Although the Postal Service generally reduced supervisor workhours in relation to craft employee workhours, it did not always achieve its span of control target. Specifically, we found that, based on the 1:25 span of control target, there was a shortage of 412 regular supervisors nationwide and an excess of 1.8 million replacement supervisor workhours used in fiscal year (FY) 2012. Replacement supervisors are craft employees used to backfill supervisors.
These conditions occurred because the Postal Service did not always adjust supervisor positions in relation to craft positions to achieve span of control targets. In addition, the Postal Service did not always monitor span of control during the plant consolidation process. Furthermore, span of control targets could be inaccurate, as the Postal Service had not re-evaluated them since the spring of 2011. As a result, the Postal Service incurred excess costs from replacement supervisor workhours with no real added benefit.
WHAT THE OIG RECOMMENDED:
We recommended the vice president, Network Operations:
- Re-evaluate span of control targets and determine the appropriate targets.
- Fill vacant supervisor positions up to the appropriate span of control level and reduce supervisor replacement workhours accordingly.
- Ensure that span of control targets are achieved during the consolidation process to the fullest extent possible.
As shown in Table 4, we found that the indicators measured have almost no correlation to the percentage of supervisor workhours used. This indicates that high usage of replacement supervisors was not effective in improving overall plant performance.
This may be attributed to the labor agreement between the Postal Service and the American Postal Workers Union, which restricts assigning replacement supervisors to supervisory positions for longer than 90 days or they will lose their regular bid assignment. Because of this restriction, replacement supervisors are generally less qualified, independent, experienced, and accountable compared to their regular supervisor counterparts. In addition, the intent of the replacement supervisor program is to train and develop future supervisory positions rather than serve as the primary means of providing mail processing oversight.
Explain exactly what a vacancy is! There has been some confusion in our office about what a supervisor vacancy truly is. If a 204 B can step up fill a vacant job up to 90 days at time in a vacancy … Why not fill that job? Or is a vacancy defined any position that a supervisor is not physically present in but still has rights to that particular position? Clarify Please
We have a Rural Carrier supervising us in our delivery unit.
+ She is not on a PS Form 1723 Assignment Order.
+ She NOT Paid at the Supervisor Rate.
+ She is doing this to score brownie points with her boss.
+ She has been doing this off and on at the unit for a couple years now.
The Steward refuses to file any grievance, saying that it doesn’t affect us and only parts of the contract that “affect us” will be enforced. Is there some help out there we can get on this?
I would like to invite the OIG sitting in the office or any top management and spend a day in our offices and see if they can even work for one hour as a supervisor in my unit. I guarantee you they will run out of the office. As you all are its just numbers……LOL
Hey Ann, FYI: The reason no one wants to be a supervisor is because you become even more vulnerable to the corrupt, wicked, evil, cruel dirt bags that are running the place. At least in the bargaining-unit you dont have to get on your knees and beg for mercy. Union’s arent the greatest, but they provide better protection than NAPS! As for filing complaints of Nepotism at the Postal Service – here’s a little unknown secret: These types of complaints are actually supposed to be filed with the “Office of Special Council” (OSC.gov). Just download their form and you will see it states it has limited jurisdiction for Postal Service complaints of Nepotism
NEPOTISM AND FAVORITISM – THE USPS MOTTO
O I G OFFICIAL INCOMPTENT GUERILLAS.
The OIG is like a tree falling in the woods. No one notices or pays any attention to it. Might as well dissolve the agency as they have proven that they are in the pocket of USPS executives.
Craft workers know what to do. They usually operate just fine w/o a watchdog. Just force the union guys to double as supervisors. They both do essentially the same job. Nothin.
You have to be kidding me man….at my plant alone…there were 3 supervisors stand at manual operation for 5 employees.!!!No wonder they are losing money BIG.!!!
Span of Control. Management has no idea what the hell that means.
Why? So they can go downstairs and take a nap between dispatchs, then come upstairs and yell at the employees to hurry and get the mail out. Don’t laugh, that is what our Super does nightly. Many of us have seen him. There is nothing downstairs but empty equipment and maintenance items/equipment. One of the guys caught him going downstairs the other night, and he turned and pretended to look at a bulletin board hanging in the stairwell. He never made another move toward the basement the rest of the night.
About like Congress , when not there less danger to the system !
God, did you ever nail it, nevermind. I can tell you have dealt with them too.
me thinks the office of the inspector general/OIG is as corrupt, inept, and incompetent as the postal management which the OIG is in charge of ‘policing.’ i believe the OIG was put in place so the scandals and corruption within government could be hidden and ‘swept under the rug’ in many cases to keep the masses from the truth.
Want to get promote? it’s about time to kiss ass.
“Replacement supervisors are craft employees used to backfill supervisors.”
Boy, they got that right!!!
Look at the numbers, there is one superviser / manager for every 19.6 craft employees. There is one supervisor / manager / suport and higher managment for every 9.4 craft employees. In Walnut Creek we have 4 zips, one superviser per zip, one dubbles with a.m. mail processing and a 204b running around. throw in the postmaster and impooo whose always around, thats alot of management for maybe 150 craft employees. The supervisors can’t make any decisions without asking the one superviser who knows what he’s doing, he can’t do anything without asking the PM who can’t do anything without asking the impooo. All this to manage the 10% of craftemployees who need tobe managed. Not much simpathy for management, most do not have the skills to clean up after my cat and they only go into management because they were shitty craft employees, lazy, got hurt on the job or from an EEO agreement.
The hole management culture needs to change for the PO to survive. To start they need to leave thier over inflated egos out side the door when they come to work.
The APWU contract doesn’t allow their people to be 204Bs. They have to come from the Carrier craft. Too often they are people that can’t or don’t want to carry mail. But, they manage those that can. Let them hire these people and then those who can’t or don’t want to do the job can retire or find another job. Then they can replace them with people who want the job. A lot of us are tired of working OT because they pulled a Carrier off the street to hold a chair down and coffee cup up.
Some offices have 3 out of 4 supervisor positions with 204B filling the positions. Many have never worked in the craft and have no training as to making decisions that affect employees. The understanding is to deny approval of request for additional time as requested on 3996 as they are the BOSS and they are correct regardless of data shown for additional time. Using 204B that lack skills in making decisions creates workplace stress and higher level management has no concern for employees other than when a VOE survey is scheduled.
Many 204Bs need replacing as they are in the position to cause workplace stress. Some have no idea as to managing people to achieve results. Their style is the dictator approach as they lack human relation skills in positive means in working to achieve unit objective. Leadership is lacking as the chosen ones 204B s are selected as in most cases their style is bulling with lack of human skills or job knowledge.
Fear factor is driving workplace force. Postmasters and MPOOs reward these misfits with upward mobility.
Don’t know where you folks are – but I was an SDO in processing – and had 46 people reporting directly to me and about another 50 I supervised in addition to the direct reports. And no one wanted my job. Don’t you think we get just as frustrated at Washington as you do? And the reason you don’t get a lot of good supervisors is most people don’t want the job- there is no money in supervising – no COLA, no OT, no POT, 1/2 night differential, 1/2 Sunday pay, and most of us haven’t had a raise in several years. There is no job satisfaction – no matter how hard you work it is never enough. And you’ve got the craft blaming you from one side and upper management from the other. Everyone except lower level management was offered incentives – that is how little we mean. And we are watching upper management and Congress try to sell us off bit by bit. I spent 39 years working in both craft and management – and there is NO easy job with the PO. Everyone works hard to get the mail out.
I got news for the OIG. San Diego is not following the new APWU contract as far as limiting 204bs. There are more of them than ever. These 204b types are not filling any supervisor absence. They are in addition to the current red badges. Some operations have the real supervisor and 2-3 204Bs to help walk around with radios watching the work not get done because so many people retired. We got PSEs who are “supervising” but not getting paid EAS level pay, because the system won’t allow it, so they are up as Lev-7s (not filling in on detail for lead clerk absences) bossing people around in automation. The system here is so corrupt it actually is funny. We laugh because nothing can be done about it. I will bet that the next red badges come from the PSE ranks. And they will be just like the rest of our “experienced” red badges–they won’t know the operations they supervise, nor will they know the contract. Nepotism and favoritism is alive and well at the USPS. OIGs have been sent lots of messages in this regard, but not one peep from them.
And then you woke up Terry. As a 27 year letter carrier, I can assure you they will never ever cut management. This is the reason the place is going under
what one for every 3 employees is not enough lol management has grown 35% in the last two years and I thought we were downsizing and consolidating facilities. Let’s wait until all the dust settles before we fill these positions. We might have to cut management and not have to fill vacant positions. Seems to me in the clerk craft management is not filling vacant positions there so there is no need to fill management positions. Let’s wait to see if we expand to seven day delivery instead of cutting to five day delivery.