Democratic members of the House Oversight Committee have put new pressure on Postmaster General Louis DeJoy in a letter dispatched to the controversial official this week.
In short, these Democrats’ concern is over the safety of the Postal Service’s workers after a mail carrier died after experiencing conditions of extreme heat while on the job in Texas. It’s been noted that there have been other incidents throughout recent years also involving a Postal Service worker dying after experiencing such conditions. Accordingly, these Democrats have sent DeJoy a list of specific demands for answers, asking, “What measures does the Postal Service currently have in place to address heat-related risks to mail carriers?” They also want answers about the handling by Postal Service leadership of requested modifications to certain routes connected to concerns about temps.
And yet another area of concern for the Democrats is the somewhat delayed implementation of updates to the Postal Service’s vehicle fleet. Those new investments drew widespread concern after initial plans focused on gas-powered vehicles that in some key respects weren’t very different from vehicles already in use. Amid pressure on that front, the federal delivery agency increased its stated commitments to procuring and putting electric vehicles into use — but in the meantime, some workers have been left with vehicles that don’t even have air conditioning units.
There is already a history of financial penalties leveled on the Postal Service in connection to dangerous conditions. “We understand that employee unions attempted to mitigate the risks to letter carriers by requesting commonsense solutions,” the Democratic members told DeJoy. “For instance, we understand that some local unions requested the opportunity to begin mail delivery earlier in the day to avoid being on their routes when temperatures hit their peak. A 2020 analysis of OSHA records showed that OSHA issued more than $1.3 million in initial fines against the Postal Service for heat hazards in eight years. Despite these numerous and continued violations, it appears the Postal Service has yet to comprehensively address this issue and adopt nationwide work conditions policies that prevent these avoidable, tragic deaths.” Read more at this link.
