Family says overwork contributed
It took about an hour for East Ellijay Post Office mail carrier Pam Smith to get help after she collapsed while on her route.
After an ambulance brought her to the hospital Thursday, Dec. 18, doctors discovered she had suffered a stroke, said Lee McClure, her son.
It’s likely working this intense schedule for a long time contributed to her condition, McClure said.
“The post office has been severely overworking all their employees,” he said.
Since Thanksgiving, Smith had been working seven days a week for up to 16 hours a day with a 30-minute lunch break, McClure said. During the holiday season, it’s common for post office mail carriers in Gilmer County to work these kinds of hours, he said.
“She’s been going in at 6 a.m. and getting home around 9:30 p.m.,” he said.
Ellijay Post Office clerk Kim Mize also said that during this season, extremely long weeks are the norm.
“We had worked a lot of hours,” she said.
Around Christmas, the local post office must handle a tidal wave of Amazon packages. During the holiday season, it took Smith until 4:30 p.m. or 5 p.m. to finish these packages alone.
“Something needs to change at the postal service,” McClure said.
Gilmer’s post office is undermanned, he said. For remaining employees, that fact creates extra pressure.
At her last doctor’s appointment in October, McClure was “healthy as could be,” her son said.
McClure has family members in the trucking business and has spent time working in oil fields. Both these jobs would never allow someone to work 16-hour shifts for days at a time.
For postal workers, health issues around this time of year due to stress and overworking have become increasingly normal across the nation, McClure said.
Under federal law, most workers don’t have limits on how many hours a week they can work.
The Occupational Safety and Health Association (OSHA) notes that extended work hours can lead to health problems, injuries on the job and other problems.
If employees are working extended hours, OSHA advises employers to evaluate them for signs of fatigue and let them rest if needed. OSHA also mandates that employers should implement measures to monitor and limit worker exposure to health and physical hazards in the workplace.
“It’s a government service,” McClure said. “As long as it’s in the government’s favor, it’s OK. But I couldn’t get in my big truck and drive 15-hour days. That’s illegal.”
Local post office workers have a union, McClure said. But it has a contract that doesn’t allow strikes.
“A lot of postal carriers have quit just in the past few years,” he said.
The Times-Courier contacted the U.S. Postal Service district for Georgia and Florida.
“We do not publicly discuss personnel matters,” Strategic Communications Specialist Tiffany Rowland said.
As of writing, Smith is in rehabilitation. At this point, her brain has only recovered enough for her to say about 20 words, McClure said.
To provide for Smith’s continued recovery, her friends have set up a GoFundMe page. Those interested can help by donating at gofundme.com/f/support-pam-smiths-stroke-recovery.