Metro Detroit's postal system is grappling with staffing shortages and other pandemic-related issues as it processes a likely record number of holiday packages, translating to likely gift delays and grueling conditions for workers.
(Photo: WDIV video)
The Detroit News has a harrowing dispatch from the U.S. Postal Service Distribution Center in Allen Park, where freight truck driver Rhonda Edwards-Polk reportedly waited more than four days to drop off her shipments:
Two days were spent idling on the street outside the facility, waiting to get in. Once inside, she waited another 52 hours to unload — as postal workers told drivers there were 200 trucks in the yard already and they had to wait until those left.
“There's only so many people allowed in that building" due to social distancing guidelines, Edwards-Polk said. A thin staff struggled to process the huge volume of packages as many of their colleagues were out due to COVID-19. "The mail is completely backed up. I mean, it's unreal. Not everybody's going to get their packages on Christmas."
Truck drivers have had to order food to their trucks. Bottles that appeared to be filled with urine have sat on the ground near the Allen Park distribution center. And fights have broken out over drivers trying to cut in the long line.
Allen Park police officers have shown up after drivers reportedly used the woods near the facility as a toilet. Truckers feared leaving to find a restroom would cause them to lose their places in line, extending their waits — and frustrations.
Roscoe Woods, president of the American Postal Workers Union Local 480-481, tells The News that adjusting truck departure times would have helped alleviate delays, but that Postmaster General Louis DeJoy "steadfastly refused" to do so.
Cost cuts applied by the longtime Trump ally have contributed to slowdowns in mail service, an independent government watchdog found in October.
Related:
Mail Backup Mess: 'As Bad As You Think It Is, It's Worse' -- Michigan Postal Worker, Dec. 22
