Hundreds of local post office workers are hoping they can keep their jobs in 2012. Protesters attempted to hold their ground outside the mail processing center on Harrison Ave. Saturday afternoon.

The cash strapped agency is set to lose a record $14.1 billion next year and had plans to close nine Illinois processing centers, including one in Rockford which employs nearly 200 workers.

The U.S. Postal Service recently agreed to delay its planned closures until May. That should give congress enough time to make major changes to the way the facility operates.

"These people are our neighbors and they are a part of our church, they are customers in our local businesses and it's a shame that congress has control of the purse strings", says Rockford resident Christy Gutowski.

If the facilities close, more than 100,000 jobs would be lost.