In a letter from John Dockins, USPS Manager, Contract Administration to APWU President William Burrus:
Fiscal year 2009 has been extremely challenging for the Postal Service and its employees As you know, the Postal Service has responded to dramatic decreases in mail volume, but more needs to be done, We appreciate all that you have contributed to the success of the response. Like mail volume,window transactions at our retail units have substantially declined. The Postal Service is considering consolidating operations in our larger stations and branches. This effort could include possible termination of leases and/or movement of operations from Postal Service-owned facilities. As a consequence, employees working in those retail/delivery facilities may be reassigned to other retail/delivery units, and/or other facilities, or other duties in accordance with the relevant provisions of the applicable collective bargaining agreements.
District Managers will be adding a focus to the discontinuance of operations by reviewing all classified stations and branches in Level 24 and above post offices (see enclosure) These offices have experienced serious volume, transaction, and revenue declines. The Postal Service will be using the current procedures that are in place for stUdying the activities of an office for possible discontinuance. Many factors including impact on employees, service standards, cost savinqs, customer access, environmental impact, real estate values, and long-term needs of the service would be taken into account during the reviews. We would expect these local manager reviews to result in a significant increase in the number of lease terminations and/or facility disposals. Until the process is initiated and the reviews are completed, we will not know which leases or owned facilities, if any, will be terminated or sold, or the impact on employees.