Mail carriers in Elyria, facing delayed start times beginning next month due to staffing shortages, are expressing concerns over safety and increased workloads.
ELYRIA, Ohio — Mail carriers in Elyria say upcoming changes to their work schedules will compromise their safety and the timeliness of mail delivery in the city.
Beginning March 7, the U.S. Postal Service will push back letter carriers’ start times, according to David Lozano, president of National Association of Letter Carriers Local 196.
“We were informed, at a labor management meeting, that beginning March 7 they were going to move our starting times to 9 in the morning — which is probably the latest we’ve ever started,” Lozano told 3News.
Lozano says the later start times will force carriers to stay out longer and potentially deliver mail after dark. He attributes the change to a staffing shortage among postal clerks, who sort mail in the early morning hours before carriers begin their routes.
The schedule changes come as the workload for mail carriers has also increased. Lozano says USPS eliminated four delivery routes in Elyria, forcing remaining carriers to absorb a larger workload and extend their days well beyond eight hours.
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