Milwaukee, WI – On Friday, June 26, city letter carriers at the North Milwaukee Post Office took a united stand against a recent uptick in disrespect and harassment they say has been directed at them by management.

Lydia Caldwell was named as a new temporary station manager on June 20 and, in Caldwell’s first seven days, 30 violations have been documented by the station's union stewards, most of them pertaining to dignity and respect issues.

Carriers recently held a morning meeting in the smoke break area where they talked about the issues and came to agreement that they needed to stand up against management’s harassment and stand up for each other.

The last straw came after carriers came inside and went about their office tasks including casing mail, sorting parcels, and otherwise preparing their routes for delivery service. Caldwell walked onto the workroom floor and demanded the attention of all carriers for a service talk. Service talks are a semi-regular review by management with carriers, regarding perceived deficiencies and various reminders. Before anyone had even a chance to stop what they were doing, Dave Durrett, a customer service operations manager (CSOM), loudly and rudely told carriers to be quiet and pay attention. It was at this point when city carrier Ryan Hamann spoke up and asked Durrett to show some respect to the workers at the North Milwaukee station.

Durrett reportedly demanded silence and obedience, but Hamann didn't back down. Station steward William Schroeder then stepped in to confront Durrett as well, calling for the CSOM to maintain a respectful demeanor while talking to the carriers. Durrett demanded both Schroeder and Hamann go to the office. Carriers around the shop began to clamor and scoff as management tried to reign things in.

In the office, Durrett proceeded to try to dress down both Schroeder and Hamann, but with little effect. National Association of Letter Carriers Branch 2 President Rob Kosier was present to offer support to the workers. After things got heated in the exchange, Durrett placed both of them on something called Emergency Placement, which, at the Post Office, is essentially an immediate and sometimes indefinite suspension. Both Schroeder and Hamann stated to management that this was unequal punishment and would be grieved. They exited the office to further rally their co-workers.

The announcement of the suspensions drew applause for their actions and boos and jeers toward management who were at their desk. A chant of “Who are we? NALC!” started up. Before either of the now-suspended carriers could clock out, they were both informed that they would actually not be put on Emergency Placement and instead would carry on work that day as usual.

As the day wore on, management decided to force Hamman and Schroeder to work overtime. The typical grievance payout for this violation involves 150 to 200% penalty pay on top of the regular overtime rate for the hours worked. Plus, the carriers who would have volunteered for the overtime but lost out on work opportunities get paid for the time at 200% as well.

This instance of carrier rebellion against management comes after roughly six weeks of relative calm at the station. In the spring there were issues reported with former station manager Ron Smith, and his tenure came to an official end as he left the station for a new position. The moment Lydia Caldwell stepped into the temporary station manager position, she renewed the same tactics employed by Smith to belittle and harass North Milwaukee carriers. This includes but isn’t limited to insisting that carriers meet an office time standard, which the carriers say forces them to work faster; warning carriers against stationary time on the clock; unannounced observations of carriers on their routes; reported derogatory comments about carriers while stationed at the manager’s desk; eliminating the “no lunch” list, whereby carriers choose whether or not to take the 30-minute unpaid lunch, and a reported general tone of disrespect when addressing carriers or their concerns.

While Caldwell’s time at the North Milwaukee station has a definite end point, what she has done in her short time there has already re-energized a workplace that had recently rallied against the efforts of management to instill standards the carriers see as unsafe and as creating an atmosphere of fear. The incoming station manager, Sam Jones, takes over in July.

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