APWU Demands Info on Emergency Procedures

Director of Industrial Relations Tony D. McKinnon Sr. has asked the Postal Service to explain its protocols for providing emergency medical assistance after learning that a Bay Area postal employee lay dying for as much as 50 minutes before 911 was called. The incident, which occurred in August, came to light in November, when the local NBC television affiliate aired a detailed expose of situation. 

“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,” the station reported. “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,” the television report noted. “Employees are routinely instructed not to call 911, but to alert a supervisor first.”

The Postal Service’s written policy says, “Only the Postal Police are to initiate the 911 procedure.”

Samuel Macasieb later died, but the APWU was not notified of the death.