Postal workers are being attacked, robbed and killed. These proposed laws could save lives.

Long gone are the days when rain, snow, sleet or hail were the only worries of the postman delivering mail. Today, hardly a day goes by when we don’t hear the story of a postman who was attacked or robbed at gunpoint while simply doing his job.

On Friday, 48-year-old postwoman Octavia Redmond was shot dead by an unknown assailant while delivering letters in the far south of the city.

In the last two years, over 140 mail carriers have been victims of crime in Chicago alone, and those responsible have rarely been caught or held accountable. At the same time, the United States Postal Service has done little to protect our mail carriers.

During my 13 years as president of the Chicago Postal Workers Union, we worked tirelessly to raise awareness of the plight of our members. We successfully lobbied the Illinois General Assembly to pass a law allowing judges to increase the punishment for anyone who assaults a postal worker while doing their job.

Senator Dick Durbin has even repeatedly appealed to the Chicago Postal Service to do more to protect mail carriers, but they have only exacerbated the problem by pushing businesses and homeowners to install more mailboxes, especially in new buildings, at the expense of mail carrier safety.

These mailboxes, located in front of Chicago’s high-rises and apartment buildings, were popular primarily in the suburbs. Now they’re becoming more common in Chicago’s neighborhoods, using the same archaic arrow-key system that’s at the heart of crimes against mail carriers.

The National Association of Letter Carriers has consistently advocated door-to-door delivery as the preferred delivery method to best meet the needs of our customers and the safety of our members.

Recently, our association supported the introduction of bills in Congress, both in the House and the Senate, that would address many of our concerns. The Mail Carrier Protection Act (HR7629 and S.4356) would increase the rate of criminal prosecution by prioritizing federal prosecutions of criminals, requiring harsher penalties for robberies and assaults on mail carriers, and providing the Postal Service with the funding to replace the current blue mailboxes with a highly secure electronic version.

Meanwhile, Durbin has introduced legislation that would put the Postal Police back on the streets to protect letter carriers. The Postal Police Reform Act (S.3356), strongly supported by the Postal Police Union, would provide more protection by restoring the Postal Police presence to protect the mail and postal workers while on duty on and off postal property.

Locally, the Chicago branch of NALC has been working with City Council members on a proposed ordinance to stop the proliferation of mailboxes so we can maintain centralized door-to-door delivery in Chicago, which is safer for letter carriers and our customers. But the proposal has stalled in committee.

Customers have a choice before their delivery method is changed or supplemented by new developments. Cluster box units reduce the quality of service and put both carriers and customers at risk.

Together, all of these proposals would serve as a deterrent to crimes against letter carriers, devalue the coveted arrow keys, and restore trust in our postal system. Our postal unions are united and call on all of our members of Congress, Mayor Brandon Johnson, and the City Council to support and pass all of these legislative initiatives that would protect our letter carriers in Chicago and across the country.

Mack I. Julion is assistant secretary and treasurer of the National Association of Letter Carriers.

The views and opinions expressed by the authors are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Chicago Sun-Times or its affiliates.

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