Life of a busy Salinas postal worker during the Holiday rush

SALINAS, Calif. (KION-TV)- Anyone who's been to the post office in the last couple of weeks knows the Holiday rush is on!

Especially for people trying to send out their last-minute gifts and Christmas cards. 

KION spoke with some postal workers in Salinas earlier Friday.

They tell us USPS spends all year planning how to handle the Holiday surge in mail and packages. Most importantly, how to get them all delivered on time. 

We had more packages probably doubled and tripled because of COVID," said postal worker Bernardo Ojeda. "And with the holidays, it probably added a little more. But we accommodate for it. We make plans like starting earlier, sometimes starting later.

During the peak holiday season, workers all get up early to open the post office at 6 a.m.

By 9 a.m., carriers are out on their routes, delivering holiday cheer. 

Each carrier gets 150 and 200 packages to deliver this time of year. 

The post office will send out 3 to 4-thousand packages throughout the peak Holiday season.