ARCHBALD, Pa. — At the post office in Archbald on Thursday, there was a line full of people looking for their mail.
"I was a letter carrier for 35 years. Never, did I ever see a disaster like this is, going on in this post office," said Tom Mancuso.
It's Christmas Eve eve meaning there's still enough time to get that last bit of holiday mail. But neighbors in Archbald say their mailboxes have mostly been empty these past few weeks.
"My wife needs her mail. And that's the only way I can get my mail is coming here every day, and usually I pick up one letter when they owe me a lot of mail," Robert Wyszynski said.
Many say it's not holiday cards they're waiting for:
"All the cards we're expecting, we've gotten back," Haydn Evans said.
"I'm a veteran, so I'm waiting for my VA drugs, which have not come, which they're behind, don't know where they are," Wyszynski said.
"Right now, I'm getting bills that are late. I don't know where they're at, a few of my bills I have to pay a fee of $35, $39 for a late fee when I send the check in," Mancuso said.
Neighbors say they've been in and out of the post office, hoping to collect their mail.
"I get my mail here because they haven't been delivering it. The last time I had a delivery was 12 days ago," Wyszynski said.
"I get mail sometimes twice a week. It's four days since I got my mail the last time," Mancuso said.
Even more people on social media are also looking for letters, but not all have complaints.
"I know the people here are always very courteous and always helpful. But I do know they're very short-staffed. Every time I go in, they're running, trying to get everything," Cheryl Touch said.
Postal workers say they are so short-staffed, even the postmaster is out each night delivering mail.
"These people are working very hard. and taking a lot of abuse unnecessarily," Evans added.
The USPS, in a statement, said:
"Despite hiring 40,000 seasonal workers nationwide, there are some places where employee availability is an occasional issue, including Archbald Post Office.
We have taken specific actions to continue service to our valued customers, which include:
- Continuing to fully authorize overtime to allow employees to work the time necessary to deliver mail.
- Expanding mail deliveries to earlier in the morning, later in the evening, and on Sundays to ensure customers receive mail at the earliest date possible.
- Using additional carriers from nearby offices, when necessary, to maintain mail deliveries.
- Hiring additional personnel. We currently have openings for 100 pre-career positions across the state of Pennsylvania."