Talk is Cheap: Safety Matters

(This article appeared in the May/June 2026 issue of The American Postal Worker magazine)

Let me start with something our contract makes crystal clear. Article 14 places the responsibility squarely on management to provide safe working conditions in every workplace. That is not a suggestion. That is not a goal. It is a requirement. But every single day, postal workers across this country are going to work in conditions that fall short of what our contract demands.

On our livestream in February, we heard about workers in Nevada who were exposed to an airborne chemical substance that caused burning in their eyes and throats while working. The supervisor told them to keep running the machine. They ran it for 45 more minutes while the workers’ pain increased and their vision got worse. By the time the union was called, workers had lost their sight entirely. And when they tried to call 911, there was a dispute about whether management would even allow emergency services inside. Three hours of chaos followed, which should have been three minutes of emergency response.

In New Jersey, a coworker was struck by a tractor-trailer in an employee parking lot, losing her life. After that tragedy, it still took months of pressure to get temporary traffi c lights installed at the crosswalks. When I take stories like this to management, I ask them to tell me what price they are putting on a life. When they tell me they cannot afford to fi x a hazard, I want you to imagine it is your mother walking across that crosswalk. I want you to imagine it is your family that gets that phone call. Because that is what we are talking about. And the APWU will no longer accept excuses dressed up as reasons.

We are not asking anymore. We are demanding. The APWU has launched our Talk is Cheap: Safety Matters campaign, and it begins with you. Every member needs to download the safety checklist at: apwu.org/safety. Walk into your facility tomorrow with that checklist. Go through it item by item. When was the last time you had a fi re drill? Do you know where the emergency action plan is posted? Are PS Form 1767s accessible? These are requirements. 

The PS Form 1767 is your most powerful tool, but only if you use it correctly and you put your name on it. Anonymous complaints do not create accountability. You have to be willing to stand up and be counted. I know that takes courage, especially when you fear retaliation. But let me say this plainly: retaliation for using a PS Form 1767 is prohibited. The union will back you. We will be there when it gets difficult, because solidarity is our strength, and there are more of us than there are of them.

We are also holding management accountable through the contract mechanisms we already have. Article 14 grievances work. Joint labor-management safety committees work. In New York, six local presidents came together for quarterly district safety meetings, and those meetings grew from a handful of officers to rooms with 20 managers present, including district managers, plant managers, and more. That is what collective action looks like. That is what happens when you stop going through the door alone and start going through it together.

This is just the beginning. The union works with you, not for you. We are going to give you the tools, the education, and the backing you need, but you have to get involved. Download the checklist. Fill out the PS Form 1767. Stand up with your coworkers. Demand what you are owed under Article 14. Every postal worker deserves to go to work and come home in one piece. That is not a privilege. That is your right. And together we are going to hold management accountable to that right. ■