Family members of Wednesday “Wendy” Johnson thinks she suffered a possible heat-related death after delivering mail for the United States Postal Service (USPS) in 95-degree heat, WRAL reports.
Johnson, 51, died at Cape Fear Valley Hospital in Fayetteville, North Carolina, on June 6. Her family claims she died from heat stroke after she started to feel weary delivering mail on an extremely hot day.
Johnson’s son, Deandre, said his mom, who worked for the agency for 20 years, was riding in the back of a postal truck on a 95-degree day.
Johnson worked as a supervisor and sometimes assisted with deliveries in her Sanford community. On the day of Johnson’s death, Deandre said his mom text the family to complain about the heat.
“She texted my aunt and said ‘yeah, I’m in the back of this truck and I’m hot,’” he said. “Being in her situation, I don’t think she should have been in a truck in 95-degree weather and in the back of that truck it was like 102.”
Co-workers said Johnson was found unconscious in the Fayetteville post office bathroom. Now, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is investigating the death as heat-related. The postal trucks used by the office don’t have air conditioning and one worker described them as “easy bake ovens.”
While a USPS spokesperson claims it is working on a response, leadership sent Johnson’s family a name plaque and held a memorial service in her honor, according to USA Today. Deandre says he and his family welcome the kind gestures but feels the agency is “saving face.”
USPS has come under fire for their lack of extreme heat protection for their workers in the past. Eugene Gates was delivering mail in Dallas when he collapsed in someone’s front yard in June 2023. It was a record 104 degrees when the homeowner rushed to perform CPR on Gates, who died.
After Gates’ death, a number of employees accused USPS of ignoring its heat safety programs and falsifying records to hide how certain actions may have contributed to the death of mail carriers across the country.
The agency is required to train letter carriers every spring through the Heat Illness Prevention Program (HIPP) to recognize symptoms of heat illness and what they should do if they feel sick. However, Gates’ widow and the National Association of Letter Carriers union claim he never received training and that his manager allegedly “falsified” official records before his death in order to cover it up.
Johnson’s son says he will remember his mother as someone who was kind and caring. He hopes her death will bring awareness to the postal service’s workplace conditions, especially inside mail trucks.
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