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This is my reponse to subject article posted at thehill.com/leading-the-news/white-house... on July 18, 2009.

#1. Why aren't the 4 union organizations also requesting in its meeting with Obama administration the urgent need to address the deplorable and inhumane postal culture that fosters toxic workplace environments and workplace tragedies, including suicide? If the postal unions surveyed their employees, they would find this issue as the first or second top priority for action.

#2. Why the national unions and management organizations still are not standing and speaking with one voice on these two issues? The old ways must be put aside. In order to effect positive change for all the employees they represent, they need to stand in solidarity in regard to how the USPS deals with its financial crisis and how employees are treated in their workplaces. Write, call, or meet with your national union and management leaders and let them know the urgent need for solidarity on these two issues.

#3. Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.), chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform subcommittee with jurisdiction over the USPS is noted as saying in the article: Lynch warned against a government bailout for the Postal Service, calling it the "last, most extreme option." . . . . "I don't know if that's what [the unions are] looking for from the president, but there's little appetite over here for another bailout," he said. In the first place, no one is talking about a bailout. No wonder the unions organizations want help with Obama administration; it strongly appears that Rep. Lynch can no longer be trusted to serve the interests of postal employees, and worst, he has sunken to Republicans tactics of smoke screens by suggesting the postal unions are asking for a bail-out.

At one time Rep. Lynch was thought to be an advocate for postal employees; instead he is catering to tactics of the far right. And, you can count on conservatives Republicans and those who would like to privatize core postal operations quoting his words to support their agenda.

Action to reform the postal culture is necessary now. Postal employees, regardless of rank or position, deserve a postal culture in which the core values of respect, fairness, and validation of dignity, are not empty slogans, but instead are the reality of organizational life.

Steve Musacco, Ph.D.

 Does a recent report by the Postal Service’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) indicate that it has softened its approach in how it deals with employee relations issues or has it maintained its broader acceptance and push of top postal management’s agenda on the implementation of Global Positioning System (GPS) for the monitoring of city letter carriers performance, or for evaluated routes similar to rural carriers, or a combination of the three.

I have stated elsewhere, including in my book “Beyond Going Postal” (BOG), the OIG is a third, dark arm of top postal management.  Recently, the OIG released an audit report titled Management Advisory – Management of City Letter Carriers’ Street Performance (Report Number DR-MA-09-001(R), and it can be found at www.uspsoig.gov/foia_files/DR-MA-09-001_...

The OIG has been reviewing city letter carriers’ office and street performance for the past 5 years, and the stated objective of the subject audit report was “to determine if management could strengthen controls to reduce carrier misconduct (emphasis added).”  Taken in account that the OIG explicitly indicated in its report that only a small percentage of the 220,000 letter carriers were found to be involved in misconduct related to their official duties, this stated objective is not credible. Additionally, their focus on issues and corollary recommendations in the report appear more related to city carriers’ street performance overall and the role of the supervisors in this effort rather than the misconduct of city letter carriers per se. In reading the report, misconduct appears to be a secondary issue rather than a primary issue of the audit.

So what were the more likely objectives of the report? Before answering the question, it is relevant to look at the recent history of OIG audits of city letter carriers performance. From 2004 to 2006, there were 10 audits of city carriers’ performance, including the standard operating procedures (SOPs) utilized by first-line supervision for the purpose of monitoring their performance. The subject audit appears to be an extension of this body of work and not necessarily a focus on city carrier misconduct. For more on the noted OIG audits from 2004 to 2006, a more detailed examination is offered in Appendix E in the book BGP.

Thus, the likely main objective of the report, in agreement with its title, was to provide top postal management with an update on the management of city letter carriers and related reduction of costs involved in delivery operations.  Ostensibly at the behest of top postal management, this is also the likely reason the OIG conducted this particular audit. With this aim in mind, focuses of the OIG audit included an evaluation of the Global Positioning System (GPS) pilot program and highlighting of concerns and issues related to SOPs utilized by first line management in the monitoring of city carriers performance as well as a call to review the creation of an evaluated route system for city letter carriers.  It is unclear if these were specific expectations of review by top postal management or if it was “discretionary” focuses of the OIG.  Regardless who was “responsible” for these focuses, it can reasonably be argued that the issue of reviewing city carrier misconduct noted in the report was utilized as a “smoke screen” for the more overarching issues such as the implementation of GPS nationwide and/or the creation of evaluated routes as a means to demonstrate actual or potential cost reductions.

Although the subject report still supports the notion that the OIG is a dark arm of top postal management, there appears to be a softening of its approach and a new willingness not to be a complete “rubber stamp of approval” for the autocratic methods and practices of top postal management. For the first time, the OIG questions the use and validity of specific SOPs in the management of city letter carriers’ performance.  Moreover, for first time the OIG formally recognizes the daily challenges of first-line supervisors held accountable for executing these SOPs. This recognition has been long overdue for overburdened supervisors and managers who too often have been expected to work numerous hours over the 40 hour work week without the commensurate compensation as well as dealing with the negative fall-out of ineffective tools to manage performance. It appears that they not only listened to supervisors concerns, but they also formally recognized these concerns in an official report for the first time.

Let’s look at some of the specific recommendations in the subject OIG report that reflects the OIG’s willingness to critique current SOPs utilized by delivery supervisors to manage city carriers’ performance.  In its first recommendation, the OIG recommended that the USPS “revise existing Postal Service policies and Standard Operating Procedures to reduce the number of required Delivery Operations Information System (DOIS) reports from eight to four to aid Supervisors in managing carrier street performance.” Management did not agree with the recommendation, but did indicate that it would review all DOIS reports as part of the 2010 budget with the goal of reducing the number of reports. In context of this OIG recommendation, it was noted in the report that the OIG had learned in its prior reviews that supervisors were not consistently able to effectively utilize the daily DOIS reports because of staffing and time pressures. Here for time in an audit report, pertaining to the management of city carriers’ performance and corollary supervisory responsibilities, a real concern and acknowledgement of time constraints and lack of resources for supervisors responsible for managing street carrier performance was underscored. For this official recognition, they are to be commended.

As for its second recommendation, it was recommended that the USPS “modify DOIS Route/Carrier Daily Performance Analysis Report to show “exceptions” – i.e., only actual route times varying from projected route times.” Here again management response is in my opinion was nonresponsive and evasive. It agreed to explore the development of an additional report for this purpose and plans to complete this action by March 31, 2010. In light of what was discussed in the first recommendation and the burden on supervisors regarding time constraints and lack of resources, why would postal management want to consider an additional report?

After reviewing the OIG’s first two recommendations, it seems odd that its third recommendation would be for top management to “reinforce to delivery Supervisors and Managers the importance of holding performance discussions with city letter carriers, conducting street observations, and taking corrective actions for misconduct issues.” It seems odd because they have already indicated that they learned in previous audits that supervisors responsible for city carriers’ management were burdened with time constraints and lack of resources. In fact, as a footnote in the report, it stated: “The number of routes and the geographical area covered reduced Supervisors’ ability to provide effective “real-time” monitoring through street observations. It seems to me the focus would be on addressing the systemic issues here rather than an identified deficiency in previous audits, namely noncompliance of supervisors’ performance expectations in the monitoring of city letter carriers.

The final two recommendations in the report appear more as broad solutions to deal with and significantly ameliorate the relevancy and importance of the initial three recommendations. For example, the fourth recommendation was stated as follows: “Study the costs and benefits of converting the existing city letter carrier hourly compensation system to an evaluated compensation system similar to that of rural letter carriers. The analysis should include the Postal Service costs being incurred for street observations and grievances.” Interestingly and telling, top postal management concurred with the recommendation, but the response was redacted (i.e., blocked out) in their initial memorandum and its revised memorandum. 

The fifth and final recommendation addressed the use of Global Positioning System (GPS) at a pilot location. The OIG pointed out that that GPS is “Internet based, real time, and operated by satellite signals. The device has no software to maintain or install and includes an alarm feature to notify the district office if the vehicle goes to a preprogrammed off-limits site.” In the subject report, it was concluded that GPS resulted in a significant decline in overtime used compared to a control group, and just at the one pilot city the USPS could realize over one million dollars in saving during a two year period.  Although not specifically mentioned in the report, it could be inferred that the use of GPS would lessen the responsibility for overextended supervisors from providing “real time” monitoring of letter carriers in accordance with their street management responsibilities.  Postal management indicated that they intend to reassess expansion of the pilot project of GPS nationwide, and the OIG intends to further analyze other postal districts that may benefit from the use of GPS as a means to monitor city letter carriers’ street performance.

In light of this review of the subject OIG recommendations, it appears that the OIG is posturing to assist and support postal management’s implementation of GPS nationwide and the championing of an evaluated compensation system for city letter carriers like the rural carrier craft. It is unlikely GPS would be implemented nationally if the USPS and NALC ultimately agreed on an evaluated compensation system or it was imposed either via the collective bargaining process by an arbitrator or congressional mandate. In my next blog, I will discuss the ramifications of these competing choices and their impact on the postal culture. Although it appears that the OIG is softening its approach in how it deals with employee relations concerns (e.g., its highlighting of constraints on first-line supervisors), suffice to say at this point it remains a loyal, dark, third arm of top postal management.

Action to reform the postal culture is necessary now.  Postal employees, regardless of rank or position, deserve a postal culture in which the core values of respect, fairness, and validation of dignity, are not empty slogans, but instead are the reality of organizational life.

The financial situation of the U.S. Postal Service has reached critical mass, and it has taken dramatic actions in the past several months to downsize its operations and business expenses. Unfortunately, the USPS has taken no action to deal with a postal culture that generates toxic workplace environments and an increased potential for workplace violence.

The U.S. mailing industry is a $900 billion enterprise, employing about 3 million workers. The USPS is the third-largest employer in the country, behind Wal-Mart and the Department of Defense. It employs about 700,000 workers and has a vast network of more than 400 mail processing plants and 37,000 post offices. The Postal Service had a $5.1 billion debt in fiscal year 2007 and a $2.8 billion deficit in fiscal year 2008. Further, a $6 billion deficit is projected for both 2009 and 2010 unless congressional action is taken to reform how health benefits of retired postal employees are funded over time.

To address the financial condition of the USPS, last month the Subcommittee on Federal Workforce, Postal Service and the District of Columbia held a hearing on the financial stability of the U.S. Postal Service. Additionally, earlier last month the Postal Service announced new downsizing measures and shortly thereafter voluntary early retirement opportunities for 150,000 employees. The poor financial condition of the Postal Service, reflective of this country's deep recession, and the new organizational changes bring added stress to its employees.

Besides congressional hearings on the financial condition of the Postal Service, Congress needs to look at reforming the postal culture. More specifically, Congress needs to address and enact legislation to change the authoritarian, paramilitary, postal culture. At least two former USPS postmasters general used these exact words to describe the postal culture, the last being Marvin Runyon (1992-1998). Unfortunately, instead of the postal culture improving post-Runyon, it has progressively worsened. Besides attention to the financial “bottom line,” the Postal Service and Congress need to pay careful attention to how postal employees are treated in the workplace.

If you Google “going postal as a myth,” there are still archived articles from the national media emphasizing the major conclusions and findings of the United States Postal Service Commission on a Safe and Secure Workplace in 2000 (hereafter referred to as the Califano report) and the Centers for Disease Control report of 1994. This is especially true with regard to the Califano report. The national media reacted to its findings uncritically, especially national newspapers and magazines.

As a result of my extensive examination, it became very clear that the arguments used by the CDC and the Califano report to frame the notion of “going postal” as a myth and a bad rap are not supported by the overwhelming evidence to the contrary. The observation or conclusion that Postal Service work environments have been a trigger or a factor involved in some of its employee-directed homicides, and that the occurrence of these types of homicides are far more frequent in the Postal Service compared with other organizations, is supported by the record, however.

The core values embedded in the Postal Service's organizational culture and its alignment to its organizational structure have engendered a paramilitary, authoritarian postal culture. It is a culture that promotes unilateral, top-down approaches to manage its employees and their workload. This bottom-line mentality is highly visible in postal facilities where autocratic management styles are too often reflected by use of fear, harassment, bullying or intimidation to achieve service, financial and productivity goals. These management styles are frequently rewarded by promotions, annual merit raises or cash awards for achievement of corporate goals.

Consequences of the unilateral, top-down approaches employed by the Postal Service include widespread anger, stress, and turmoil for both craft and management employees alike. Because of the concerted effort by the Postal Service's Board of Governors to contract out core postal operations, these tensions, stresses and turmoil have escalated in the last several years.

Also, since the top-down management approaches are systemic in the Postal Service, many postal facilities have toxic work environments and can be a catalyst or trigger for serious acts of workplace violence, including homicide and suicide.

In the book, “Beyond Going Postal,” requirements and recommendations were provided to the Postal Service to enable the shift from an unhealthy organization to a healthy one. These requirements and recommendations included a change in leadership style, organizational design, reward and performance evaluation systems, selection and development and change management.

Additional requirements were legislative intervention by the Congress, including enactment of laws for the prevention of bullying in the workplace and accompanying sanctions. Without congressional action, the Postal Service will unlikely make the necessary shift from an unhealthy organization to one that is healthy.

Financial viability is critical to an organization's success and its bottom line. Also, important to an organization's success is how its employees are treated. Postal employees, regardless of rank or position, deserve a postal culture in which the core values of respect, fairness and validation of dignity are not empty slogans, but instead are the reality of organizational life.

The United States Postal Service (USPS) is actively soliciting for new concepts, business ideas, and innovation to improve its viability and overall organizational effectiveness. This solicitation can be accessed at www.usps.com/innovations/... In the following, I offer some specific innovations to assist in this endeavor.

In response to the national recession and the related, dramatic dwindling of mail volumes and revenues, particularly 3^rd class mailings, the USPS has devised and will accelerate strategic, change management plans to downsize it workforce. Unfortunately, the USPS has not and most likely will continue devising and implementing these plans without the input and voice of the four national unions and three management associations. In any significant, corporate downsizing effort, it is imperative that an organization use all of its major stakeholders to improve the success of targeted actions and to buffer some of the negative consequences for its employees. Moving in this direction would be a dramatic departure from the USPS’ historical approach to large scale, change management initiatives, but it’s not too late to forge these alliances.

The change management actions that the USPS has taken in the last month and action yet to be announced and implemented will affect the postal culture for years to come. If it continues to take unilateral action in its strategic, change management initiatives, it will serve to further solidify, an already highly toxic organizational culture. Furthermore, the risk for injury to employees’ physical and psychological health will rise and so will the potential for serious workplace violence.

How about real, dramatic, and strategic reform of the postal culture? How about investigation of excesses and fraud committed at the highest levels of the organization? Taking bold actions in these two areas will improve the viability of the organization and serve to improve the organizational commitment and well-being of its employees.

As I stated in previous writings, it will take sweeping congressional intervention to ensure that these types of actions are implemented and sustained to shift the USPS from an unhealthy organization to a safe and healthy one. Congress has responded with the right action to ensure that core postal operations are not privatized, particularly in the last several years. Now is the time for Congress to implement legislation to reform the postal culture. Postal employees, regardless of rank or position, deserve a postal culture in which the core values of respect, fairness, and validation of dignity, are not empty slogans, but instead are the reality of organizational life.

Representative Lynch, chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform subcommittee that oversees the Postal Service, recently announced his committee will hold a hearing this month on the pay and benefits paid to John Potter, Postmaster General.

Besides the pay and benefits of John Potter, Postmaster General, there are many other issues and questions the U.S. Congress needs to look at. Below are some of the more salient issues and questions.

1. Reform of the postal culture. That is, moving the postal culture from one that is highly authoritarian and paramilitary to one that validates the dignity of all its employees and routinely treats them with the fairness and respect that they deserve.

2. The relationship between large business mailers, the Board of Governors (BOG), and the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC).

3. Why has the BOG and their point person, the Postmaster General, been “hell bent” on contracting-out core postal operations and relaxation of collective bargaining agreements over the last 20 or more years, especially the last several years?

4. Why are meetings between many of the large business mailer advocates and the Postal Service outside of public purview?

5. Why hasn’t the Postal Service’s Office Inspector General Office (OIG) or the United States General Accounting Office investigated the relationship between the BOG, high-ranking postal officials, and the PRC to see if there has been a violation of public trust, and yes even unethical business ties and practices?

Accountability and oversight of these issues by the United States Congress are vastly more important than the salary and benefits of John Potter.

Action to reform the postal culture is necessary now.  Postal employees, regardless of rank or position, deserve a postal culture in which the core values of respect, fairness, and validation of dignity, are not empty slogans, but instead are the reality of organizational life.