This is a story from a former Postal Support Employee (PSE) as told to PostalReporter.com . PostalReporter has removed all of the names and places.

May 21, 2015

My name is Steven ____________. I was one of the first PSE hired into the Postal Service in ___PA. I was employed at the ________________ Post Office and was set up with a 40+ Hour work schedule. I worked the split shifts 6 days a week and was loyal to the job. My background as a General Manager of a production facility was a tool that helped me work at a brisk pace and to understand deadlines… the biggest concern of what it meant for the Postal Service to be and maintain what was meant to do.

I took pride in the job and the deadlines needed to complete the daily tasks. I had made many friends in the company as I was not afraid to lend a hand or help a carrier out when they were tired, sore, hurt or when life had simply beat them down. After only 6 months of work I was approached by the POOM at the time to take a supervisors position at another facility. I was actively thinking about doing so, but past work experience told me not to jump into waters that you don’t know enough about. I declined the move and it appeared to leave a bad taste in the mouths that were in control. With in a two week period I was going to be shipped out to OIC a Post Office in ______. In all actuality it was a 12 X 16 shed. The running water and bathroom fixtures were literally next to nature. All the way down to the Drywall bucket that was needed to go to the bathroom.

I was made to travel 68 miles in one direction to work a split shift from 8 am til 12noon and then sit in the parking lot for two hours ( as you are not allowed to remain in the building) and reopen at 2 pm until 4:30. I never questioned beyond my Postmaster at my home office about why I was placed in this position and did as I was instructed. After a fire at the neighboring towns post office, I was replaced and returned to my home office. I was given access to fill out for payment of travel expenses. (A payment that even today I have never seen) It was explained to me at a later date by Mr. _____ that the Post Office was broke and that they couldn’t pay me..
I was working in my Home office for only a week or two when I was re-assigned to another Post Office. __________… I was given the Keys and sent into the mountains as the new OIC/Postmaster. The training that I received was about as good as expected. Here’s where you long in and here’s where you log out… Good Luck.
After the first pay period working an 88 hour pay period, I got my first check. It was for 20 hours of work. I was shorted and filled out a payroll adjustment for the balance. After the second pay period, I got a check that was for the 28 hours of missed paid wages on the first check and again 20 hours short of the current pay period. By the third pay period no one had any clue as to what was happening with my pay. Mr ____ and Mr. ____ ( the ___ Postmaster) determined that I should be set to automatic rings. It was evident that may pay was a mess and payroll adjustments were not getting entered. However, I kept working and doing the job tasks assigned. I was at one point working the midnight sort in ____________ 12mid to 5:00am, then crawling in my car driving 68 miles to _____ to open and run the Office there from 8am to Noon, Drive home and eat, catch a light snooze and head to ______ to do dispatch at 3:15 to 6:30pm. I wasn’t a bad employee…

After the issue of my pay and the pot seemed to get stirred, no one could figure who had done what to my pay and who was responsible. Mr ______ was seemingly involved into so many other issues (one that took place that got him demoted) and I found myself being shipped out to run a larger off. The Post Office in _____. I was having to travel between two Post Offices to get the transfers completed, while still being responsible for office in _____. Just another 60 mile a round trip daily…. Then my Pay began to fall even farther behind. There was little I could do to keep track of Hours and or Postal Times without a time clock or even Green Cards. Let alone there was no one to turn them into. One week I would get automatic rings, while others would have to be hand entered into system. I was vocal about the issues as I was having trouble paying bills and keep my home affairs in order. But no one seemed to care and the best I would be offered is that “Next Pay” would catch me up.

Over a course of 4 or five months I was running the ____ Post Office as the sole employee… No PMR’s or Help offered. Finally what I thought was a light at the end of the tunnel, a PMR was assigned…. Not one stitch of a clue as to her job duties or for that matter how to operate the office. I had to now train this person daily on the same tasks…. And as always fight every other Friday about getting my wages… I was given notice that I was being transferred to a larger office to take over in ____… I was given 2 days to prepare for the leave and an office transfer packet to complete. I was also in those two day required to report to ______ and have that Office transferred into my name. Needless to say the policies that were set for doing this were completely over looked and disregarded. All the while leaving the responsibility on my shoulders.

My pay checks that were always short or completely screwed up were beginning to mount. I was owed a vast amount of money and I was trying every avenue to get paid as every month I was suffering quite a hit on late fees and not to mention on my credit rating. I watched my credit rating like a hawk as after 24 years of marriage I was going full throttle in a divorce. But, every avenue that I tried was a closed door. Or I was involving people that didn’t have the right access to my files. My Postmaster in ________ was splitting hairs as every payroll adjustment that he was trying to make was costing a small fortune on his budget. It was made know to me that all of these hours working out and about at other offices were being drawn on his clerk hour budget… Instead of things getting better they turned worse. In or around April of 2012 the paychecks just simply stopped. May came and went and still no paycheck for me. I was offered that a computer glitch was causing the error, but there was no help. I was sinking faster than the titanic and so was the credit score. By June of 2012 I was out of money. No less than a dozen people were involved in trying to get my issue resolved. Everyone was stumped, I heard from the _____ GMF, The Legal Division in _______, Payroll, HR Department, but I never once got a call back from my POOM. I pleaded to anyone that would listen. I involved our union steward, but he refused to go beyond the _______ Postmaster, he refused to involve anyone outside his shop to help. His explanation was in his conversation with Mr. _____, the issue would be corrected next pay period. I was now borrowing funds from my father to get gas money so I could get to work…

I had lost my car insurance, my life insurance, 2 credit cards, my home owners coverage and My house was heading into foreclosure and even after a plea for financial help the best advice I could get out of the mouth of my boss was, “Do what you gotta do!!” Two days later I got a phone call stating that I now had to take a mandatory leave. I was instructed to leave the office keys and codes with the OIC in _______ so that they could have someone open the office while I was off. I refused… I was not going to turn over an access to the safe, door and stock without someone taking the accountability off my shoulders. At about 5 pm, right before I closed the office I was called again and told that they had no one to run the office and that I would have to work beyond my 361 day period… A direct Violation of the Union Contract… When I questioned it and about my pay. I was told that if I didn’t show up I would be fired for dereliction of duty and failing to follow instruction and my pay was being reviewed. I continued to work into my mandatory break for another three days. Only this time I had no computer access at all. My account had been deleted. All my entries were removed, as well as any passwords and access to my accountabilities… I was forced to relay my daily entries to another Post Office and that they would input the data for me. On the final third day I was notified that I was not to show up for work and that I was to turn over on keys and combinations to the OIC in ___________. I refused to accept the days off, with out someone taking accountability for the stock and securities… I was then explained to me that if I showed up for work at that post office I would be arrested by the State Police. I had no money, no help and no backing.. So I sat a home licking my wounds hoping for a better outcome when I returned.

When I returned, I found no paperwork, no records of who worked the office and no evidence that anyone signed or entered the daily emoves that were required to close an office. I called the postmaster and demanded a count be done of stock, cash and securities. I found that I could still no longer log in or complete any records online as I was listed as terminated. A very large number of missing cash and stamp stock was found. I made note of everything that I could find and made it known there was a problem. I was told that it would be taken care of. When I asked about my pay, I was offered a payroll advance. That was the best that could be offered. I was owed 7 thousand dollars of back pay…. I was give a check totaling just above $800.00 and A second Advance of about $600.00. I was in financial ruin. And I had no become nothing more than a complete joke to all that I worked with and for. I did not know where or who to turn to. I pleaded for help. Finally after another month of waiting and no paychecks I explained that I have no other avenues to explore except to go sign up for assistance.

I explained that if there was not a paycheck for me on Friday I would be calling off on Monday morning to go sign up. I was losing my house to a foreclosure…. No Check arrived on Friday. When I called __________ and spoke with the Postmaster, Mr. _______, and he told go do what you gotta do. I was crushed. I called the ________ Office and spoke with the HR department. They explained that since I wasn’t an employee they couldn’t talk with me, the legal department wouldn’t intervene and the newly positioned POOM would not return a call or respond as like every request I placed beforehand… But when I explained that I would not be in office on Monday… I was threatened with being fired…. That’s when I advised them that I have no options other than to seek outside help. At 3:30am Monday morning I made the call the _________ Postmaster / OIC and called off…

I went to sign up for assistance, but when they found that I was employed, but not getting paid, I was found to be ineligible for assistance. The same held true when it came to filing for unemployment. Finally I stopped to seek out help from the __ Congressional District, House Representative, _______. She took my information and contacted the governor and a few others. I only took one day for every one to get involved. The very next day the POOM that I tried to contact for months showed up at my office and explained that I was incompetent. I had taken information outside of the Postal Service. I didn’t know how to handle business as a postal employee and that my incompetence would be rewarded by being removed from my office and demoted back to _______. This was done in a manner and tone that the sole customer in the box gathering her mail could hear him screaming at me. I was removed on September 3rd and demoted to a 7 hour a week work schedule. However he was personally going to review my pay issues. 2 weeks later Mr ___ showed up in _____ demanding me to attend a meeting about getting my pay corrected.

I sat in the Office without representation along with Mr. ______ and Mr. _____. I was questioned as to my loyalty to the Post Office. I was asked if I was recording the conversation. I was threatened about telling anyone about the issues of the records that were missing or the inappropriate activities that had taken place when the record and accountabilities were tampered with while I was removed out of my position in _______. I was told that if I wanted my wages I would have to make up a green card for each day, week and month that I work and sign them and if they were not correct, or if they found an error based upon the entries that I made I would be held accountable for them and terminated. I followed exactly what they told me to do with the exception that I would not sign them. I would not falsify any records to cover up someone else’s mistakes. Mr. ____ stated that he’d review this information and see if he thought it would be worth his while to get them corrected. When I asked about work hours…. Neither was sure if I would be on the schedule or not. It took 4 weeks to start recouping the wages that I was shorted. The only records that I had were the sparse paystubs I had and two advances that I turned in. December hit with a furry and I was working more, mainly because I was source=ing myself out to anyone that needed help in any office. By the time the latter part of December closed I was the ONLY Clerk that was not bed ridden. I was working 58 hours a week covering everything from Dispatch to waiting the window, to delivering parcels and next day deliveries in my own car. I had tried to stay as busy as I could and never thought about the mess and the screw job I had gotten from Mr. ____.. But I was scheduled with 40 hrs of work at no less than 4 different Post Offices and even asked to take over the ________ Office full time as the OIC…. But just when you think the waters safe…. Bad thing have a way of reappearing. It was brought to my attention that Mr. _____ filed the paperwork for payroll to deduct and demand that I pay for the Stock and Securities that were missing upon my return to the ______ Office. I have no problem paying for anything that I may have done or that may have been done by me, but I refused to pay for anything that transpired outside of my control. I filed a formal refusal to pay requested that the Union step in to represent the issue. I was told by the Union Legal Team the Mr. _____ forced the issue, even though his evidence was not supported. He demanded that I be held accountable for someone elses actions regardless if I was there or not. His attempts to railroad me failed. I received notice from the Union that the grievance was dismissed and settled in my favor. I received written notice of the appeal in my favor on January 25th, 2013.

On February 2nd, I received notice that I was being fired due to lack of work and on February 7th, 2013 I was to return all postal property and my ID. All of my efforts to separate myself from this man and those the lied and falsified paperwork and deviated by breaking the Union Contract was for nothing. I was let go without even so much as a wave bye. But the story isn’t over..

It took 12 weeks for Mr. ____ to release the figures to the unemployment office so that I could get my benefits after 30 years of work I was granted $361. every week to help me out based on the 24 week allowance. However I was still owed past wages from the time period that no wages were given to me. And, all of my travel expenses were deleted and not paid. To this day there are no records according to the Post Office of any work related expense filed. To add salt to a wound, tax time was upon me. I took my W-2 to my accountant… He was stunned. Not only was I shorted with wages, but the taxes that were taken where so out of wack he could only look at me and say…. This was done to on purpose. You would’ve had to been married to two different people and each would have had to have 6 dependents. He reviewed the payroll stubs and simply said you have a lot of tax money missing or not declared… I ended up writing a check to the Federal Government for just over another Thousand dollars.. I loved my job and the real workers of the Postal Service. I had good people that I worked with everyday, but I had to move on and maybe someday I would get squared up as to back pay issues… Like maybe even my vacation pay that they owe me…

Now heading into a 2 year separation for the post office I was again bitten by the past. Remember the two Advances that they gave me to tie me over…. They now want their money back. Simply put, How did you pay someone that wasn’t or isn’t an employee and show it on the accounting side of the balance sheet. The Department of the Treasury has file a claim that I have defaulted on two loans to them. One for Just over $800. and another for Around $600. They have intercepted my Federal Tax Returns and noted each account on my credit report as defaults.. That’s right I went from a 710 credit score to a 535 with a stroke of a computer key. To compound this matter even into a bigger mess…. Do you remember me stating that I was going through a divorce? At a point two years later I have finally been declared divorced. As per the Marital Separation Agreement filed in court and under a Court order, I have 45 days to secure the house mortgage in my name. It has boiled down to this in 7 days I will be held in contempt of a court order and will faced being sent to jail based on the actions of the management of the United States Postal Service and the management personnel that are responsible for it. To date no one has attempted to resolve my issue, no one will grant me a meeting to review what I have to support a needed correction to my case, to this day Mr. ___ has been discharged into a meaningless position and Mr. ____ has hired his nephew to replace me…. This is far from a lack of work issue. This is all about reprisals and covering up Budgets, Securities and Falsified records to save their own asses.