Let's Go There...

 

This was from the USPS's Twitter feed, as per the original content, I did not Snope it, fact check it, or otherwise, I don't feel I need to.  Because after 17 years with the Postal Service, I can tell you that + or - a few million, it's likely to be accurate.

When I divorced it became clear that with two under two, there was no way I could go back to the career I once knew.  As a single Mom there was no way I could leave my kids for 16 hours during holiday season or duck out at 2 am for alarm calls. At one point in my job search, I saw a mail lady, hanging out the right hand side of her car, delivering mail from box to box.  I distinctly remember thinking. "If I ever have to do that, I'll know I've hit rock bottom."

Six months later, I too, was hanging out of my car., and seventeen years later here I still am. Everyday I go in, deliver every piece of mail sorted to me, every package, grocery flyers and all, and make it back before the outgoing mail truck each night.  A long time ago I made the decision to be content in what I was doing to support my family.  It's not heroic, not brain science, and not rewarding. It's a job.  One that puts a roof over my head, food on the table, and pays for nice vacations when I can afford to take them. It provides us health insurance, security, and for me, human connection that has all but been lost in the way of technology.  I made the decision that while it was not glamorous, that I would be the best I could be (most days) at what I was doing.  My goal is that when people talk smack about the Postal Service, my customers will look at them and say, "I have no idea what you're talking about.  I love my mail lady."

And they have.  My customers have rallied behind me, and us, to show their support.  They ask how I'm doing physically, having volumes higher than Holiday for the last 5 months, and mentally, being the center of a political crossfire. The answer is the same... 

"We are tired.  But we got this."

And in truth, we do have this. I have roughly 650 homes on my medium sized route. If there are 2 voters in each home, and 75% of them want to vote by mail, that would be 975 pieces of mail that I would have to hand sort. I am not fast, but I am accurate.  It would take me two hours if they all showed up on the same day, which they won't. Rest assured I can get that done, and do, when the machines break down and we have to sort trays of mail, carry the grocery flyers, medications, over 250 packages, and make it back before the 630 outgoing truck.

The talk of blue boxes being removed, removing mail sorting machines, delaying mail etc. has been done for years, not just now.  And while it makes a HUGE sensational point for the media and politicians alike, it's not new.  They are calling it delaying mail, we have called it load leveling for 20 years.  Machines that are as big as a football field, that take 40 people to run, don't get turned on if there isn't enough catalogs to run them.  It's not cost effective. And while some plants and supervisors took the new PMG's directions way off into left field, just as many did not. And I assure you, the mail is rolling off the machines and into trucks daily.

They removed our mail sorting machines ten years ago.  It was part of a streamline process to have all local towns processed out of one central hub.  It cuts down on trucking costs, man power, and allows our clerks to work only our mail.  Again... it's been ten years, and our mail shows up every time, on time.

We've also removed blue boxes for years.  Every 3 months our outgoing blue boxes get counted for 2-3 weeks to see how many people are using them.  If they have less than 25 or so pieces a week, they are removed. 90% of the time these are boxes that were once in thriving areas that have gone vacant, or another blue box was installed in a more visible location. In some areas we have added boxes depending on the use that the boxes get. 

And the thought that any carrier would throw away ballots because they don't agree with that party?  It's crap. First, no one will risk their job for a handful of votes. Second, ain't no one got time for that sh!t. Seriously. I am paid by the day. This means that if I work 14 hours or 6, I am paid for 8. With the package volume now I barely make it back within my evaluation and many days work for free.  I will not waste a second on that nonsense.  Our state has nondescript ballot return envelopes, but if someone's actually concerned about it, they can always mail it back in their own envelope.  The whole thing is just ridiculous.  And rest assured, if the PO wants to track a piece of mail, they can. We do scan checks every day to verify how long mail takes to get to a customer, and track accuracy through GPS that it is getting into the correct box. I assure you, if something goes wonky, *they* will know.

As for our new PMG, he's the boss, and there will be big changes coming down the line. As employees, we get this. The Post Office needs to change and adapt if it wants to be viable.  But what the public and congress needs to remember is that we are a service, NOT a company, granted to every person in this country, that no matter what their income or location, this country provides. And while we don't make billions in profits, we don't take a dime of tax payer money.  NOT A DIME. Our costs are governed by Congress, and our price increases can not increase more than the cost of living. This is again, to ensure everyone can afford to use our services.  

That said, I do have three main areas of concern. First, the current administration's executive order to investigate the post office using tax payer money when he first took office. Not understanding how the PO works, he ultimately spent a ton of money, investigating nothing.  The only report back was upper management needing to be cut (which everyone knew) and eliminate the longevity retirement for the workers. So basically, they could save costs by eliminating the extra 1% retirement for people who retire with longer than 30 years of service. In other words, they will save money buy shorting the people who have spent a lifetime getting it done. He also froze all new full time positions for a time, because not having any idea how we work as a private entity, there was no clarification of how we would proceed with getting the job done.

Second, the postal inspectors were responsible for the arrest of Bannon for money laundering. The thought that POTUS's business affiliate was using the Post Office to launder money is more than a red flag, and deeply disturbing.

And third, the new PMG. Being a lifetime appointment, regardless of who is in office, he can stay in his position. Which is fine, but raises some concerns.  In 2014 he sold his personal logistics company to XPO, for 614Million, and still retains a 30M stake in XPO, which just happens to be the logistics company for the Post Office. He also holds an enormous stake in Amazon, who while being a major contributor, is also a major competition for the PO with their expansion of planes and fleets of private delivery trucks. With a foot in each, it's hard to renegotiate the contract for what we get paid for parcel delivery fairly and without bias. He also purchased stock options that allow him to buy Amazon stocks at a discounted rate, so if business is lost to Amazon, either through failed contract negotiation, or a dismantling of the USPS from within, he can quickly and inexpensively benefit.

Please know that this was never meant to be a political post, but rather a venting of all things hitting us at this moment. Personally I am insulted that people think that something as small as mail in ballots would devastate the postal service, a service that has survived for 240 years, through more than one pandemic. I am resentful that through it all my mail truck has kept rolling, with NO OVERTIME OR HAZARD PAY. Every other federal employee was given hazard pay for continuing to work through COVID. Ours is still being debated in Congress. I hate that we're being used as a political ploy to cast doubt on what I do everyday and take pride in doing well. Honestly, there's a lot of things I'm feeling right now, but many I can't compile into words. So for now, I will continue rolling in my mail truck, getting it done. 

In 107 degrees.  

In -7 degrees. 

Snow.  

Hail. 

Hurricanes.  

Micro Bursts. 

Fire. 

In my TWENTY NINE year old truck.

Because the very first thing the new PMG did before all the other crap the media is talking about, is stop the production of the new mail trucks.  

You know, the ones that can accommodate our package volumes, can load without injuring our backs, have minimal blind spots for accidents, have more than just one wheel drive, and don't randomly catch fire.

Because why on Earth would we need to be safe while ensuring the sanity of the mail... 

...and all those ballots?