On Wednesday, May 29, 2024, the United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report, detailing how serious and violent crimes committed against US Postal Service (USPS) employees have increased almost every fiscal year since 2017.
According to data from the US Postal Inspection Service, the law enforcement branch of USPS, serious crime cases against USPS workers and property have nearly doubled over 2019 to 2023.
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“In recent years, letter carriers have been robbed, including at gunpoint, threatening their safety and the security of the mail they carry,” GAO stated, explaining the background of the study.
The office found that robbery cases, in particular, have exploded, increasing nearly sevenfold from 2019 to 2023.
Notably, in the past, USPS has been criticized for preventing employees from speaking with the media or press.
According to the unofficial Reddit forum for USPS workers, USPS employees are “NOT ALLOWED to answer any questions asked by the media or news sites.”
Additionally, in 2020, an internal memo leaked, discouraging employees from answering questions posed by customers, as the memo claimed they could be journalists in hiding.
“But well-run organizations don't try and stop employees from talking, an especially fruitless endeavor for the USPS which has a 630,000-strong heavily unionized workforce. Typically, well-run organizations try and fix the problems the employees are talking about instead,” VICE wrote at the time.
Online, anonymous USPS workers are echoing the sentiment of feeling unsafe at their jobs.
On Reddit, one user describes how, “the USPS, specifically, has had horrible workplace acts of violence.”
Another voiced their frustration saying of the agency’s management that, “They only care about the safety of the mail. To hell with the carrier.” In that same thread, a USPS worker shared an anecdote wherein they had gotten written up for being bitten by dogs, as they had failed to protect their own safety.
