The head of the union representing rural mail carriers nationwide says the number of unfilled positions at the U.S. Postal Service is at an all-time high and low wages are the main culprit.
“It’s the worst I’ve ever seen in my career,” said Don Maston, the president of the National Rural Letter Carriers’ Association, when asked about the number of open jobs. “They’re just not paying enough money. It’s by far our No. 1 issue.”
Maston said that with the challenging labor market that the country is in right now, employees are incentivized to pick and choose which job suits them best.
“(The USPS) is not paying what it needs to be and rural carrier associates are getting worked to death,” he explained. “Management is hard on them, they’re not getting the treatment we believe they deserve. So they just quit. It’s the worst staffing shortage we’ve ever had in the rural craft and frankly it’s going to take the Postal Service paying higher wages to make the job attractive and get quality applicants to come into work.”