Chronic copper thefts turn the heat up at Post Office branch in Sacramento County
More than six weeks after copper thieves stole its air-conditioning units, the Centre Branch Post Office in Arden Arcade’s Country Club neighborhood remains without central air conditioning, leaving employees and customers to endure the summer heat.
Three employees at the postal branch at 3545 El Camino Ave. — tucked away between a hardware store, bowling alley and the vacant Sam’s Hof Brau near Watt Avenue — have been working without central air conditioning since May 25 after thieves stole the valuable metal used on the office’s exterior air-conditioning units on three occasions.
Employees were provided portable air-conditioning units for their desks after the thefts while the U.S. Postal Service sought a permanent, theft-resistant replacement and reviewed contractor bids, a Postal Service spokesperson said in an email Thursday.
But the lack of central air-conditioning has still left the office sweltering as temperatures climbed toward triple digits. According to a customer complaint shared with The Sacramento Bee, temperatures inside the office reached about 90 degrees Wednesday.
Save for portable desk-units, no other AC units — including in the backroom of the office and the customer service area — were available, Bee reporters confirmed during a Thursday visit.
According to the state Department of Industrial Relations, employers must provide water, rest, training, cool-down areas and other cooling measures when indoor temperatures exceed 82 degrees.
Bryan Embry, president of the American Postal Workers Union Local 66, said employers are required to keep employees informed of reported safety hazards and the steps being taken to address them under department policy. However, he said many employees fear retaliation and may be reluctant to report concerns to supervisors.
Two clerks working at the office Thursday declined to speak on the record.
A U.S. Postal Service spokesperson said the agency did not yet have a timeline for installing a new unit but that management continued to monitor conditions at the office.
According to Embry, the Centre Station Post Office is remotely managed, with supervisors typically stationed at the larger Arden Branch a mile and a half away. No supervisors were present Thursday afternoon when Bee reporters visited.
“The safety and well-being of our employees is our top priority. We apologize for any inconvenience to our customers,” a U.S. Postal Service spokesperson said Thursday.
The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office said it had not received any theft reports from the office in the last six months but that the area has experienced ongoing issues with transient thefts in the area ringed by shopping centers. A U.S. Postal Service spokesperson confirmed each theft was reported to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the agency’s law enforcement arm.
