Two East River postal centers may close, which would mean a meaningful loss of jobs and potential delays.
Advocates for keeping the Huron and Sioux Falls centers open say the public wasn’t given enough time to weigh in.
The USPS says it’s considering shifting the distribution done at the South Dakota facilities to Fargo, North Dakota and Omaha, Nebraska.
Labor advocates and former lawmakers are concerned with the short window on public comment offered by USPS.
Former Democratic state Sen. Frank Kloucek said it’s a failure of communication.
“The press put out by the Post Office was dismal at best, very few people caught it," Kloucek said. "The meeting was (March 13) and they’re going to close the public comment period just 15 days later after they’ve had the public meeting to actually explain what’s going on.”
That means the public comment period closed Thursday, March 28.
Kloucek said this is especially troubling to current staff.
“They’ll be offered similar jobs, but it may involve moving to Omaha or Fargo to keep their same level of job," Kloucek said. "So, there is potential loss of jobs regardless of how they present it.”
For the consumer, that could also mean worse service.
“That’s not a potential, that’s a given," Kloucek said. "The mail network is vital to distribution to the health aspect when they send samples in, science, the businesses that depend on it just from public dissemination of information.”
The local chapter of the AFL-CIO are also opposed to the potential closure and are advocating for more time for public comment from the USPS.