COLORADO, USA — Some residents in mountain towns like Steamboat Springs haven't received their mail for weeks.
On Wednesday and Thursday, the United States Postal Service (USPS) is holding job fairs for 600 open positions across the state. While those jobs are mostly for the Denver metro and Front Range, USPS said it's still working on improving staffing and service in the high country.
"I got a flier about this job fair, so that was kind of exactly what I needed on that day," said Richard Smith, a USPS job applicant.
After being unable to work for a year, Smith said it was time for him to start looking for a job. He applied to USPS at the Jefferson County Workforce Center on Wednesday.
"I like the idea of the security of the job," he said.
Starting pay goes up to $24.42 an hour.
"It's a little lower than I'm used to, but it's manageable," Smith said.
USPS has also been trying to recruit people to work in the mountains, specifically Steamboat Springs and Silverthorne, where some residents have been experiencing delays in their mail delivery.
"I would deliver mail in the mountains. I love being up in the mountains," Smith said. "They would have to offer something that would be exceptional just because of the cost of living up there."
James Boxrud, communications specialist for USPS, said because these are national jobs, they can't offer any kind of local incentives to hire people in specific areas.
"First we want to apologize that we haven't met our service standards. We are working really hard to go ahead and get those filled," he said.
Boxrud said $24.42 an hour may not sound appealing to job seekers when considering the high cost of living in the high country.
That's why they're working with local leaders in Summit County to provide employee housing.
"They provide housing for the ski areas and then also for teachers and police and fire, and now they're opening that opportunity for us also," he said.
Opportunities — that's the whole reason why Smith is here.
"It seems like a lot of freedom that is still attached to a lot of structure, if that makes sense," Smith said.
Like a few other mountain towns, residents in Buena Vista weren't receiving their mail for weeks. USPS said they've fixed that problem by relocating four workers from Colorado Springs.
USPS said they're also working to recruit current employees from across the region to come work in Steamboat Springs and the Silverthorne area.
"We’ve put advertisements out across the West saying, 'Hey, if you’d like to come out and help us for 60-90 days, we’ll put you in a hotel. We’ll give you that per diem, you’ll work hard but then you’ll also have an opportunity,'" Boxrud said.
He said USPS would like to hire four more people for the Dillion/Silverthorne area and six more people for Steamboat Springs.
There will be another USPS job fair Thursday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Adams County Workforce Center: 11860 N Pecos Street, Westminster.
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