BILLINGS — Mail delivery has been a problem in several Billings neighborhoods recently with mail carrier shortages being largely to blame. On Thursday, the Billings post office on 841 S. 26 St. held an event to help fix that.
It's a concern being echoed across Montana.
"It’s an essential service. And all my life, and I’m a native Montanan, I’ve never saw a day, regardless of whether that (mail) wasn’t delivered," said Billings resident Bill Rush.
"City wise, right now we’re sitting about 17 people that we would like to have that we are short for city delivery. Rural delivery is about 20...We are short city delivery, rural delivery. Mail processing is short for clerks and mail handlers as well," said Ty Sobieraj, Billings customer service manager, on Thursday.
The U.S. Postal Service is taking action. It held 252 jobs fairs on Thursday across Idaho, Montana, Washington and Oregon on Thursday, aimed at shoring up staffing shortages.
"We are hoping to fill at least 2,000 jobs across all four states," said Kim Frum, the agency's strategic communications specialist, on Thursday.
The Postal Service said the problems really started to emerge during the pandemic.
"We really are fighting to get employees to join our ranks. We did lose a lot during Covid. A lot of people retired, just like a lot of people may have in a lot of industries," added Frum.
Frum says the Postal Service will continue to hold events like the job blitz Thursday until and potentially even after the current openings are filled.
Several Billings carriers tell MTN they regularly work 12-hour days because of staffing shortages.
"It actually seems to be widespread. It seems to be hitting everyone everywhere. We have shortages in Seattle, and Seattle’s a fairly large city. We have shortages in Washington, D.C. I mean, it’s the nation's capital, for heaven’s sake. So yeah, those shortages are pretty much hitting everybody everywhere," Frum added.
Unfortunately, no one showed up at the hiring event during the two hours MTN was there Thursday.
But the USPS is confident events like these are part of the solution at a time when good workers are hard to find.
"We are hiring career, we are not hiring part-time employees as it were. So, full benefits, full pay, people that are applying right now are getting to be career employees right away so their health benefits, their retirement starts immediately," Sobieraj added.
"The Postal Service is more than just a job. You can get a job anywhere. But the Postal Service really is a career," said Frum.
