The U.S. Postal Service may be offering retirement incentives to reduce workforce numbers –but in many offices management is utilizing trumped up charges to fire employees. In a different case other than the one cited below, an employee was fired for “Irregular Attendance.” The supervisor charged the employee with fraudulently requesting 50 hours of sick leave. The supervisor contacted the Postal Inspection Service (PIS) to conduct an investigation. After PIS’s investigation was completed, the employee was issued a Notice of Removal. There was one problem with information the supervisor presented to the PI–there was no documentation to show employee requested 50 hours of sick leave and the PIS never included any documentation in the report to support the charge. But more on story later because it is a sad, sad commentary on how the USPS is ending this employee’s nearly 15-year career.
The following article was written by Lisa Herrera, Vice-President, East Bay Area Local #47 located in Walnut Creek, CA.
I am seeing more frivolous discipline cases and employees being pushed out the door. Just recently one of our Shop Stewards was issued a removal notice for tapping her supervisor’s shoulder to get her attention.
The Incident
The Shop Steward and the supervisor were meeting on grievances. The supervisor became very upset because a grievance was filed against her for distributing parcels. After the meeting, the supervisor went on the workroom floor and was talking loudly about what was discussed at the meeting to another supervisor. The Shop Steward tapped the supervisor’s shoulder to get her attention, to tell her that other employees were listening to the conversation. The supervisor asked the Shop Steward not to touch her. The Shop Steward said “OK” and went back to work. Four (4) hours later the supervisor was asking employees if her arm looked red and soliciting statements. One week later the Shop Steward received a Notice of Removal.
When the grievance came across my desk I was quite disturbed, to say the least. I knew the supervisor was fabricating her story because she could not get it straight. The Notice Of Removal claimed the Steward grabbed and bruised her supervisor’s arm, and that the tightness of the grip caused redness to her arm. Due to the inconsistency of the removal notice, the Union was able to resolve the grievance prior to the Shop Steward being removed.
Although we were able to settle the matter, this story illustrates an important lesson for us all., Never touch another employee or supervisor except in friendly greeting. The person who smiles in your face today, may stab you in the back tomorrow.
M. Shearer…I agree with you that these supervisor should not be in these jobs. Why can’t we come together to get this stopped. I lost my job of 19 years after reporting an injury to my supervisor and she began falsifying my postal forms for my absence,tampering with my pay, violated the Family Leave Act, and broke all kinds of postal rules and regulations. She could not keep track of anything (or was doing this on purpose) and because she refused to do her job, I lost mine. I have tried contacting so many agencies and am just getting the runaround. These Senators and Congressmen are worthless.
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I went through a charge from a supervisor on an issue according to the “joint statement”, luckily the other person involved wrote a statement in my defense but that wasn’t enough for management and I have a LOW for the next year and a half. So please don’t try to tell me there isn’t an agenda set forth trying to remove senior carriers, by the way, I was trying to set a TE straight on the proper delivery of the mail, you know, make the delivery to the correct address, especially when the package is delivery confirmation. I tend to agree with the comment about the weak craft employees being moved into management because it’s easier to do that than to remove them, it’s harder to avoid work than to do an honest days work.
Dreadful…treading eggshells…At my office they’ve tried twice to remove me on some baloney, but failed miserably…be aware that trickery and deceit is in the works …be strong be who you are..don’t worry because worrying is like praying for what you don’t want..
union is the scum..dishonest dishonored..they have managaement by the balls
I have seen both sides, and their are major problems on both sides. Yes bad supervisors, also bad employees. If both sides stop crying and blaming others maybe things could improve. Craft employees who do their jobs no problems, same for supervisors. 600000 employees yes your going to find crap on both sides. Come to work do your job correctly no hour lunch, no putting 1 flat every 5 minutes stop riding clock just do 8 hrs work for 8 hrs pay and im sure your supervisor wont harrass you.
Thank God, Iam retired !!
Union scum… should be fired!
Why anybody in his or her right mind would ever even remotely consider working in management is a complete mystery to me? Hey Scott…ITS ALL ABOUT THE MONEY MORON! Your idealistic rhetoric doesn’t exist in todays workforce. You’re still living in the 60s. If I have a choice between retiring at a 54,000 high three and 78,000+ high three, common sense and today’s economic state says 78,000+. If you’re a left over, war protesting, pot head that believes strikes in todays world are effective …then, you go with the 54,000. Oh, and by the way, how much will you be getting from the APWU? Nothing…unless you are a career union official in which case you will be getting a nice golden parachute courtesy of your union dues. Yeah…the union took care of itself and didn’t even say thank you. Did I pop your idealistic bubble?
The USPS is losing $$$$$$ like hell and the worse has not happen!!! Situation will never improve in a agency that has little higher education status employees!!!! You need no college education for this job!!! Good luck to all that are stuck!!! Remember that the status here is employee and not entrepreneur! As employee you have no control!! The company controls you!!!
register to the website if you need a back up plan when the USPS lets more people go!!! http://www.shop.com/nbts/Market+America-v214196-c+.xhtml#
Postal managers are the lowest form of parasites on Earth. The rank right down there with rapists, murderers and other deviants.
I said this 34 years ago when I entered into “hell” on Tour One/Grant Street GMF,Pittsburgh, PA/USPS……and I continue to say it now (I’m retired)……I truly think that God has a “special place” reserved for all USPS Supervisors/Managers/EAS in the after life. On their judgement day when God asks, “How Did You Treat Your Fellow Man?”……there must be a lot of stammering and stuttering going on!!!
Reason 15 why I retired.
Too many supervisors who used to be lazy craft employees are the real problems. They’re the ones who cheated,scummed and milking the system while in craft and now they behaved that they care! What a goons shameless bloodsuckers!
How do some of these supervisors sleep at night? Oh that’s right counting all the employees they would like to fire.
Just look at the Cleveland Postal drug sting of 1992.Two Postal Inspectors were fired after 18 employees wound up thrown in jail after wrongful drug arrests. The Postal Service paid big bucks for false arrest and imprisonment. However the chief Postal Inspector the Postmaster of Cleveland and the area manager were not disciplined for not supervising the case. The two inspectors were allowed to go wild. Very nice article in the National Law Journal dated Feb. 1995. House hearings under Congressman Wm. Clay blamed idiots in Postal management. Things never change!
“Don’t hand me no lines and keep your hands to yourself”
We had a supervisor SLAP a male clerk in the face. All management did to her was send her to another facility about 10 miles away for about 90 days, then brought her back on the job and shift she was on.
This is typical behaviour for a union goon. So what if others were listening he had no business touching her
Things will be terrible for employees while this postal reform debate keeps going on. Managers at all levels fear for their own jobs, knowing that one of the options most needed is to trim the ranks of thousands of basically redundant or totally useless people.
Since a large percentage of these people got their promotions through personal favors, contacts, relatives and ass kissing, the quality of said folks is suspect, to say the least. What happens then is what we get now – incompetent childish supervisors desperate to demonstrate to their superiors just how vital their own job and their own performances are, lest they lose their jobs. And since for sado-masochistic purposes most upper level management thinks that discipline and unfair removals are the way to address every problem, craft are harassed, disciplined and even removed for totally ridiculous excuses, contracts be damned.
My own district harangues the local PM and supervisors on everything, and demands to know why carriers aren’t disciplined for everything, including running a few minutes behind through no fault or control of their own, such as a late truck or severe weather, for example. To give them credit, the local bosses refuse to write somebody up for circumstances beyond their control, but it’s only a matter of time they’ll be removed unless the district is replaced first by more reasonable minds.
Why anybody in his or her right mind would ever even remotely consider working in management is a complete mystery to me. There comes a time when you can’t pay enough money to subject a person to the abuse supervisors have to endure. They cave, and pass that stress on to craft, who in turn grieve the behavior and give it right back. No thanks.
Carriers want VER
Wow its getting so bad. Another reason I am so glad that I took the VER. I hope the union is able to fight such cases like this.
Recently in Florida, 4 supervisors/managers were fired because they were hiding the mail. I can not imagine this. One of the managers fired was such a huge creep. I worked with him and he literally tried to make my life a living h—-. Seeing him removed was a good thing. So many EEO’s were filed on him because of mistreatment. He deserved to be fired. Most employees are doing the best they can though, and i hate to see thing going south.
Even if I have to watch every penny I am glad I am out of there.
lower management like floor supervisors are in panic now, they must accelerate kiss up their MDOs or otherwise they are in trouble too. lol…. what a freaking system, no wonder why they still keep losing revenue.
How can I apply for the APWU Retirement Fund?
WE WANT WEEKENDS OFF!!
But when a postmaster grabs a supervisor and he files a complaint about her grabbing him, all she gets is a transfer. If any craft employee grabbed her by the arm, i’m sure they would be fired. No violence in the workplace evidently only applies to craft in middle Tennessee!
I’ve said it many times: The worst supervisors were the worst craft workers. They were the ones to always call in sick and scam the post office. So when they become supervisors, they believe everybody is scamming the way they scammed. Kudos to the great supervisors, who were great craft workers.
I’ll bet my bottom dollar that there is some kind of “incentive award” {bonus} for removing career employees. Anyone who works for the PO knows this. PO just can’t get these lower paid employees in fast enough.
Well, Well, Well, There should be no surprise with this conduct from the management level, for the most part the larger portion of these “supervisors” should not have been put into these positions of power and responsiblity from day one, they for the most part, are unknowledgable of jobs and responsibility, contracts and rules governing conduct etc., most had no one above them that was able to train or develop them properly, so the result is what we (Craft) have. Basically “Managing your Manager”, we all know or of heard of the pay check collecting sort I am speaking of! These are the same sort that messed up a monopoly but, state OH! we can straighten it out by doing this and that.I am not in favor of privatation but, how can we rid ourselves of the these parasites on OUR Postal Service.
Clearing ones throat will get someones attention, or a loud ‘excuse me’ will do the same. The employee does not posses the level of maturity required to hold the position of a Steward.
Nowhere is it written that grievance status and such cannot be discussed or overheard being discussed.
So I am to believe that a supervisor wakes up one day and states I am going to lie about so an so requesting 50 hours of sick in an attempt to terminate them.
Postal Inspectors a different story, one told me year ago, “I do not have to prove I am right, you must prove I am wrong”. Food for thought.
That’s postal mgmt. for you.
The most corrupt, unethical, sleazy group of liars and thieves to be found anywhere.
I suggest contacting the DOL and file charges for interfereing with a union official. Also lying on government forms is considered fraud, Don’t let them off so easy they will only do it again unless they suffer real consequences. Upper managemnet is obviously encouraging this illegal behaviour, you need to make the consequences worse than their reward.
Wow how creepy these people could be