The leadership of the American Postal Workers Union, on the other hand, painted a different picture. The union, representing more than 220,000 USPS workers and retirees and 2,000 private sector postal employees, plans a series of protests today at postal facilities and congressional offices in seven locations about staffing shortages and service failures.
“New hires at the USPS are often treated poorly and many fail to receive proper training, resulting in high turnover,” said APWU president Mark Dimondstein in a statement. “Combine this with the pressures of short staffing, a high volume of mail and packages and abusive treatment by managers, and you have a toxic work environment at many postal facilities and a perfect recipe for mail being delayed.”
Consumer protests over USPS delivery delays and service cancellations have cropped up in places like Minnesota, Kansas and Colorado, prompting action from some members of Congress. USPS officials say they’re aware and working to address the issues.