Short staffing, winter weather have contributed to delays, says the service
Soon, new mail carriers will take to the streets of Everson and Nooksack, hopefully to alleviate ongoing complaints from locals over mail delays.
“How can we get our mail?” asked a member of the Nooksack Valley Neighbors Facebook group on Jan 17. “It has been a week since we have received our mail. Went into the Everson post office today, and they said that it was not their job at the front counter to do it. Said they try to get out what they can and are short on help.”
Other residents echoed similar experiences.
“Same here! No mail for over a week… I will probably try another approach to complain since it appears to be a widespread problem,” one user wrote.
“We’re dealing with the same in Ferndale… I don’t understand why they simply don’t communicate with us… If they’re short resources, and can’t deliver daily then figure out a rotating schedule and let everyone know so they know when to expect their mail,” another member wrote.
Sherry Gadeberg, an Everson resident, said she saw service begin to go downhill when Shauna Villarreal became the postmaster a few years ago.
After confronting Villarreal about the lack of deliveries, Gadeberg said she was informed that her route had been split, leaving half of it without a dedicated carrier. After filing a complaint, Gadeberg’s mail delivery resumed, but she said that this meant another route was left without a carrier.
While neither Villarreal nor anyone at the Ferndale post office agreed to comment, Postal Service media spokesperson Zachary Laux said winter weather conditions play a major factor in delivery delays. Laux encouraged residents to keep paths clear for carriers and reassured the community that service improvements are underway.
“The Everson management team is fully committed to providing the best service to its customers and apologizes for any inconvenience caused by weather,” Laux said. “As of right now, mail is currently in Nooksack and Everson and within the Postal Service’s delivery standards.”
Additional carriers expected soon
New carriers are nearing the end of training and will soon be onboard to help alleviate the staffing shortages, Laux said.
Mail delays are not new to the county. In 2022, KING 5 reported mail disruptions in Ferndale, prompting Washington congress members Suzan DelBene and Rick Larsen to urge the U.S. Postmaster General, Louis DeJoy, to address the issue. Complaints from the community detailed mail carriers working extended hours to catch up on deliveries and residents not receiving timely items such as medication. An unnamed spokesperson said the delays were caused by COVID-19.
The post office has been plagued by staffing shortages for years, said Erin Wharton, a former mail carrier in Lynden and Everson.
“I wasn’t prepared for the amount of work I was going to be doing,” she said.
Wharton ran two to three routes per week and recalled a time when a postmaster in Lynden struggled to manage mail volume which led to severe delays.
“If you don’t have a carrier for two of those (mail) routes, as the postmaster it falls on you to get those two routes delivered, whether that means you’re doing it or assigning someone else to do it,” Wharton said.
The Postal Service typically seeks backup carriers, borrows staff from nearby offices or implements short-term solutions to maintain service, Laux said. Postmasters have the choice to personally deliver mail if a route lacks a driver or if the post office is understaffed.
“The Postal Service employs various methods to manage its workload, such as maximizing local personnel and augmenting staff from surrounding regions. In cases where other methods are unavailable, postmasters may choose to carry a rural route,” he wrote in an email.
Laux said the Postal Service encourages customers to report concerns through official channels, and complainers have been given similar advice.
“The inspector general told me that if people are not filing complaints, they have no idea things are going on,” Gadeberg said. “File the complaints. Keep getting ahold of the City of Everson… This is out of control.”
Complaints and comments can be submitted at usps.com by clicking “Contact Us” at the bottom of the homepage.
— By Neisha Gaskins