Mail delivery has been sporadic for many Bellingham residents. Here’s what’s going on
Staffing shortages continue to plague the U.S. Postal Service, leading to sporadic deliveries in Bellingham and Whatcom County during the holiday season.
Many Bellingham residents have discussed lost packages and long lines at local post offices on social media and in phone calls and emails to The Bellingham Herald.
On social media sites with neighborhood groups like Nextdoor and Facebook, dozens of residents have lamented missed court notices, late presents, delayed paychecks and prescriptions that haven’t arrived.
Alabama Hill resident Chet Cory told The Herald in an email that his neighbor waited in line for two hours to pick up packages at the Orleans Street post office this week.
“I understand weather issues, but on Ontario Street we haven’t had mail since (Dec. 16 or 17) I think,” Cory said Thursday, Dec. 29.
“I have Informed Delivery so I know what mail is coming. My mail expected on December 19th has yet to arrive,” he said.
Postal Service spokeswoman Lecia Hall told The Herald that the winter holidays and staffing shortages were to blame for slow service.
“We are just coming off our peak season for mail. Our networks, post offices and routes were naturally very busy. To meet the daily challenges, we flexed every available resource, including borrowing employees from facilities across the state to match the workload to continue to provide the service our customers deserve,” Hall said in an email.
“Our workforce, like others, is not immune to nationwide staffing challenges, but the Postal Service is aggressively hiring carriers and clerks to stabilize our workforce,” Hall said.
“We appreciate the patience of our customers and the efforts of employees as conditions change on a day-to-day basis. We apologize to our customers for the inconsistent service and we pledge to do better,” she said.
Whatcom County residents have been calling the offices of U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen, who represents Whatcom County and the 2nd Congressional District, a Larsen aide told The Herald.
Larsen, D-Everett, and his House colleague Suzan DeBene, a Democrat who represents the 1st Congressional District, wrote Postmaster General Louis DeJoy about their concerns over sloppy mail service in July.
“We’ve heard that the one-year retention rate for USPS employees for our region may be as low as 34 percent. While we understand that the entire country is grappling with workforce shortages, we believe there are steps USPS can take in the short-term to boost hiring, training, and retention. We deeply appreciate and commend the great work of the USPS employees who are working tirelessly amid these challenging conditions and urge the agency to do more to support these workers,” the lawmakers wrote.
This story was originally published January 2, 2023 at 5:00 AM.
