Mayor visits postal centers to thank staff for calmness

Bloomington Mayor John Fernandez visited both postal service offices in the city Friday to thank postal service workers for their continued work and to let them know that he personally appreciates and understands the anxiety that now goes along with their jobs. Fernandez also reassured the public of the safety of Indiana mail facilities.\n"Who would have thought a few months ago that postal workers would be on the front lines of an attack on America," Fernandez said to a group of postal workers at Woodbridge Post Office Station. "I want to thank you for coming to work every day, putting aside your fears and keeping the postal service going."\nJennifer King, president of the local American Postal Workers Union, Larry Jacobs, postmaster, and Bob McCauley, general manager of customer service at the Woodbridge branch, accompanied Fernandez on his tour.\nIn an interview with Jacobs, Fernandez assured the public, "the mail of Indiana is very safe at this time." \nUnited States Postal Service delivers 208 billion parcels of mail each year. In order to maintain this high level of productivity from his workers, Jacobs gathers the postal workers, sometimes three times daily, to keep them informed of the latest breaking news of anthrax and educate them on safety precautions.\nThe United States Postal Service has adopted recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control to ensure the safety of postal workers while handling mail. Workers are advised to wear Nitrol rubber gloves and ventilation masks. \n"Our general focus has shifted towards the side of caution and the possibility of what could happen," Jacobs said.