It's not just Williston. You can thank Louis DeJoy, the orange man for appointing him, and the decades of Republicans in Congress trying to privatize the post office by saddling it with debt. This has been their goal for years and it's now really affecting on the ground deliveries.

Exactly. It is shameful. Don't forget that DeJoy owns a business that would profit considerably from USPS privatization.

The article below was recently published in VT Digger about post office problems although this one is limited to Hinesburg.

Hinesburg residents and officials frustrated by mail delivery delays

https://vtdigger.org/2023/01/17/hinesburg-residents-and-officials-frustrated-by-mail-delivery-delays/

The new hotel compromised the space behind the post office so trucks can’t get in and out. The area will be fixed but it will take time (about 6 months). Essex is going to pick up Williston’s delivery service in the meantime.

Oh wow. Sounds like someone planned very poorly. That must be so frustrating for the mail people

We've missed a day here and there down here in Williamstown. All due, it appears, to not being able to hire enough staff and then folks getting sick.

Yeah, I was told a while ago that they just don’t have enough people to deliver the mail or sort it I guess. I had been waiting on a package that said it was out for delivery for a full week and I was sure they lost it but they just didn’t have anyone to deliver it.

I work for usps and this is so far off base, but not unexpected considering the demographic of this area.. That really has nothing to do with what's happening, especially at the local office level. His changes are logistical, like how the trucks and plants operate and move mail/packages. Those changes are actually legitimate and bringing it up to a more modern standard.

the problems our offices are facing are severe employee shortages and regional management ineptitude, compounded by the increasing Amazon parcel volume.

Dejoy has nothijng to do with nobody applying to work, nor does he have direct involvement in the local and regional management failures to balance the work load and avoid overworking an underemployed workforce.

Down voting for what? Someone who has actually worked in the very office you're talking about tells you what's going on and you don't want to accept it?

Fuck off nazi!

So mothballing sorting machines didn’t effect efficiency?

Those machines were slated to be decommissioned before he even was appointed. The media clearly did a good job of painting it all as a conspiracy.

I didn't say anything about DeJoy, I asked about efficiency. I'm about fixing the problem, not assigning blame.

Yup. I live north of smuggs….a whole town of twenty something’s who don’t want to work.

Reason and facts that don’t agree with the narrative = downvotes. Simple equation friend.

I’m in the Saint Albans/Swanton area. I find that I’ll miss a day every so often, but all my media mail packages arrive on time or even early about 90% of the time.

As I said, none of those changes to the logistical side of shipping, sorting, and transport affect any efficiency at the local office delivery level. The problem there is lack of staff.

Does your dinner get cooked when you aren't home? No, because there's no one there to cook it. Same reason mail isn't delivered on some routes some days, there no one there to run the route.

The Williston office routes (mail and package sorting and route start/stop) are being relocated to pine St in Burlington, the current office will soon just have po boxes. It's also about dock and office space, there's been so many packages being backed up there and a general increase in volume so they are basically out of room inside too.

Shhh. We don't speak sense here.

Lol USPS isn't okay anywhere.

Still blaming orange man eh. You can’t blame Orange man or slow joe for this. Well maybe you can blame Joe. The issue is no one is working and we are still dealing with a labor shortage. Everything from the truckers driving the mail, the workers sorting, the consumers still buying everything online further stressing the chain

Imagine blaming orange man for the mail. Tdr is real in the Vermont sub

A lot of reasons. Amazon packages choking out the available USPS workers is one of them. Not enough carriers.

We’re in Windsor county, delivery lately is once a week. I leave snacks in the box for those poor souls who do come through, they’ve got a hard job.

Hi! VT USPS employee here. USPS is not okay and needs more staffing in certain areas. Williston, Burlington, Hinesburg, Shelburne, Barre, and Springfield are some of the heaviest affected areas and have been for months. There are multiple other offices that are also struggling.

Over the past holiday weekend the Williston office operation was moved to a larger space to be able to house the volume of delayed packages and mail due to being about 1/3 staffed to compliment. The acting postmaster of Hinesburg is currently the only employee in his office. The Postmaster of Barre is out delivering 6-7 days a week.

The largest hurdle we have is USPS wages are no longer competitive especially considering the nature of the job. Being out in the elements, mandatory overtime, etc. On top of that add in that even if you want the job, from accepting the job offer to stepping your foot in the door you're in a 3 month limbo waiting for your background check to clear.

We understand the inconvenience and the frustration. Trust me, we're just as frustrated as you are. It is our mission and duty to provide the services our customers expect and deserve, but unfortunately in some spots at the moment it's like trying to drive up a mountain access road during the winter with summer tires.

I appreciate all the hard work y’all do! I hope it starts to get better soon for everyone so USPS can get back on its feet

Bennington has been facing problems for about three years now regarding the USPS. It's a big issue everywhere.

Agreed. Amazon is completely burying USPS. Have to see it to believe it, volume is truly unbelievable.

All about Amazon and other be box stores moving to internet sales. Crushing USPS. Labor shortage is acute.

Not unique to Vermont. Entire system is stressed beyond all possible expectations. In my view, Amazon has absolutely crushed USPS. An avalanche of packages and limited carriers. As of now- a logistical nightmare.

I feel like I’m a contributor to the usps woes - I think I receive more than the average number of Amazon boxes. People of USPS, I’m already asking Amazon to minimize my boxes, but what can random person do to make your jobs easier?

Down here in Bennington they're saying that it's due to staffing shortages", but I know 5 people, myself included, all with clean driving and police records, who got ghosted by them.

So they're utterly full of shit.

You are experiencing DeJoy of the mail service.

Seriously, this guy wants to cut back service and he is making it happen in small ways so we will be used to it when the close USPS down.

Then we can pay UPS $18 to have your envelope delivered.

> It's not just Williston. You can thank Louis DeJoy, the orange man for appointing him, and the decades of Republicans in Congress trying to privatize the post office by saddling it with debt. This has been their goal for years and it's now really affecting on the ground deliveries.

The Dems definitely fixed all that when they got the legislature and the presidency after orange man, right?

That’s insane the Postmaster is out delivering mail. Wow, I wish DC had a deployable response team for you all!

I appreciate this input. Send me a message with your name and contact information. If you have information for the other 4 people, I'd love to get in touch with them as well. Manny, the Postmaster of Bennington has been out delivering everyday. Within the past month we've made a "task force" of sorts to assist the struggling offices with recruitment. If you are truly interested in the job, I can get the ball rolling.

DeJoy declined to step down, and there are no other mechanisms to remove him. So keep plucking that chicken

There's always an excuse. "Nothing will fundamentally change," indeed.

I didn’t mean to minimize the human aspect. No doubt that is the number one factor.

“No one is working” Delusional, party of you? Goodness gracious you are hilarious.

Yea but the post office doesn't make money so why should we support it

Huge /s

I've talked to a few people that would love to work for USPS but the drug test for weed makes them not want to work there.

I have family in that area who have been struggling to get mail more than once or twice a month, so it's been at least a year that this has been happening.

The weird thing to me is that if you look up Williston, there is one listing for weekend delivery work and it's very clear that there are no benefits. That to me is the biggest problem. I thought about applying to work for the USPS, but as soon as I hit no benefits it loses all appeal.

Places like Vermont have limited shopping options. And decently populated places (the Virginia Beach/Norfolk area has a population that rivals this whole state for example) are seeing the decline of larger retail establishments, thus limiting their options too. Inflation also drives people online to save money on a purchase.

As this is Reddit and there are many younger folks here, let me give a shopping example from a parent of three children. To buy clothes for our kids, there are options like Old Navy, REI, Dicks, Outdoor Gear Exchange, etc. Often, we are driving between 3 to 4 places just to find something that fits. And with three different young children the stress in this “simple task” is enough to drive one to tequila in the morning :)

Online clothes shopping is far easier.

Staying with the subject of clothes… if I need a new suit and tie for work, it is mostly a custom order now. Very few places stock such things. Unless you need orthopedic dress shoes, dress shoes don’t exist in Chittenden County.

We’ve lost 6 close relatives in the past 5 years and have needed to outfit people in a hurry. Keep in mind that children grow a lot in 5 years, so we’ve done this a few times. The only options are online or driving to a large city.

I can go on and on about the lack of “first world problem-type” missing goods in Vermont, but I’m sure everyone here has their own examples.

TLDR: every locale is missing a type of good and online shopping is the solution. As local retailers shift from malls and department stores to smaller niche shops this will increase. 1st world societies are going to be more reliant on shipping services. Online retailers are going to need to work with multiple shipping companies and provide consumers selection of which company they prefer. The shippers should develop better consumer-facing options to hold a package for pickup. FedEx and UPS are okay at this. USPS has the online account and tracking system, but it lacks this option.

Thank you. I agree with everything you wrote here. In the now times where I have to put a value on my time I’ve found myself ordering a lot of things I could go procure locally, but I’d have to remember that item next time I’m out, make a special trip, etc. So if I don’t need it immediately it’s such a time savings to just have “dish soap” delivered via Amazon.

They still doing the 13/1 schedule for CCAs? Years ago I was a good employee who loved my job and did it for months, I left because the schedule was 13 on, 1 off, with no health insurance, for $16/hr.

I love that you used trying to drive a vehicle up a roadway with snow on it as an analogy for your difficulties — very fitting given you are part of the USPS

In places like Burlington that have been consistently understaffed it is certainly possible. They have made changes to the CCA/RCA/PSE contracts where you are immediately qualified for health insurance benefits upon hire, and after a year you qualify for the Federal health benefits which include vision and dental. If you join the union they have their own benefit plans as well.

It's been longer than that in some areas.

The ARC position is the only position we currently have that do not get benefits as they only work Sundays and holidays.

RCA/CCA/PSE positions are immediately eligible for health insurance upon hire and after a year qualify for the Federal insurance benefits which include health, vision, and dental. If you join the union they have their own set of insurance benefits as well.

Postings go up for 7 days then come down and if no one applies it gets reposted so if someone is looking for a specific position if it's not there today it doesn't mean it won't be tomorrow.

Welp - time to stop testing for marijuana.

Getting a PO Box (if they are available) would help the office workers.

Asking to hold your mail for you to pick up would help, if you’re really serious about helping.

I order a lot from Amazon and have a PO Box. Sometimes I have to make a few trips to the car but that’s okay. It saves Fed-Ex, UPS, and the PO from having another stop and I work in town so it’s easy for me, too.

Drug testing has been waived for 3 years now.

Drug testing has been waived for 3 years now.

Really? I had no idea. That is great information, I appreciate it

I have started having my Amazon shit delivered to work with the permission of the mailroom. A FedEx package that gets stuck in Williston for a week makes it on time every time to a business address in my experience.

We've had spotty service in South Burlington for better than a year. Regular deliveries, then a period of two or three days where there's nothing. Some of you act like the USPS is doing this capriciously. They're not. With reduced staffing AND larger volumes to deliver they're doing the best they can,

And a one-to-one comparison to UPS or FedEx isn't fair. You want to get your important mail -- bills, payments, letters -- through those companies? OK, but be prepared to pay a lot more than you do now.

Something's going on with delivery all across the board. Amazon, for example, dropped most two-day delivery where I live. I get notification from UPS or FedEx that a package will be delivered on a certain day, and it can show up days later.

Can confirm they no longer drug test, but it takes about 3 months to get in the door, you get two days off a month (13 days on and then 1 day off), and you need to spend a week in NH or Maine to complete the training. Essentially the best USPS employee is one with no life.

I just started a couple months ago as an RCA. I don’t work 13/1. I get one or two days off a week. Depends on what I want. We are a smaller office with 3 rural routes. Also, I trained in White River Junction.

I know people keep saying "this is happening everywhere", but VT has the unique problem of not only having high COL, but we also don't have any type of housing. We can't get people staffed for probably 1/3rd of the job force here because they literally can't survive here between lack and cost of housing.

My brother is a rural carrier. His post office won’t hire new people, despite being extremely overburdened. He’s owned back pay from 2 years ago. He works at least 10 hours a week without pay (route hasn’t be evaled in forever). USPS also signed a deal with Amazon to deliver packages…some days he has TWO HUNDRED. most days it’s around 130. It’s insanity. Sometimes he came only bring one package with him bc they are so large. All while his boss, who was never a driver, cracks the whip behind him.

Also, for everyone pointing all the blame on Trump and Dejoy; yes, they had a major negative impact on USPS. But it’s not just them. It’s on every congress from now going back decades. Yes, including democrats.

Stop using Amazon. Yes, it’s extremely convenient and I’m sure you have limited options. But the carriers are getting fucked in the ass by Amazon. My brother sometimes delivers 200 hundred packages a day, mostly Amazon. They now have “Amazon days” where the primary focus is getting those packages out. Many of them are working for free bc of the long hours and the fact their routes were evaled long ago.

You're starting to sound like Orange Man Bad himself!

I bet DeJoy funded that hotel!

Sorry, but WRJ is pretty much NH 😅 at least to me. It was a looong drive out there and the hotel they put me up in was in NH. The training center is less than 10 minutes from NH.

> Amazon packages choking out the available USPS workers is one of them.

Wow, you're starting to sound like Orange Man!

And anytime Trump mentioned Amazon strangling the Post Office the MSM was there to tell him that he was wrong.

Here’s my unpopular opinion.

USPS needs to go private. Or at least start acting like a for profit organization.

They have a major customer service problem. They need to charge (mainly corporations) the actual cost of services. They need to up their wages - no one should be working uncompensated hours.

Focus on employee retention. All the carriers in my area are in the neighborhood of 55-60 years of age (if I guessed). All of them are among the friendliest, kindest and most genuine humans I’ve met. They’re looking at retirement- or they should be - in ten or so years. The USPS needs to be recruiting their butts off out of high schools. Pay people well. Give them incentives for performance and to grow with the company. Mentor them, promote them. Maybe be a little more expedient in the hiring and training processes.

I dunno USPS. Just be more like Costco.

Thank you for coming to my tedtalk.

Everyone has to take a side. No one can agree with people they don’t like, it’s crazy.

You should all write to your Federal Sebator and Congressman.

This is too low wages issue is caused by the statutory set up of the USPS.

Talk to your Federal Representative and Senator. USPS has limited authority to raise rates, and is by Congress mandated to make payments that businesses do not, and provide services that have no revenue.

Congress has already privatized the USPS, but saddles it with items that make it impossible to breakeven.

It just needs to not be defunded and sabotaged to the end you desire.

😭

Really messed up that they did a deal to have the postal service deliver packages

Do you work for USPS?

I have literally only ever needed one thing from them and they lost it.

Louis DeJoy, the Postmaster General, has been intent on running the USPS into the ground. DeJoy owns millions in stock from companies that compete with USPS. The Postmaster General is elected by a Board of Governors, but it is speculated that he was pushed by the Trump administration, which typically appointed administrators who wanted to end the thing they were actually in charge of.

As soon as DeJoy was put in charge, automated equipment was taken off line and scrapped. People were laid off. And policies were put in place that my local letter carriers called, "Delivering yesterday's mail tomorrow." I have no idea why that guy has been allowed to remain in charge.

We don't need to privatize the USPS. We simply need to fund and manage it properly. When you think about it, business needs the USPS to run well. So part of the corporate welfare that government is so fond of providing should be the proper funding of the USPS. That's one thing that would benefit not only businesses but the rest of us too.

We should support it for the same reason we support roads and bridges, fire departments and police departments. Those don't make money for us either. But they provide essential services so we fund them. We should view the USPS the same way. It's an essential service.

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First step: fuckin get rid of Louis DeJoy.

Well at least we know you're aware this is an unpopular opinion.

Some in state gov't. About 1/3 staff. I'm sure everything you list (wages, etc) is true. It's also demographics. If we don't give into the hordes and build sprawl to accomodate the work From home crowd, it's hard to see how anyone will be getting mail, buying groceries, getting a haircut, seeing a doctor, etc in a short time.

Yeah cause corporate America does such a great job. Maybe USPS can be like Southwest or Ticket Master. We get what we pay for with government. Give them a shoestring budget, get bad service.

This is classic reddit: guy who worked there and guy who lives there answers your question, but you’d rather blame orange man 2 years later. Wake up. Yes I live the next town over, yes Williston is full of meth heads and losers who who don’t want to work. Yes the post office is a staffing issue. You all want Donald to be the boogie man so bad.

I think the post master from Hinesburg just retired too. Could have been Shelburne though, cannot recall. I know both Hinesburg and Shelburne are hurting BAD. My friend lives there and she is lucky to get mail once a week.

The acting postmaster of Hinesburg is his only employee and Shelburne is hurting as well.