My name is Michael Marazzi and I’m a correspondence analyst at USPS headquarters in Washington, DC. I help research and respond to inquiries and letters that the Postal Service receives from members of Congress and other public officials.
Members of Congress are typically contacting us on behalf of a constituent who needs help with a postal issue. Each case is assigned to a writer on our team, who researches a response by contacting field employees, consulting policy documents and working with other offices across the organization. Our goal is to answer the member’s questions and address his or her concerns while also explaining our policies and procedures.
This is my first position with the Postal Service — I have only been here about two years — and I still have a lot to learn. One of the best aspects of the job is that it involves “deep dives” on complex challenges involving different offices and functions, allowing me to learn the details of operations and policies for almost everything we do.
Our role in responding to congressional inquiries is to support postal employees and their decisions — not to direct people’s work or single anyone out for mistakes. We are trying to understand the facts and get the full story so we can explain to a member of Congress how a problem originated, how our employees have been trying to resolve it and what the solutions are going forward.
I like to keep in mind that behind all the paperwork and formality of congressional correspondence, a real person is having a real issue — one that is important enough to them that they contacted their representative. I believe we owe those situations our best efforts toward a full, comprehensive resolution whenever one is possible. If one is not possible, we can at least provide an honest, straightforward explanation of why.
I’m a big believer in the value of strong public programs and services. USPS is many people’s most frequent point of connection with the federal government, and I think it’s important they see what’s possible when the government works to serve people and communities.
When I’m not working, I’m usually going to the climbing gym, playing Dungeons & Dragons or poker with friends, or riding my bike around DC. I’ve lived here about 13 years now and have built a good community, and there is always a new restaurant to try or some event to check out.
“On the Job,” a column on individual employees and their contributions to the Postal Service, appears regularly in Link.
