11:23 AM CST on Friday, February 24, 2006

Lee Zurik / WWL-TV News Reporter

With fewer people living in the city, more than 200 Orleans Parish postal workers will soon be permanently relocated out of town, according to a document obtained by Eyewitness News, which could make mail delivery slower than it already is.

WWL-TV

Postal workers said they've been given until March 4 to relocate to another position in the state.

Two postal workers, who asked not to be identified, shared their feelings about being transferred out of New Orleans on seemingly short notice.

“Whoever thought about this at the top didn't think at all...maybe they gave it a thought for themselves, but they were thoughtless for others,” said one employee.

Their main complaint was the amount of time post office employees were given to move. A notification letter to one employee, dated February 9, was actually delivered in the mail Wednesday, giving her less than two weeks to move to a new town and job.

“All we have is a place where we work. Everything else: your family support system, who helps you get your kids from school, what school your kids will go to. That is not known. And we have less than eight days to get all of that straight, notwithstanding a place to live. It’s not enough time,” said a second employee.

One worker, a single mother, who complained about unreasonable expectations to a postal service counselor, was told to leave her child with a friend while she relocated.

The current reassignment date for those post office employees was March 4, but Dave Lewin, a post office spokesman, said that date was not written in stone.

“If they do have issues and they don’t think that they can meet the required relocation that we’ve made available to them and reassignment to another area for work, we will work with them and we will attempt to resolve that issue,” Lewin said.

The postal service said some letter carriers did ask to be reassigned out of town, but did not say why employees got less than a month's notice.

Some letter carriers said another issue could be even slower mail delivery.

“We're suffering and the city of New Orleans is going to suffer with mail service,” said a postal worker.

But postal service officials said they believe fewer letter carriers will not lead to slower service.

Additionally, many mail processors would also be reassigned next month, but the post office did not supply Eyewitness News with any other specifics.