RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — Mounting mail problems are not only impacting residents — mail carriers say they are experiencing problems of their own.
8News spoke with Ritchie Todd, a United States Postal Service mail carrier who has worked in the field for nearly a decade. Throughout that time, he says the industry has changed but not always for the better.
While being hands-on is part of the job, Todd said long hours and heavy workloads have only gotten worse.
“Usually, it gets heavy at Christmas, and it dies down after New Year’s and things are back to normal,” Todd said. “This is still going on. It’s like it’s still Christmas in there.”
Todd says the recent exposure of operational problems at the regional facility in Henrico County has contributed to this.
“We’ve had carriers like consistently going over 12 hours working,” said Todd.
Longer shifts only add to the already physically demanding job, in turn impacting the health and well-being of carriers like Todd.
“I’ve torn ligaments in my ankle in the past,” said Todd. “I’ve injured my knee, I’ve injured my back, I’ve injured my arm.”
The United States Postal Service says it’s seen a 73% increase in arrests for mail carrier robberies across the country and 5,500 reports of mail thefts and other violent crimes. These alarming statistics prompted a nationwide campaign to to protect postal employees called Project Safe Delivery.
