vinal says union members will be on hand to help the elderly and those unable to speak English with the response forms the USPS is asking people to fill out.
Postal officials announced in August that the Valley Falls Post Office branch located near the Central Falls line was one of hundreds of stations and branches the U.S. Postal Service is considering for consolidation or closing. The Postal Service sent a list of nearly 700 potential candidates for review to the independent Postal Regulatory Commission. Since then, the USPS has pared its original list of 3,600 targeted branches to 413, according to a list published last week by the U.S. Postal Regulatory Commission, which oversees the postal service.
The Valley Falls facility and the Mount Pleasant Station post office in New Bedford remain on the list and are the only two in Southern New England targeted for closing. Valley Falls is located in the southern part of Cumberland, and borders the city of Central Falls, Attleboro, and Lincoln. The population was 11,599 at the 2000 census.
The USPS has leased the 15,065-square-foot Valley Falls branch since 1970. It had 348 post office boxes and grossed $202,036 in 2008, according to the postal service. The property at 197 Broad St. has an assessed value of $372,600 and has been owned since 1969 by Helcar Inc., a family-owned real estate firm, according to town records. Smithfield-based Helcar also owns post office branches in East Providence, Lincoln, North Smithfield and South Kingstown, according to the postal service.
The agency has warned that it may lose at least $7 billion in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30 due to declining mail volume. The USPS said final decisions on the branch closures will not be made until after Oct. 2.
Vinal says union members, residents and town officials will be on hand throughout the day Friday to express their concerns over the possible closing of the Valley Falls facility.
“The Mayor of Cumberland has expressed his dismay to the Northeast Postal Management through a letter and will be with us on Friday,” he said. “I have been informed that their is a large elderly and handicapped population within the Valley Falls Community and any closing of that facility would be an extreme burden on that community. We believe every American citizen should have access to Postal Services.”
On a national level, the USPS is considering cutting service to five days.
Postal officials say mail volume has dropped more than it ever has in the history of the postal service.
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Last Updated ( Friday, 06 November 2009 )
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