Tucson postal processing will close

The Tucson closure will save the Postal Service $14 million. It will eliminate 147 jobs, delay delivery of mail in Tucson by one day, and could result in local businesses and nonprofit groups paying more for postage.

The closure is part of the agency's multibillion-dollar cost-cutting plan that will close nearly 250 mail-processing centers across the country. Post office boxes and other customer services at Cherrybell will remain open.

At a news briefing Thursday in Washington, D.C., Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe said the agency's mail-processing network had simply become too big, given declining first-class mail volume and mounting debt.

It will now consolidate nearly 250 plants as originally proposed, including 48 this summer, but will stretch out the remainder over a longer time frame in 2013 and 2014.

The consolidations are initially expected to reduce postal staff by 13,000 and save the struggling mail agency roughly $1.2 billion annually. By the time the full round of cuts is carried out by late 2014, the Postal Service will have 28,000 fewer employees and an estimated annual savings of $2.1 billion.

A local spokesman has said the closure of the Tucson processing facility, at 1501 S. Cherrybell Stravenue, will not affect Priority Mail service, Express Mail overnight service or packages in which people receive their medications.

According to local business leaders, the closure will likely have the most impact on small, local printing companies that send out advertisements for businesses, as well as on nonprofit groups that mail fundraising materials.

The closure will likely result in higher postage costs for the businesses because Tucson mail will get shipped to Phoenix for processing before coming back to Tucson for distribution.

"The cost from Tucson to Tucson was cheaper," said Ron Sams, a production supervisor with Rapid Response Solutions, which processes and sends out advertisements for car dealerships.

Mailing and printing companies received a discount for shipping within the city, Sams said.

"It takes the discount away," he said.

There is also the possibility of some companies that work with the mailing companies moving to Phoenix, he said.

Chuck Zaepfel, vice president of direct mail services at AlphaGraphics, said his business will not be effected because it's a large company that can take advantage of other discounts.

Also, the company has been planning for the closure since it was first mentioned as a possibility, he said.

Zaepfel is, however, concerned about smaller businesses and, especially, nonprofit groups, he said.

"If a nonprofit has to pay more for postage, they will have less money" for their cause, he said.

U.S. Rep. Raúl Grijalva, a Tucson Democrat, introduced a bill in March that would have prohibited the Postal Service from closing or consolidating any post office or facility in a ZIP code with a high rate of population growth, as determined by the U.S. Census Bureau.

That bill would have prevented closure of the Tucson station, said a news release from Grijalva's office.

"If this is about planning for the future, let's really plan for the future instead of saving a penny today by costing ourselves a dollar tomorrow," Grijalva said in a written statement.

Other members of Congress had also been working to halt many of the closings since the Postal Service started studying the issue last year.

Earlier this month, nearly half the Senate had written letters to Donahoe asking that he hold off on closing any mail facilities until Congress could pass final postal overhaul legislation. The Senate last month passed a bill that would halt many of the closings, while the House remains stalled over a separate postal measure allowing for more aggressive cuts.

"To return to long-term profitability and financial stability while keeping mail affordable, we must match our network to the anticipated workload," Donahoe said Thursday.

Failure to do so, he stressed, would "create a fiscal hole that the Postal Service will not be able to climb out of."

The Associated Press contributed to this report. Contact Star reporter Jamar Younger at jyounger@azstarnet.com or 573-4115.