Postmasters, managers and supervisors are not fond of the Postal Service’s $9.5 billion loss this past year; they do not want it to reflect on them. Postal Headquarters leadership makes frontline EAS employees feel they are the sole reason for this loss.
EAS employees only can do so much in their intensified, stressful, daily second-guessed, pressure-filled, disrespected work atmosphere. They are asked to do so many different tasks while not having the time to take their deserved hour-long lunch, which all too often is sacrificed in order to try and accomplish completing an impossible workload that, too often, continues to increase. Even if they take their lunch, the workload far exceeds eight hours.
EAS employees are tasked with being on numerous Zoom meetings at any given time, with a moment’s notice, to explain failures. Corrective actions are issued to mitigate these failures in the future while EAS employees are answering many Team and RADAR surveys about every aspect of F-2 and -4. This, despite already having a report, “The Flash,” that provides this very same information at the start of the following week. MPOOs hold bridge calls, Zoom meetings and DOIS drill-downs and address budgeted hours used at all hours of the day.
Then they want EAS employees to conduct daily window, street and office safety observations and find C360 parcels that create customer complaints that have yet to reach their office—within two days—while monitoring a window survey, which only 0.03% of customers take. EAS employees are ridiculed weekly if they are below the goal and a RCE program that is not related to any NPA goal whatsoever. There is zero consideration by upper management based on the emails I’ve received from members in many different districts for an EAS lunch period. It’s all business, 24/7. Middle Tennessee Branch 32 President Robert Wakefield discussed this topic in his podcast, “CUPPAJOE.” I believe it was episode #8. I highly recommend everyone tune in on Saturday morning to listen to the podcast. Unfortunately, USPS leaders fail to understand that EAS employees all are entitled to a lunch break/breather according to the FLSA, regardless of their levels. Upper management figures if you don’t have lunch, it’s on you, not on them—despite them keeping you so busy you don’t have time to even think about having a lunch break. As a reminder to upper management, a survey was conducted in the Northeast Region, I believe, in New York in 2016. These findings went directly to PMG Megan Brennen, who rejected the 10.5 hour supervisor’s day findings. She said the agency couldn’t afford to hire the EAS numbers needed. If this survey were taken today, what would your workday show—11, 12 or more hours?
Are all EAS employees managing 100%, as they should? Upper management doesn’t think so. Otherwise, everything would be 100% accomplished daily, with every goal met and your NPA in box 10. EAS employees manage people, not robots. People have good days and bad, good weeks and bad. EAS employees have made huge strides today by beating SPLY/plan budget hours. Frontline EAS employees adapt to an enormous workload that often is impossible to manage in an eight-hour day with all the daily interruptions. Are they where they want to be with employee availability, preventing accidents and other costly grievance concerns, like Line H and TACS issues, while working to ensure our craft employees eliminate costly inefficiencies contributing to the $9.5 billion loss? No, not yet.
But all frontline EAS employees strive daily to accomplish this. It may not be fast enough for the satisfaction of their district managers, MPOOs and regional vice presidents, but there is progress. Let’s not forget, “Rome wasn’t built in a day.” EAS employees are changing the culture of their workroom floors and offices by holding their employees accountable. This is a workplace culture shock to craft employees. EAS employees are dealing with pushback from the craft every day. The Postal Service’s “Delivering for America” is to blame for the USPS’ $9.5 billion loss—not EAS employees. I’m not saying the plan is wrong; it’s too early to pass judgment. Former PMG Louis DeJoy said it would take time, but he underestimated the costs.
He had to rebuild an entire network and develop a theory on how it would function. Not to mention new construction, new sorting machines and all the equipment required to modernize current sites across the nation that were in disarray for decades. These sites/offices were freshly painted and cleaned thoroughly for the first time in over 30 years, if not longer. There still is plenty of work to do. The transformation of making our offices respectable and clean places in which to work helps the craft and EAS morale. A happy employee is a productive employee, especially in the insanity of today’s workplace.
We are worth the expense!
