Rogue Valley postal workers will hold a rally next week to raise awareness about the consolidation of some mail services up to Portland ahead of the November election.
The consolidation of some mail sorting processes was done earlier this year in Medford and Eugene as a way to save the U.S. Postal Service money. The Southern Oregon Local American Postal Workers Union, #342 is hoping those changes can be reversed before the November election.
Part of the consolidation included removing Medford’s postmarking machine, according to Union President Jeremy Schilling. Now mail, including vote-by-mail ballots, is sent to Portland to be postmarked. That’s led to worries about ballots not being counted in time, although USPS has said the change will not affect mail services.
“The U.S. Postal Service is fully committed to the secure, timely delivery of the nation’s Election Mail. The Postal Service employs a robust and proven process to ensure proper handling and delivery of all Election Mail, including ballots,” Kim Frum, a strategic communications specialist with the USPS, said in a statement. “As in previous elections, we will deploy longstanding processes and procedures, as well as allocating additional resources, including, but not limited to, expanded processing procedures, extra transportation, extra delivery and collection trips, daily all-clears and overtime, to ensure that Election Mail reaches its intended destination in a timely manner.”
Schilling is optimistic that the consolidation process can be undone.
