Three years after Dallas mail carrier Eugene Gates Jr. died while working in extreme heat, records about Postal Service training, employee complaints and delivery vehicles are raising questions about protections for Texas carriers. Gates, who had delivered mail for 36 years, texted his wife, Carla, at 7:30 a.m. on June 2023 morning to say it was already 87 degrees. He collapsed while delivering mail later that day. A medical examiner found hyperthermia contributed to his death. Carla Gates said her husband prepared for the heat by taking at least eight bottles of water on his route. After the ice machine at his postal station stopped working, she said, he bought one himself so he could keep his cooler stocked. Records show Gates had completed required heat-safety training. But Carla Gates said he told her he had never received the training, and she questioned the record because the date listed was one of his days off. A federal audit of the Postal Service’s adverse-weather procedures found that heat-safety training was not always properly certified or delivered in group settings. In one example, a manager certified 39 carriers as trained, though records showed 17 were not working on the certification date. The audit counted 1,332 heat-related incidents nationwide from fiscal year 2022 through June 2024. Separate Postal Service records show 355 reported heat-related incidents at Texas facilities since the agency introduced its Heat Illness Prevention Program in 2022. More than half of the state’s active delivery vehicles also lack air conditioning: 10,337 of 18,153, compared with 7,816 that have it. The shortfalls were particularly pronounced at several North Texas stations. Records show 30 of 33 vehicles assigned to Cedar Hill lacked air conditioning, as did 32 of 36 in DeSoto, 39 of 44 at Arlington’s Oakwood Station and 60 of 70 at Plano’s Coit Station. Heat-related workplace complaints have come from postal facilities across Texas, including Dallas, Waxahachie, Killeen, Houston and San Antonio. In Killeen, a carrier was hospitalized with a heat-related illness in 2023, and OSHA later cited the Postal Service for failing to report the hospitalization within the required 24 hours. A Dallas carrier reported in summer 2026 that limited ice-machine capacity left them without access to cool drinking water. Waxahachie employees complained that cold beverages were not always available and said they feared discipline for raising heat concerns. The deaths have continued. Dallas carrier Jacob Taylor died after a medical emergency during extreme heat in 2025. In summer 2026, Little Elm carrier Umeshkumar Thakkar died after collapsing while working during an Extreme Heat Warning. Union leaders say protections need to include earlier start times, more breaks during extreme heat, reliable access to ice and water, and more air-conditioned vehicles. Patrick Pitts, president of the National Rural Letter Carriers’ Association, said a written policy does not guarantee safety on a route. Delegates to a union convention approved a resolution last month calling for stronger heat protections. Kimetra Lewis, president of the Dallas branch of the National Association of Letter Carriers, said concerns about training records were not limited to Dallas. She said carriers were reported as having received training when, in some cases, they had not. The Postal Service declined an interview. Spokesperson Carol Hunt said the agency’s heat program requires annual heat-stress training and runs from April 1 through Oct. 31, as well as whenever the National Weather Service forecast indicates a workday heat index above 80 degrees. Hunt said carriers are instructed to stay hydrated, take water and ice, seek shade and call 911 if they experience symptoms of heat exhaustion or heat stroke. She said employee safety is a top priority and that the agency provides workers with safety instruction and resources. Carla Gates continues to call for changes. She said she wants to see results and intends to keep pushing for them.