April 17, 2008 -
PRLog -- The Postal Service of 2008 is as poorly managed now as it was 25 years ago when numerous shootings occurred and many employees were killed. I left the Post Office in November of 2007 and got out shaken but alive. How many more shootings will occur before Congress steps in and legislates how Post Offices can create less hostile environments?
The Post Office would like all to believe that most of the problems of the 80’s have been resolved with implementation of policy to prevent violence. What really has happened is the Postal Service is preventing any incident to get any media attention. In 2006 their were 2 seperate shootings where Postal employees were killed again by disgruntled colleagues. These incidences were kept out of the mainstream news agencies. I came across them by accident searching on the internet. Another incident in Baltimore where a Supervisor was attacked and beaten by employees but luckily not shot was kept out of the media. How many of these type of incidences have been covered up by the Postal Service since the violence of the 80’s? I believe the number to be excessive. This comes to be no surprise to me. When I left the Postal Service, Management maintained their rigid, overbearing and disrespectful style of managing employees. Supervisors were instructed to instill fear of discipline which included loss of pay to motivate employees. Rarely were employees thanked or rewarded for their efforts. Morale at many offices that were poorly supervised or understaffed were totally stressed out and were hoping to find a way out. As I read commentary online from Postal Blog sites I see that this has become a cancer that has continued to spread to many locations throughout the country. The job of sorting and delivering the mail is difficult enough do to Postal downsizing, and all employees being tasked to carry more weight then ever. Mail carriers struggle to get out of the office on time and get back before their shift is over. Clerks have more and more mail to sort with fewer people. Lines at Post Office window service continue due to clerks trying to juggle good customer service with multiple tasks on the workfloor. When you add in the additional stress component of incompetent,abusive supervisors constantly pummeling employees with negative criticism it becomes overwhelming for many. The supervisors are tasked by upper management to meet certain benchmarks at all cost. These benchmarks or numerical goals are used to rate a district compared to others in the entire country. The top Districts get the top bonuses for upper management and National recognition. This is what drives all of Management and produces the stressors that ignite a workforce. When will the voice of the employees truly be heard. The Postal Service does a yearly survey to isolate problems and concerns of the employees. These surveys are rarely acted on and provide little to no relief. They provide Postal Management a tool they could use to make changes. In most cases it is done only to show Management is listening and communicating with all employees. It gives the appearance that employees have a voice but most employees will tell you their suggestions are never investigated or acted upon. Where can employees turn? I say Congress may be the only answer. The Post Office will never change until law suits from employees or deceased employees relatives reaches epidemic proportions. This could take years and more unnecessary incidences. Congress should act now. Postal employees need to write,phone and email their political leaders and demand a resolution. This may be the only way to prevent further massacres.
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