ALLEN PARK, Mich. – Lawmakers are demanding answers after a worker was found dead in a machine at a postal facility in Allen Park on Saturday.
Nicholas John Acker, 36, of Trenton, was found stuck in a machine Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025, and had been dead for hours before firefighters arrived, according to authorities.
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His fiancée and loved ones have been seeking clarity on how he ended up inside the machine and how long he was actually there before being found. Now, Michigan lawmakers are also looking for answers.
Representatives Debbie Dingell and Rashida Tlaib announced on Nov. 13 that they sent a letter to Postmaster General David Steiner demanding answers regarding Acker’s death.
“Nicholas served nine years in the Air Force and had gotten engaged in the past two weeks. He was a maintenance mechanic at the NDC and had mentioned concerns about the way the facility was run to his fiancée,” the lawmakers wrote. “His union management had also raised concerns about safety measures and procedures at the facility, and more than 90 days ago, the union filed an Article 14 grievance stating that management was putting pressure on staff to look for letters while the handling machine was operating. When Nicholas didn’t return home from work on Saturday, his fiancée went to the facility where she waited outside the gates for three hours, as she watched emergency responders arrive, before she was notified of Nicholas’s death.”
“We are requesting answers to questions that have arisen from this unnecessary tragedy,” state Dingell and Tlaib. “We worry what it means for the workers that officials were not called to the scene until hours after Nicholas died. Further, we are concerned how long Nicholas was in the machine before he was found and whether the machine was operating or turned off.”
You can view the full letter here.
Here’s everything we know about the case so far:
Man’s body found stuck in machine
Acker was found stuck in a machine on Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025, at the USPS Detroit Network Distribution Center in Allen Park.
The center is a mail processing facility with many large machines.
Acker worked the midnight shift as a mechanic at the facility and had been working there for about a year.
Fiancée goes to facility after man fails to return home from work
Over the weekend, Acker’s fiancée, Stephanie Jaszcz, said she began to panic when he didn’t return home from his shift and didn’t answer her calls or texts.
“So I went up there, went to the fence and the intercom, and I was talking to some girl, and I was, like, ‘Listen, not to sound crazy, but my fiancé is missing,’” Jaszcz said.
Jaszcz said she waited by the gate for an hour.
“She tells me he never punched out and they’re looking for him,” Jaszcz said. “All of a sudden, an ambulance, a fire truck, cop cars are all coming in. No one will let me through the gate. No one will talk to me.”
Two more hours after that, she was told Acker was dead.
“I dropped to my knees, crying, and then stood up because the gate was opening and I ran through that gate,” Jaszcz said.
Couple had been engaged for 10 days
Acker and Jaszcz had been engaged for just 10 days.
They were planning to get married in the spring, and Jaszcz said she was going to go wedding dress shopping next week.
“I had my entire life in my hand,” Jaszcz said. “Like, the entire thing. And gone.”
She described Acker, who served nine years in the Air Force, as a generous, thoughtful person. She said he was willing to give others his time and make them feel seen.
“He was just one of those kinds of people whose sweetness and thoughtfulness weren’t just traits, they were just his way of life,” Jaszcz said. “He was very generous. It wasn’t always just gifts and gestures. It was always his time and his heart. He made everyone feel valid and seen.”
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Body was in machine for hours, police say
Jaszcz told Local 4 that she still hasn’t gotten any information about what happened to Acker.
“All they know is that he was in a machine,” Jaszcz said. “They don’t know how, when or for how long. The autopsy is going to take 4-6 months. We’re living a nightmare.”
Jaszcz said nobody seems to know how Acker got in the machine.
“We want to know what happened and how long he was there,” Jaszcz said. “That’s what we want to know. We want to know how he even ended up there and why doesn’t anybody know where he was at?”
Police said Acker had been dead for 6-8 hours before firefighters arrived at the facility. Authorities are calling his death “accidental,” and are continuing to investigate.
USPS statement
On Monday, Nov. 10, the USPS released the following statement:
“The United States Postal Service is deeply saddened by the loss of our employee at the Detroit Network Distribution Center (NDC) in Allen Park, MI. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family. The NDC is fully operational, at this time.”
United States Postal Service
Fiancée calls USPS’ response ‘gross, inhumane’
“‘The mail’s still moving’? Gross,” Jaszcz said. “A man gone. A veteran. A husband. A human being. And all you can think of is mail keeps moving? Inhumane. It’s gross.”
Local 4 has reached out to state and federal agencies, along with the USPS, for more information, but hasn’t received any responses yet.
Jaszcz also said Acker had mentioned concerns about the way the facility was run, and current employees have expressed similar feelings to Local 4.
We also reached out to USPS for comment about these allegations, but have not yet heard back.
What lawmakers asked postmaster
Here are the questions Dingell and Tlaib asked Steiner, and they requested to have answers within two weeks:
- When was management made aware of Nicholas’s disappearance, and what actions were taken to locate him? At what time did these actions occur?
- Did the clock system flag Nicholas for missing his basic clock rings (check in/out and lunch in/out), and if so, when did it flag him?
- When did management learn of Nicholas’s death, and when was this reported to emergency services?
- Was the handling machine powered on or off at the time of Nicholas’s death?
- Why did it take so long to notice Nicholas’s disappearance?
- How often are workers accounted for during their shifts? After Nicholas checked in at 11am, did he check in or out again?
- Is there video surveillance or monitoring where Nicholas was working?
- Did Nicholas have a work sheet, route sheet, or work order for dumper A-17? What time did Nicholas go up to dumper A-17?
- When was dumper A-17 last serviced, and did it have a history of breaking down?
- What are the safety protocols for going up on dumper A-17 and when employees are working on dumper A-17, are they alone or partnered up? If they do not have a partner, why do they not have a partner?
- Have there been any prior accidents with this type of mail handling machine at the NDC or at any other USPS facilities?
- Are maintenance mechanics trained on how to withdraw fallen mail or packages from machines and what are the safety protocols for withdrawing the fallen mail or packages?
- Is there a certain time during a shift that maintenance mechanics are supposed to withdraw fallen mail or packages?
- Is there a briefing where tour 1 and tour 2 maintenance mechanics overlap and give updates on the status of maintenance work completed during the prior shift?
- Does the NDC keep training records, and if so, when was Nicholas trained on the safety procedures for dumper A-17 and for withdrawing fallen mail and packages from machines?
- Has management advised workers at the NDC to extract fallen mail and packages while the handling machines are operating?
- Do the conveyor and dumping machines at the NDC have sensors to halt the system when something, or someone, is impeding the moving parts of the machine? Does the conveyor system have emergency stops? If not, why not?
- Do the maintenance mechanics have a check-in system with their management when they are working in dangerous spots, such as dumper A-17?
- Where does the NDC keep their Postal Service Form 1767? It is our understanding that this form is where employees can express their safety concerns and receive a response to their concerns from postal management on the same day. However, we have been informed that when the maintenance mechanics raised concerns using PS1767s, the forms were relocated. Had anyone at the NDC filled out a PS1767 with concerns about dumper A-17, and if so, what was done to address their concerns?