US representatives demand more protections for postal workers amid extreme heat

AUSTIN (KXAN) – Over 70 members of Congress, led by U.S. Rep. Greg Casar, D-Austin, sent a letter to the United States Postal Service (USPS), calling on them to make changes to protect workers from extreme heat.

The group of representatives pointed out that at least five postal workers have died from heat-related illnesses while on the job since 2018. This includes Eugene Gates , who died on June 20, 2023, while delivering mail in Dallas when there was a heat index of 116 degrees.

“We’ve been working on this [letter] now for over a year since the death of Mr. Gates,” Casar told KXAN. “We don’t want another letter carrier to get sick. We don’t want another fellow Texan to die, especially when they’re out there doing critical work like delivering our mail,” he continued.

The letter demands USPS as soon as possible adopt the new federal heat rule, recently proposed by the Occupational Safety Health Administration (OSHA).

The rule would ensure employers have developed plans to minimize heat-related injuries in the workplace. For example, if the heat becomes extreme, an employer must implement requirements for rest breaks, drinking water, and keeping indoors cool.

“The U.S. Postal Service, with a flick of a pen, could start enforcing it right now,” Casar said.

“There’s no reason to wait. It’s hot right now this summer, and we should be protecting those men and women that deliver the mail to us, deliver people’s medicine, deliver people’s critical correspondence,” he continued.

Casar said currently many USPS vans deliver the mail with no air conditioning. He said there is a new fleet of postal vehicles fitted with air conditioners.

In the letter, Casar and the other representatives urged USPS to prioritize sending the vehicles with air condition to places where there is extreme heat, like Texas.

“These folks — they’re famous for making sure that the mail happens six days a week, and they should at least get some baseline respect and protection,” Casar said.

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