HAZLETON, Pa. — The U.S. Postal Service has been in the news recently. The controversy continues to go back and forth between Democrats and Republicans about changes in the postal service. However, we found one post office in our area where politics took a back seat to some positive postal news.
A job fair was held on Friday at the Hazleton post office which needs some extra helps these days and is looking to hire more employees. The postmaster says it's a win-win for both the post office and its future employees.
"It's a great opportunity for anybody who may be struggling right now, who may really need to take a different path. A lot of businesses may not exist post pandemic, at this point, so this is a great opportunity," said Valerie Noga, the postmaster in Hazleton.
Applications are being accepted for several positions, such as rural carrier associates and city carrier assistants.
Postal employees were on hand to explain how to apply for jobs online and to help with giving descriptions of each job.
Those who attended the job fair say this could be a great opportunity.
"I need something more secure for my family. I got laid off from my job out in Easton so I mean this is a better opportunity right here for me to take," said Brenealy Sepulveba from Freeland.
While there were a few people who attended the job fair, most of the people who showed up were there to drop off mail. They tell Newswatch 16 there is so much controversy surrounding the U.S. Postal Service right now, they just hope it's settled soon.
"Obviously, it's a big controversy about mail-in voting or not mail-in voting, and I just hope everything gets settled in a timely manner and the election is as fair as possible," Daniel Demelfi.
"I was at a customer's house. They've already seen their mother passed away several years ago, and they've already received three ballots in her name, so, I think there's too much room for hanky panky," Robert Martin said.
But according to the postmaster, this job fair at the Hazleton post office had nothing to do with the current postal service controversary.
"The post office hires all year long. I mean we consistently hire, we consistently hire for all types of positions, it's no different than any other business that has its normal processes that have, you know, coming and going employees," Noga said.
If you're interested in applying for a position with the U.S. Postal Service, you can get more information here.