Postal worker union leaders are urging communities to help save 25 California post office locations that have suspended operations and could close permanently.

More than 414 locations nationwide are currently on the U.S. Postal Service suspension list, and hundreds more have closed in recent years.

Sara Wilson, president of American Postal Workers Union Local 960, said the Postal Service has reopened multiple locations after communities campaigned to keep them.

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“As of today, I can smile,” Wilson said. “The two offices that were about to lose their lease, Shingletown and Shasta, have a brand new lease. They are safe. On the 10th of October, the Klamath River Post Office reopened.”

USPS guidelines say local post offices may suspend operations because of a natural disaster, severe building damage, staffing shortages or lease problems. The agency says on its website that its goal is to either reopen or close suspended locations within 180 to 280 days.

APWU Executive Vice President Debby Szeredy said the closures cost jobs, threaten the agency’s mission to provide universal mail service, and hurt local businesses and customers who must drive farther for service.

“They're destroying our democracy. They're destroying our service,” Szeredy said. “A lot of our customers and community members, they don't realize that they have the right to have a voice.”

The union’s website, APWU.com/no-more-closures, provides resources for communities that want to fight post office closures in their area.