JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Six days a week, United States Postal Service workers deliver bills, birthday cards, and packages, but lately, another element has followed them along their routes: The fear of being robbed.
The daily route for America’s letter carriers has become increasingly dangerous as armed robberies targeting postal workers continue to plague the federal workforce, and their union is pushing for more protections.
“We’ve had several beat up badly,” said Al Friedman, president of the Florida Letter Carriers Association.
He also pointed out that some of these attacks are part of an organized crime ring, and they’re after a particularly important item that all letter carriers possess: Arrow keys.
“We’re seeing these masterminds stealing these keys and robbing carriers out on the street,” he said. “They’re getting kids, 16 and 17 years old, to do the dirty work, but they’re the masterminds to go get this done. But they know that there’s not a crime, even on the federal side, for a 16 and 17-year-old to pay the price, except slap them on the hand, have mom and dad come pick them up, and then they’re released back to the street. Basically, the next day.”
Friedman says USPS letter carriers are federal employees, and that’s why they’re lobbying Congress to pass the Protect Our Letter Carriers Act.
The law would increase criminal penalties for attacks on carriers, designate specialized federal prosecutors, and fund new security technology, like electronic arrow keys that change daily.
“You rob a key, then we’d have to change 30, 40,000 locks in that zip code,” Friedman explained. “And that’s the issue we are having a problem with.”
Friedman and others this week are urging lawmakers to prioritize postal worker safety, not just for the carriers, but the communities they serve.
“And it’s not only the psychology side of this, when somebody puts a gun to your head and you think, ‘This is it, I’m done,’ They’re going to kill them over a key or over a piece of mail, this is what we’re dealing with,” he said.
Bipartisan support is growing as Postal Workers Union members hope the Protect Our Letter Carriers Act will make it to the House floor before summer recess.