Union says postal workers want immediate action amid rise in crimes targeting them
CHICAGO (CBS) -- We've told you about the U.S. Postal Service campaign to catch criminals attacking postal workers – with crimes targeting them on the rise.
A reward for an armed robbery of a letter carrier in south suburban Harvey was upped to a staggering $150,000 this week. But workers told CBS 2's Tara Molina on Friday that enough still is not being done to protect them.
On Monday, a letter carrier was robbed at gunpoint in broad daylight in the 14800 block of South Lexington Avenue in Harvey. The U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Harvey Police Department are investigating, and have announced a $150,000 reward for the tip that leads to the arrest of the suspects still believed to be armed and dangerous.
Postal workers tell us they are happy to see USPS and the Postal Inspection Service prioritize cracking down on postal crimes - including attacks against postal employees - through the Project Safe Delivery campaign.
But postal workers also say there are not changes being made, day in and day out, to make them feel safer out doing their jobs. More and more postal workers have been targeted in crimes - robbed at gunpoint, pistol whipped, and even shot.
"Leave us alone while we're doing our jobs," said Elise Foster, president of Branch 11 of the National Association of Letter Carriers.
Foster said USPS letter carriers used to be untouchable, but those days are long gone.
"That's not the story today. We are under attack," she said, "and there is no security to protect the workers out there while they're making their rounds."
As head of the union local branch, Foster represents more than 5,000 Chicago-area workers. She told us exactly what those she represents have said off camera -- they want to see changes made to the day-to-day job to make it safer.
One way to do that, Foster said, is to make sure they're not working in the dark.
"With daylight savings time moving back, it gets darker earlier - so we're still out there," she said, "so they need to make some attempt to get us off the street."
If that does not happen, Foster said, there will be consequences.
"They're not going to go back out there. The mail is going to be delayed," she said, "because no one wants to go out there and deliver in fear of their safety."
We looked closer. In 2021, there were 253 robbery cases opened with the Postal Inspection Service nationwide. Last year, that number jumped to 423.
Data for 2023 are not available yet.
Foster complained about the Postal Service's handling of the situation.
"They're pretty much giving us lip service, so we're tired of it," she said. "We want some immediate action; some things put in place to protect these workers each and every day."
Molina reached the Chicago USPS office, asking if any changes are being considered to shift times or if new safety measures are being taken.
They would not address those questions.
"My heart is out there with every letter carrier that get up each and every day to go out there and do their jobs so they can return home to their families," Foster said, "but if this keeps happening and we don't see nothing being done, what can you tell the membership? Because they don't see it. They want to see it. We want to see it."
The armed robbery this week is still under investigation.
The U.S. Postal Service issued a statement saying, "We have no further information to add at this time other than what was provided yesterday."