Letter carriers, residents and community leaders across South Florida rallied together in support of safety and awareness when it comes to letter carriers and their daily mail routes.
Dozens of people gathered around the podium in Port St. Lucie chanting, “enough is enough!” This rally was hosted in hopes to bring attention to the increasing number of assaults and robberies that letter carriers nationwide and here at home have been experiencing.
“At our branch alone we’ve had 12 letter carriers robbed and one sexually assaulted in the last couple of years,” Jeffery Wagner, president of branch 1690, said. Wagner’s branch covers Indian River County through Palm Beach County.
He has a message for the people assaulting and robbing his colleagues, “Leave us alone. Go somewhere else. Get a real job.”
Sunday morning’s rally was a push for the United States Postal Service and the Department of Justice to protect its employees and prosecute crimes against federal workers to the fullest extent. Letter carriers like Marybeth Libel want Florida representatives on Capitol Hill to support HR 7629, which is the Protect to Letter Carries Act of 2024.
“It needs to stop. We are out there for the public, we are out there just doing our job day to day and there’s no reason to be violent,” Libel said.
Wagner said the uptick of events happening nationwide and here at home have made letter carriers a growing target.
“Our goal is to get the public’s attention. Look out for your letter carriers when you are on the street. If you see something wrong say something, call local authorities because robberies are increasing,” he said.
For more information on how to support letter carriers, visit the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) website.