USPS Code of Conduct Covers Everyone - Including Management
by Sharyn M. Stone, APWU Central Region Coordinator
Making a living in today’s Postal Service is, for too many APWU members, a struggle — a continuing battle with tyrannical supervisors and small-office postmasters who act like they are above the law. But the Code of Conduct outlined in the Employee Labor Relations Manual (ELM) applies to the bosses as well as to rank-and-file employees; and the Collective Bargaining Agreement mandates that bosses comply with the contract.
Postal workers fight injustices in several ways, including filing grievances and formal complaints (e.g., under Equal Opportunity Employment laws) and appeals (such as through the Merit Systems Protection Board). Too often, the petty tyrants turn around and make the workplace-life miserable.
This retaliation is prohibited by the ELM:
“Taking or failing to take any personnel action as a reprisal for the exercise of any appeal right granted by law, or regulation is prohibited.” (ELM 666.17)
Union members must not give up nor give in to work-floor bullies. But it is critical to have the support of fellow workers: They must realize that they could be next — no matter how much approval they seek from a boss, crazed or otherwise.
If you become entangled with a work-floor dictator, you should, of course, seek the support of your shop steward. Union reps have to step up to the plate and address work-floor despots. This may make the steward a target, but if the manager can get away with violating the rights of the union steward, then we are all in trouble!
So how should we handle workplace harassment? The ELM says, “There must be no tolerance of harassment, intimidation, threats, or bullying by anyone at any level.” (Section 665.24)The key is to fight back! File those grievances; contact your congressional representative; write to the Postmaster General (475 L’Enfant Plaza SW, Washington, DC 20260); write to the USPS Ethics Officer/General Counsel (same address); or contact the Office of Inspector General (1-888-877-7644). The bottom line is that you must use all available avenues to fight back! Postal managers claim that they demand that we be treated with “dignity and respect” and then line supervisors violate that principle every day. And when the big shots encounter managers who are violent or harassers, they often transfer them — thus enabling their anti-social behavior in a new location.
It is important that we get enough evidence on such managers so that they can be removed like the ELM says they should be. But we have to do it together!
The American Postal Worker magazine - September/October 2006 issue, pg. 20
October 5th, 2006 at 8:42 am
We all know this is right on target. I am a victim and I know. The NLRB has helped me a lot and I now have a civil suit against them for retaliation and hostile work place.
October 5th, 2006 at 2:49 pm
i want to go public with the harassment that i’ve experienced from postal management at my station.from sexual harassment to supervisors lying under oath through the eeo process on their affidavit,to submitting false documentation. there seems to be a double standard in my case and i would like to publicize it. how can i go about this. and is there any one in the union interested in hearing what i have to say. it is important i get this information out. please help.
October 5th, 2006 at 3:31 pm
these people will never change. New location or new rules. everyone knows power corrupts. I think if they bounced a few of these supervisors back to clerk or mail handler craft and demoted a few postmasters back to window clerks I bet cha alot of that nasty bad attitude would be kept in check. But with no consequence for bad behavior there is no incentive to stop it. so it just continues on. every one has to remember too, alot of these people promoted don’t have a superior education. They could either not have a high school diploma or went to American schools. Sounds harsh but it is true. Alot of supervisors were just asked to do it, begged to do it, or filed EEO because they weren’t allow to do it. (They must have been bad as clerks because even the managers didn’t want to put them in charge of people. But then I can’t imagine anyone they put in charge should be in charge of anything more than supervising eggs boiling) Capabilities put aside. Alot of them are really just dunces. Promoted to jobs they have no idea to properly perform and they think yelling screaming disparaging, bullying and gossiping are the only way to get people to get the mail out. Maybe the union should be in a few of those supervisor meetings and listen to upper management berate the supervisor. I heard they get in those meeting and tell the supervisors what employees they want “gotten” or dealt with. Just a vicious cycle. I say they have to be miserable if they get their jollies doing what they do to another human being. Just sick and twisted.
October 12th, 2006 at 9:06 pm
In my EEO hearing, the Supervisor and OIC lied repeatedly under oath, to the point that the
Administrative Judge finally said, he didn’t believe their testimony and that they were not credible witnesses.
They should be punished for lying under oath, since they tried to make a mockery of the EEO system. I won my case, even with all the PO lies and objections during testimony.
October 19th, 2006 at 11:54 am
My job as a regular was tooking way. Now I’m a PTF a Pinebook NJ and was promise a regular full time position. Please help me. Marcus Mays Pine Brook NJ
October 29th, 2006 at 2:42 am
i have a pending eeo against my pm.pm has since gotten out of control.the pm told us not to talk,got me under a close watch got the employee helping to harass me the upper management can’t seem to be able to do anything with this person.EEO IN THE POSTAL SYSTEM WHAT A JOKE. I throught that a eeo would my the pm go somewhere and sit down but it only hype thr pm up because the pm thinks that they are untouchable
November 20th, 2006 at 3:14 pm
If we had union representation on the floor, why would we need to use outside help? Most people are dropping out of the union and using their own lawyers.
December 30th, 2006 at 7:45 pm
get a lawyer that deals with the gov/usps…not all lawyers do or are willing since it hard to go after the usps…the union and there little grievance proceedure is really no help…document
everything and file EEO’s and contact your state rep and congressman…the usps hates “outside” attention.
May 9th, 2007 at 11:24 am
I was injured in the job,in 1996,Supervisor never respect my limitations,Department of labor approved my case for 2 years,I being fighting with the Union because they being cutting my hours,harassing me discriminating me,I went to the Congressman,Who can help? my fight is a circle,my situation got worst,I have two herniated discs on my neck.They converted me in a part time worker.I don’t know what else to do,or where to go,I even sue the Union for not working in the case.The Supervisors are not cutting hours for all light duties,they act different .Please someone help me.
May 22nd, 2007 at 4:35 pm
Hi! My wife transferred to the Cloquet MN Post Office as a PTF. She’s working under a mini Hitler of a supervisor named Holly. This woman does nothing but bully her the entire time she’s on the floor. She’s afraid to file a complaint out of fear of retaliation but the supervisor has gone to the point of physical abuse as well as trying to frame her for work done wrong. The postmaster is intimidated by the mini-Hitler. Any advice?
August 31st, 2007 at 8:21 pm
Document, document, document. File timely!
If they won’t stop harassing you, take a looksee at any public records they have which may be relevant to the issues you are dealing with.
Managers who bully at work do so because they have baggage and issues historically at home. If you are a woman, and your manager is harassing you, check for your managers divorce records, civil actions, etc. Its free and completely legal. Read them…
Did the ex spouse file a temporary restraining order (TRO)? Did she file a statement that the ex abused her, berated her, harassed her, etc…? Did anyone file a civil action against the manager? Were’ they ever in jail?
Then file your EEO. Get a good attorney, depose the SOB and and have your attorney start asking leading questions about possible civil actions in their past related to behavior towards women. If they lie, and chances are schmucks like that will, you’ve got ‘em.
Then depose their manager - likely they are protecting the jerk to protect themselves. Start asking them if they know about some of the juicy stuff you’ve found.
Lies and false statements? Superiors who have done nothing about it? Get that and you’ve got your settlement.
I know, I did the research, prepped every damn question for our attormey, and watched the harsser and a DM make demonstrably false statement after false statement under oath, not realizing what we had on them.
The attorney, who figured it out mid-depo, got more and more frustrated watching them lie and knowing why we asked questions about TROs and statements to counselors, etc… After the depos, the judge laughed when the USPS attorney threatened to file a motion for summary judgement - which she never did (a rarity for USPS, they normally hold parties for every summary judgement they get)…And a substantial settlement followed days before trial.
During the process, you will completely lose respect for those with the responsibility for holding people accountable, but you will keep your own self-respect.
April 9th, 2008 at 8:36 am
Post Office Promotes Hostility and Violence
23. March 2008 by Steve Topel.
I retired from the Post Office in Baltimore Md. in November of 2007. I worked there 22 years and was a Supervisor of clerks and mail carriers for 20 years.
The Post Office’s Management style never changed in 22 years. When I started working at the Post Office it was in the middle of some of the most horrific massacres and violence in Postal and Corporate history. The term “Going Postal ” was coined during this period. Why does the Post Office feel that like war, casualties are a part of doing Post Office Business and although unfortunate, necessary to complete our mission.
Is this insanity at the helm of our Postal ship or a well thought out reasonable approach to keeping the Post Office in the black? I say insanity. We are talking about mail. Bills,checks,advertisements,magazines and parcels. How and when did these 5 postal services become more important then human life.
The Post Office in Baltimore daily manages through fear and intimidation. Upper Manager’s reward supervisor’s and unit Manager’s who give out the most discipline and incur the most grievances from angry, fed-up employees. Much of the time so few employees want the thankless job of supervisor that many get promoted who were difficult and unreliable as craft employees. These people have no Management skills and are put in charge of dozens of people. They buy into stressing out the employees to get maximum results, which is achieving numerical goals that allows upper management to get large yearly bonuses and bragging rights as a top District.
This has to change. People are too vital to the Post Office to be regarded as casualties of war when violence strikes. This Postal cover-up has to be exposed and extinguished. How has it been able to go on this long? Why do we need to have another massacre before this issue is resolved?
As a Postal employee for 22 years I needed guidance several times when legal employment issues surfaced. For the last 8 years through the help of PrePaid Legal and attorney’s Weinstock,Friedman and Friedman and Stephen Lebow I was able to have legal counsel without excessive cost.
June 7th, 2008 at 10:19 pm
Beginning in 2002 I was harrassed verbally and physically by other female workers on the workfloor.It continued through 2006. I reported it to management but they only ignored it. I called the union plenty of times. Eventually the management team began to harass and physically intimidate and assault me as well particularly when I tried to contact EEO, workplace intervention and the OIG. I eventually had to call the city police because they got so out of hand. They were angry because I began to contact other agencies outside of the station and they felt it brought attention to them and their faults as managment. My manger told me he would stop me from contacting other agencies. I didn’t beleive him but he did. NO one listens. I’ve been placed on emergency placement 2x in 2005 and my personal file loaded with discipline between June of 2005 and december of 2005. Wehen I was placed on emergency placement It was because they were so physically out of hand yelling and screaming that I called the police because I was so frightend. I was not displaying out of control behavior. I am a very avoidant type person when it comes to that kind of conflict. The second time of EP the manager wanted to speak to me but I was too afraid to go in the room as I had been physicaly intimidated so many times and it was left unchecked the union did nothing. The manager stepped from behind an apc while I was making my pull and used his body as a human barrier to surprise me and my body (stomach) collided with his and I bounced off. I was so surprised,scarred and disgusted. Seeing what he did wrong he called out emergency placement and called the police telling them a tale that I was disrupting the workfloor. Carrier statements supported that I was not being disruptive at all or had done anything wrong. However the union supported the discipline because instead of documenting the assaults as I asked of my union rep he was asserting that I was lying and that I was the one doing the yelling and screaming and pacing the workfloor and not my manager. I have lost 8 weeks pay in total. I have left that station. I cannot pay my mortagage or bills. I have been emotionally bereft after these harassments and assaults and no one to help me. The union reps at my local just laughed at me and were surly. they called me a liar and asked why hasn’t any of my co-workers tried to help me and why should they believe me over a 25 year carrier who is my shop steward? I was angry, and devastated. Please help. I am afraid to lose my home. I’ve been ill because of what they’ve done to me. since this happened someone tampered with my oil receptacle at my home and the boiler had a small explosion. I’ve been living without heat and hot water for a year and a half. Recently on the anniversary date of the furnace someone pulled the security door off the front of my home. It was disconnted and put bac so when I came home and trid to open it the entire iron door fell on me. I am afraid. I live in the postal zone where I worked with those people. i need to let someone know what happened and is happening to me. I have no money to hire an attorney. I tried to find one in 2006 and no one wanted to take the case because of the way the USPS handles cases.
Any ideas please I am afraid and desparate. Thank you.