Tuesday, January 30, 2024
USPS has established an anti-harassment info line
The toll-free number is a resource for employees on steps to take
The Postal Service has established a toll-free phone number for employees and managers seeking guidance on what actions to take in the event of an incident of alleged harassment.
The number is 877-521-4272.
Harassment is unwelcome behavior that an individual finds offensive and harmful, and that a reasonable person would consider intimidating, hostile or abusive. Such behavior is prohibited by the Postal Service and may also violate federal antidiscrimination laws.
Workplace harassment may include offensive or derogatory comments, names or slurs; engaging in negative stereotyping; circulating or displaying inappropriate graphic materials; and engaging in physical or verbal threats, intimidation or humiliating actions.
The offensive behavior could be a one-time occurrence or may occur over a period of time.
Although not every instance of inappropriate behavior may fit the legal definition of harassment, such behavior in the workplace undermines morale and may violate the Postal Service’s standards of conduct and/or policies.
USPS, through its supervisors and managers, takes prompt action to prevent, investigate, address and remedy conduct that is found to be against its policies and/or the law.
The Postal Service will act to protect the confidentiality of complainants but cannot guarantee complete confidentiality.
For more information, USPS encourages employees to review Publication 553, Employee’s Guide to Understanding, Preventing, and Reporting Harassment, and/or call the harassment information line.
Supervisors and managers should also review Publication 552, Manager’s Guide to Understanding, Investigating, and Preventing Harassment.
On the Job
‘A good postal person’
This carrier ensures customers always get their mail
My name is Richard Morales and I’m a letter carrier in Port Washington, NY, which is part of Long Island. I’ve been serving this community since I joined USPS more than two decades ago.
I’m a native New Yorker. I was born and raised in the Bronx, then my family moved to Manhattan’s Upper West Side. I’ve lived on Long Island for the past 28 years.
Before joining the Postal Service, I served in the Army and later became entertainment director for a company that provides live music for events. After 9/11, the industry took a hit and no one was really in a partying mood. I was the junior man on the team and was let go.
I was a homeowner with a wife, two kids and no job. I remember looking at a magazine and seeing an ad that USPS was hiring in Brooklyn.
I loved the idea of being your friendly neighborhood mailman. During orientation, I was given the option of where I would like to work. Long Island was my first choice. I landed in Port Washington, and 23 years later, here I am.
I have a park-and-loop route, with close to 600 points of delivery — business and residential. I walk upward of 6 to 8 miles a day.
If you’re fortunate enough to live on my route, you will always get your mail, regardless of the conditions. I take it very seriously.
That’s what drives me: When people see me after hurricanes, certain acts of God, severe weather — they associate me with a return to normalcy. After a storm, the trees might be down and the power might be out, but when customers see Richie out there delivering the mail, they know things are getting back to normal.
I’m a veteran, so I can translate those skills to this job. When you have a toughness of mind, it makes it easier.
People laugh, but I like to say that in life, all you need is a good hairstylist, a good mechanic and a good postal person.
We’re a postal family now: Both my sons work for USPS on Long Island — one in Deer Park and one in Huntington. They saw their dad working a stable job with benefits and they wanted to follow in my footsteps.
My wife is so happy — she has three men now with postal careers.
“On the Job,” a column on individual employees and their contributions to the Postal Service, appears regularly in Link.
February 6, 2024
Datebook
‘Preventive Care Guidelines’
Postal Service employees may participate in an upcoming webinar on the importance of preventive care in maintaining good health.
The session, “Preventive Care Guidelines,” will be held Tuesday, Feb. 6, from 2 to 3 p.m. Eastern.
Representatives from Kaiser Permanente, a provider of health plans for federal employees, will lead the discussion.
Participants must register before the event on the webinar website.
Participation is voluntary. Nonexempt employees must be off the clock or on authorized breaks.
Employees with questions can email the Benefits and Wellness team.
Latest report shows sustained service performance
Last week, the average time for the Postal Service to deliver a mailpiece or package across the United States was 2.8 days, according to data released Jan. 29.
The data also show that from Jan. 1-19, which represents the fiscal year’s second quarter thus far, USPS delivered 84 percent of First-Class Mail on time when compared with the organization’s service standard.
This was a decrease of 1.9 percentage points when compared with the fiscal year’s first quarter.
USPS delivered 92.1 percent of Marketing Mail on time, down 1.6 percentage points when compared with the previous quarter, and 80.6 percent of Periodicals on time, consistent with first-quarter performance.
Zoom has new icon, adds two features
Zoom, the video conferencing platform used by the Postal Service, has added several enhancements for meetings and webinars:
• New Zoom icon: Desktop users will notice the application is now represented by a blue square with rounded corners and the letters “zm” inside, replacing “zoom” in the previous icon.
• Low volume indicator: If Zoom detects that a user’s speaker volume is low or muted, a “Turn up volume” indicator will be displayed at the top of the Zoom meeting screen.
• Schedule a Zoom Team chat message: Users can schedule a message in Zoom Team chat for future delivery and save draft chat messages.
The USPS ServiceNow website has more information.