USPS mail carriers say the service isn't doing enough to protect them from the coronavirus, and are mixing DIY sanitizer and buying gloves online to stay safe

Cindy Ord/Getty Images

A USPS worker walks by a LinkNYC sign reading 'Staying home saves lives' as the coronavirus continues to spread across the United States on April 2, 2020 in New York City

• Business Insider spoke to two USPS mail carriers this week who say their employers are doing too little to protect them during the coronavirus outbreak.
• They reported unsanitary conditions in post offices and mail trucks, and said they were not getting protective equipment like gloves and face masks.
• One resorted to making her own sanitizer at home from bleach, another is buying gloves and masks at inflated prices online.
• The USPS did not answer their concerns directly, but said in a statement that it is taking action to limit the risk of its staff getting infected.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

With many Americans under orders to stay at home, work continues as usual for the United States Postal Service, which has been deemed an "essential" business.

But mail carriers are concerned that their current working conditions have left them as sitting ducks during the coronavirus pandemic.

Business Insider spoke to two mail carriers this week who said social distancing is not being enforced in their workplace, heightening the risk of infection spreading.

They also pointed to post offices and trucks are not being kept clean, and that they have yet to receive protective gear like face masks or gloves.

Both were spending their own money on makeshift protection that they argue should be provided universally by their employers.

USPS has claimed that it is enforcing social distancing, enhancing its cleanliness, and giving workers protection - but the mail carriers we spoke to said they haven't seen any evidence of this.

Both asked to remain anonymous, fearing the loss of their jobs if they spoke publicly.

Lane Turner/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

A USPS letter carrier crosses a quiet Boylston Street with greatly reduced foot and vehicle traffic in Boston on March 18, 2020.

No protective equipment and unsanitary conditions

One mail carrier in the Sun Coast region of Florida said the Postal Service hasn't been supplying them with masks, gloves, or even keeping hand sanitizer in the office and their trucks.

She said she's instead making a bleach solution at home to clean her truck.

"Given the fact that we see customers every single day, I just feel like they could do a better job in making sure we have safe, sanitized working conditions.

"That's just not happening, largely in part due to a lack of availability" of protective products, she said.

Another mail carrier at a post office outside Stockton, California, said the only protection he was aware of was a big container of hand sanitizer his supervisor keeps on their desk.

Handout

A postal worker in California sent us this picture of his dirty mail carrier van. The two workers we spoke with concern about the hygiene levels in their workplace.

"They aren't taking this very seriously in my opinion at all," he said. "We don't have masks. There isn't social distancing...In the back [of the post office] you're nearly shoulder to shoulder with everyone, all the time."

His position at the USPS requires him to fill in where he's needed, which means sharing trucks with other carriers, which he worries about.

Because he hasn't got masks or gloves from the USPS, the worker said he's resorted to buying masks and gloves off the internet for high prices - $60 for a pack of reusable masks off Etsy, and $50 for rubber gloves.

The public don't take social distancing seriously

The California carrier said the thing that worries him the most is how members of the public keep flouting social distancing measures to interact with him on a daily basis.

One of the measures that the Postal Service has taken so far is discontinuing the need for customer signatures, and allowing workers to drop items off instead of passing them directly to a recipient. But that doesn't matter if the public aren't keeping their distance.

"The public, to be honest, are even more clueless," he said. "I hate to put it that way, everyone I encounter is nice and friendly.

"But we've been told not to go up to people and the first thing 50% of the people do as soon as they hear me, is walk out of their house, literally up to me, to grab the mail. Maybe because it's something to do. That's the scariest part of my day."

It's only a matter of time HandoutThe California carrier showed us this picture of a dirty bathroom at his post office, as evidence that the agency is not cleaning seriously during the coronavirus outbreak.

Both mail carriers said they feel it is only a matter of time before they get the virus, or worse - pass it to someone in their family.

The Florida carrier said the threat that she or one of her coworkers could get the virus is "very real" and "just waiting to happen."

"Who's to say someone in our office hasn't already had it?" she said.

"We're short-staffed, which means that those of us who are there are working for roughly 10 hours a day, six days on... We're more fatigued and more susceptible to the virus."

The California carrier said he thinks his chances of getting the virus are "bad."

"As the days go by, I think until we get masks, it's probable" that he will get it, he said.

Both said the USPS should make more of an effort to supply their workers with protective equipment and make hand sanitizer widely available.

More than 250 Postal Service workers have been infected

Both said that they didn't know of any of their coworkers getting sick yet. But the same can't be said for the Postal Service as a whole. USPS spokesman Dave Partenheimer told Business Insider on Thursday that 259 of the Postal Service's 630,000 employees had so far tested positive for COVID-19.

Partenheimer did not say how many postal service workers had died of the disease, but unions have reported the deaths of two mail carriers in New York City and Detroit in recent days.

There was also a concerning report from ProPublica from two workers who said they were pressured to keep delivering mail even after they started to develop symptoms of the coronavirus.

Postal workers have raised similar concerns about the coronavirus to The New York Times, NPR, and Government Executive.

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who is currently running for president, wrote a letter to the USPS on Tuesday, demanding answers for how they are protecting their workers.

As of Friday, more than 86,000 people had signed a petition calling for safety guarantees for postal workers including "basic supplies like gloves, sanitizer spray, and face masks."

Cindy Ord/Getty Images

A USPS letter carrier delivers mail as the coronavirus continues to spread across the United States on March 18, 2020 in New York City.

Meanwhile, there have been concerns about how self-isolation may impact the USPS.

Two US representatives warned last week that the Postal Service could close as early as June due to a drop off in mail.

Reps. Carolyn Maloney and Gerry Connolly introduced a bill that would give $25 billion in emergency funding to the USPS. It includes the creation of temporary delivery points to help protect workers from potential exposure to coronavirus.

What the USPS had to say

Business Insider sent a detailed request for comment to the Postal Service on Thursday. However, spokesman Dave Partenheimer did not directly answer the questions, instead forwarding a recent USPS statement on the matter.

Partenheimer said he wanted to stress "that the safety of our employees and customers is our highest priority." The statement he included went on to break down the ways that they are addressing coronavirus at the agency.

Here are some actions the service said it is taking:

• "Ensuring millions of masks, gloves and cleaning and sanitizing product are available and distributed to more than 30,000 locations every day."
• Introducing policies in USPS locations "to ensure appropriate social distancing, including through signage, floor tape, and 'cough/sneeze' barriers."
• Encouraging employees to "politely" ask customers to keep their distance, so that they may drop off mail safely.
• Updating cleaning policies "in a manner consistent with CDC guidance relating to this pandemic."
• Giving information to employees to help them stay safe.

You can read the statement in full at the USPS website.

Do you have a personal experience with the coronavirus you'd like to share? Or a tip on how your town or community is handling the pandemic? Please email covidtips@businessinsider.com and tell us your story.

And get the latest coronavirus analysis and research from Business Insider Intelligence on how COVID-19 is impacting businesses.

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