SIOUX FALLS, SD (KELO) — The U.S. Postal Service’s announcement this week that some mail processing operations will remain in Sioux Falls is getting met with skepticism from the postal union.
The president of the South Dakota Postal Workers Union says the announcement is mostly just window-dressing and will not improve local mail delivery.
Earlier this year, the U.S. Postal Service announced it would be shifting local mail processing operations to Omaha, Nebraska, as part of a cost-saving plan.
But now the postal service says some mail processing operations will remain in Sioux Falls and that the downtown facility will undergo nearly $13 million in upgrades.
Local postal customers are encouraged by the decision.
But the union representing South Dakota postal workers says much of our local mail will still find its way to Omaha.
Lance Baker of Hartford is mailing model railroad parts to his nephew, impressed by the speed in which his mail is delivered.
“The service, as of late, has been phenomenal with the USPS. I mail model railroad parts out and the turnaround time across the nation has been fabulous,” Baker said.
Baker says keeping some mail processing operations in Sioux Falls is good news for customers like him.
“Whatever they can leave in locally and keep the jobs local, we gotta do it. So, I’m saying leave it here,” Baker said.
But the president of the South Dakota Postal Workers Union says delivery times will slow down because any mail processed in Sioux Falls will still go to Omaha and back again.
“You mail a letter from the station there, two blocks down the road, that’s going to get processed there locally, but it’s going to Omaha to get sorted out to come back to Sioux Falls first,” South Dakota Postal Workers President Todd West said.
The Postal Service says upgrades to the downtown post office will include a $1.25 million package sorter, plus electric vehicle charging stations and renovated bathrooms and break rooms. But West says those improvements have been long overdue.
“The people of Sioux Falls will hear that and they’ll say oh, well, everything’s going to be fine. No, it’s not. It’s going to delay your mail,” West said.
The Postal Service says the decision to leave processing operations in Sioux Falls is part of an overall national strategy to save $3 billion a year.
