USPS workers speak up about unjust working conditions in extreme Texas heat

• USPS (United States Postal Service) workers in Texas are speaking up about unjust working conditions in the extreme summer heat.
• About a year ago, a UPS worker in North Texas died while on the job from heat illness.
• The President of the National Association of Letter Carriers said that a USPS worker in Corpus Christi fainted last week while on the job.
• USPS works say they need more heat breaks, more accessible water, and air conditioning in all mail delivery vehicles.

The United States Postal Service (USPS) workers in Corpus Christi say they are struggling with working in extreme summer temperatures in Texas. The President of the National Association of Letter Carriers, Juan Munoz, believes daily operations during the hot summer months need to change. Almost exactly a year ago, a UPS driver in North Texas died while on the job from a heat-related illness. Munoz said that a Corpus Christi USPS worker fainted while on the job last week.
“It's always, you know, it hits you in the heart that it could have been prevented, but you know, because management ultimately is responsible for our safety, we are at ends with them over how we can address these issues. And to them, it seems that they don’t care. They care about the mail," Juan Munoz, The President of the National Association of Letter Carriers said.

Munoz isn’t just the local union president for letter carriers. He’s also been a mail carrier himself in Texas for over 20 years. He says the solution to this issue is for USPS officials to listen to their employees about getting air conditioning units in all mail vehicles and letting them take heat breaks at any time, with no questions asked.

“It’s sad to hear when anybody dies of a heat injury. But, just last year, we had a carrier in Dallas die because of heat injury. It hits you in the heart that it could have been prevented," Munoz said.

Munoz said that not all mail delivery vehicles are equipped with air conditioning.

“Some do, some don’t," Munoz said. "Start times actually got pushed further to start later in the day which puts us in the heat longer."

Some neighbors are worried about the safety of the people who deliver their mail.

“They could start maybe a community collection for a water spot for them, or you know, maybe a picnic area for them," Glenda Grasz, a Corpus Christi Resident said.

Munoz said that the most unacceptable part is that USPS supervisors question something as simple as taking a heat break to regroup.

“Every day they preach about how they care about our safety. Yet, if our scanner does not move for 5 minutes, right away, management is ‘What were you doing?’, ‘So you’re just sitting around? “Well even if the carrier says, look, I took a couple of extra minutes to catch my breath, wipe myself down, get some more water, management doesn’t believe them," Munoz said.

Overall, Munoz believes the main solution to this issue is for supervisors to have more empathy for those who work outside in these extreme temperatures during the Texas summer.

“The solution is just go back to being a human being. It’s like wow, you know, you care about yourselves, but not us," Munoz said.

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