U.S. Postal Service Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

USPS Will Discuss Plans For Charleston Processing Center Tonight

The United States Postal Service is hosting a meeting this evening regarding plans to downsize a Charleston mail processing facility. The plans received pushback from union workers and state lawmakers.

Updated on Wednesday, Feb. 14 at 3:45 p.m.

The United States Postal Service (USPS) will host a public hearing Wednesday on its plans to downsize a Charleston mail processing center.

Last fall, USPS received pushback over its downsizing plan for the Charleston Mail Processing and Distribution Center, which is the only USPS processing center in West Virginia.

USPS has since compiled and released findings on the plan, which it will discuss with members of the public Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. in the Charleston Coliseum & Convention Center.

Meanwhile, controversy over the proposal has grown among some residents, union employees and even state lawmakers.

Critics say the prospective changes — like processing West Virginia-bound letters and flat packages in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania — could increase wait times for local residents and reduce job opportunities locally.

Sam Holstein, vice president of the Charleston-based American Postal Workers Union 133, said workers also worry that current USPS numbers might not account for all layoffs in the long term.

In its initial findings, published Jan. 30, USPS said that the transfer of some services to Pennsylvania would “not result in this facility’s closure or career employee layoffs.”

But Holstein said this does not account for the tens of temporary employees who work at the center full time and depend on it for an income. For him, these workers are temporary in name only.

“The Postal Service tries to put icing on this to where it looks sweet, and it looks like it’s going to be a good thing,” he said. “But, ultimately, when their plans are done, it’s not.”

Sean Hargadon, USPS spokesperson for West Virginia, wrote in an email that changing employment conditions for noncareer and pre-career mail workers reflect “the very nature of a flexible workforce category.”

“It is important to note we are providing more opportunities for noncareer employees to become career employees — and, in the past three years, more than 165,000 pre-career employees have been converted to career,” he wrote.

On Tuesday, Holstein and fellow union workers lined downtown Charleston during an informational picket. They told residents about the plans and the public hearing scheduled for Wednesday.

Union employees also expressed frustration over the hearing, which was initially slated for Jan. 30 but later postponed with less than a week’s notice.

With the hearing date finalized for Feb. 14, which is Valentine’s Day, Holstein said that union workers have been passing out heart-shaped informational cards to raise awareness for their cause — while keeping with the holiday theme.

“We want to get as many people there tomorrow to show up, listen to what the Postal Service has to say about this, and to voice their opposition,” he said.

**Editor’s note: This story was updated to include comment from USPS officials.

USPS Releases Initial Findings For Charleston Processing Center Without Public Hearing

Without holding the public meeting to receive comment on potential changes to the United States Postal Service Processing and Distribution Center in South Charleston, the organization has released its initial findings that recommend restructuring, updating equipment and some layoffs.

Without holding the public meeting to receive comment on potential changes to the United States Postal Service (USPS) Processing and Distribution Center (P&DC) in South Charleston, the organization has released its initial findings that recommend restructuring, updating equipment and some layoffs.

The Mail Processing Facility Review’s (MPFR) initial findings for West Virginia can be viewed here.

“The initial results of the facility review support the business case for keeping the Charleston P&DC open and modernizing the facility as a Local Processing Center (LPC) with simplified processes and standardized layouts,” the initial findings read. “The LPC will also be fitted with state-of-the-art sorting equipment that will improve delivery services. We plan to operate the following sorting equipment in this facility.”

Many have raised concerns that package processing would be moving out of state, and if these recommendations are approved, that will be true.

“Additionally, the business case supports transferring mail processing outgoing operations to the Pittsburgh P&DC and Pennwood Place P&DC. Currently, a majority of mail and packages are destined outside of the Charleston area to the rest of the world.”

The center currently employees about 800 people, but the findings only suggest about 25 will be laid off.

“Due to the transfer of outgoing operations, an estimated net decrease of 24 craft and one management positions are projected once the initiative is completed. All bargaining employee reassignments will be made in accordance with the respective collective bargaining agreements.”

On Jan. 12, 2024, the USPS announced a public meeting for Jan. 30, 2024, but that was postponed by the USPS last Friday, saying the organization needed more time to finalize their recommendations.

A date for the rescheduled meeting has not been released, but the organization said it would be in the next several weeks.

At the time, the Charleston Postal Workers Union Local 133 released a statement that read in part:

“Local union officials have persistently reached out to the postal service in efforts to obtain information they were to release on Jan. 23, 2024, to no avail. Numerous grievances have been filed throughout this MPFR process due to the postal service’s inability to abide by their handbooks and manuals that govern such movement. We will continue to work with our elected officials, the AFL-CIO and affiliate unions in the state to fight the Postal Service plans on moving your mail to Pittsburgh to be processed. The public survey is still available to take, and we encourage everyone to do so.”

Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., released the following statement:

“I have reviewed USPS’s initial findings of the Processing and Distribution Center in Charleston, and while I am glad to see that they have decided to invest in new equipment and upgrades to the facility, I am disappointed to see that they believe that some jobs being transferred to other locations — even if it is less than what was rumored — would be a positive step. I also would have hoped the USPS would have held their public meeting as scheduled on Jan. 30. I still believe that the community deserves to be heard, and I hope that USPS will take that feedback into consideration before any final decisions are made. In the meantime, I urge USPS to listen at the required upcoming public meeting and take into account the importance of this facility to the community as they work to produce their final decisions.”

The press release noted that Capito has remained active on this issue and has spoken personally with Postmaster General Louis DeJoy and other local officials on the matter. DeJoy is serving a 10-year term as Postmaster General and was appointed by former President Donald Trump.

She wrote a letter in December 2023 pressing DeJoy for clarity regarding the future of the facility, as well as stressed the importance of the center to West Virginia and its employees. Click here to read the letter.

Capito later expressed her disappointment in the response from USPS, which can be found here.

To comment on the USPS facility, click here to submit written comments. All written comments must be received by Feb. 29, 2024.

Probation For W.Va. Mail Carrier In Absentee Ballot Case

A West Virginia postal carrier who pleaded guilty to altering mail-in requests for absentee voter ballots was sentenced to five years’ probation Monday.

Thomas Cooper was charged in May 2020 after eight mail-in requests for absentee voter ballots had their party affiliations altered. He pleaded guilty last July.

Cooper, 48, of Dry Fork, held a postal contract to pick up mail in the three towns in which the voters live and delivered the forms in April 2020 to the Pendleton County clerk, according to a federal affidavit.

An investigation by the secretary of state’s office found five of the ballot requests were changed from Democrat to Republican with a black ink pen, the affidavit said.

Bennie Cogar, a state attorney general’s office investigator who conducted the probe on behalf of the secretary of state’s office, said in the affidavit that the Pendleton County clerk called some of the voters after receiving the requests because she knew they were not Republicans. The clerk then contacted the secretary of state’s office to report the alterations.

On the other three requests, the voters’ party was not changed. However, in addition to the “Republican” box originally checked in blue ink, the word “Republican” was later circled in black ink, the affidavit said.

Cooper admitted in an interview with Cogar and a postal inspector that he changed some of the requests he picked up from the Onega post office from Democrat to Republican.

According to the affidavit, when he was then asked about the other requests, Cooper said, “I’m not saying no,” but if the requests were picked up along his postal route, “I would take the blame.” Cooper was then asked if he was “just being silly” and he replied he did it “as a joke” and that he didn’t know those voters.

Cooper was sentenced in federal court in Elkins for attempted election fraud and injury to the mail.

State Attorney General Patrick Morrisey said Cooper’s conviction and sentencing “should serve as a strong warning to anyone else who feels tempted to commit election fraud.”

Absentee ballot rules were relaxed last year to make voting easier and safer during the coronavirus pandemic. Absentee ballot applications were mailed to all registered voters in West Virginia to encourage mail-in voting for the June 2020 primary election. For the November general election, all state voters were allowed to fill out an absentee ballot application online.