Others like Mike Carlson, 49, of Springfield, said they support the plan because post office needs to save money after losing nearly $16 billion last year.
“The post office is hurting now,” Carlson said.
The U.S. Postal Service this week announced the elimination of Saturday mail delivery during the week of Aug. 5, but said it will continue to deliver packages six days a week.
The cost-cutting move would trim an estimated $2 billion annually from the agency’s budget and help the it adjust to declining mail volumes, postal service officials said.
David Van Allen, Ohio spokesman for the postal service, said he does not anticipate layoffs.
He said some postal workers who work Saturdays will be reassigned, while some jobs will be eliminated through attrition, officials said.
Congress must approve the plan, but it’s unclear whether elected officials will support the measure.
Horton Hobbs, vice president of economic development for the Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce’s Community Improvement Corp., said he doesn’t anticipate much impact on businesses because packages will continue to be delivered.
However, he said companies that provide large or bulk mailings will have to plan ahead for mass mailings.
Union officials and some local residents said ending Saturday delivery will cost postal service jobs and burden consumers, especially the elderly, low income and people in rural communities.
“Obviously this is going to cost quite a number of jobs, and not just the letter carriers, but the people who work inside the post office,” said Terry Grant, president of the Ohio Postal Workers Union, which represents about 8,000 employees.
Grant said the end of Saturday delivery could be avoided if Congress lifted the postal service’s requirement to pre-fund the future pension obligations of workers.
“There’s a very simple solution that Congress failed to address over three years ago by removing the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006,” he said. “It requires the postal service to pay 75 years worth of future retirements, and it cost $5.5 billion per year through 2016.”
The 5-day delivery plan comes nearly a year after the postal service said it planned to close as many as 140 mail processing centers across the country, including the Dayton Processing and Distribution Facility.
The processing facility, which employs 432 workers, will close and local operations will be transferred to Columbus this summer.
Grant said the cost-cutting measures have been paired with buyouts and voluntary retirements that have left many positions unfilled, or filled by temporary workers.
“Five years ago, we had 756,000 employees and now we’re down to 546,000,” Grant said.
He anticipates an elimination of 30,00 jobs, including 1,000 in Ohio.
He said the changes have forced employees to work “many miles” from home, but will ultimately impact all Americans.
Grant said he’s heard comments that eliminating one day won’t mean much, but he disagrees. He said the 14 federal holidays will force people to go without mail for three days.
“People that live in rural areas, the lower-income folks who don’t have access to the Internet, the people who get medication or receive Social Security checks, their delivery will be impacted. A lot of people live paycheck to paycheck, and that makes it pretty tough.”
The Associated Press contributed to this story
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