In the news

Don Maston, president of the National Rural Carriers Association, which represents about 2,530 postal workers in Minnesota, said delivery problems across the nation “are all driven by the same issue – a lack of staffing.” “There’s a need for better wages, and the job is just not attractive for many,” Maston said in an interview … Read more

BEMIDJI — U.S. Congressman Pete Stauber, who represents Minnesota’s 8th Congressional District, has weighed in on the ongoing issues with the postal service that have been reported in Bemidji. His office also shared a letter it received from the U.S. Postal Service responding to his questions. Concerns have been growing in Bemidji for several weeks … Read more

Two separate payroll errors at the Postal Service over the past few months kept thousands of rural letter carriers from getting their full paychecks on time. Now the union is demanding USPS modernize its payroll system, and that the agency pay “harsh penalties” to compensate rural carriers if these problems persist. The National Rural Letter … Read more

BEMIDJI, Minn. (FOX 9) – Long, unpaid hours and a toxic work environment are crushing employees at the Bemidji post office, according to a longtime carrier who quit last week. With his help, FOX 9 got a rare peek inside the Bemidji office to see the conditions for workers this holiday season. Dennis Nelson said he hit his … Read more

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 … Read more

Employees of the U.S. Postal Service in Missoula have been dealing with serious issues this year, including not getting paychecks on time, inadequate staffing levels that essentially force many to work six or more days a week, poor workplace morale, absence requests being denied and high staff turnover at both the administrative and lower levels. … Read more

BEMIDJI — A U.S. Postal Service official says mail is being delivered daily in Bemidji and elsewhere and blamed media misinformation for misconceptions about package delivery and working conditions for postal carriers. The Tuesday, Dec. 5, response comes after a November letter from U.S. Sen. Tina Smith to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, demanding answers to problems identified … Read more

BEMIDJI — Dennis Nelson had wanted to see the fight for better working conditions at the Bemidji Post Office to the end, but after weeks of arduous 12-hour shifts and an increasingly toxic and hostile work environment, even he’s hit a breaking point. Nelson, who helped organize the initial picket by rural carriers in November that led … Read more

A federal ethics document for USPS employees was revised recently for the first time since its introduction in 1995. The revisions took effect Sept. 7. Many guidelines in the Supplemental Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the United States Postal Service address outside employment and business activities. Some rules have been eased. Employees may now: • … Read more

BEMIDJI — Used to early mornings, rural mail carriers stood outside of the Bemidji Post Office before sunrise Monday and Tuesday carrying signs and protesting what they describe as unsustainable working conditions and the prioritization of Amazon deliveries over actual mail. “We’re being forced to work 12-hour days, six days a week. All of our … Read more

The Postal Service is telling members of Congress that most of the rural letter carriers who missed a paycheck or received a partial paycheck last month are no longer waiting on back pay. USPS says many of the more than 50,000 impacted rural carriers have been made whole, and that, “with limited exceptions,” it paid … Read more