More of (not) USPS Hurricane Safety

By Bill Pick Maintenance Craft Director

The 2005 hurricane season and USPS Management in the Ft. Lauderdale area has shown that The Facility Single Source Provider (FSSP) program is a real success.  It would appear that Customer Service management doesn’t understand the FSSP guidelines sent out by the USPS.  The plaza where the Galt Ocean Postal Store is located, sustained heavy damage during Hurricane Wilma, leaving the Postal store with the roof leaking water, no air conditioning, as well as other miscellaneous damage to the building. 

Damage to the building where the store is located was so extensive that there are only four other tenants besides the USPS left.  Looking into the abandoned storefronts you could see mold of many colors growing on the walls, and other effects from the water damage.  There were two USPS management functionaries who visited the facility regularly and were aware of the problems, but did nothing. 

The employees at this facility kept performing their duties in these adverse conditions, serving their elderly customers needs, all the while being assured by management that the repairs were going to be done next week.  The employees eventually tired of management’s lies and lame excuses, and filed 1767s, which can’t seem to be found.   The USPS has done away with the customer complaint forms, which denied the customers the chance to express their disapproval of this matter.  Management states that the customers can call a service line to complain, but if management operates the complaint line like the “sick call” line, the customers, when they called, probably threw their hands up and say, “Screw it”.  Management is extremely lucky that the weather since Wilma has been mild, and none of the elderly customers or employees were harmed by their neglect. 

This is a prime example of another flaw in USPS management’s current business model, the responsibility for maintenance of the facility has been turned over to the manager in charge of the facility, who must call a 1-800 number for FSSP, who sends a contractor to perform the work, and then you have the same station managers, whose only maintenance experience might be from watching “This Old House”, is signing off on the repairs performed by the contractors.

OSHA cited the USPS after Wilma for violations at the Andrews Annex facility, you would think management might take their responsibility to “provide safe working conditions” a little more seriously after that, but with leadership provided by the likes of the current Postmaster, I am not really surprised.  In this case the health and safety of the customers and employees takes a backseat to his need for a reserved parking space.  As to the Postmaster’s response to this whole matter, he did not even return my inquiry as to what he planned to do.  He also tried to lay the blame on the Ft. Lauderdale P&DC maintenance department for the repairs not being done. 

The facility is a leased storefront, and is not under the care of Ft. Lauderdale maintenance department, and since it is a customer service facility it is definitely not under the maintenance department budget.  Do you think this situation would have gone on this long if a manager had been domiciled at and had to report and work in this facility every day?

If you find yourself in similar circumstances, do not take management’s word that it will be fixed “next week”.  Call the Union Hall, file 1767s, and then file a grievance for each day the problem is not abated.  This is an instance where management has once again clearly demonstrated a lack of concern for the health and safety of its customers and employees, the only thing that matters to management is the “Voice Of the Bonus”, and whatever it takes to get their bonuses.

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Last modified: July 13, 2007