USPS mail was dumped in a parking lot, but a postal union says its workers weren't involved

An individual was seen dumping several bags of mail in a parking lot in Glendale, California in worrying surveillance footage from last week. The video, from September 3, features a Budget rental vehicle backing into the parking lot of 7Q Spa Laser & Aesthetics. An individual exits from the vehicle and proceeds to toss numerous bags from the back of the truck into a corner of the lot. A few minutes later, the individual climbs back into the vehicle and drives off, leaving the bags of mail in the parking lot. A representative from the American Postal Workers Union has since affirmed that United States Postal Service employees were not involved in the incident, CNN reports.

The surveillance footage was obtained by CNN. According to Lilia Serobian, the owner of 7Q Spa Laser & Aesthetics, such an incident had never taken place before. "It was completely unusual," she said in an interview. "It's suspicious. You start thinking, 'OK, something is going on,' because no one has access to all those boxes and packages." She took a closer look at the bags when she spotted them. Upon inspection, she discovered that the bags contained hundreds of unopened envelopes and packages from the US Postal Service. Omar Gonzalez, the Western Regional Coordinator for the American Postal Workers Union, has since come forward to protect US Postal Service employees.

He claimed that a US Postal Service employee was not involved in the incident. After surveying the video footage, Gonzalez said the individual who tossed the bags was a contractor. He added that the bags seemed to be bulk shipment mail. "We wanted to make sure it wasn't a bargaining employee," he stated. "We talked to the Glendale supervisor and the Glendale manager and asked where the contractors would have received the bags [from]. That's when they responded, telling us the Union should not speak about it." The coordinator explained that companies that ship in bulk are given plastic bags bearing a USPS logo to bring to the bulk shipping department at the dock.

By just looking at the surveillance footage, it was unclear if the bags were being delivered to or departing from the Glendale post office. Gonzalez noted, however, that if it were incoming mail, the bags would have to be placed into USPS trucks and then taken to a processing center. He shared alternatively, "If it's outgoing, we don't know how it got into the Budget truck." Postal Inspectors Office and local police are both now conducting an investigation into the matter. In the meantime, the recovered mail (which appeared to be "viable") will undergo a verification process and be delivered. Some delays are to be expected. Some are worried about the political angle of this incident; at a time when Donald Trump and the GOP at large are perpetuating lies about how mail-in voting is ineffective ahead of the Presidential elections, this incident could impact voter turnout rates gravely. You can do your part to protect the USPS by clicking here.