BEMIDJI — Numerous failures by post office management and tens of thousands of pieces of delayed mail were just some of the findings in an audit of the Bemidji Post Office released Monday, May 6.
The audit by the U.S. Postal Service Inspector General’s Office echoes what Bemidji postal workers and community members said they experienced during the 2023 holiday season after a sudden change in operations, despite attempts by Postal Service officials to downplay the impacts last year.
The inspection last December found insufficient staffing and resources were made worse by communication and planning errors by USPS regional and local management.
“These issues included delayed mail, inaccurate reporting of mail conditions and inadequate planning for increased mail volume received from a large shipper,” read the audit report.
During the three-day surprise audit, the inspectors noted nearly 79,000 pieces of delayed mail, almost all of which were letters or items like catalogs and newspapers.
Managers at the Bemidji Post Office were not prepared for the sudden influx in packages from a “large shipper,” according to the audit. This large shipper was identified last year in media reports and by local postal workers as Amazon, although the IG’s report does not name the company.
Inspectors said local officials could not make an informed decision about whether Bemidji had the capacity for this shipping volume because they were notified Oct. 24 — just eight days before they were expected to deliver thousands more packages daily.
The Postal Service disputed some of the report's findings, including the timeline of when local officials knew to expect more packages. But the report stated USPS has not corroborated its version of events.
“... We requested multiple times for headquarters management to provide documentation that district and local management agreed they could handle the increased package volumes, but they did not provide it,” the report read.
The “large shipper” initially estimated 2,400 additional packages dropped off at the Bemidji Post Office a day — a 131% increase from the post office’s 2022 volume. The actual increase was up to 4,100 packages per day, with 27,000 additional packages during the first week in December.
'All we want is respect'
The additional package volumes compounded existing issues, the report read, including staffing. There were six rural carrier positions open in October 2023, with more vacancies created as the delivery demands increased.
“After the package volume increased, employees experienced increased workhours and workloads,” read the report.
Employee resignations and retirements increased at the Bemidji Post Office during the inspection period last winter, which put additional strain on the employees who were available to deliver the mail, according to the report. Rural route drivers were sometimes required to make multiple trips with their personal vehicles because packages wouldn’t fit.
“By the end of January 2024, the delivery unit was under complement by a total of 15 carrier positions – 37 percent of its total authorized carriers,” the report read.
In the weeks before the audit, local postal carriers held an informational picket to raise awareness of working conditions they said were worsened by the sudden onslaught of Amazon packages in November.
Community members and some retired postal carriers spoke of the impacts to staff members with the offices of U.S. Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith, who called for the audit.
“All we want is respect. You know, if we do the Amazon, if we don't, whatever, we just want to be taken care of. We're people,” said a recently retired postal carrier, who identified herself as Shelly during the Dec. 5, 2023, listening session.
“We have a family, you know, they're asking us to work 12-14 hours a day, six days a week.”
Breakdown in the process
The Bemidji Post Office’s unique position complicated matters, as it is one of just four post offices in the country to also serve as a mail processing center, according to the inspector general.
“... The district manager [District Manager for Minnesota – North Dakota District Angela Bye] was not monitoring mail processing operations at the Bemidji Post Office because she was unaware that the district office was responsible for these operations prior to our audit,” the report read.
Handling of mail strayed from USPS policy of “first in, first out” at the Bemidji Post Office, meaning newer mail was being placed in front of older mail in the delivery queue. The inspection noted a lapse in requirements for post offices as unique as Bemidji’s.
“The Postal Service does not require delivery managers who manage processing operations [to] attend training related to processing operations or logistics,” the audit stated.
The inspection noted management of mail processing operations — with Bemidji responsible for processing mail for 37 local retail and delivery units — contributed to mail delays because of this lack of training.
"Local management was not aware of proper staging processes or managing critical mail entry and clearance times, which are tools used to help keep a processing facility’s operation on schedule to support timely mail delivery.”
Local managers were also not accurately counting delayed mail in the reporting system, which meant district officials did not have the full picture of the situation. The report noted this was in part because the managers said they were focused on helping with the mail delivery backlog at the time.
Confirmation or misinformation?
In a Tuesday news release, Smith stated the report confirmed what she’d heard from Minnesotans and postal workers across the state for years.
“The Postal Service management is failing Minnesotans,” the release stated. “This isn’t the end of this story. The Inspector General’s district-wide report will be released soon, and I look forward to getting a full picture so we can hold the Postal Service accountable for real solutions.”
When the story about the Bemidji Post Office captured national attention last winter, USPS leaders attributed concerns to misinformation and denied postal employees’ claims of Amazon package prioritization.
“Let me begin by stating unequivocally that the U.S. Postal Service does not prioritize the delivery of mail or packages based on the customer or sender, including businesses such as Amazon,” wrote USPS Midwestern Regional Director Michael Gordon in a Dec. 5 letter to Smith.
Of more than 4,000 pieces of delayed mail noted the first morning of the inspection, none were packages, according to the audit.
“Management and employees stated that there was an emphasis on getting packages delivered each day to avoid customer inquiries and scanning failures,” the report read.
The inspectors made five recommendations to address delayed mail, staffing and training — with target dates for the changes set for May 31 and June 30.
