The USPS, which needs to fill 600 vacant positions in the San Francisco Bay Area, hosted a Postal Service Career Fair Wednesday at its Menlo Park Post Office.
Post Office Operations manager Riza Yumul told CBS News the staff shortage has made it difficult for the USPS employees here to keep up with their jobs’ demands. It needs to fill several positions, including mail handlers, clerks, and custodians. Yumul said it lost some employees during the pandemic but it also competing with the plethora of tech companies in the area.
Safety concerns have been another challenge for hiring managers. Mail carriers are a prime target for criminals because they carry checks, prescription drugs, and other items that criminals can convert into cash. Carriers are robbed for their “arrow keys,” which are universal keys that provide access to several types of mailboxes.
The USPS saw a nationwide increase of 30% in mail carrier robberies last year, The Associated Press reported . According to research conducted by ABC7 San Francisco , approximately 61% of statewide robberies of postal workers last year occurred in the Bay Area.
“When we hire people that’s the firs thing we do. We make sure that they know about safety and that they have training. We make it a point to be with the new carriers every day for the first two weeks,” Yumul told CBS News.
Last year, the USPS implemented a crime prevention strategy to help enhance the safety of its workers.
“We’re doubling down on our efforts to protect our Postal employees and the security of the mail. We are hardening targets–both physical and digital–to make them less desirable to thieves and working with our law enforcement partners to bring perpetrators to justice,” Postal Inspection Service Chief Gary Barksdal said in a press release.
Applicants can still apply on the USPS website.
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