138 postal employees in Bakersfield may lose their jobs

Story by Eyewitness News reporter Jose Gaspar

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The U.S. Postal Service held a public meeting Wednesday on why it proposes to close the processing and distribution center on Pegasus Drive.

"We're looking at a savings of almost $10 million for the year," said James Wigdel, spokesman for USPS.

It's no secret the Postal Service has been losing billions of dollars over the year, as mail volume has declined by more than 43 billion pieces. It claims operating costs must be reduced by $20 billion by 2015 in order to return to profitability.

Wigdel said results of a study support the case for closing the Bakersfield facility and moving operations to Santa Clarita.?

"Santa Clarita is a very, very large plant with a lot of capacity, and Bakersfield is much smaller," said Wigdel.

But many at the public meeting were clearly convinced that closing the Bakersfield site is unnecessary.

"What they didn't tell you is that there are other avenues to save the Postal Service money," said Alfred Paredez, president of American Postal Workers Union Local 417.

City Councilman Russell Johnson spoke against the closure. He said Bakersfield will continue to experience growth.

The Bakersfield Processing and Distribution Center has 289 employees. Should the closure happen, 138 would lose their jobs and the rest would be offered jobs either in Santa Clarita or elsewhere, said Wigdel.

But the plan to shutter all 252 proposed sites is dependent on whether postal officials can cut overnight delivery for local mail. And that decision won't be made until sometime in 2012.

Source: http://oildale.bakersfieldnow.com/news/business/72901-138-postal-employees-bakersfield-may-lose-their-jobs

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