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"Editorials" features longer
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editor. Send postal related articles to PostalReporter.com
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Is USPS
In Need of An Internal Affairs Office?
(11/25/07) |
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By Edward P. Fleicher, Second Vice President,
NALC Branch #1111 submitted by reader
When contemplating life's ups and downs; one
often wonders why things are the way they are.
How do you know exactly when a change is
needed? How do you know who is exactly to
blame when all of the wheels fall of the
wagon? Well, in my opinion, not only have the
wheels fallen off of the wagon, but the Bay
Valley District USPS leadership is still
trying to roll that old wagon down the beaten
path. That is, and in my opinion, they
continue to ignore the fact that there are
and continue to be serious ethics issues and
problems among some of their supervisors and
managers that have gone unchecked.
THE FACTS ARE EVIDENT, CHECK THE TAC'S
RECORDS
There is no dispute here of what is right or
what is wrong! No one in the BVD leadership
group can tell me that they don't know that
some of their supervisors and or managers have
crossed the line by: falsifying official USPS
timekeeping record; inappropriately deleting
actual employee work and pay hours; hiding
carrier craft and or clerk craft work hours by
placing employees under the wrong operational
codes; by inappropriately using "waiting time"
codes such as operation 354 when employees are
actually working the mail: casing, sorting and
delivery. The union has tiled grievances in
offices like Oakland, Fremont and Walnut
Creek. The union has discussed and reported
this problem to and at the BVD Labor /
Management Meetings. So, why hasn't it
stopped?
MAYBE THE USPS DOES NEED A REAL INTERNAL
AFFAIRS OFFICE
What's that? You say that the Postal Service
already has the Postal Inspectors and the
Office of the Inspector General. Well that
maybe true and I am sure that they are doing
their jobs to the best of their abilities.
But, let me ask you a few questions. Have you
ever seen an Investigative Memorandum or OIG'S
Report that implicated any supervisor and or
mangers in the Bay Valley District for
stealing pay from employee's, or falsifying
Official Time Keeping records? I haven't yet.
Given the fact that this issue is not isolated
to the BVD, I haven't heard that from any USPS
District in the Nation? Why is that?
I have read and heard about Ethics Committees
being formulated and utilized in some
companies. Even the Employee Labor Relations
Manual (ELM) alludes to that in some of its
sections. However, I do think that we are
beyond that. And, if you can't trust the high
ranking Postal Leaders (who are Federal
employees themselves) who are entrusted to
uphold the integrity of their respective
positions by doing the "right thing," then
maybe a change is needed. Maybe a "USPS
Internal Affairs Department" needs to be
established (similar to that of Police
Departments) to deal with internal management
Postal crimes? Something defiantly needs to be
done!
It isn't right!
Related link:
Archive: Class
Action Clock Rings Lawsuit
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ORAL HEARING OR
FINAL AGENCY DECISION?
(9/26/07)
By J.R. Pritchett, POSTAL EMPLOYEE ADVOCATE
September, 2007 |
Whenever a federal employee finds that they
may have been the victim of unlawful
discrimination, they find themselves having to
navigate through a complex and technical EEO
administrative process in order to prove that
they were discriminated against.
So here's my view on how the system currently
works. You have to make sure that you contact
a Postal Service EEO Counselor within 45-days
of the date of the act, policy or practice
that you allege is discriminatory. If you are
even one (1) day late your complaint will be
dismissed as untimely. [At the time of this
article employees can contact the Postal
Service's National Equal Employment
Investigative Services Office (NEEOISO) in
Tampa, Florida at 888-336-8777.] You have to
make certain that you properly identify the
type or basis of your complaint of
discrimination (race, color, national origin,
age, sex, religion, disability, or reprisal
for prior protected EEO activity). The Postal
Service prefers to use their own forms (though
it is not mandatory that you use them) which
leave you little space to fully describe
everything that is requested. This is either
intentional, or was created by someone with an
inability to anticipate that some people don't
write in eight-point font.
If you don't agree to REDRESS mediation, or
otherwise agree to extend the informal
complaint period, within 30-days of when you
filed the informal complaint, you should
receive a Notice of Right to File a Formal
Complaint. There doesn't seem to be any
consequences to the Postal Service if they
miss their time limits.
Once you file your formal complaint (don't
forget about those pesky time limits) you then
wait to find out how NEEOISO will frame or
describe your complaint. They will also advise
you what issues they agree to accept for
investigation and what issues will be
dismissed. Yes, you can write back within ten
(10) days and disagree, but other than that,
you have no recourse except to place your
objection on the record. The accepted issues
are assigned to a contract investigator (many
who are retired Postal Service managers), who
will send you copious questions that you must
answer in affidavit form. Though s/he likely
won't ask, you should take advantage of this
opportunity by entering additional testimony
related to the issues that were dismissed.
After struggling to get sufficient time
on-the-clock from your supervisor to properly
respond to the affidavit questions, you again
wait for a copy of the Report of Investigation
(ROI). The file (usually a proper government
pale-green) is supposed to reflect an unbiased
compilation of evidence related to your
complaint, without drawing any conclusions or
opinions. The ROI not only contains your
affidavit, but should also contain the
affidavit(s) of the individual(s) who were
named as being responsible for the
discriminatory act; exhibits of relevant
documents; and a summary of the evidence
contained therein.
A cover letter should accompany the ROI
advising you of several options regarding how
to proceed. A.) Take no action at all and
within forty (40) days the Postal Service must
provide you with a copy of its Final Agency
Decision (FAD). B.) You can specifically
request an FAD. (Don't get your hopes up that
the Postal Service will find that they
discriminated against you). C.) You can also
submit a Request to Withdraw your Complaint
(something that you've just waited all this
time to do - insert thick sarcasm here). Your
final option is, D.) you can ask for an Oral
Hearing before an EEO Commission
Administrative Judge (finally, you think to
yourself - someone who doesn't work for the
Postal Service). Generally, a form is enclosed
to use to request a hearing, which instructs
the complainant to send their request directly
to NEEOISO (which is a Postal Service office).
There is no prohibition (in fact a preference)
to send requests for a hearing directly to the
EEO Commission District or Field Office
indicated in the cover letter, via Certified
Mail. Send a courtesy copy of your request to
NEEOISO. Once an AJ has been assigned and you
receive an Acknowledgement Order you have new
procedural requirements, along with varying
imposed time limits. When engaging in
discovery, you must do so within twenty (20)
days of the date of the Order. Discovery is
very important because it's FINALLY your
(only) opportunity to request information,
documents, and other responses from the Postal
Service in order to supplement the ROI. When
it's clear that the investigator compiled
information or evidence that favors
management, or was weak in supporting your
case, then you have to gather sufficient
information that favors your claim of
discrimination. This can include obtaining
depositions and/or affidavits from responding
management officials (RMO's) and other
witnesses. (Make sure that you're doing all
this stuff on-the-clock, folks.)
Within thirty (30) days of the Acknowledgement
Order you must submit any Motion to Amend your
complaint. This is your opportunity to submit
your arguments to the AJ why issues that had
been dismissed, should be reinstated as an
issue before the Commission. The most
persuasive argument occurs when you can show
that the reason(s) given for the dismissals
were improper or not in accordance with law.
At the conclusion of discovery, which is
usually only a sixty (60) day window, your
next major hurdle occurs when the Postal
Service files a Motion for a Decision without
a Hearing - also know as Summary Judgment. If
the Postal Service doesn't file the motion
fast enough for the AJ, you can expect a
notice from him/her called a Notice of Intent
to Issue a Decision without a Hearing. Of
course judge's love this little legal maneuver
because it gets the complaint off of their
desk without them having to actually fully
investigate your allegations of
discrimination. So you find yourself arguing
again that there is significant dispute of the
material facts that should entitle you to a
hearing. After all, what other reason would
motivate you to submit yourself to this
tedious, stressful, time-consuming, demanding,
costly, and overly complicated and technical
process?
If you find yourself to be one of the few
"lucky ones" (and I don't mean it in a
cavalier way) and the AJ finds that Summary
Judgment would not be appropriate, you may
finally get "your day in court". You might
feel like this is the pinnacle of your
achievement - the opportunity for someone to
finally hear your side of the story. Not to
burst your bubble, but overwhelmingly AJ's
rule in favor of the employing agency.
If your
complaint has not been bifurcated (separates
the evidence on liability from the evidence on
damages), then during the hearing you will
also be expected to produce evidence and
testimony regarding your claim for damages.
This process especially can be extremely
stressful and personally intrusive. And more
often than not, damage awards rarely fully
compensate what the complainant experienced.
There are no punitive damages available in the
federal sector - which would be the only
sensible method to deter the Postal Service
from its institutional behavior. Also, you
cannot be compensated for the stress
experienced or caused by the litigation
process itself - you can only be compensated
for the consequences of the discriminatory
act, policy or practice.
Even if the AJ rules
in your favor, it's likely that the FAD (which
must be generated after the AJ's decision)
will conclude that the Postal Service did not
discriminate. After all, what motivation would
the Postal Service have to find against
itself? Nevertheless, you need this absurd
piece of paper (the FAD) to either appeal to
the EEO Commission in Washington, D.C., or to
take the matter to Federal District Court. The
FAD becomes your evidence that, as a federal
employee you have exhausted your
administrative remedies (which surely have
exhausted you).
If you appeal to the EEO
Commission, and your complaint has been
adjudicated by an EEOC AJ, the Commission is
not going to feel particularly motivated or
compelled to look very closely at the issues
raised in your complaint. After all, the EEOC
defers to AJ's who have heard the testimony,
reviewed the evidence, and ostensibly applied
all of the relevant and applicable standards
of law. Certainly you make your argument that
the AJ erred in his/her decision, with regard
to evidence in the record, credibility
determinations, and application of law, but
unless those errors essentially leap off the
page and get the Commission's attention,
deference is usually conferred on the AJ.
Assuming the Commission rules against you;
it's at least more than a year since the
discriminatory act occurred; you've spent
money, time, and (likely emotional) effort
trying to persuade anyone that will listen
that you've been unfairly treated and the
victim of unlawful discrimination. And now
your remaining choice is to go to Federal
District Court. Is the adverse action that you
filed your complaint about still relevant? Are
witnesses still available? For that matter,
can any of the witnesses remember what
happened so long ago?
The obvious cynicism and sarcasm about this
process is directly related to the failure of
this process to effectively recognize and/or
deter discriminatory conduct. It's a system
that inherently favors the employing agency
and is insufficient to impose any meaningful
consequences to the Postal Service.
However, because it's the only process
available to federal employees, there are some
tactical considerations that employees should
consider. Specifically, after you have engaged
in discovery and had the opportunity to fully
develop the record, you may want to consider
withdrawing your request for a hearing, and
instead ask for a Final Agency Decision.
Why?
For several reasons. First, and probably most
importantly, in your appeal of the FAD you
don't have to make any arguments to counter an AJ's findings. The EEOC is more likely to look
more closely at a complaint where the Postal
Service has declared that it did not
discriminate against you (which they almost
always say). There's no judge to have to give
deference to - someone who is assumed to be
non-biased. The Postal Service however, is not
endowed with that expectation. When the AJ
notes for the record that you have withdrawn
your request for a hearing and have asked for
an FAD, there's not usually much delay in
returning the complaint file to NEEOISO. At
that point, even the Postal Service Law Office
doesn't usually pursue the complaint. So
instead of the Postal Service attorney's
arguments being considered and/or incorporated
into the opinion of the FAD, it's all done by
postal managers at NEEOISO. Your arguments
presented on appeal, can now include detailed
evidence obtained during discovery, including
official Postal Service documents (policy
letters, emails, etc.) written affidavits
and/or transcripts of depositions. NEEOISO may
not even be aware of this evidence when they
write the FAD. Such an advantage just might
provide the edge needed to convincingly
persuade OFO that the articulated reasons
provided by the Postal Service are pretextual
and intended to masque, hide, or otherwise
conceal discriminatory conduct or animus.
Now you are left with a tactical decision to
make. Should you take the chance that an AJ
will issue a Summary Judgment decision; which
would either prevent, or extensively delay
your opportunity for a hearing, just so you
can have your "day in court"? You might still
get that day in court if OFO remands your
appeal back to the original EEO Office for a
hearing. If it's reassigned to the same AJ, do
you think s/he would be inclined to embrace
evidence that would show that their prior
conclusions were erroneous?
It may be that you have more than sufficient
evidence where an AJ might have no other
alternative but to find that discrimination
occurred. Cases like that do still exist. But
where the overwhelming majority of EEO
complaints fall prey to Summary Judgment, a
tactical method of avoiding it should be given
serious consideration.
Mr. J.R. Pritchett is an Administrative Law
Representative with POSTAL EMPLOYEE ADVOCATES,
who are not attorneys. The above article has
been prepared for educational and
informational purposes only. It does not
constitute legal advice or legal opinions and
should not be construed as such. Readers
should not act upon this information without
first seeking professional legal counsel. The
opinions expressed in this article are those
of the author, and not those of the Internet
host or its sponsors. You may contact at
postalemployeeadvocate@juno.com. |
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Ergonomic Work Group
discusses Denver NIOSH DBCS Investigation in DC
(9/18/07)
By Loyd Reeder
clerk
Denver Metro Area Local
I received the following via email from a
confidential source that was actually present at
this meeting in Washington, DC, on 8-2-07. These
are the minutes of this EWG (Ergonomic Work Group)
meeting. The EWG is composed of national
representatives of the postal unions, USPS, and
OSHA. As you can see, the NIOSH DBCS
investigations I called in here in Denver were a
topic of discussion. (See item #7) According to
the DC source of this email, the "one disgruntled
employee" Sam Pulcrano, national head of safety
for the USPS, was talking about was me, since I
was directly referred to by name. I find that
comical. As I have said before, I am only the
messenger. If the USPS is unhappy with the
findings of the best occupational health expertise
in the country (NIOSH), it should take its
complaints to the Surgeon General of the United
States. It should be blatantly obvious that I did
not write the reports, NIOSH did. These NIOSH
investigations have now reached the highest levels
in Washington....
7. NIOSH Report – on DBCS
OSHA voiced the concern that USPS is not doing
anything following this report and they need to,
USPS stated they answered (by letter) NIOSH.
APWU requested OSHA conduct an evaluation of the
DBCS in Denver; we stated we would assist OSHA in
any manner possible.
OSHA will take some action, either in a
cooperative manner or through enforcement if USPS
continues to refuse to cooperate – the APWU
offered support to OSHA.
Pulcrano stated that nationally deployed equipment
was exempt from EWG review; the APWU objected. In
addition he claimed that this was only one
disgruntled employee. OSHA disagreed and made
reference to other sites with the same and/or
similar complaints.
Pulcrano claimed that employees were not following
training protocol or using equipment correctly or
installing modifications as the reasons for the
ergonomic problems.
Additional discussion, although the report is
flawed (??) it was agreed that the deployment of
the equipment may contribute to ergonomic
concerns. ERRP Coordinators will be notified to
have “Site Core Teams” look at and evaluated
DBCS’s focusing on the tasks performed, equipment
configuration (per original protocols), and
employee training, maintenance and support
equipment. Discussion on this issue will continue
between meetings.
LINKS TO NIOSH INVESTIGATIONS:
NIOSH 1993
http://www.postalreporter.com/pdfs/DenverPO1992-0073-2337.pdf
NIOSH
2006
http://www.postalreporter.com/pdfs/DenverGMF062.pdf
LINKS TO POSTAL REPORTER ARTICLES:
May 24 2006 11:19 pm
NIOSH
Reports on DBCS at Denver Postal Facility
Sep 25 2006 10:57 am
USPS Injuries Down But Problems Still Exist With
DBCS Machines
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Privatization,
consolidation, contracting = DESTRUCTION (7/31/07)
By Mike Ganino
Certainly it can be said that the APWU's overall
response to the massive numbers of proposed
consolidations has been one of success.
Curiously, the USPS continues to march forward
with a nationwide program for privatization that
seems to be well planned. Our President, William
Burrus, again gave testimony regarding the
continuing "consolidation" and "privatization"
moves.
While the USPS sends up trial balloons in most
communities nationwide - the APWU fights pitched
battles that IMHO are holding actions that are
created as diversions.
In Bridgeport, CT, one of the first six to
experience consolidation (prior to APWU nationwide
activity) a new proposal for more consolidation
has been floated (reported at Manchester NH NPC)
which emanated NOT from the local, district or
Area Levels, but from the OIG.
While the USPS is centralizing it's ability to
"call the shots" within the OIG's office and
pursuing definitive strategies to gain "bidders"
to take over mail processing, we are moving in a
manner somewhat akin to a loosely based fire
drill.
Could a nationwide conference specifically geared
towards the creation of a unified strategy to
combat the USPS's planned goal of consolidation,
privatization or whatever term you wish be held in
LasVegas when many of the movers and shakers will
be in attendance at the craft conferences?
Could be the optimum time to place an overall
working strategy as ALL of our newly elected
officers will be present as will an overwhelming
number of activists.
This could signal a new beginning in the form of a
major thrust instead of hundreds of locals trying
to defend it's own "turf".
Amazingly the introduction of information to the
NPC concerning the OIG's involvement in initiating
consolidation "proposals" and their making
recommendations "DOWNWARD" fell on deaf ears.
The USPS has made it completely clear as to what
their intentions are. We can either respond
"together" or head down the road where we will all
"hang together".
Would NOT expect much help from some of our fellow
postal unions as for the time being they have
continued their "two step with the devil" not
realizing that they are at "deaths door" with time
becoming their enemy.
Well that is my opinion and "everyone is entitled
to my opinion".
Peace |
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Revolving Around People
(5/2/07)
By Ronald
Williams, Jr., Mail Handler, United States Postal Service
A
few years ago I attended a seminar put on by the Service
Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE) and all the professionals
present had an opportunity to participate in a friendly
exercise of interviewing the person seated next to
them. It was a business exercise to teach a lesson
in stereotyping and assuming about others when we’ve
only known or seen them for five minutes. The interviewer’s
task was to look at the person next to them and jot
down on paper what they thought would be the correct
responses from the interviewee regarding a few basic
questions before the interview. Earlier in the day
I overheard the gentleman I was assigned to interview
talking to an attendee and he was talking about skateboarding
and I started associating that to the responses in
the questionnaire. We had to complete questions like;
is he married? I said no. The correct response was
yes. How old is he? My response was 25. The correct
response was 32. Does he have kids? I wrote down yes.
He said no. What kind of car does he drive? I thought
Honda. He responded with Lexus. What do you think
his income was last year? I guessed $30,000 he looked
at me like I was a donkey and bucked the response
well last year my company made $500,000 immediately
I had a dooops!
What I took away from that
session was that we shouldn’t judge people by looks,
thoughts, stereotypes, the color of their car, the
style of their hair, or the way they dress. I believe
this happens on a daily basis by postal leaders in
a quest to get numbers not realizing the answer to
increased productivity is right in front of them.
I respect numbers but in the new millennium I bet
if we involve the same people we hired to help us
we will immediately see there is a bigger strength
in numbers if we all put our heads together and figure
out the best way to “move the mail”. We should get
to know something valuable about all the members on
our team and combine everyone’s talents to become
a complimentary team of postal rangers. Regardless
of race, religion, national origin we are all one
color, Blue! Gone are the days of the
“big momma/big poppa” theory on the workroom floor
a style that prefers “quid pro quo,” use of fear tactics,
and showing favoritism to reward, acknowledge and
build relationships and expecting this behavior will
force others to comply to compete for the one size
fits all award. Telling people you’ve been around
a long time, I’m guessing, “one hundred years” alone
will never compete with a combined service of three
hundred years. Now, if you got up to date skill
sets to go with that high sodium postal dust then
everyone will be ready to take notes. For the
want to be or going to be supervisors following in
the footsteps of a dinosaur I can assure you the label
204B for acting supervisor is not the equivalent of
the fighter/attack aircraft known as the F/A 18B.
Nothing changes until you do so start shifting the
paradigm.
These days it’s raining mail
and the trench is getting muddy from the dirt being
kicked around. Looking at the X-ray on the view box,
we got fractures! Some in the nosebleed seats love
to create flowery scenery and act like this is the
neighborhood where the only thing that goes wrong
is the cat gets stuck in the tree. Sorry “It ain’t
like that.” I’m sharing my thoughts in this article
to decelerate tactical errors in the field and protest
the conquering and dividing mentality. I prefer to
inspire greater maneuvers and uplift my readers to
a change toward greatness. If this story makes you
feel a little lightheaded just retrieve your electronic
leash and dial 1-888-UNO-THE# it’s on your contact
list. How about we take the express
train to the future where we will make employees the
flat rate priority. A place where we
all know our internal and external customers will
always be first class and ethical conduct
is indeed the standard image we want
to project. Treat everyone as me (TEAM) is not a
foreign principle. We don’t need to
keep going around in a loop. And no
one wants to be a reject. Step up postal
people and stop drifting into camps; the passive camp,
the cultural camp, the aggressive camp, the submissive
camp, etc. Managers stop glossing over the weak leaders
to avoid the need for the uncomfortable discussion.
We got a long way to go to get to where the mail service
needs to be and there’s a lot to think about.
Quarterly
evaluations are not taken seriously. Judging by the
untimely way they are conducted it appears that they
are something that’s gets in the way of those in charge
getting their numbers. We spend a lot of time worrying
about numbers but we can’t get this number right.
Quarterly equates to 3 months. It doesn’t mean every
8 months or when the responsible personality feels
like doing it. I don’t understand why some employees
need a standby person at this session like they are
going in for a Planned Parenthood screening and others
don’t. The designated shop steward is virtually in
snicker mode and literally doing the same because
the supervisor can’t define terminology like sexual
harassment. There’s nothing funny about that! If you
don’t know what it is then how will you know it exists?
This evaluation should be our time to privately give
and receive feedback about personal, operating and
working conditions. I notice the people with guts
speak up and the fearful throw-up. Suddenly when it
is time to step on stage many employees can’t find
the box of candor they were loading before and after
the session. During the evaluation they constantly
adjust their cervical collar to protect the whiplash
received from nodding up and down uncontrollably.
Yep it’s comical! The supervisor has got the bosses
ear and employees don’t get a say because directors
don’t have time to keep the equation fair and balanced.
Leaders can easily paint employees with voices using
an extra muddy brush and that mural gets the employee
unfair and unfriendly looks in the funhouse mirror.
Managers, please don’t get blind-sided by being one-sided.
Let’s save the circus acts for Las Vegas and refocus
on the business. Commandeer a powered industrial vehicle
and haul the rolling stock loaded with Undeliverable
Bulk Business Malarkey (UBBM) out of here. Let’s do
this! Find efficient and creative ways to process,
manage, monitor, accept and deliver the mail utilizing
all the people on the payroll.
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A United Vision (4/17/07)
By Ronald
Williams, Jr., Mail Handler, United States Postal Service
Recently
while stopping at a gas station I saw a letter carrier
in route delivering the mail and identified myself
as a postal worker. While he continued to fill the
local mailbox I asked him what he thought about life
as a postal employee and he said he loved the work
but hated the dignity and respect issues he has to
deal with and spouted out a few specific examples
of unwanted behaviors all driven by an end result
of numbers. I assured him I appreciated what he did
and respected the fact that he probably has to put
up with a lot more strife than people like me working
inside a P&DC. He reciprocated and reminded me that
I’m the one that has to put up with “them” all day
at least he can get away for most of the day. I laughed
and said I never thought of it like that. That letter
carrier made my day! I bet you a Ben Franklin our
postal news outlets will let me pony express these
thoughts out to all my comrades. I just want to vent
a little white smoke to symbolize a controlled fire
and the only way I know to do this is to pick up my
pen and give the system a fair fight. I am a union
member and want to share my experiences hoping that
my aim is not over anyone’s head. I mean no offense
to anyone but working with some people bruises my
brain and writing soothes that pain. If anyone wants
to get upset about this opinion just sit down and
rotate around these paragraphs.
Rat-tat-tat
pounds the gavel! Attention to the meeting! The local
union meeting is now called to order. Just kidding!
It really doesn’t work like that but the meeting does
take place in a public restaurant where the patrons
can see and hear what our unionized brothers and sisters
of the Postal Service are talking about. Hopefully
nobody gets upset at the meeting or the public might
think we are going “you know what” yes, the six letter
word that starts with P and ends with L. There are
500 members but 25 are present to get a free breakfast.
The local president takes the Christopher Columbus
approach to the meeting by not having an agenda possibly
because he wants to sail off the edge. He discusses
mail handler bids and tells us about new machinery.
He is unable to answer questions, and often blurts
out “this is not the time or place”. I wonder why
there are no minutes from the last meeting, past meetings,
or any thoughts for the next meeting. I think if we
really want to be productive and accomplish something
we should create an agenda with timelines for guidelines.
Developing an agenda days or weeks ahead will give
the membership an opportunity to collect their thoughts
on the agenda items and present them in a timely and
professional manner so the meeting doesn’t go in circles
and moves full speed ahead.
Back
on the workroom floor I often notice that shop stewards
are constantly engaged in casual conversation with
their favorite supervisors laughing, giggling and
cackling like Hyenas’ and creating a bonding so tight
lubrication couldn’t loosen it. When it’s time to
take on an issue they are afraid of hurt feelings
in that relationship. On the other extreme they hide
in the office all day or grab a clipboard and pounce
around the floor periodically as quickly as they can
to avoid the routes where they know supervisors are
performing craft work. Or from fifty feet away they
throw up crossed index fingers and rub them together
like pieces of wood to indicate a “no-no” hoping the
supervisor will stop. It works until the union representative
is out of sight, and then its business as usual. Craft
employees are numb to filing grievances because they
know nothing is going to happen accept the fact they
will receive some form of subtle retaliation from
the supervisor like: no unscheduled annual, slight
out of overtime, no recognition, etc. Stewards don’t
know all the mail handlers by name or face but they
do know everyone in management. Whenever presented
with an issue you can see their hearts pumping Kool-Aid
and their mouths forming to say in that familiar Barney
Rubble voice “they can do that”. Of course they can
do that! You are the Baker and they own the Bakery.
Represent and make sure decisions are fair. That’s
all we can ask to make this recipe a little tastier.
It appears that communication is not one of the knowledge,
skill, and ability (KSA) prerequisites for the position,
just the popular vote. Working around some of these
people for five minutes makes me understand why “let
me slow the words down” c o n t i n u i n g
e d u c a t i o n is so important for all
of us. Please, Pick up a book, listen to an audio
book, play a podcast, attend a seminar, watch a video,
go to class. Stop sitting on your butt relying on
your seniority or lack of it. We have to inherit leadership.
If the company doesn’t provide the training to make
you a better representative then you take the initiative
to do it for yourself so that public service is a
public trust. Let’s tap into our own pool of craft
employees (drill for oil) and utilize their talents
and resources (discover the oil) like: computer skills,
electronic talents, verbal & written skills, leadership
abilities, technical and professional expertise to
strengthen our union and ultimately improve postal
operations (take the oil to the marketplace). Let’s
show the employer who really runs barter town.
I
recently reviewed the shop steward guide online and
it is a very well put together document they gives
excellent guidance to union officials. It’s the Bible,
right! Unfortunately, the stewards I’ve seen don’t
know how to look up the information they need to effectively
represent and advocate for the membership. None of
us can afford to be illiterate by choice in this new
millennium or else we will all have starring roles
in the next caveman commercial. We don’t have a mission
statement. We don’t have a strategic plan. Does that
lead to a motto of divided we stand, united we fall?
I recently selected choice vacations for scheduled
annual per specific instructions provided by my shop
steward who collected the data and handled the task.
We both agreed on the dates, initialed the document,
and when it was time for me to go two months later
the supervisor decided to create conflict and change
the rules at the last moment and wanted me to take
dates she deemed appropriate. Sorry, but I didn’t
plan for the dates you want me to take! Needless to
say Big Bird, Bert and Ernie from the union office
sided with the supervisor to save their own face without
the morale courage to insist they negotiated the dates
with me and everyone should respect this veteran and
let him enjoy his earned vacation time and correct
any discrepancies next time. Maybe my pen is taking
all of them out of their game.
This activity
is just the tip of the iceberg. I made such a stink
that those after me going on vacation were told to
bring in tickets for proof they were going somewhere
for scheduled annual. Are we crossing privacy lines?
Someone disengage the cruise control. Is this what
I’m paying dues for? I’m not mad at anyone because
no matter what I will always be an ambassador of good
Will (Williams). Nationally I understand we have approximately
50,000 members in this union alone and there’s strength
in numbers if we stick together to do the right thing
which I believe is happening on the beltway. That
means we got it like that; but locally we do it like
this! It would benefit the masses if there was a mechanism
in place to monitor local unions and what they were
doing and not hiding behind a desk after they’ve been
elected. I believe what gets measured gets done. In-house
it seems like they are awarded an opportunity to hide
as long as they keep down the grievances. A former
U.S. President once said, “you get what you inspect,
not what you expect”. Someone at a higher authority
should periodically visit and ask the hard questions
about membership percentages, reasons for joining,
not joining, reasons, for getting out, grievance handling
activities, and a whole host of other thoughts to
keep the locals and regions focused and on their toes.
Anyway, maybe I am little ahead of my time but I have
a vision that together we can align the cars on this
train, get all the passengers facing in the same direction,
travel in sync and watch and feel the train turn the
corner with precision.
Ronald Williams
currently works as a Mail Handler with the United
States Postal Service. His article describes his experiences
with Unions as seen from inside a Processing and Distribution
Center (P&DC). He would like to share his perspective
with expectations that this topic will spark debate
in the postal community for positive change.
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