ACCOUTABILITY IN THE POSTAL SERVICE

By Liz Corriea, Berkeley Chief Steward

I’ve been in the Postal Service for a long time, in which I can say I have seen changes that are not necessarily good for all. It mostly involves the everyday routines, the flow chart is what we should be following. However, the recent flow chart for Berkeley is disputable, and may or may not be grieved. Perhaps everyone should look at their chart to see if it makes sense. Having clerks available is one of the biggest issues in Berkeley How is it going in your stations?

Most of these issues are grievable, but that doesn’t work in Berkeley. Even after being told by the Step B Team to “cease and desist,” Berkeley management just ignores the decisions, and continues to do wrong.

BBQ in May

I, along with Petra Ortega and Shauna Lum had the honor of attending Congressman John Garamendi’s BBQ on May 6th. I have been their numerous times before but when COVID hit, it was put off. I usually get lost on my way there, but this time I didn’t. The BBQ’s have been outdoors, but because of the rain this time it was indoors in the barn, and the food which was catered was super tasty. Before we went to the barn, we were able to have a VIP get-together at the Ranch House which is a western and Native American site. It is a beautiful home and Congressman Garamendi has a big family, and his wife Patti is so nice. They are both very supportive of the Letter Carriers.

Berkeley Blues News

Some positive things have been making Berkeley Post Office a little bit better, due to the fact that we have seen a lot of new faces known as PTFs. We welcome them, as they have been desperately needed for some time now. However, keeping them is another subject, and in time we will find out who stays and who will move on.

We have had some injuries, and unfortunately you suffer twice. First is the direct injury itself, and secondly when management decides you deserve some kind of discipline for having the injury. Maybe that’s happening in your office as well. I can’t imagine that anyone would deliberately want to injure themselves. Perhaps there are some, but that is ridiculous to me. So, if you come to Berkeley, and get injured know that you will be rewarded with discipline.

Berkeley is still unorganized, with new supervisors who probably have not been in the Post Office for very long. I really don’t see them putting real effort into getting Berkeley in shape.

Safety talks have been given more often than before, which is a good thing. Let me share a safety issue that recently happened to me, and maybe it has happened to you too.

I wrote up my vehicle because it has some issues, and should not be used. I had to take another vehicle, which pisses me off, because most likely I would have to clean it before using it. But I know it is the right thing to do.

I couldn’t have any mechanics come to fix my vehicle So, to ensure that it would not be used, I took those keys with me. After a while of delivery, I had to come back to the office as I was feeling ill. It was then that I discovered that my vehicle, which I had just written up earlier, was full of mail, all the doors were open, and a key was hanging out of one of the doors, plus nobody was around. Later I found out that my supervisor was having a 204B use the vehicle that I wrote up and bringing a portable charger with him in case he broke down.

UNBELIEVABLE!

I just busted a supervisor for using a vehicle that was written up and gave it to someone else. Not to mention possibly going to deliver the mail which is both a safety violation and a violation for performing craft work. That is what I called this scenario. Remember, it is your responsibility to check every vehicle before using it, even if someone else told you it was ok.

Knowledge is Power!