A Postal Disservice

The transfer of the Fullerton postmaster offers an opportunity for a needed change. Until the recent announcement that Tim Bomersback was being transferred, it seemed that job seekers would be well-advised to skip the Fullerton post office. It’s not just that workers there complained of mistreatment; it’s also what seemed to be the attitude from above that although there might be problems, the mail’s getting through, and that’s what counts.

The U.S. Postal Service, like other government agencies, has an inspector general to investigate what’s going on in the ranks. The inspector general’s office produced a report several months ago saying that postal workers in Fullerton worked in a “tense and stressful environment.” Why was that? “Abusive management styles,” the report says.

The report says managers paced behind employees as they worked, timed bathroom trips and coerced them into skipping lunch breaks and working overtime without pay.

Making matters worse was the comment of a spokeswoman for the Postal Service in Southern California. She said Fullerton has been “one of the most productive postal services in the area” and that while the tactics may have been sub-par, the postmaster has been “getting the job done.”

But it was Bomersback who the inspector general’s report said was identified by employees as encouraging supervisors to adopt an abusive management style. And the report said the use of threats and harassment was intended to “maintain high operational performances.”

Surely the Postal Service should have learned by now that mistreating employees is not the way to improve productivity. Even in rare instances when it produces good short-term results, in the long-term it’s a disaster. The Postal Service has had an unfortunate history of workers becoming violent.

Bomersback said before his transfer that he realized the charges against him by employees were serious and he called the workers “dedicated.” It will be up to Bomersback’s replacement and the rest of the management team at the post office to show they really believe their work force is dedicated, by treating them with respect and decent working conditions.