CONGRESSMAN JOE MORELLE CALLS FOR ACTION TO PROTECT LETTER CARRIERS FROM ASSAULT, ROBBERY

(Rochester, N.Y.)—Today, Congressman Joe Morelle was joined by National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) Branch 210 President Monique Mate to draw attention to the concerning rise in violent attacks and thefts against letter carriers in Rochester and across the country.

“Our letter carriers do critical work to keep our community connected, and they—just like all of us—deserve to feel safe on the job. I’m grateful to Monique Mate and NALC for their work to protect our letter carriers and ensure coordination with our local law enforcement, but more needs to be done,” said Congressman Joe Morelle. “I’m proud to co-sponsor bipartisan legislation to help bolster safety measures for our letter carriers so we can prevent these horrific attacks and ensure the safety of these essential public servants, and I hope to see it swiftly passed into law.”

“Our letter carriers are being targeted for simply doing their jobs, serving the community with dedication and pride,” said Monique Mate, President of the National Association of Letter Carriers, Branch 210. “Letter carriers should not have to fear going to work every day. Every robbery is not just an attack on a postal worker, but the trust of our neighborhoods.”

According to the NALC, attacks on postal employees doubled between 2019 and 2023, and five letter carriers have been murdered on the job since 2022. Perpetrators of these attacks often target mail pieces or collection boxes as well as “arrow keys,” which are utilized by carriers to open and remove mail from collection boxes. Sadly, Rochester has not been immune to this increase in attacks, and over the course of one week in September 2025 four mail carriers were robbed and assaulted in our community.

To combat this concerning rise in violence against letter carriers, Congressman Morelle is a co-sponsor of the Protect Our Letter Carriers Act, bipartisan legislation designed to protect letter carriers from assault and bolster security for mail collection boxes. Specifically, the Protect Our Letter Carriers Act of 2025 would:

• Require the U.S. Department of Justice to appoint an Assistant U.S. Attorney in each federal judicial district to coordinate and supervise investigation/prosecution of crimes targeting USPS employees/carriers.

• Direct the U.S. Sentencing Commission to amend sentencing guidelines so that assaults/robberies of postal employees are treated equivalently to assaults on law enforcement officers.

• Authorize appropriations for USPS to install high-security collection boxes and replace older universal mailbox keys (“arrow keys”) with electronic versions.

The full text of the legislation can be found here.

NALC Branch 210—affiliated with the AFL-CIO—represents over 1450 Active and Retired Letter Carriers in the City of Rochester, as well as 28 Associate Offices including Albion, Avon, Brockport, Canandaigua, Clifton Springs, Clyde, Dansville, East Rochester, Fairport, Geneseo, Geneva, Hilton, Holley, Honeoye Falls, Lyons, Mt. Morris, Newark, North Chili, Palmyra, Penfield, Perry, Phelps, Pittsford, Sodus, Spencerport, Victor, Warsaw, Wayland, Webster, Wellsville and Wolcott.

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