New postal facility is greeted with optimism, frustration
New postal facility is greeted with optimism, frustration
By Zack Anchors
Staff writer
The United Postal Service’s new $82 million processing and distribution center (PDC) in Scarborough – a 243,364 square foot building on a 52-acre-site – is so big that supervisors there ride giant tricycles to get from one end of the building to the other.
The new facility is a dramatic change from the old PDC in the cramped quarters of a 75-year-old, 186,584 square foot brick building on Forest Avenue in Portland. Postal officials say their new site will lead to improved efficiency, better working conditions and overall enhanced services for Mainers.
“We have 84 docks here,” said Postal Service spokesperson Leanne Payeur, leading a tour of the area where mail enters the building. “At the old facility we had 13 docks in operation out of 49… at night this place is hopping.”
But despite the state of the art equipment filling the new PDC, not all postal employees are satisfied with the changes brought by the new building. Scott Adams, a Scarborough resident who represents around 700 postal workers as president of branch 458 of the American Postal Workers Union, says the new facility is understaffed and the workplace environment is poor.
“We knew that when they built this facility there would be downsizing due to technological mechanization,” said Adams. “We accepted that. It was when they kept going beyond what they said they were going to go – that was when we said, ‘That’s wrong.’”
While there were around 900 employees working at the Portland PDC, there are now only 667 working at the Scarborough PDC, according to Payeur.
“Some workers voluntarily retired and others changed assignments, but no employment was lost,” said Payeur.
Many employees were reassigned to new night shifts and others took on jobs outside of the new facility such as mail carrier positions. Adams said his real concern, though, is that there is not enough employees working at the facility.
“When we don’t even have the people to staff the machines and managers are having to work them, then there’s a problem,” he said.
Adams said mail service has been detrimentally effected by what he claims are staff shortages. He said it has been taking three or four days for some mail to be delivered that should be delivered in one day.
Another issue that the local APWU has raised is the failure of the Postal Service to hire a workplace environment improvement analyst (WEIA), a position that has been vacant for a year, said Adams. The WEIA is supposed to work with workers and management to ensure that a positive workplace environment is attained.
With a host of dignitaries including Senators Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins planning to attend the PDC’s grand opening last week, Adams said APWU saw an opportunity to get attention from the postal management they had not been able to achieve through talking.
“We didn’t see a reason to celebrate, so we didn’t,” Adams said. “And we decided to picket instead.”
While United States Postmaster General John Potter and other postal officials praised the new facility and the people who worked there, members of the American Postal Workers Union gathered in the rain outside to protest. The opening, which included a performance by a local jazz band, a keynote address by Potter and a ceremonial presentation of colors by the Maine Air National Guard, was attended by hundreds of postal employees as well as town officials and business leaders such as Town Manager Ron Owens, a few Scarborough town councilors and Kevin Freeman, president of the Scarborough Community Chamber.
But Senators Snowe and Collins, who were scheduled to give speeches at the event as well as Rep. Tom Allen, chose not to cross the picket lines after speaking with the union members outside. Hours later they issued a letter to Potter and the press calling for the staffing issues to be resolved.
Adams said the attention from legislators and the media has incited management to consider addressing the APWU’s complaints. He is optimistic the issues will be resolved.
“I think that between the letters and the pickets, the United States Postmaster said, ‘fix it,’” said Adams.
By Zack Anchors
Staff writer
The United Postal Service’s new $82 million processing and distribution center (PDC) in Scarborough – a 243,364 square foot building on a 52-acre-site – is so big that supervisors there ride giant tricycles to get from one end of the building to the other.
The new facility is a dramatic change from the old PDC in the cramped quarters of a 75-year-old, 186,584 square foot brick building on Forest Avenue in Portland. Postal officials say their new site will lead to improved efficiency, better working conditions and overall enhanced services for Mainers.
“We have 84 docks here,” said Postal Service spokesperson Leanne Payeur, leading a tour of the area where mail enters the building. “At the old facility we had 13 docks in operation out of 49… at night this place is hopping.”
But despite the state of the art equipment filling the new PDC, not all postal employees are satisfied with the changes brought by the new building. Scott Adams, a Scarborough resident who represents around 700 postal workers as president of branch 458 of the American Postal Workers Union, says the new facility is understaffed and the workplace environment is poor.
“We knew that when they built this facility there would be downsizing due to technological mechanization,” said Adams. “We accepted that. It was when they kept going beyond what they said they were going to go – that was when we said, ‘That’s wrong.’”
While there were around 900 employees working at the Portland PDC, there are now only 667 working at the Scarborough PDC, according to Payeur.
“Some workers voluntarily retired and others changed assignments, but no employment was lost,” said Payeur.
Many employees were reassigned to new night shifts and others took on jobs outside of the new facility such as mail carrier positions. Adams said his real concern, though, is that there is not enough employees working at the facility.
“When we don’t even have the people to staff the machines and managers are having to work them, then there’s a problem,” he said.
Adams said mail service has been detrimentally effected by what he claims are staff shortages. He said it has been taking three or four days for some mail to be delivered that should be delivered in one day.
Another issue that the local APWU has raised is the failure of the Postal Service to hire a workplace environment improvement analyst (WEIA), a position that has been vacant for a year, said Adams. The WEIA is supposed to work with workers and management to ensure that a positive workplace environment is attained.
With a host of dignitaries including Senators Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins planning to attend the PDC’s grand opening last week, Adams said APWU saw an opportunity to get attention from the postal management they had not been able to achieve through talking.
“We didn’t see a reason to celebrate, so we didn’t,” Adams said. “And we decided to picket instead.”
While United States Postmaster General John Potter and other postal officials praised the new facility and the people who worked there, members of the American Postal Workers Union gathered in the rain outside to protest. The opening, which included a performance by a local jazz band, a keynote address by Potter and a ceremonial presentation of colors by the Maine Air National Guard, was attended by hundreds of postal employees as well as town officials and business leaders such as Town Manager Ron Owens, a few Scarborough town councilors and Kevin Freeman, president of the Scarborough Community Chamber.
But Senators Snowe and Collins, who were scheduled to give speeches at the event as well as Rep. Tom Allen, chose not to cross the picket lines after speaking with the union members outside. Hours later they issued a letter to Potter and the press calling for the staffing issues to be resolved.
Adams said the attention from legislators and the media has incited management to consider addressing the APWU’s complaints. He is optimistic the issues will be resolved.
“I think that between the letters and the pickets, the United States Postmaster said, ‘fix it,’” said Adams.
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