US postal workers say agency's productivity tracking and inconsistent training is life-threatening amid extreme heat

Earlier this year, Texas letter carrier Eugene Gates Jr. died on the job while the heat index was at 110 degrees.

Shannon Stapleton/Reuters

• USPS workers are battling life-threatening summer heat.
• Postal workers and their union leaders say productivity tracking on hot days is making the threat worse.
• Union leaders are also investigating reports of managers inaccurately recording heat safety trainings.

Everything is hotter in Texas right now.

The state is facing some of the most extreme heat in its recorded history. So when a letter carrier for the US Postal Service reported to work in rural Texas recently, his supervisor offered a grim reminder.

"While there were some good intentions, our supervisor actually told us: 'If you guys die, if you get hurt, the mail is going to get delivered no matter what,'" he told Insider. "It was her way of telling us to be cognizant, and safety depends on us."

That reminder came after the death of Eugene Gates Jr., 66, a letter carrier in Texas who died on June 20 as he delivered his route. While the official cause of Gates' death is unknown, the high temperature in his region that day was 98 degrees Fahrenheit, with a heat index of 110 degrees.

"We do know that it was a different type of heat, and that's what we've been exposed to in Texas recently," Kimetra Lewis, president of Gates' local union, the National Association of Letter Carriers Branch 132, told Insider. 

"The Postal Service is deeply saddened by the loss of life of Dallas, TX, Lakewood Post Office Letter Carrier Eugene Gates, Jr.," Albert Ruiz, senior public relations representative for the USPS, wrote to Insider. "Our thoughts continue to be with his family, friends and colleagues."

But letter carriers and their union leadership told Insider that there is a lack of heat safety training at USPS and that workplace requirements — like productivity tracking — are making it difficult to properly cool down as they deliver the mail.

The USPS letter carriers who spoke to Insider requested anonymity because they were concerned about possible retaliation. Insider has verified their identities and their status as current USPS letter carriers. The USPS cannot formally penalize workers for speaking to the media as long as they are not working while doing so, according to legal precedent from the National Labor Relations Board, which deems such retaliation unlawful. 

Productivity tracking during a punishing summer is making things worse, USPS employees and union leaders say

The USPS equips managers with the ability to track letter carriers along their routes. They are also able to monitor if carriers are stationary for any period of time.

The National Association of Letter Carriers — a union that represents letter carriers in urban areas, with rural letter carriers represented by a separate union — has worked to educate employees about how to manage questions from supervisors about stationary time, which often results from necessities like using the bathroom or taking time to cool off in the shade.

"When we're in periods like we are now with excessive heat — or even dangerous cold in the winter — there are just things people have to do to take care of themselves," NALC President Brian Renfroe told Insider. "We educate our members on that. They have the right to do this stuff."

Renfroe said there are several protections against stationary time discipline, including contractual conditions that state USPS management can't rely solely on tracking to conclude someone is not adequately working.

One letter carrier from South Carolina told Insider she was questioned after stopping for 31 minutes on her 30-minute lunch break.

"I've had several days where I'd have to stop and try to cool down," she told Insider. "And then my manager would call."

These stops are important, she said, because her vehicle does not have air conditioning. Manufactured in 1989, the vehicle is only equipped with a fan that is about the size of her hand. The union has worked with the USPS to design a new fleet of trucks that they hope will replace all vehicles nationwide in the coming years.

"I 100% foresee a day where every single vehicle that my members drive will be air-conditioned," Renfroe said.

The USPS declined to comment on stationary time or vehicle conditions.

While the USPS provides heat safety training, union leadership says not all employees are completing it

The USPS has a Heat Illness Prevention Program that all employees are required to complete by April 1 each year, Renfroe told Insider. The program is designed to educate letter carriers on the warning signs of heat-related illness and how to stay safe amid high temperatures.

This year, the National Associated of Letter Carriers has ordered every local branch to review its training completion records. The move was prompted by reports from employees last month that management had inaccurately completed training records, indicating employees finished the program when they never did, according to Renfroe.

"If what I suspect is true — that there are pretty widespread inaccuracies — then we'll address that with [the USPS]," Renfroe told Insider.

Lewis, president of Gates' local union in Texas, confirmed to Insider that she had found evidence of inaccurate records in the offices within her branch, including the office Gates worked in before his death.

"The safety of our employees is a top priority, and the Postal Service has implemented a national Heat Illness Prevention Program (HIPP) for all employees," Darlene Casey, a senior public relations representative for the USPS, wrote to Insider. "In connection with the HIPP, the Postal Service provides mandatory heat-related and other safety training and instruction to all employees and assures they have the resources needed to do their jobs safely."

The USPS declined to comment further on the reports of inaccurate training records.

Letter carriers try new strategies to protect against the heat

Letter carriers are finding their own creative ways to stay cool and protect themselves from heat-related illnesses.

The rural letter carrier from Texas told Insider he monitors everything he drinks before, during, and after his shift to ensure he's staying hydrated. The city letter carrier out of South Carolina said she puts wet towels in the refrigerator overnight and wears them during her route, re-wetting them each time she stops to use the restroom. 

This summer is an especially hot one thanks to a heat dome that settled over the southern United States, prompting excessive heat throughout June and July, the Washington Post reported. In particular, Texas is facing one of its most intense summers yet, with some regions facing more than 30 days of triple-digit temperatures, the Texas Tribune reported.

Workers across industries are responding to this heat by demanding further safety measures. In Texas, construction workers are protesting a new law that struck down local ordinances mandating employers provide regular water breaks.

"This is easily the worst summer yet," the rural letter carrier from Texas told Insider. "It's just too damn hot."

Are you facing heat-related safety hazards in your workplace? Contact this reporter at khawkinson@insider.com.

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