CLEVELAND — Editor's note: The video above previously aired on 3News on July 26, 2022.
Amid staff shortages nationwide that in some areas are causing frustrating service delays for customers, the Cleveland division of the United States Postal Service is hiring for multiple positions and offering free, weekly job application workshops at its Orange Avenue location.
Positions available include city carrier assistants, mail handler assistants, postal support employees, rural carrier associates and tractor-trailer operators. USPS says the starting salary for jobs is between $17.32 and $27.52 per hour.
At the job application workshops, held every Thursday in August from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., applicants can ask questions and receive detailed information about each position.
The workshops will be held at the USPS location at 2200 Orange Avenue in Cleveland.
In July, USPS Cleveland said over 300 positions were available with the postal service.
Job applications are accepted online only at usps.com/careers. USPS Cleveland says applicants must be available on holidays and weekends and have an acceptable driving record.
Cleveland is not the only area where the USPS is experiencing staffing difficulties. USPS outposts across multiple states are scrambling to fill positions as postal employees claim staffing issues are to blame for mail service delays across numerous states, including Ohio, Newsy reported.
The Postal Service, which receives no tax dollars and relies on its mail service and products for operating expenses, in March 2021 unveiled a 10-year plan called "Delivering for America" to try and stabilize its operations and workforce.
The plan, spearheaded by controversial Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, includes consolidation and restructuring of mail centers, which is causing consternation among postal employees, including the American Postal Workers Union, and fanning fears that the changes will put more employees out of work, news outlet Government Executive reported this month.
DeJoy said in July that in order for the USPS to break even long-term, an estimated 50,000 jobs would have to be cut, but he also said they expect this to happen naturally as he estimates some 200,000 employees will retire over the next two years.