The false claim is that the Post Office is broke. (And Social Security and Medicare did not cause the recession/depression; investment banker gamblers did.) Turns out that Geo. Bush in 2006 torpedoed the USPS with legislation requiring an unprecedented prepayment of anticipated pension funds to cover 75 years of operation!

Issa’s move is both union-busting and privatization of a cherished American tradition. Here’s the real story behind the headlines pronouncing (almost celebrating) the death of the USPS.

More news to come about this important story.

The film will be screened at the Montreal World Film Festival Aug. 26 to Sept. 6, 2010

[See post to watch Flash video]

Interviews with Director Emil Chiaberi and Charlie Withers at the Royal Oak premiere.
If you were at Royal Oak, write your own review here, please.

Read the local Daily Tribune press coverage.

A postal worker, Ray Miehlke, contacted LSJ columnist Schneider with reports of a “reign of intimidation at the U.S. Postal Service’s Collins Road facility,” and a complaint of a physical assault by his supervisor which was found to have “no merit” by USPS spokesman Jim Mruk. To explain his willingness to speak up while others are intimidated into silence with threats of retaliation, Miehlke said “I’ve lived my life not putting up with bullies.”

Abusive workplaces are not rare at the Post Office. See the following articles posted here:

Another USPS Tragedy The 2010 Murder by Proxy documentary An arbitration where the Post Office defended the bully supervisor claiming the Violence policy does not apply

The Feb. 4 Schneider article:
Postal worker’s bullying allegations draw attention
February 4, 2010
Lansing State Journal

In a recent e-mail to me, electronic technician Steven Ray Miehlke described a reign of intimidation at the U.S. Postal Service’s Collins Road facility.
“We work … in fear,” Miehlke wrote. ” … Threats, verbal abuse and physical assault are everyday occurrence in the work place. These things are … accepted (and) encouraged.” Miehlke, who lives in Mason, cited several supervisory “bullies” at the facility who “attack women employees most often.”
In a subsequent interview, Miehlke, a 15-year veteran of Collins Road, said an angry supervisor struck him with an elbow and pinned him against a conveyor line Jan 22. Miehlke filed a formal complaint, and was instructed to send his statement, along with a list of witnesses, to postal inspectors in Detroit. He did so.
Proper channels
Responding to my questions this week, Postal Service spokesman Jim Mruk said my inquiry had been “forwarded to human resources, the inspection service and the office of the inspector general, who will investigate the matter.”
Mruk responded to my follow-up inquiry by directing me to inspector Andre Brown, in Detroit. Ultimately it was inspector Wylie Christopher who said he couldn’t comment on an ongoing investigation, adding, “Something is being done.”
But late Wednesday Mruk phoned me back to say the investigation on the Jan. 22 incident – as well as an earlier incident – was complete and inspectors found “no merit” to Miehlke’s claims. “There was no assault,” Mruk said.
Earlier, Mruk said: “There are two sides to every story. Anytime we receive information that there is a problem in the work place, it’s taken seriously. We’re confident the matter will be investigated and appropriate action will be taken.
Miehlke said the supervisor he named in his complaint had been transferred from Collins Road immediately following my inquiry. Mruk called it “purely coincidental.”
No word
Mruk agreed to relay my request for an interview to that supervisor, but I didn’t hear from him Wednesday. Absent that interview, I won’t name him here.
In his e-mail Miehlke wrote: “Officially, there is a ‘zero tolerance’ policy towards even the mildest forms of intimidation. We have been told, ‘Threats or other types of verbal abuse will not be tolerated. Anyone interfering with you as you work will be removed from the building. Intimidation and bullying will be dealt with harshly. Any physical contact will be considered an assault.’
“Unless the bully is a supervisor.”
Miehlke said he doubted his fellow employees would speak up on the record, for obvious reasons. My attempts to interview two of them confirmed his assumption. So, why is Miehlke willing to speak out?
“I’ve lived my life not putting up with bullies,” he said.
Call John Schneider at (517) 377-1175, send a fax to 377-1298 or e-mail jschneid@lsj.com.

“Delivers a potent mix of shocking truth, honest analysis and dark humor”
COMING TO THEATERS IN 2010

Feature documentary Murder by Proxy: How America Went Postal offers a provocative examination of the possible role of hostile work environments in mass murder incidents, starting with the earliest USPS mass murder-suicide in 1986.

At a time when tensions are rising again in the Postal Service and in other workplaces across America, Murder By Proxy is a simply a must-see film.

Spread the word, forward the link to this announcement to your friends

On the morning of June 2, 2009, a city letter carrier went to work and reportedly fatally shot himself in the head in the locker room at a postal facility in Gastonia, North Carolina. The Gaston Gazette online news report stated that the “Gastonia Police are investigating an apparent suicide this morning at the post office. . . . One of the employees is inside dead from a gunshot wound.”

Prior to my retirement from the USPS, at a former district I worked for, there were three suicides within a two year period that I concluded were contributed to in significant part by how these employees were treated in the workplace. The third employee, a city letter carrier, fatally shot himself in a postal jeep and left a letter stating that he could no longer take the job. The suicide at the Gastonia postal facility was the second since December 2005.

Many people have asked: Why is there so much stress and workplace tragedies in the U.S. Postal Service? The answer to these questions is because the postal culture embraces and reflects core values that center on achieving bottom-line results with little or no regard for employee participation, respect, dignity, or fairness. Additionally, there is little or no accountability for the actions of top management in the Postal Service. Many postal facilities consequently have toxic work environments, and they can be a catalyst or trigger for serious acts of workplace violence, including homicide and suicide. The associated rewards system for behavior consistent with the postal culture core values, moreover, enables systemic organizational and individual bullying of employees at all levels of the organization.

I define a toxic workplace environment as a workplace where there is a high incidence of stress-related illnesses. These stress-related illnesses are manifested by psychological and physical deterioration. In other words, these types of environments seriously erode employees’ health and well-being. The primary factors contributing to a toxic workplace environment are high job demands, low job control, and low social support. Low social support generally entails a lack of respect and validation of employees’ dignity by their “superiors”. It also oftentimes includes organizational practices and methods that encourage the bullying of employees to meet corporate goals.

The name of the city letter carrier who committed suicide in Gastonia, NC on June 2, 2009 is Steven Spencer age 60. According to his obituary, Steven was married and leaves two daughters and three grandchildren. He was a member of the National Association of Letter Carriers/ and state representative for Muscular Dystrophy Association. He was the founder of the National Association of Letter Carriers Food Drive for Gaston County. He was very active in Scouting, attaining the highest rank of Eagle Scout. He also was a member of the Order of the Arrow. Steven was a veteran of the Vietnam War serving his country proudly in the US Navy.

I find it highly improbable that an employee will kill himself or herself in a postal facility or while on a postal route unless it is to send a clear message that a toxic workplace exists and the person can’t handle it anymore. Sadly, it also may be a tragic attempt to better the lot of one’s fellow coworkers by drawing attention to the tragic event itself.

Prior to Steven’s suicide, I was contacted by a relative of an employee at the Gastonia post office in April of this year. She was concerned because of what she reported as a toxic workplace environment at the Gastonia post office, lack of accountability to address employees’ concerns, and that the situation may lead to another workplace tragedy. Unfortunately, her worst concern became a reality on June 2, 2009. She further indicated several employees have resigned their positions at the office because of the toxic workplace environment and others were suffering from negative psychological and physical effects because of this environment. I was told employees’ attempts, mostly city letter carriers, to have their concerns addressed over a two-year period included: filing of discrimination complaints and grievances, unprofessional workplace assessments, town hall meetings, contacts to congressional representatives both locally and nationally, contacts to the Office of the Inspector General (OIG), and petitions to Charlotte postal District officials and representatives of their national postal union. She further indicated that none of these measures contributed to fully addressing the workplace environment or alleviating its negative impact for the employees at the Gastonia Post Office.

In order for the U.S Postal Service to become a safe and healthy organization and thereby prevent future workplace tragedies, which have been at an endemic level over the past three decades, there is an urgent need for congressional intervention and legislation to address its toxic postal culture. Dr. Gary and his wife, Dr. Ruth Namie, along with their colleague Professor David Yamada, have for years pushed for such legislation at the state level. In order for national legislation for the prevention of workplace bullying to have the intended impact, it would require sanctions to employers or their representatives who are in violation of a new workplace statute that defines workplace bullying as a harmful and illegal activity.

Stephen D. Musacco, Ph.D.

http://goingpostal-beyond.com/

WBI Note: Readers of the comments below will see the pattern of abuse described above repeated at the same postal center with other employees. Sadly, other comments reveal a national pattern within the Postal Service. So, readers may also be interested in:

Details of a bullying-related NALC Arbitration and management’s use of “routine” bullying on the shop floor as a defense! and   The 1992 USPS Joint Statement on Violence (policy that supposedly applies to ALL employees, except when a grievance is filed)