The Postal Service, she added, continues to aggressively hire in many locations across the country as well as the state of Washington. “With a workforce of more than 635,000, USPS is one of the nation’s largest employers with ongoing attrition needs. There are current job openings on the islands. That information can be found on our career page usps.com/careers. Interested applicants can also go into any Post Office location and ask for more information.”

Some islanders have taken to contacting Amazon customer service and requesting a UPS delivery rather than USPS. Customer service representatives have reportedly told them they will note their account. However, due to third-party delivery, (not all products are shipped from Amazon, some are shipped directly from the company that sells them) Amazon can not guarantee the request.

Rebecca McDonough from Orcas contacted Amazon about her deliveries and received a call back from their Executive Customer Service team.”I learned in order once again to receive Amazon shipments to my home, I had to ask Amazon to ‘deprioritize USPS; for deliveries.” McDonough said. The woman was able to do that while they were on the phone together, according to McDonough. The customer service woman also told her it would take about 10 days for it to take effect, and they may still receive packages at the USPS if that’s the method used by a specific Amazon seller. “Fair enough,” McDonough responded. “I was told, there was no way to do this globally for our zip code or city… Each individual Amazon account holder has to contact the Customer Service Department and request this deprioritization for their specific address. So far the one order I’ve placed since has been delivered by Aeronautical. I’ve placed a second order, but am waiting to see how that’s coming to me.” Should others want to contact Amazon, they can call 1-888-280-4331, and request deprioritization of US Postal Service so that their orders can once again be delivered Aeronautical.

The community is rallying behind their postal workers. On Lopez, the elementary school decorated the local post office to help boost workers’ spirits, and at the San Juan Island Chamber of Commerce meeting Dec. 6, Printonyx owner Kris Brown suggested dropping off non-sugary food items to thank the workers who may not have time to eat. Others suggested giving gift certificates from local businesses for win-win support.

“Don’t forget about Post San Juan, they are also feeling it,” another Chamber attendee said. Post San Juan works with FedEx, UPS and USPS and is now located at 689 Airport Center.

Customers can help by picking up their mail and packages from the Post Office or their mailboxes daily to allow room for new deliveries, according to Frum. Understanding also goes a long way.

“The post office has nothing to do with this,” Franklin said, urging patience and kindness for local postal workers. “It is not their fault.”