Ruralinfo.net

Employees of the U.S. Postal Service in Missoula have been dealing with serious issues this year, including not getting paychecks on time, inadequate staffing levels that essentially force many to work six or more days a week, poor workplace morale, absence requests being denied and high staff turnover at both the administrative and lower levels. … Read more

Last month — as Fox 13 reported — residents in San Juan County began complaining that Amazon packages were causing a major backup at post offices and delaying regular mail delivery. People reported going days without receiving some bills, letters, and packages. And they weren’t alone — around the same time in November, at a post office … Read more

BEMIDJI — A U.S. Postal Service official says mail is being delivered daily in Bemidji and elsewhere and blamed media misinformation for misconceptions about package delivery and working conditions for postal carriers. The Tuesday, Dec. 5, response comes after a November letter from U.S. Sen. Tina Smith to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, demanding answers to problems identified … Read more

BEMIDJI — Dennis Nelson had wanted to see the fight for better working conditions at the Bemidji Post Office to the end, but after weeks of arduous 12-hour shifts and an increasingly toxic and hostile work environment, even he’s hit a breaking point. Nelson, who helped organize the initial picket by rural carriers in November that led … Read more

Directive comes after Minn. postal workers protested the heavy workloads caused by the sudden arrival of thousands of Amazon packages Mail carriers in a rural Minnesota post office overwhelmed by Amazon packages say they’ve been warned not to use the word “Amazon,” including when customers ask why the mail is delayed. “We are not to … Read more

BEMIDJI, Minn. — When Delbert Mikelson’s mail started showing up late — and sometimes not showing up at all — he blamed it on the opening of deer season. “I thought my carrier was out hunting,” Mikelson said over a breakfast of eggs and pancakes at Raphael’s Bakery Cafe in downtown Bemidji. But it wasn’t the … Read more

A federal ethics document for USPS employees was revised recently for the first time since its introduction in 1995. The revisions took effect Sept. 7. Many guidelines in the Supplemental Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the United States Postal Service address outside employment and business activities. Some rules have been eased. Employees may now: • … Read more

BEMIDJI — Used to early mornings, rural mail carriers stood outside of the Bemidji Post Office before sunrise Monday and Tuesday carrying signs and protesting what they describe as unsustainable working conditions and the prioritization of Amazon deliveries over actual mail. “We’re being forced to work 12-hour days, six days a week. All of our … Read more