WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Gary Peters (D-MI), Ranking Member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, is urging the United States Postal Service (USPS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) to review postal facility safety measures following the tragic death of Nicholas Acker, a maintenance mechanic at the United States Postal Service (USPS) Detroit Network Distribution Center (NDC) in Allen Park, Michigan. In April 2026, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued multiple citations following its inspection of the facility in response to this tragedy and in May reached a settlement with USPS. In a letter to USPS Inspector General Tammy Hull, Peters called for continued accounting of the facility protocols relevant to Mr. Acker’s death, evaluation of specific postal facility safety measures, and for the OIG to conduct field visits in Michigan.
“Every employee of USPS should know that their workplace will be held to the highest safety standards and that they will be able to return home without harm each day after serving the American public,” wrote Senator Peters. “Unfortunately, there have recently been tragedies at USPS facilities, including in my home state of Michigan.”
“In November of last year, Nicholas Acker, a maintenance mechanic at the Detroit Network Distribution Center in Allen Park, MI, died during an industrial accident,” he continued. “Alarmingly, NDC employees and management did not know Mr. Acker was missing until his personal items were discovered after his shift had ended and employees and management realized that he had not clocked out.”
In his letter, Peters requested that the OIG review specific aspect of USPS facility safety including emergency response protocols, lockout/tagout protocols, accounting for employees during their shifts, protective equipment guidelines, and safety training procedures. Peters also asked the USPS OIG to conduct field site visits in Michigan, including to the Detroit Network Distribution Center. In November, Peters sent a letter to the Postmaster General on Mr. Acker’s death which demanded a detailed accounting of the timeline of events and whether relevant safety policies were followed.
The full text of the letter is available here.
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