Metro Atlanta postal center built to make things easier could be to blame for major delays

PALMETTO, Ga. — A new U.S. Postal Service facility that was built to make things more efficient is being blamed for causing major mail issues.

NewsChopper 2 flew over the Regional Postal Distribution Center in Palmetto, Ga. on Tuesday.

The facility is supposed to constantly have trucks moving in and out. But NewsChopper 2 and NewsDrone 2 both got a bird’s eye view of just how many trucks were sitting still at the facility, and it was dozens.

Each of those trucks is full of mail that is meant to be taken to your home.

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Channel 2′s Tyisha Fernandes spoke with a Postal Workers Union president, who said he knows exactly what the problem is and what it will take to keep drivers moving.

“They’re supposed to stay there for 30 minutes and be gone, they’re staying there for four hours. So when they go there, it pretty much ends their route,” Mitchell Taylor, President of the American Postal Workers Union.

He says all the major problems in metro Atlanta stem from the new facility that opened three weeks ago.

“What they did was they moved machines and mail and a lot of operations down to the RPDC...it left a void where they’re saying we don’t need these people here, we need to move them elsewhere,” he explained. “You would think that would make it more efficient. The void that they left behind was so great, that they don’t have enough people left behind to do the mail working the mail.”

He said supervisors had to step in, but they’re not used to doing certain jobs and are slowing down operations.

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Fernandes spoke to several frustrated customers who say they have been waiting weeks and months for their mail. They’re being told to call a customer service number, but they never get a person on the phone.

She also tried calling several times and couldn’t get anyone on the phone either.

Taylor said the new facility has nearly 200 dock doors to get trucks in and out quickly, but it’s still not enough.

“We never thought that would be up to capacity, but every day all the dock doors are full and you still can’t get trucks in or out,” he said.

Palmetto police had an issue with the facility last week when the trucks were parked out on the road obstructing traffic, but worked out a traffic plan with the postal service so they didn’t have to ticket anyone.

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