November 18, 2025
Machine had prior safety grievance
Allen Park (D-MI 6th District), who told Local 4 she has monitored the facility “for years,” said she immediately suspected something was wrong when she learned of Acker’s death. She told Local 4 that the machine involved had been the subject of a safety grievance fewer than 90 days earlier.
“My initial gut — when I first heard this story — was something’s not right,” Dingell said. “And the union informed me that they had filed a grievance on this exact machine and safety procedures less than 90 days ago.”
Dingell and Rep. Rashida Tlaib sent a letter last week to the Postmaster General demanding answers. She said OSHA is now handling the investigation.
“Why was the machine not stopped? Why was someone not looking for him? He did not sign out. Why was his card signed out?” Dingell said. “There are very serious issues that people need to be held accountable for. We need to get the facts,” Dingell said.
Sen. Gary Peters also released a statement that read in part:
“I’m saddened to learn about the tragic passing of Nicholas Acker… as Ranking Member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, which oversees the Postal Service, I will continue to stay in touch with local law enforcement and USPS officials as the investigation proceeds, and I’m going to push for more information on what happened. I will always fight to ensure that every worker has safe working conditions.”
Se. Gary Peters
‘Toxic,’ ‘unsafe’ workplace
Stiffler also described a “toxic” environment in which management allegedly discourages shutting down machines even for lockout procedures during repairs.
“We have protocols set into place and most of those protocols are not followed,” Stiffler said. “I think safety takes the backseat and it has for quite some time.”