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Postal Workers Allowed to Smoke in Delivery TrucksMany surprised that in anti-smoking era, feds make an exceptionRelated Content
ANCHORAGE - At a time when so many workplaces are going smoke free it might surprise you to learn there is one large employer that still allows some smoking on the job. It’s the U.S. Postal Service that lets letter carriers to light up in their delivery trucks. The policy isn’t just for Alaska, it’s nationwide. Mailmen aren’t allowed to smoke in their vehicles while delivering or collecting mail, although they can still smoke on foot. They can smoke while driving to their routes and also on their breaks. The Postal Service says they haven’t had official complaints but customers have called in about stinky mail. “We have received one or two inquiries if our carriers were allowed to smoke in their vehicles,” said Alaska Postal Marketing Director Blessie Lochmann. “And of course, it’s due to the fact that their mail is smelling some smoke residue smell to it.” But Jim Raymond, president of the local letter carrier’s union, said he has only had one phone call in the the 30 years he has worked as a postal employee. Raymond said it was from a woman who was sensitive to the smoke she smelled on her mail. He told her there wasn’t much he could do. “She asked me, can’t they stop that?” said Raymond. “I told her that was way above my pay grade, but she could contact the Postmaster General in Washington D.C. or her congressional folks and they could look into it for her.” Raymond says the number of letter carriers who smoke has gone way down in recent years, and that, if anything, the rules on smoking have gotten more restrictive. Still, the American Lung Association questions why the Postal Service permits smoking at all. “Workplace policies aren’t about being anti-smoker,” said the American Lung Association's Alaska director, Marge Stoneking. “They are about being anti-smoking and promoting a tobacco-free lifestyle. A tobacco-free lifestyle is the number one thing you can do to be healthy, and generally we want our workforce to be healthy.” The Postal Workers' union says the number of members who smoke has dropped considerably over the years and that smokers are definitely in the minority. The U.S. Postal Service also offers classes to those who want to quit, as does the American Lung Association. |
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not only do i smoke..... said on Sunday, Mar 3 at 5:51 AM
guess what else we do?? we pee in cups in the back when on our routes(im a rural carrier) and theres no bathrooms...so guess what...my pee splash is on your mail too...golen showers..golden mail!!
115060791RampikeD said on Saturday, Feb 2 at 6:40 PM
Where I work, they built a covered smoking area near the entrance but its so far for people to walk they'd rather slip outside a dock door and puff. I mentioned it at a safety talk but was meet with the reply,"Its hard to stop the smoking when the supervisors are some of the ones that go smoke."
112759376Buck said on Thursday, Jan 31 at 7:46 PM
Sometimes I put the mail straight to the trash . If I bring it into the house the smell is everywhere I go.
112637946Sid. said on Thursday, Jan 31 at 3:12 PM
"Smoking in Postal owned, leased, or in the fleet is prohibited. Disciplinary action if not adhered to may follow. File a 1767 and follow it to the Labor Management Meeting where you will get good results. If not file an EEO and get to the doctor and complain. For a fee I will file it for you and do the leg work." YOU ARE WRONG!!!! Quit spreading false information!
112624756Cancer Mail said on Thursday, Jan 31 at 1:33 PM
Hmmmm, we can we call it cancer mail, when you get third party smoke off your mail.....
112619096AH said on Thursday, Jan 31 at 12:38 PM
Channel 11 needs to find "NEWS" to report! Those complainers aren't looking at the whole picture. Yes, Mr Raymond is the NALC Branch President and represents the Letter Carriers 100%. We need more representatives like him who fight for the workers rights. Why is no one questioning the Postal Service for the machines that burn the mail, leaving holes and burn marks and that nasty machinery stench thats left behind on mail pieces? Which happens daily at the mail processing plant from the mail being left unattended, allowing the mail to bind up in the equipment like an accordion. Theres more reasons for the smell on mail, so wake up people, its not just from those who smoke. Think of those smells your letter carrier has to deal with daily!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
112615601unforgiven said on Thursday, Jan 31 at 11:25 AM
Please, find a real news story to cover. This is absolutely stupid.
112610601Postal worker milwaukee said on Thursday, Jan 31 at 6:54 AM
I had to laugh when a copy of this story ended up in our break room in Milwaukee Wi. First off smoking is prohibited in all gsa vehicles, smoking is only allowed on break times and in designated areas only.The problem is management fails to enforce their policies on this issue so all the non smokers suffer. Our main processing facility is a large ash tray.And there's nothing worse than an air freshener trying to cover up a smoked up vehicle.I Quit smoking 17 years ago since then i lost 2 friends to lung cancer. They were gone within 6 months after being diagnosed.Less time to smoke equals better chances to quit !
112590525carrier jones said on Thursday, Jan 31 at 1:44 AM
please people when did americans become such wimps gotta die from something!
112576546Ernest M. Johnson said on Wednesday, Jan 30 at 7:56 PM
Smoking in Postal owned, leased, or in the fleet is prohibited. Disciplinary action if not adhered to may follow. File a 1767 and follow it to the Labor Management Meeting where you will get good results. If not file an EEO and get to the doctor and complain. For a fee I will file it for you and do the leg work.
112566915yea baby said on Wednesday, Jan 30 at 4:57 PM
Get in stinky truck, go home sick, go by doctor and get a note, file it workman's comp- problem solved
112558286john said on Wednesday, Jan 30 at 3:57 PM
I complain all the time. I'm a Mail Carrier and dont smoke and have asked others not too in the truck I use, and I put no smoking signs up in the truck but it is no use. I've been nice about it but, it's really irking me. It takes a long time from 1 day of someone smoking in the truck to get that smell out! I dont want to smell that residue and it's probably not healthy to smell it either. It ends up on my taste buds and makes me sick. I've filled out the hazardous condition forms and nothing gets done about it. The fact is that smokers for the most part are selfish addicts and only care about their next fix. All I want is to breathe fresh air!!! Get with the program USPS stop them from smoking in the trucks, NOW! PLEASE
112554941big daddy said on Wednesday, Jan 30 at 3:47 PM
we have a grievance on file which states you can smoke in truck as long as there is no mail in your hand . most trucks still have ash trays .
112554392gwb said on Wednesday, Jan 30 at 3:47 PM
George, you have no idea what you are talking about. I wish you were correct, but your are WRONG!!
112554341Good Grief!! said on Wednesday, Jan 30 at 3:45 PM
Anonymous said today at 11:01 AM I have a child with asthma who is so sensitive to cigarette smoke that she can easily end up in the hospital from being exposed to it. I pity the postal worker that ever delivers that stench to MY house, because they WILL be getting the medical bills and I don't care what thier pay grade is! Hahahahaha!!! Yeah, good luck with that one!!! Better start looking for your lawyer now, it will take you years to find one willing to try to take on the USPS. Oh and by the way, you better be made of money because none will take it without the assurance that their bills will be paid after you lose and lose big!! They'll drag you through the process for so long and you'll run up huge legal fees and be left with getting nothing from the USPS or anyone working there.
112554076George said on Wednesday, Jan 30 at 3:24 PM
Check your facts. Smoking is NOT allowed in any vehicle in the fleet of the USPS!
112552851Louis said on Wednesday, Jan 30 at 3:23 PM
"I find it interesting that they've only received 1 or 2 inquiries - several years ago, I spoke to my post office MULTIPLE times regarding the carrier that delievered mail to my office. The smell of smoke on my mail was SO strong that it would take my breath away!" Give me a break "take my breath away" what does that even mean? I have never seen someones breath taken away. I doubt it is even possible. Your whole post is a lie
112552705frank said on Wednesday, Jan 30 at 2:13 PM
Oh please. Give me a break. Are people really complaining about carriers smoking. Who gives a dern. If they want to smoke let em smoke, I do admit other carriers use those trucks too sometimes, but for the most part at least in my office, you use the same truck anyway.If you smoke in the truck, hand an air freshner in there, and open the doors, thats about it. I mean people who smoke handle all types of items. I've seen truck drivers unloading their trailers smoking, I've seen UPS guys smoking in the truck, I've seen cops smoking in the car, and i've even seen a school bus driver smoking in an empty bus. This is a minute issue that's gonna continue, plus not as many people smoke anymore so I dont see the big deal.
112548271RightWay said on Wednesday, Jan 30 at 12:46 PM
If this is your biggest problem in life you should be happy. Manup or Womanup. Life is too short to wrry about the little things.
112541922Anonymous said on Wednesday, Jan 30 at 12:01 PM
I have a child with asthma who is so sensitive to cigarette smoke that she can easily end up in the hospital from being exposed to it. I pity the postal worker that ever delivers that stench to MY house, because they WILL be getting the medical bills and I don't care what thier pay grade is!
112538495anothercommentor said on Wednesday, Jan 30 at 10:06 AM
In my area, smoking in and around the vehicles is NOT permitted although some do it anyway. As vehicles are frequently shared, this really "stinks" (literally) for those who cannot tolerate the smell (yes, some vehicle smell of other things too which is just as bad). The comment about inks on mail items is valid, too. Though it's was worse in the past with more solvent based inks in use, I've sometimes felt as though I were getting light headed breathing the fumes of such freshly printed mail items as I was casing up mail in the mornings.
112530676Mr. Pennypacker said on Wednesday, Jan 30 at 9:24 AM
This is the classic case of looking for a problem to report...OMG! I hear they let carriers use the restroom and eat lunches too!
112527501trjnreb said on Wednesday, Jan 30 at 8:10 AM
im a retired letter carrier. in the district where i worked you could only smoke in your truck while on official breaks. so your claim that smoking in the truck is natio wide policy is false
112521591mike l said on Wednesday, Jan 30 at 7:35 AM
Please there are so many more issues that are bigger than smoking in the trucks. How about the carbon monoxide that we have to breathe everyday from these old trucks that barely have heat for the winter and no air conditioning for those hot days. The trucks themselves are more of a hazard to life than smoking in the vehicles..
112518752Frank said on Wednesday, Jan 30 at 7:12 AM
What isucks is the letter carriers that don't smoke! The mail truck smell like a giant ashtray! I spray bathroom spray in the truck and open all doors after a smoker takes my truck.
112517041denise said on Wednesday, Jan 30 at 6:01 AM
Get a grip folk's ! Your perfume stink's too.
112511326mi said on Wednesday, Jan 30 at 5:59 AM
Raymond sounds like a typical union Obama supporter with the statement about his "pay grade". Cigarettes kill more than guns and what are the government ingrates doing about THAT?
112511216Cathy said on Wednesday, Jan 30 at 5:04 AM
I smoked for years in postal trucks. I even smoked inside the building when I first started with the post office but times have changed and employees should not be allowed to smoke inside their trucks anymore. It stinks up the mail and the vehicle. It's not fair to customers or co-workers. It will take many complaints before the policy changes though.
112507272suzyq said on Wednesday, Jan 30 at 3:36 AM
Wonder if these people who are complaining notice that sometimes the ink or paper their mail is printed on and with smells to high heaven? Had some that was so bad that I had to drive with the window down on a freezing cold day, all day. And the cardboard boxes don't smell any better either.
112503172Iammeandnobodyelse said on Wednesday, Jan 30 at 1:09 AM
I work for the post office and see other carriers that are so f'en addicted , they have a cigarette in their mouth as they are even loading the vehicle. I also see these same smokers on the road and they always have a cigarette in their mouth, even when delivering mail. It is disgusting. Not to mention the time they are wasting lighting those things.
112499105BobD said on Wednesday, Jan 30 at 1:06 AM
Oh whine -whine-whine. Much ado about nothing.
112499082C Campbell said on Tuesday, Jan 29 at 9:47 PM
I find it interesting that they've only received 1 or 2 inquiries - several years ago, I spoke to my post office MULTIPLE times regarding the carrier that delievered mail to my office. The smell of smoke on my mail was SO strong that it would take my breath away!
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