WASHINGTON – It’s been six months since the death of Dallas mail carrier Eugene Gates Jr., who collapsed on the job during a heat wave, but his widow, Carla Gates, still can’t bear to part with his clothes or change anything around their house.
“It’s devastating to lose your loved one that way,” she said. “Your life will never be the same.”
An autopsy found that Gates, 66, died from the heat and heart disease. His death and other heat-related incidents continue to raise questions about how the U.S. Postal Service handles worker safety during extreme heat events.
U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Dallas and fellow Democrats on the House Oversight Committee wrote Tuesday to their chairman, Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., urging him to convene a hearing on the topic.
Crockett and other Democrats have pressed USPS for more information about its approach to scorching summers in states such as Texas.
In response, the postal service has highlighted its Heat Illness Prevention Program and mandatory training for employees in the summer months.
“Please be assured that the Postal Service is mindful of the welfare and safety of our employees and proactively engages measures, such as the comprehensive HIPP, to ensure they have the awareness and tools to protect themselves in extreme weather,” Michael Gordon, part of the postal service’s government relations team, wrote to the committee’s top Democrat U.S.Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland in July.
That program runs from April 1 through Oct. 31 and is triggered when the heat index is expected to top 80 degrees. It includes information for carriers about prevention of heat-related illness.
The program also requires heat-related training for all workers, who are reminded to stay hydrated, wear the right clothes and take advantage of shade whenever possible.
Democrats on the committee aren’t satisfied, however, and want to delve deeper. They cited heat-related illnesses reported last summer among carriers in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina, along with reports about workers being encouraged to keep working despite the heat.
“We are facing a global climate emergency and have a responsibility to ensure the health and safety of federal employees who are exposed to extreme weather conditions while balancing the Postal Service’s performance,” they wrote.
In their letter, the House Democrats also cited reports of training records being falsified.
Crockett also has pressed the postal service on delivering many of their new air-conditioned trucks to Texas. She said in a statement the postal service has told her locations for the new vehicles are still being finalized, but it expects a “significant percentage” of them to be deployed in Texas.
“While we do not know how things might have ended if Mr. Gates had access to an air-conditioned truck on that triple-digit day this past June, prioritizing newer, air-conditioned trucks to Texas is an important step in protecting our postal workers in the years to come,” Crockett said.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has been investigating Gates’ death.
In the meantime, Carla Gates continues to mourn and fight to claim all of the benefits from her husband’s insurance policies.
She prays that postal workers are able to stay safe in next summer’s heat. She doesn’t want anyone else to lose a loved one that way.
“The pain is overwhelming.”
