COBLE SAYS POSTAL SERVICE AGREES TO RESTORE TIME TO DOWNTOWN PINEHURST POST OFFICE
COBLE SAYS POSTAL SERVICE AGREES TO RESTORE TIME TO DOWNTOWN PINEHURST POST OFFICE
Washington,
Mar 30 -
U.S. Rep. Howard Coble (R-NC), who had recently met with a group of citizens concerned about the cutback in hours at Pinehurst’s downtown post office, announced today that additional time has been restored to the facility’s operating schedule. Congressman Coble said today that he has just been informed by the U.S. Postal Service that beginning Monday, April 13, the village’s post office will be open for business Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. until 2:30 p.m.
“I want to thank David Fields, District Manager for the mid-Carolinas Region in Charlotte, for listening to our arguments and concerns,” Rep. Coble stated. “The citizens with whom I met made a compelling case for keeping the downtown Pinehurst post office open for longer hours, and I shared those sentiments with David and his outstanding team. I appreciate the fact that the U.S. Postal Service listened and acted positively on our concerns. In light of the historic cutbacks that the Postal Service just announced, I am truly thankful to them for agreeing to extend the operating hours at this well-used post office in downtown Pinehurst.”
Rep. Coble noted that today’s good news was well received in light of the recent announcement by the U.S. Postal Service to close six of its 80 regional offices, eliminate 1,400 positions at 400 facilities around the country, offer early retirement to 150,000 postal employees, and look for systemwide savings of more than $100 million. In the past year the Postal Service has taken very aggressive cost-cutting actions, including:
§ Cutting 50 million workhours;
§ Halting construction of new postal facilities;
§ Negotiating an agreement with the National Association of Letter Carriers that adjusts letter carrier routes to reflect diminished volume;
§ Freezing salaries of all Postal Service officers and executives;
§ Instituting a nationwide hiring freeze;
§ Reducing authorized staffing levels at postal headquarters and area offices by at least 15 percent;
§ Selling unused and under-utilized postal facilities;
§ Adjusting Post Office hours to better reflect customer use; and,
§ Consolidating mail processing operations.
Congressman Coble said the current hours of 10:30 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. did not afford the business community enough time to conduct its business, and he hopes the new hours of 10 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. will be a winning solution for both those who use the Pinehurst facility and the Postal Service that operates it. More than 800 residents signed a petition requesting additional hours at the downtown post office.
