Postal workers are at risk for anthrax exposure because the government has refused to make their safety a priority, Twin Cities postal unions charge.

Even though two postal employees in Maryland - Thomas Morris Jr. and Joseph Curseen Jr. - died of anthrax after handling contaminated mail, Postal Service management has been slow to respond to protect workers' health, the unions say. The Postal Service has been inconsistent in deciding whether to test postal facilities for anthrax spores and in guaranteeing that workers receive antibiotic treatment if they reasonably believe they have been exposed to anthrax, said Jerry Sirois, president of the Minneapolis Area Local of the American Postal Workers Union

'We feel like the unwanted stepchild of the government,' said Jim Beaupre, clerk craft director for the St. Paul Area Local of the APWU.

Senators call meeting
A dozen union leaders spelled out their concerns in a meeting Oct. 29 with Minnesota Senators Paul Wellstone and Mark Dayton. The senators called the meeting at APWU's Minneapolis office to get first-hand information on how to best direct federal resources in fighting the anthrax threat.

Postal officials have asked Congress for $5 billion to purchase irradiation equipment that manufacturers say would decontaminate mail, and to offset costs of decreased mail volume.

'The workforce has to be involved in how the resources are being allocated,' Wellstone said. 'People are trying to put together plans, but the workers don't know how the money's being spent. Your voices need to be heard in what needs to be done.'

Wellstone noted that the government tested hundreds of Congressional personnel after the Hart Office Building in Washington, D.C., received a letter contaminated with anthrax. Even taking into account that medical experts are still learning how to deal with anthrax, Wellstone said, postal employees are justified in wondering, 'Hey, how come we don't count as much?'

?Indifference' about testing
'I perceive an indifference by postal management about what's going on,' Beaupre said. For instance, it wasn't until four days after workers met with Wellstone and Dayton that the Postal Service tested the St. Paul Mail Recovery Center for anthrax, even though the center handles mail from stations in New York and New Jersey where anthrax exposure has been confirmed. (Test results found no evidence of anthrax contamination, according to the Minnesota Department of Health.)

The St. Paul site, 443 E. Fillmore Ave., is one of only three such centers in the nation. Eighty-five workers there open mail when it can't be delivered, including mail with missing or fictitious return addresses, such as a terrorist might use, Beaupre said.

Michelle Downs, president of Branch 28 of the National Association of Letter Carriers in St. Paul, pointed out that routine automated processing of mail shakes out letters, which could shake loose powder from a contaminated envelope. Noting that the Postal Service says it is buying irradiation machines in an attempt to kill anthrax spores in mail, Downs said, 'If there's a sterilization machine available, one should be in St. Paul.'

Seeking one plan of action
Others said the Postal Service may be acting in good faith, but that its actions to date are ineffective.

Sirois said he had a stack of policies 3 inches thick from various levels of the Postal Service on dealing with an anthrax threat.

'One of the major problems of the Postal Service's response is their failure to come up with one plan of action to deal with our concerns,' Sirois said. 'We've been inundated with materials, which are only confusing the issue. It would help if everyone was working off the same page.'

Barry Weiner, a national business agent for the Letter Carriers, echoed Sirois' concerns, saying Postal Service plans changed and broke down on the regional and local levels. He said postal employees were 'determined to carry out our mission' regardless of the bioterrorism dangers they face, but that 'we expect USPS management to spend as much as necessary to take reasonable precautions.'

'The employees need to know they're important,' Beaupre said. 'If the facility needs to be closed to test it, so be it. It's crazy to wait until someone gets sick.'

Who pays?
Testing of stations and of employees are among the key precautions necessary, union officials said. Brea Buettner, an APWU steward who works in the automation department in Minneapolis, said her medical insurance refused to authorize an anthrax test after she came down with flu-like symptoms, which are one indicator of an early stage of pulmonary anthrax. She was told she would have to go through the Minnesota Department of Health.

Dayton said it was a major problem if private providers balk at anthrax testing on grounds that it's a workers comp issue. 'So the question is, ?Who pays?' ' Dayton said. 'Meanwhile the clock is ticking on the individual.'

'We should err on the side of safety,' Wellstone said. 'We should err on the side of caution.'

This article was written for the Nov. 14, 2001, issue of The Union Advocate newspaper. Used by permission. The Union Advocate is the official publication of the St. Paul Trades and Labor Assembly. E-mail The Advocate at: advocate@mtn.org

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For more information
Postal unions are running information about the anthrax threat on their websites:

American Postal Workers Union, http://www.apwu.org

National Association of Letter Carriers, http://www.nalc.org