Mailman cooks a steak on truck dashboard to show unsafe working conditions

With this summer set to be one of the warmest on record, those of us working in offices are very fortunate to have air conditioning. But for those who work outside, the summer heat can present a very real danger. A postal worker from Arizona recently illustrated this point perfectly, by cooking a streak in their truck using nothing but solar power.

The worker, who chose to remain anonymous, decided to cook a steak in their truck to illustrate just how dangerous their working conditions are to Arizona State Representative Shawnna Bolick.

Bolick shared the images with media, and also wrote a letter to the president of the American Postal Workers Union, Mark Dimonstein, urging him to investigate potentially hazardous temperatures inside of mail trucks, KNXV reports.

“It is shocking to hear of postal workers having to endure the extreme Arizona temperatures that result in delivery trucks, many of which do not have air conditioning, regularly reaching above 128 degrees,” Bolick wrote in the letter. 

“Working conditions must be improved immediately to ensure the safety of mail carriers subjected to these dangerous temperatures.” 

Bolick went on to claim that many workers don't have air conditioning in their vehicles, leading to high temperatures. Bolick said that a worker in her district has sent her daily temperature readings from their vehicle, which average out to an incredibly hot 128 degrees. Bolick also said that several workers in the Phoenix area had to visit hospital after becoming disoriented on the job. 

Bolick explained that a worker decided to cook the steak in their vehicle to illustrate their point, the internal temperature of the steak rose to 142 degrees.

USPS said in a statement to KDVR: “We want to emphasize the Postal Service works to protect its employees all year through a strong health and safety program. This includes instructions on messaging through the handheld carrier scanners, frequent service talks on recognizing heat illnesses and taking shade or hydration, and street supervision that checks on carriers during the day.

“Our letter carriers work hard and we appreciate that effort in all conditions.”

Editor's Note: The article was originally published in August 2020.