Jason Thompson, a letter carrier with the United States Postal Service (USPS), claims to have been suspended and threatened with firing after using his Facebook profile to complain about extreme working conditions during a blizzard that hit the region.
Last Monday (26), Thompson arrived at the post office in Fairfield, 26 miles north of Cincinnati, Ohio, to find the parking lot poorly cleared and the delivery trucks buried under “60 to 90 centimeters of snow,” he wrote.
“Our letter carriers deliver mail during heat waves, blizzards, storms and emergencies, and today they showed up again, only to find themselves in danger, with nothing to do and no safe place to work,” Thompson said on his Facebook profile.
“Letter carriers come from Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana and nearby areas and risk their lives just to get to work, only to be told there is no mail or packages,” he revealed.
“This is not our fault, and it’s not a situation we should have to deal with. Why don’t we hire a specialist company to excavate all these facilities, instead of letting the letter carriers struggle to dig themselves out?” he asked.
Thompson stated that the letter carriers were told to use sick or vacation days if they wanted to miss the rest of the shift, despite the fact that there was nothing to deliver. “This is not how the most dedicated men and women of the United States Postal Service should be treated,” argued Thompson.
Five hours after publishing his post, Thompson said superiors at the USPS warned him to remove the post or “there could be consequences.” “Now I’m being threatened that if I don’t remove this post I could lose my job! Help, hear us out… Please!” he wrote.
About an hour after the initial warning, Thompson announced that he had been suspended without pay for the post. “I was informed that I have been placed on emergency leave without pay! I hope this will bring about positive changes for everyone,” Thompson lamented.
To WXIX A USPS spokesperson said that “the safety of our employees is a top priority, especially during periods of extreme cold. During extreme cold conditions, letter carriers follow established safety precautions.”
“The Postal Service is continuously monitoring weather conditions and strengthening safety guidance to help ensure employees can deliver mail in the safest way possible, while continuing to provide a reliable service to our customers.”
Photo and video: Facebook. This content is created with the help of AI and reviewed by the editors.
