Attacks on postal workers are on the rise, so lawmakers want new protections

A bipartisan group of lawmakers in the House of Representatives introduced a bill to address the rising number of attacks against letter carriers. According to the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC), there have been more than 2,000 such crimes committed since 2020. 

“Throughout our history, letter carriers in uniform have been able to walk down even the meanest streets in this country without incident,” NALC President Brian Renfroe said at a press conference on Capitol Hill. “No one messed with their letter carrier. That has changed.”  

Many of the attacks involve weapons — including guns. Some are caught on security cameras in local neighborhoods, such as one in which a letter carrier was assaulted on a front lawn by two masked men and another in which a carrier was punched in a driveway and subsequently tumbled into the street. 

“It was two young, young men wearing ski masks and holding an AK-47,” letter carrier Matt McBee from Detroit said of his attack. “They stuck it to my head and all they wanted was the key.”

The letter box keys are a big target, so lawmakers included funds in the bill to address that. The Protect Our Letter Carriers Act would provide $1.4 billion to replace the universal key with an electronic key and replace the old blue mail boxes with high security boxes. The bill would also change sentencing guidelines for anyone who assaults or robs a postal carrier, treating them the same as someone who assaults a law enforcement officer.

To build support for the bill, the sponsors brought in some heavy hitters of their own, including United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y. 

“The fact that any worker is subjected to any act of violence, while doing a job on behalf of the American people is not something that we should ever tolerate,” Jeffries said. 

Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., a sponsor of the bill, hopes to get it passed using what’s known in the House as the 290 rule. If leadership won’t bring a bill up for a vote, rank-and-file members can get it put on the consensus calendar if they get 290 co-sponsors. 

“I think we will get 290 co-sponsors on this bill,” Fitzpatrick said. “This is a no brainer, I can’t imagine anybody being opposed to it. Which means that I fully expect this to come on the floor this year and pass with overwhelming support.” 

The bill has 14 co-sponsors and has been referred to both the Judiciary and Oversight committees. It has not been introduced in the Senate.