FERGUSON, Mo. – Residents across the St. Louis area are facing weeks, if not months, of mail delays with USPS.
Some people living in Ferguson have reported that their mail has been missing for months. After demanding answers, USPS admits that they are struggling with staff shortages not just in St. Louis but across the country.
Mary Ellen Moyland, a resident of Ferguson, checks her mailbox daily to find nothing in it. Moyland said she may go weeks without having any mail delivered.
“I got to my mailbox; there’s nothing there. Next day, nothing there; next day, nothing there,” Moyland said. “It might go on for three or four days; nothing’s delivered, even though I see the truck delivering to other places. It’s like, I know there’s mail being delivered. My next-door neighbors, pretty much everybody on my street and in this neighborhood, feel the same.”
John McLaughlin, the City of St. Louis National Association of Letter Carriers AFL-CIO union president, said mail delivery delays have been a problem nation-wide.
“We have been under staffed for quite a long time… city letter carriers have recently been able to hire more employees, (but it’s been) probably 2 or 3 years (that) we have been understaffed by about 250 people just in the St. Louis city installation,” McLaughlin said.
USPS said they are delivering as much mail as they can and appreciate residents’ patience while they work on resolving any issues.
“The postal service is committed to providing the best possible service to our customers and we apologize for any inconvenience they may have experienced,” USPS said in a statement.
The mail carrier also said this month’s weather has contributed to the series of mail delivery struggles in the country.
