Category: Articles

A Broken Record

A cliche from my youth was, “You sound like a broken record”. Meaning; you repeat yourself, over and over again. So, I look at the Naps Forum and see the same old problems.

1. You CANNOT be made to use your POV. You are putting yourself into extreme jeopardy unless you have advised your insurance company you are doing street/safety observations i.e. using your car for commercial use and be prepared to pay the increase in your premium. I know you will not be a favorite anymore but does it really matter in the midst of this downsizing? You are not going to get promoted, forget about it.

Stand up for yourself. Have your spouse drive you to work and the car will not be there for you to be a nice guy. In the words of Leo Durocher of Baseball Fame, “Nice Guys Finish Last” or in this case ‘No auto insurance”.

2. DOIS-Time manipulation: Want to get put up for removal, this is the express train to Labor. Better to be written up for failure to perform than falsification charges. Charlie Scialla has repeatedly stated that “MSPB judges take a dim view of these types of allegations”. Think about this scenario, the carrier who you hit out at 1600 hours but is still working gets into an auto accident and is seriously injured or even killed. How are you going to explain he was off the clock and still delivering mail? If you cannot make a return to the office goal, document the reasons why. Print and keep all the threatening e-mails, send same up the ladder plus to your Naps officers.

3. Unprofessional conduct: Screaming, telling, threatening behavior is NOT ACCEPTABLE. Either by you to your employees or by your upper management down to you. Cursing peppered with threats must cease. If you cannot reach detente with the person, move it up to the next level. You do not have to tolerate this type of behavior, we are all under stress. Irrational behavior does not help the situation and in most cases makes it worst. Stay calm and tell the offender that you do not appreciate the tone, content or language that they are using.

Please feel free to e-mail me if you need help, We are all in this together.

Tommy Roma

[email protected]

Tough Love

Tough Love

I call this problem the “Postal/NAPS Paradox.” The vast majority of NAPS members and officers have dealt with it since the beginning of our association more than a century ago. I’m talking about dealing with the poor-performing supervisor in the workplace without compromising your integrity.

You are a station manager and the local branch president. You know the reality of the situation: Your supervisor constantly fails to perform his duties and, even worse, lies to you. Work that you have assumed was completed, e.g., street supervision, route inspection and driver observations, simply wasn’t done. Even worse, you have advised your area manager, “Don’t worry, I took care of it!”

This starts a chain of events that is so predictable it is pathetic. The station manager is called on the carpet by either or both the area manager and postmaster and given the famous “Shape up or ship out” talk (remember, I was in the U.S. Navy). It’s easy to blame your subordinate and throw him or her under the bus. But here is the paradox: The station manager/NAPS president now must write up the supervisor to get off the hook.

What is one to do? Write up the person you are going to represent?

The key is to prevent this situation from ever happening. And, yes, that’s easier said than done! Just as with any employee, communication remains the key. Is there a reason for the poor performance? Personal problems impacting the job? Get EAP involved. Lack of knowledge? Get PEDC involved.

Most people want to excel in their positions; no one starts off the day with the thought of doing a bad job. We need to learn the reason why something is happening. An oil change is always cheaper than a complete engine replacement.

The old days, which were only two or three years ago, allowed you to move the weak employee around and, eventually, to an easy station where he or she could hide. Well, there are no easy stations/tours for anyone to get lost in anymore. The underachiever will drain you, the operation and the branch, eventually taking down other people in the unit.

Do everything you can, both as a manager and a NAPS officer, to help the supervisor before a situation reaches the point of discipline. You cannot serve two masters!

Tommy Roma – [email protected]