A post office worker is begging people on TikTok to apply to work at the post office, saying they desperately need more workers.
The worker, known as Lukas (@lukasthegiant) on TikTok, is a self-described “mailman workaholic” and often posts about working at the United States Postal Service. The Daily Dot previously covered Lukas’ viral video about how post office workers can make $67,000 per year.
In his most recent video, Lukas reminds viewers that the post office is still hiring. He says his Missouri office’s union doesn’t allow workers to work more than 60 hours per week without breaking their contract. But he says some of the workers at his office had already worked 60 hours by Wednesday, with their work week starting on Saturday.
@lukasthegiant we need help! I can't keep working this much overtime! #help #werehiring #tallestmailman #comeworkwithus #weneedhelp #mail #usps #lettercarrier ♬ original sound – Lukas
Some of the workers at Lukas’ office, including himself, took it upon themselves to work more than 60 hours and break the union contract. He says they decided to work extra because they knew people wouldn’t get their mail if they didn’t show up to work.
“Some of us can’t keep doing that because we’re working 70-plus hours, almost 80 hours [per] week,” Lukas says. “And you can’t have a work-life balance in that.”
Thanks to a shortage of workers, Lukas’s office is down about 12 mail delivery routes, he says.
“Unfortunately, some people are not getting the service that they deserve,” Lukas says. “It is because we need so much help.”
In the video, he references a previous video in which he told viewers that his office starts workers at $20 per hour. In his new video, he adds that there are multiple people at his post office location who are going to break six figures this year.
The TikToker ends his video by urging people to apply to work at the post office.
Some viewers said the post office should revamp its operations to reduce the workload for mailmen if they aren’t able to hire more workers.
“Drop Saturday delivery. For reals. We’ll survive without the penny saver and aarp solicitations,” one viewer commented.
“Cut out junk mail and we will pay double for first class. My mail box is a recycle can,” a second viewer commented.
A third said, “I don’t understand why the mail needs delivered every day anymore. I get very little important mail.”
One viewer said post office workers should stop working so many hours, claiming that they’re enabling the post office’s understaffing.
“By working that many hours, it’s just letting the post office continue to not hire people. If people aren’t getting their mail & complain, than things [change],” the user wrote.
The Daily Dot reached out to Lukas via TikTok comment and to USPS via email.
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Source: https://www.dailydot.com/irl/usps-understaffing-overworked/