For the past two weeks, New Paltz residents have been grumbling about unexpected closures of the local post office, during posted business hours.
Users of Facebook first vented their frustration when one member of a New Paltz group on the site posted a picture of the gate down, and adorned with a sign asserting that the closure was due to internet issues. Some residents have been taking their business to Gardiner or Rosendale, but those who have post office boxes don’t have that option.
On August 20, a supervisor at the New Paltz branch who declined to provide a name other than Damian asserted that the closures are due to being short-staffed. “We should be fully staffed by Christmas,” Damian said during the interview. No information about the alleged internet issues was provided at that time.
While the United States Postal Services’ inspector general has warned about an upcoming wave of retirements nationwide, due to the large number of workers who are or soon will be eligible to collect a full pension, staffing on whole is a different issue. In a report that came out earlier this month, the inspector general found that hiring is on track. “Despite a tight U.S. labor market, the postal service did not experience a substantial surplus or shortage of career employees in any craft in FY 2023. However, some districts and divisions bucked the trend.”
Up until 1970, mail delivery was a department of the federal government. The semi-private United States Postal Service became the successor entity at that time; members of congress made the change. Since then, it’s been headed by a postmaster general who must balance the public good of delivering mail with the push to make a profit. The service also has unique expenses, including one that’s been highly publicized: the requirement to pre-fund retiree medical promises. That’s in place because, unlike the leaders of a wholly private company, those promises cannot be reneged upon without an act of congress.
One of the impacts is junk mail, which reached an estimated 100 billion pieces in 2018. The pressure to be competitive has also resulted in a larger proportion of packages shipped through the mail than ever before. Package handling takes more humans and more vehicles to execute. Local carriers have reported about being regularly pulled from their routes to deliver packages, or having to deliver multiple routes of regular mail.
Damian suggested that this shortage is mirrored behind the counter, and asserted that it is challenging to hire individuals who do not prefer to work from home. The supervisor urged local patrons to have patience as the shortfall is addressed, and reiterated that it should be resolved before the holiday package rush.
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