WASHINGTON (Michigan News Source) – The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) said a problem with its payroll system resulted in 45,000 mail carriers nationwide not getting their paychecks on Friday.

A USPS spokesperson said in a statement that workers who didn’t get paid will get a salary advance via a no-fee money order. They said programming problem that affected payroll has been fixed.

MORE NEWS: Detroit Schools Employee Health Insurance Costs: $79.1M in 2026

The National Rural Letter Carriers’ Association said on its website that the payroll impacted rural letter carriers.

“We are demanding that this process is completed without any carrier being hassled or asked to forgo the salary advance,” the group said in its statement. “All offices are being made aware this is not optional and to have plenty of money orders on hand. There are over 45,000 rural carriers who have missing or partial checks; it is absolutely not acceptable.”

Two workers spoke to a media outlet anonymously and said they are living paycheck to paycheck like everyone else.

“I’ve been lost for words,” one worker said. “It’s just horrible because having to pay the bills, knowing the bills are coming up. You could be forced to move out or lose anything. You lose your car. Most of us have kids. We don’t know what to do.”