Samuel Macasieb operating a letter sorting machine at the United States Postal Service processing and distribution center in Oakland, CA.
USPS Policy May Have Caused Critical Delays in Life and Death Situation
Most people know to call 911 right away in an emergency. But for employees of the United States Postal Service, the rules are different. An NBC Bay Area investigation has exposed a USPS policy that some say may have contributed to critical time delays in life and death situations.
When Samuel Macasieb lay critically injured on the ground, time was the only thing that mattered. It was early in the morning on August 8 inside the west Oakland processing and distribution center, one of the largest and busiest postal service facilities in California, employing nearly 2,000 people. For 28 years Macasieb dutifully worked the graveyard shift operating a letter sorting machine.
No one saw how Macasieb, 59, was injured but coworkers later said they found him lying on his back, barely conscious, with blood coming from his mouth and ears. Apparent head trauma left him incapacitated. According to an internal postal service report, employees didn’t call 911 right away. They proceeded to contact several supervisors and managers who then alerted the onsite postal police department, who finally contacted 911. Details in the report show that up to 53 minutes elapsed from the time Macasieb was found to when emergency medical personnel were contacted.
According to the USPS, this chain of events wasn’t a mistake. It was a policy.
“When I asked [employees] if anyone called 911 right away,” said Larnie Macasieb, Samuel’s wife of more than 25 years, “they said no, they don’t call 911. They have to call the supervisor first. And I said ‘What?’”
Samuel Macasieb operating a letter sorting machine at the United States Postal Service processing and distribution center in Oakland.
The NBC Bay Area Investigative Unit has confirmed that the policy at the Oakland distribution facility does in fact dictate that in the event of a medical emergency, an employee must find a supervisor, who must contact the postal police and ask them to call 911. The policy states, “Only the Postal Police are to initiate the 911 procedure.”
According to the internal report, when the first employee saw Macasieb he yelled to a nearby coworker, who contacted his supervisor. At the same time, another employee heard the call for help and ran to her supervisor. That supervisor told the employee to find the manager. The supervisor assessed Macasieb, waited for management to arrive and then contacted the postal police to summon first responders. The internal investigation report states that Macasieb’s coworkers found him sometime between 3 a.m. and 3:30 a.m. According to dispatch records, the call to 911 didn’t happen until 3:53 a.m.
The Oakland policy mirrors the national USPS policy, which acts as a foundation for the thousands of district postal service policies across the country. The national policy instructs employees to contact the health services division and the onsite security office so they can call 911.
Augustine Ruiz, a corporate communications manager for the USPS Bay-Valley District, which includes the Oakland facility, said the 911 policy exists to summon emergency responders as fast as possible.
“It’s there to expedite matters,” Ruiz said.
He said cellphone service is spotty inside of the five-story concrete building and that the postal police can initiate the 911 procedure from a reliable landline phone. Ruiz also said that postal police officers can grant paramedics access to secure areas of the facility.
USPS Policy May Have Caused Critical Delays in Life and Death Situation
My sincere sympathy goes to the family of my friend and co-worker. In Oakland P&DC that is the policy. In 1994-97 that policy was adopted. Since then several postal employees in that facility has expired in the building. Also the on-site nurse was abolished in the 2000’s. Mr. Hankins lost his life with the same policy in place and nobody can live with antiquated communication at best as the premier policy. Cutbacks is the catalyst that ran that ship aground and overturned. It can happen everyday there. In the motor vehicle dept. we always say please drag my body outside to the curb and I have a 100% chance versus the 25% inside the building. My friend didn’t have to die like this, what a sin and a pity!
Condolences to all of his family, from a dear friend.
This instance of Postal Ignorance and incompetence merely underscores the long overdue need for revamping of the USPS methods and procedures of its operation.
If ever a bureaucracy were out of sync with reality and the need of its employees and the public, this is THE prime example.
In many respects, Benjamin Franklin’s foresight has changed little except for the now inches-thick book of regulations that when not followed, put a postal worker’s job and life at risk.
The APWU (Post Office Workers Union) is not much help, either.
While I’m SURE some companies have their reasons for NOT having anyone get “911” from their company phones, I think if there IS an emergency which needs IMMINENT attention, 911 should be called, and they need to know WHERE to go to pick up anyone who’s been injured (or, at worst, in a COMA-like state).
Kay Latona sums it up extremely well. I second the motion! DO IT!
In Response to the 911 call: 911 should be used by everyone anytime anywhere Period whatever the rules are, wherever you work for, Period. Just pick up a cell and call No rules allowed in this matter period US of America.No one boss or not can tell us what to do with a 911 call,no one can stop you or fire you period.
The SOP for handling a medical emergency at the USPS Postal Facility in Oakland,Ca. doesn’t work! It took too long before the 911 call was made about Samuel Macasieb and his head injury! I hope that the USPS works on changing this SOP ASAP keeping in mind that 911 needs to be contacted immediately when a serious injury or medical problem occurs.
29 years ago when I was a PTF I saw an employee die on the dock and the first thing a supervisor did was punch him off the clock.
As a retired Plant Manger from the US POSTAL SERVICE this is unacceptable and very disappointing. First of all my condolences and prayers go out to the family.There is no leadership at the EXCUTIVE level. Without effective leaders situations like this will continue to happen throughout the USPS. There are many outstanding postmasters ,managers and supervisors that work for the USPS however many of the excutives are bullies and are selected by the good old boy program.
Clearly everyone is at fault, in any situation that results in 53 minutes of wait time before a 911 call is initiated. Spotty service or not someone should have called 911 once Mr. Macasieb, 59, was found “lying on his back, barely conscious, with blood coming from his mouth and ears.”
As a retired plant manager and PM of a large facility that policy was never heard of and would not be tolerated by me. If anyone was down 911 was to be called by the 1st person on scene. Then the supv notified to escort medical to the injured. Other injuries the supv was notified to determine if an ambulance was required or the employee could be driven to the ER if needed. It seems installation heads no longer have the balls to do what is needed in these situations.
What the hell are they going to do if you call 911? I work at the post office, and I hope I never have a reason to call 911, but you can bet your a$$ If I get a halfa$$ed good reason I will call!
Good for you! You just have to DO THE RIGHT THING.
That would be an AFSM 100, not a letter sorting machine, for the record. Management strikes again. Even death is on their agenda.
On Oct.25,2014 at the Florence S.C. P&DF a Contractor died of an apparent heart attack on the dock.No one called code blue and I told the defibrillator did not work.
exactly. no one gets disciplined in management
The USPS could be 100% at fault, and ya know what ?
It still wouldn’t matter, as USPS mgmt, at all levels, are not held accountable in any way, shape, or form, for any of their actions.
To find out what time the Supvr. was notified, look up the time that Mr. Macasieb was taken off the clock. The first thing order of Postal business in an emergency is to swipe injured employees off the clock.
Common sense must be utilized. Get help ASAP. HQ must follow the best practice of Trenton and make it the mandatory policy in every plant, office and unit throughout the USPS. No excuses one life is too many!!!!
Better safe than sorry , (IF that’s the case?) , SORRY ! !
At the Trenton P& DC, we have an internal Medical Emergency Response Team (MERT). Each tour has several volunteers that have been trained and Certified in Basic First Aid, CPR and AED. In the event of an emergency, the MERT team is called immediately. This is a great program that should be set up in all large facilities. It works! One life has already been saved at our facility and many folks have been treated for workplace injuries. There is no question who calls 911, nor is there a delay. Seconds DO count, I hope after this unfortunate incident, Oakland considers implementing their own MERT Team!
This seems like a workable system that could successfully be put in place in any facility with over, say, 25 workers. At smaller facilities, it should be the law that the first and second people on the scene call 911, and tell the operator where and how the EMTs should enter the facility.
at the big PD & C on Long island, NY( hint, hint, 117/119) we union employees have a underground “gentleman’s agreement” that if we run across a problem like this with a fellow union employee- we just call 911……screw the low IQ morons who run this dump-they will get you killed! one time someone went into cardiac arrest and the batteries on the defibrillator were dead as a door nail ( yea mismgt safety & maintenance inbred family members)…………thank God a union employee had called 911 on his cell and the fire dept was able to start his heart……….no thanks to the stupid, low IQ, diversity queens who now litter the plant sucking up payroll every two weeks. not worth a tinkers damm. look who Donehoe promotes to succeed him…..a woman who kissed his a.. the last 28 years………only happens in a communist type organization that has more in common with Moscow than Washington. thank god its over for me in Feb after 30 years…….Donehoe move your a.. over and let me have a seat on the prison bus….my sentence is over.
Regardless of what HQ or the “district” may tell reporters, Postal Service managers do not give a damn about employees. Supervisors and managers are cutting each others throats and stepping on anyone they can in their ascent to higher levels of management. (Most have little if any common sense)
This is the 2nd time this happened. The 1st time it happened to a maintenance employee. The employee had a heart attack and since he was off the clock the graveshift supervisor propped him up in a desk until his supervisor show up. He was there for at least an hour. The graveshift supervisor did not want to stay behind and help him. He ended up passing away days later. The policy prevented the employees from calling 911 in that case too. We are expedible.
Yes sir, this happened at AMC-O’Hare, back on the afternoon shift. Our then manager refused to even try and help this overly large clerk or let anyone help him. It was later determined he had a massive heart attack. Nobody was allowed to call 911 either. The guy’s name was Keith I think. Nice guy too. Just pathetic how nobody at the USPS will take any initiative to help anyone that is apparently dying. I hate that place and all the evil that went on there.
What do you mean, “not allowed”? Go to your desk and DO IT! If you don’t have a phone at your desk, go to a desk that does have a phone and DO IT. If there are no landlines, pick up your cell phone and DO IT. If your cell phone doesn’t work, take it outside and DO IT. If you don’t have a cell phone (and who doesn’t?), borrow one, take it outside and DO IT. What would you do if it were your child’s life at stake? What would you want your co-workers to do if your life were at stake? For God’s sake, use a little common sense and DO IT!
When we had a customer fall and get hurt in our facility, an employee quickly called 911. The supervisor was notified AFTER the call was made. This is as it should be. Somebody really screwed this situation up.
October 19, 2014 posting online article Oakland APWU strikes back at Abusive Postal Supervisor