Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett and U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore have challenged the U.S. Postal Service over a list that targets five central city offices for closure in a far-ranging downsizing.
The Mid City, Parklawn, Teutonia, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Hampton post offices are among 41 in Wisconsin to be assessed, and 3,700 nationwide. To cut costs, the financially troubled postal service plans to shutter more than 10% of its retail locations. Barrett objected to the potential action in a letter sent Tuesday to Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe. Moore, a Milwaukee Democrat, sent a similar letter earlier in the month.
The five locations in Milwaukee are the only postal locations being reviewed in southeastern Wisconsin, and their closure would harm the thousands of low-income and African-American residents that use them, Barrett said. His office estimated that 162,648 residents would lose access to a post office if the five locations closed.
“It just struck us as odd that within the seven-county region, the five all slated for closure were in the heart of the city, where the population is predominantly African-American,” Barrett said.
Tim Ratliff, a spokesman for the postal service, said the number of people served by a retail outlet and the availability of alternate locations to buy stamps and conduct similar business would be part of the consideration for the closings. The demographics – income levels and race – are not part of the assessment, he said.
When Donahoe announced the plan to shutter postal outlets last month, he cited the changing habits of customers, who now buy postal products at retail stores and use the phone and computers to conduct business and communications.
Mail volume has dropped by 43.1 billion pieces annually, and customer volume at post offices dropped by 200 million visits, according to postal service statistics.
Closing the sites in her district, though, would take away services from a group of people with limited access to computers and cars, Moore said, adding that it will also cut valuable jobs.
“We’re very concerned, from an employment perspective and a customer service perspective, this is going to have a chilling effect on the African-American community,” she said. “Going back to the 19th century, the post office has been a door for African-Americans to get into public-service, entry-level jobs and be promoted to managerial positions.”
The postal service has not set a timeline for the deciding which offices to close.