Postal workers are trying to raise public awareness of a U.S. Postal Service study that may shift some Helena mail operations to Great Falls.

They will picket, distribute leaflets and hold a press conference Wednesday in opposition to the proposed consolidation.

The local leader of the postal workers' union on Thursday said the move would negatively affect service to customers here, hurt business owners, take jobs out of the community and eliminate the Queen City's postmark.

The Postal Service's decision on whether it will move outgoing mail processing from Helena to Great Falls won't be made until early next year, a spokesman said. If the consolidation is approved, mail sent within the greater Helena area would travel up Interstate 15 before returning to the Helena post office.

Mail leaving the city for other destinations also would be processed in Great Falls.

Western region spokesman Al DeSarro, in an interview from Denver, said the change wouldn't be made if it reduced service. Helena is among 40 communities nationwide being considered for consolidation.

"The reason the Postal Service is studying these sites is mainly for efficiency," he said. "The objective is to turn that mail around and get it back there ... with no impact or minimal impact on service."

American Postal Workers Union Local 649 President Janet Kosnik said she doesn't believe it's possible to shift outgoing mail sorting operations to Great Falls without reducing service in Helena.

She believes mail would have to be collected earlier here and other post offices in the greater Helena area.

"Just think about mailing a letter in Helena to someone in Helena (now)," Kosnik said. "It stays right here, it gets processed here, it gets out on the street the next day."

Add in a more than 170-mile round trip, and the proposal doesn't add up in her mind.

Though the proposal may shift some jobs to Great Falls, Kosnik said the Postal Service may have to hire more employees there to handle the increased workload. Those costs, along with the cost to transport mail to Great Falls and back again, may not result in significant savings, she said.

DeSarro said the agency's study of the proposal, set to be complete in the next three or four months, will include all factors, including transportation costs and service levels to Helena. The Postal Service hasn't yet determined the amount of possible savings, he said.

Kosnik said the post office here now guarantees next-day service to Billings. The facility in Great Falls has two-day service to Montana's largest city.

Businesses in Helena may suffer with delays to advertising mailings, she said, and the local economy will lose paying customers if jobs are shifted to Great Falls.

"We're really looking across the board to see how we can keep the cost of mail as low as we can," while providing good customer service, he said.

The city was selected because of its proximity to a larger facility with more advanced equipment, he said.

The main post office, on N. Harris Avenue, handles more than 100,000 pieces of mail originating in Helena or 11 smaller post offices each day, DeSarro said. The facility daily handles about twice that amount in mail destined for addresses with ZIP codes beginning with 596, he said. Sorting operations for mail coming into the Helena area from outside sources would not be changed, he said.

Outlying facilities will suffer even more, Kosnik said. Mail picked up from those locations may not leave Helena the same day, she said.

U.S. Sen. Max Baucus, the Lewis and Clark County Commission and other officials and organizations have spoken out against the proposed move, Kosnik said.

The union is telling Helenans to call the Save Our Service Campaign Hotline at 1-877-7OURMAIL to learn more about its fight against consolidation.

Read more about this issue on the inKlined blog at www.helenair.com/blog/

inklined.

Larry Kline can be reached at 447-4075 or larry.kline@helenair.com