Postal workers in Bemidji protest unsustainable working conditions, Amazon prioritization

Nov. 15—BEMIDJI — Used to early mornings, rural mail carriers stood outside of the Bemidji Post Office before sunrise Monday and Tuesday carrying signs and protesting what they describe as unsustainable working conditions and the prioritization of Amazon deliveries over actual mail.

"We're being forced to work 12-hour days, six days a week. All of our days off have been canceled by the district manager. They've even gone so far as to say they will not honor sick leave," shared Dennis Nelson, who's worked for the post office for 20 years. "On top of that, we've been told Amazon is now our priority, that Amazon packages are the most important thing we do, the mail is secondary."

The carriers' picket is a response to the local implementation of the United States Postal Service's negotiated service agreement with Amazon at the start of November, which has the postal service deliver Amazon packages in addition to traditional mail.

When this agreement was implemented in Bemidji, the local post office was already suffering a critical staffing shortage and struggling to cover its mail routes. Now that additional work has been placed on them, carriers say the system has come to a breaking point.

"They're telling (carriers) not to deliver your mail until the Amazon packages are delivered," said Eric Cerroni, who joined the picket to support his wife who works as a substitute carrier. "It's slowing down the mail. It used to be so reliable, now it's not coming."

Nelson said that carriers have been instructed to prioritize Amazon deliveries by upper management and that as a result, several mail routes haven't had their mail go out when it should.

"Mail isn't being delivered on many routes because we're spending 12 hours a day just delivering Amazon packages," he said. "If you were to look (in the post office) right now, there's probably five or six routes where mail wasn't delivered yesterday because the packages had to go out."

That mail that hasn't been delivered can include important paperwork, bills, legal documents and other time-sensitive items.

And despite working 12 hours a day, rural mail carriers are not being paid for the actual time it takes them to complete their route.

"Rural routes are not paid hourly. My route is evaluated at eight hours a day, so if I work for seven hours I still get paid for eight. If I work for nine hours I still get paid for eight," Nelson explained.

Postal carriers' most recent route evaluations occurred in October, and at the start of November Amazon packages were introduced that extended their working hours significantly.

"They didn't introduce Amazon packages until after our route evaluations came out, now we're working 12 hours a day," Nelson explained. "We believe this was purposeful."

In addition to this added stress, carriers say they have received word that they won't be allowed to take days off, leaving them with just one day a week they aren't working long hours.

All of this led to their decision to picket, which they've been doing early in the morning before their shifts start. Since they are designated essential workers, Nelson explained that they do not have the right to strike.

Bemidji isn't the first city to have been impacted by the USPS agreement with Amazon, which was first negotiated in 2013 and initially implemented in Los Angeles and New York City. Since then it's expanded to smaller cities across the country.

"They've introduced Amazon packages in quite a few other offices, (but) they've never put the infrastructure, equipment or personnel in place to handle the volume," Nelson said. "Those other offices lost many, many carriers and even years later are still struggling to get the job done."

In Brainerd, where Amazon was introduced a few years ago, Nelson shared staff turnover has increased dramatically.

"Everyone (they hire) quits within a week or two. They're still struggling after all this time," he said. "They didn't learn a dang thing, and they just threw it on us. We've already had four people quit."

Cerroni said that even though the Bemidji Post Office has asked for additional support, its requests have been denied.

"Every small city that Amazon hits, it just crushes their mail system," he said. "It's too much to put on your workers, and every time this place asks for help they get denied."

Postal carriers also shared that they feel their jobs are under threat if they aren't able to meet what they see as unrealistic expectations.

"As incredibly short-staffed as we are, if we can't get the job done every single day they're threatening our jobs. This is all coming from the district manager," Nelson shared. "It's turned into a very hostile, toxic work environment."

What the carriers are calling for is the support necessary to handle the increased volume, and if that's not provided they're asking Congress to grant postal workers the right to strike.

"Without the right to strike, our union does not have a dog in the fight," Nelson said. "We're considered an essential service. If Amazon is our priority, we don't see how delivering toilet paper and shoes for Amazon makes us an essential service."

Cerroni believes that the necessary personnel and equipment should have been provided before the implementation of the Amazon deal, but that the situation can still be salvaged by providing it now.

"They need to support offices before they give the go-ahead for Amazon," he said. "I think the damage is done (here), now they have to minimize it by providing support."

The picketing postal carriers are also hoping for support from their local community, including asking community members to call their congressional representatives to let them know about the conditions.

"We need the public to get behind us on this," Nelson said. "We're the face of the post office to the public, we're the ones out in all kinds of weather doing our jobs, the ones the public sees every day. We're not going to put up with the hostility and the threats anymore."

While there is a fear of retribution for their actions, Nelson and the other postal carriers are standing by their efforts and are encouraging other postal workers across the country to join them in trying to inform the public.

"I am encouraging all rural carriers across the nation to do exactly what we are doing," Nelson left off. "Let the public, the people that you serve, know exactly what's going on."

When asked for comments, the U.S. Postal Service responded with a simple statement: "We respect our employees' rights to express their opinions and participate in informational picketing while off the clock."