Postal Service Ignoring Heat Risks to Mail Carriers, Investigation Finds

Internal records show the U.S. Postal Service has tried to get workers out of air-conditioned offices. The allegations come one year after the agency was accused of falsifying heat-training records

CLIMATEWIRE | The email went out shortly after a dangerous heat dome in July had smothered upstate New York.

A U.S. Postal Service manager in Buffalo, New York, was angry that letter carriers appeared to be lingering in air-conditioned post offices and told local supervisors to “get this time back.”

“Turn A/C off and drive them out,” the manager ordered in a July 2 email obtained by POLITICO’s E&E News. “We need to tighten our 4 walls up.”

One year after it was accused of falsifying heat-safety training records for thousands of letter carriers, the Postal Service is now facing allegations that it is pushing employees to rush mail deliveries in sweltering conditions.

Letter carriers in locations across the country say that for a second year they have not received essential safety training on how to stay healthy in the heat, even as their personnel records say otherwise.

Postal Service Ignoring Heat Risks to Mail Carriers, Investigation Finds

Internal records show the U.S. Postal Service has tried to get workers out of air-conditioned offices. The allegations come one year after the agency was accused of falsifying heat-training records