‘We Are Slammed’: USPS Faces Historic Number Of Packages, Causing Delays


BOSTON (CBS) – Elaine O’Callaghan shipped a special package to her grandchildren by priority mail last week, only to find it was in Nashua, New Hampshire on Monday.

“I’m like, very discouraged. I could have driven across country in that amount of time and delivered it in person,” the Tewksbury mother said.

As more and more people turn to e-commerce in the pandemic, a historic number of packages are threatening to overwhelm the U.S. Postal Service less than two weeks before Christmas.

John Flattery, the President of the Central Massachusetts Chapter of the American Postal Workers Union says employees are working round the clock.

“We have people who are working 16 hours a day, 7 days a week,” Flattery said. “We are slammed with parcels like we’ve never been slammed before.”

Private Carriers like Fedex and UPS have cut off deliveries from some retailers, sending more packages through the Postal Service. Add in COVID-19 infections among postal workers and Flattery says delays are inevitable.

“I’m sure there are some delays right now. You can only put so much through the funnel,” he said.