The U.S. Postal Service can’t keep up with the increase in holiday deliveries
Written by Victoria Scialfa on December 23, 2020
The U.S. Postal Service can’t keep up with the increase in holiday deliveries
By Haley O’Brien
December 23, 2020
Christmas cards and presents by mail may arrive late this year because the U.S. Postal Service is overwhelmed.
Postal workers in the Lehigh Valley and beyond are struggling to keep up with the influx of mail and a decrease in staff.
Andy Kubat, President of the Lehigh Valley American Postal Workers Union, says about 15 employees in the area contracted COVID-19 in the last month. A quarantine for them and anyone they’ve had close contact with can deplete staff.
Kubat says not enough seasonal employees were hired, and that these cuts were made by Postmaster General Louis DeJoy.
“This is not a local issue or a state issue, this is a headquarters issue. I believe that they dropped the ball on this and they did not prepare well enough for this holiday season.”
Kubat says employees are working 12 hours a day every day, and the heavy workload makes it hard to retain workers, too.
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