“For the eight years that she was in school, I mailed packages to her every two weeks,” Alonzo said.
She is one of 121,000 U.S. Postal Service employees working beyond retirement eligibility.
The USPS Office of Inspector General shows 23% of all postal employees are now eligible to retire.
The KVUE Defenders previously showed you long lines inside an Austin post office. People who had broken mailboxes waited to get help at the office window. A manager said the post office was short staffed.
“Our 10-year plan is empowerment and the focus on the employee,” said Douglas Watson, an Austin postmaster.
He hired nearly 200 employees in the first half of 2022. Seventy positions were still open as of June 14.
“We’re looking for city carrier assistants, rural carrier associates and assistant rural carriers. We do have some postal support employees for working in the lobbies and working on our delivery units, helping to sort packages and mail for delivery,” Watson said.
