YAKIMA, Wash. -- Changes will not be made to postal services, at least until November.
Postmaster General Luis Dejoy announced he is suspending changes that would have impacted lots of postal workers in Yakima and delayed your mail.
"I kinda fear for some of my employees's livelihood," said Gerrick Andrews, a postal worker at the Yakima USPS Distribution Center.
He is one of many workers sounding the alarm about drastic changes that were supposed to take place this week.
"People get their medicine through the mail, people depend on packages, whatever it might be," Andrews added.
He cares because local mail sent in and around our area gets distributed through that large facility along Washington Avenue.
Unions representing postal workers say all that mail would instead be sorted at the distribution center in Spokane.
If that happens, it could result in one or even two days of delays in mail service, and workers at the site would be forced to choose between moving or losing their job.
"The worst-case scenario, they could be forced to relocate to Spokane or Seattle or even farther away. So we just definitely want to do everything we can do avoid that," said Don Sneesby, President of the National Postal Mail Handlers Union.
His region covers all of Washington and Alaska.
Sneesby says the changes, which would have also take place at the Wenatchee distribution center, -were expected to take place as soon as this week.
In a sudden move, the Postmaster General announced he would suspend any changes to mail service, at least until after November.
It comes after mounting pressure from critics who accuse the Trump administration of trying to disrupt the process of mail-in votes.
More people are expected to vote by mail because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Despite the halt by the postmaster, workers here are afraid and convinced those changes will still happen after the November election.
A possibility the postmaster indicated, he may follow through with later this year.
"It'll definitely impact my life and my co-workers as well. I'm not sure if they're ready for it." said Andrews.
