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For the second time this year, thousands of rural letter carriers across the country missed a paycheck. The U.S. Postal Service payroll glitch resulted in 2,200 workers not getting paid last month. In September, more than 53,000 rural letter carriers went unpaid.

Minnesota U.S. Sen. Tina Smith said she's talked with postal leaders about the problem.

"It's concerning because when they responded to our first question about the people not getting paid, they said this is something they had fixed and it wouldn't happen again. And then 鈥� lo and behold, barely a month later 鈥� we have the same problem again with fewer people, but with similar challenges,鈥� Smith said.

A spokesperson for Smith said letter carriers who missed paychecks in September were "made whole" in the next paycheck they received. For those who missed paychecks in November, it's not known if they've been paid the wages they are due yet.

"It's very frustrating and quite concerning that they just don't seem to be able to get their act together,鈥� Smith said. 鈥淭his is more than just an inconvenience for folks to not get their paycheck. I think our communications with them has been very stern."

There have also been complaints of slow mail delivery in rural America and concerning work conditions for postal employees. One postal worker told MPR News that his job 鈥� especially this time of the year 鈥� is all-consuming. He often works more than 14 hours a day.

The Postal Service declined an MPR News interview request to talk about mail carrier allegations for that story. Instead, it provided a written statement saying it is 鈥渟trongly positioned鈥� to handle the onslaught of holiday package and mail deliveries.