Dignity and Respect
This is an issue that comes to the workroom floor on a daily basis. Craft employees are being treated without dignity and respect by management in many instances. Most of the problems seem to come from management above local offices pushing down on your local supervisor’s and postmasters. Many of these managers do not know how to handle the pressure put on them so they just keep pushing down on the crafts in an effort to “get off the radar”. Another issue is the fact management is promoting employees with little or no knowledge of the job into supervisory positions. I know that almost 50% of the carrier craft has been hired over the last 4 years. That means almost half of all letter carriers have only experienced being mistreated, harassed and intimidated during their short stay on this job. These are the people being promoted up the ranks. Many of these people think it is OK to mistreat employees such as they were mistreated themselves. You also have to understand that these new managers are being trained to follow along and not to have any opinions. They are being trained to use computer programs to tackle daily issues instead of common sense. As I wrote 15 years ago, the service wants trained zombies to do the job. Follow the bouncing ball with no questions asked. This institution gets worse by the day.
It is hard to believe how management uses the discipline process to batter the craft. Every little thing is picked on. I have observed kindergarteners being treated with better care and concern than 60 year old carriers are treated. I have watched supervisors with less than a year on the job scolding carriers with 25 and 30 years. It is embarrassing to the employee, causes hard feelings, creates problems in the office and creates a hostile work environment. From that point it just snowballs.
There are routes to take when you believe that a supervisor or postmaster is failing to treat you with dignity and respect and/or creating a hostile work environment. Section 115.4 of the M-39 reads:
115.4 Maintain Mutual Respect Atmosphere - The National Agreement sets out the basic rules and rights governing management and employees in their dealings with each other, but it is the front-line manager who controls management’s attempt to maintain an atmosphere between employer and employee which assures mutual respect for each other’s rights and responsibilities.
This section mandates that local management treat all employees with dignity and respect. Use this section in the grievance process when you believe management has overstepped their boundaries in dealing with you.
There is also the Joint Statement on violence and behavior in the workplace which in part states:
We also affirm that every employee at every level of the Postal Service should be treated at all times with dignity, respect, and fairness. The need for the USPS to serve the public efficiently and productively, and the need for all employees to be committed to giving a fair day’s work for a fair day’s pay, does not justify actions that are abusive or intolerant. “Making the numbers” is not an excuse for the abuse of anyone. Those who do not treat others with dignity and respect will not be rewarded or promoted. Those whose unacceptable behavior continues will be removed from their positions.
The point is that there are avenues to pursue when you are being mistreated by any manager. I also want to point out that it important to get witnesses whenever possible to a violation of this kind. If it is just one person against another, it becomes a he said-she said situation. Nobody wins those. You just get generic language in the decision. When you have other witnesses, it is harder for a supervisor/manager to defend. Do not be afraid to stand up for yourself or your co-workers. Be calm and do not get dragged into a verbal confrontation. Management relies on others to be silent when they step out bounds. Don’t let that happen because the reality is that it may be you next looking for some help from a co-worker. If we stand together, we will succeed. It may not happen right away, but it will if we persevere.
