MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesotans expect mail delivery delays because of snowstorms, but some Minneapolis residents said they haven't seen consistent delivery in weeks.
In south Minneapolis, Maianne Preble said neighbors on her block have not received regular mail delivery from the United States Postal Service since Feb. 7.
"We've had maybe three days of mail delivered. Inconsistent. We had seven full days of no mail delivery. At first I think all of us shrugged it off... but then after day two, day three, and you start hearing nobody's getting it, there's something going on," Preble said. "Did have some pieces of mail from places like UCare that have said, 'This is due within 10 days.' Well, I didn't get it for seven of those 10 days."
Preble, who lives on the 4500 block of Columbus Ave., said it's only affecting letters and not package deliveries.
"As you can see, the entire street is at least shoveled. Made every effort to make it accessible for the mail to get here but it's still not coming," Preble said.
The Star Tribune first reported that union officials said, besides the weather, it's a combination of a shortage of workers and an increase in package deliveries.
Troy Fredenburg, a national business agent for the National Association of Letter Carriers in Region 7 (that includes Minnesota), told KARE 11 in a phone interview, "Minnesota has approximately 3,500 city letter carriers and right now for the entire state we're down, or the postal service, is down approximately about 200. They're short about 200. Now unfortunately, there are pockets that are short. There are other places that aren't short."
Ashley Holeton-Powell in north Minneapolis said her mail delivery has been inconsistent for the past two months. "Not been the easiest and I've tried to ask about it and I'm not getting any answers," she said.
Not everyone is having issues.
Laurice Osby, who lives near the CVS on West Broadway in north Minneapolis, said she hasn't had any issues except on snowy days when she expects she won't get the mail. "He was early today. I was surprised. But normally he's here at the same time every day," Osby said.
Fredenburg agreed that the shortage of carriers, along with the weather, have been causing some problems but said, "I don't think it's quite as bad overall as people think it is."
USPS Spokesperson Kristy Anderson said in a statement:
"The brutal conditions over the last three weeks throughout the region have been challenging for us and we are very proud of our employees who are working hard to serve our customers. Safety of our employees is of utmost importance. In order to deliver mail, our carriers need clear access to mailboxes. To help them, we encourage customers to clear their walkways, steps, porches and centralized mailboxes. Postal employees make every reasonable effort to deliver mail in many difficult weather conditions. However, there may be instances when we are unable to safely deliver due to access concerns caused from winter weather. We always have a need for and continue to hire new employees to backfill normal attrition."
Preble said none of the answers they've received explain what's going on in her neighborhood. She said neighbors one block over on the same route are consistently getting their mail.
USPS did not respond to questions related to a letter carrier shortage or the situation in Preble's neighborhood.
USPS is hosting a job fair Saturday, Feb. 23 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Minneapolis Main Post Office. You can also find more information at usps.com/careers.