Post Offices Start Sunday Delivery

Coping with increased volume from the UPS strike, the post office began seven-day-a-week package deliveries Sunday in some metropolitan areas.

“The Postal Service is now delivering dramatically increased volumes of mail that rival those we experience during the Christmas period,” Nicholas Barranca, U.S.

Postal Service vice president, said in a statement.

Federally mediated talks between the Teamsters union and United Parcel Service broke down Saturday with no date set to resume. Most of the union’s 185,000 UPS members stopped work a week ago, mainly over job security.

The post office already has Sunday deliveries of guaranteed overnight Express Mail, which continue. Spokesman Mark Saunders said the decision was left to local post offices whether to add Sunday deliveries of priority mail and parcel post packages to make room for packages expected early in the week.

“We’re doing this to stay ahead of the capacity of mail that is coming in as a result of the UPS strike,” he said. “We want to be on the safe side and serve our customers.”

Saunders couldn’t say which post offices were making Sunday deliveries but said there are hundreds across the country, mostly in metropolitan areas. He said 17 post offices in the Chicago area were delivering.

The Postal Service has seen a 70 percent increase in express mail, which guarantees overnight delivery. Priority mail is up by 50 percent, and parcel post volume has increased by 20 percent over the corresponding period last year, Saunders said.

The post office normally delivers 6 million packages within its 600 million pieces of mail each day, Saunders said. The service expects eventually to handle 15 to 20 percent of the 12 million packages UPS normally delivers each day, Saunders said.

Local post offices still restrict to four the number of packages that customers may mail each visit, Saunders said, but those who need to mail more can call 1-800-485-8727 for instructions on obtaining an appointment.