Postal Worker Protest

MILWAUKEE (AP) Postal workers in four Wisconsin cities plan to join colleagues around the country in protesting consolidation plans.

Postal Service centers in Wausau and La Crosse will be closed at the end of March. A postal center in Madison will be shuttered in June and another one in Eau Claire will close in September. The closures will result in a loss of 143 jobs in Wisconsin.

Nationwide, 78 other locations will be closed in January. Postal workers say the closures will result in slower mail service and lower service standards. The Journal Sentinel (http://bit.ly/1tQiRbX ) says nearly 150 demonstrations are planned around the country Friday.

The Postal Service says the closures are needed because of declining mail volume which has dropped by more than half over the last decade.