Thurston mail now sent to Tacoma - The Olympian

Starting Monday night, Thurston County first-class mail, or stamped letters and postcards with a zip code beginning with 985, goes to Tacoma for processing before returning to South Sound for delivery.

Olympia and Tacoma also will share a joint postmark, but that change is not expected until early next week, according to Postal Service spokesman Ernie Swanson.

The Postal Service is waiting on some equipment from Virginia that will imprint an Olympia/Tacoma postmark on first-class mail, he said.

As for any delays in mail service created by the consolidation plan, Swanson was upbeat about the transition while local union officials were more cautious.

Clint Burelson, president of the American Postal Workers Union's Olympia local, claims the Tacoma plant is understaffed and could have difficulties getting the mail out on time.

Once mail in the 985 zip code area has been collected, it must leave the Tumwater mail plant for Tacoma no later than 7:40 p.m., and then must return to Tumwater by 2:10 a.m., according to Swanson.