MOLINE, Ill. — Around 100 USPS workers rallied in Moline on Friday, June 14, asking Congress to help protect letter carriers while on the job.
Union leaders said attacks on employees have gone up in the past few years, which is why they're calling on lawmakers to pass the Protect Our Letter Carriers Act of 2024.
"The most important delivery you can make as a letter carrier is the one you make to your home each and every night, to your family," IL State Association of Letter Carriers President Luis Rivas Jr. said.
The proposed bill would initiate three changes:
- Change of sentencing guidelines for assaults against USPS employees, where that kind of crime would be treated the same as an assault on a law enforcement officer
- Updating older collection boxes to have electronic security to deter theft
- Give the U.S. Attorney's Office more resources to prosecute crimes against postal workers
"A bipartisan issue, protecting letter carriers. Our safety is most important," Rivas said.
"This is the next step to getting the message out, that any assault on a letter carrier is unacceptable and will be punished to the fullest extent of the law," National Association of Letter Carriers Executive VP Paul Banner said.
The U.S. House hasn't voted on the bill yet, but it has bipartisan support in Congress including Rep. Eric Sorensen (D — Illinois). In a written statement to News 8, Sorensen said:
"“One of the things I love about living in Illinois is that we always try to be good neighbors to each other. If a neighbor needs a helping hand, we come together to help. And our letter carriers represent one of the best parts of our neighborhoods. It is important that they have the protection they need when they are on the job. I am a proud cosponsor of the bipartisan Protect Our Letter Carriers Act which increases penalties for those criminals who assault or harm our letter carriers. I look forward to working with my colleagues and members of the National Association of Letter Carriers to get this bill signed into law.”
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