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Standby postal workers could make $1.7 million

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October 5th, 2011 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Forty postal workers in Sioux City could still collect a total of over $1.7 million a year in salaries even though their office recently closed. The U.S. Postal Service mail-processing facility closed on Friday. But officials agreed to a four-year union contract with those workers in May. The Des Moines Register reports the total average costs of those 40 standby employees could tops $2.88 million a year once benefits are factored in. That number slightly exceeds the estimated $2.8 million annual savings from merging the center’s functions with one in Sioux Falls, S.D. Postal spokesman Richard Watkins says closing the facility still makes sense financially. That’s because it’s likely the majority of the 40 standby employees will be relocated to other postal jobs.