Posted by 
June 28, 2010
According to reports released by the Department of Labor it remains a fact that working for USPS may not be good for your health – or at least your body.
Federal injury and illness statistics for the second quarter of fiscal year 2010 indicate the following:
[case amounts are for the second quarter of 2010]
Total Federal Injury/Illness Cases: 53,025
Total USPS Injury/Illness Cases: 21,424
Total Injury/Illness Cases For Non-Postal Federal Employees: 31,601
The above case numbers mean that over 40% of all injuries and illnesses reported to the federal government for the second quarter of fiscal year 2010 are attributable employees of the United States Postal Service.
The federal agency that came closest to USPS in reported injury and illness cases for this period is the Department of Defense with a total of 9.608 cases.
During this same time period there were 4 postal deaths and 19 non-postal federal employee deaths.
90% postal accident and injuries are fake. Employees do anything to stay home and get free money.
90% of Postal Managers lie and misconstrue anything to further their anti-worker agenda. Postal Managers expect workers to break safety rules to get the job done; then are amazed that employees actually get injured in the process. George is either one of those Postal Managers or a disgruntled fast-food worker jealous of his letter carrier and the entire world for making more money than he does.
george should do research on another george in 2004 in pueblo, colorado
a worker who was injured on the job was harrassed for being injured on the job,
and eventually committed sucide. His widow did receive some of that “free money” after fighting for 4 years thru legal channels to get a mere $15,000
a year after all the harrassement her spouse took, from mangement
and even after the award was given it was stated that the usps denied
all knowlege.. Or George can go call the other postal widow
who had endure her spouse sucide in june of this year, due to no change in
his job situtation, and tell her how she is suppose to make it after a death by sucide without any of that “free” money after what her spouse endured on the job . Since I am a postal widow as well and have yet to see any” free “money, and would of had to hire lawyers who will not even take on the post office, or have doctors sign off on anything with the job related stress my spouse endured, I get no “free money” or even retirement taken out of his check for 17 years, instead what the usps had one more body to bury, and cover up
the micromanagment and abuse of a human being.
so if George thinks the above statement is not true, he is wrong, I have my dead spouse to prove it out.
I said 90% are fake not 100%. So your case may be on those 10%.
maybe George can get back to us on his qualifications , I for one would like to know more of his statistics, after all my spouse was told district numbers
( more statistics falsely computed)
did not prove out to hire replacement for retirements, and his pm was told to
follow him to improve production , which made sense since it must of been his fault people retired, or got injured, good thing he was a Marine, and did not give up as most would of quit, but then he would of been giving up his retirement too
plus then the post office would of had to replace the one worker left to deliver a whole towns mail, and cost them more of that “free” money,,
this way the post office just saves some of that “free” money, even though
they had 17 years of an employee not mising a day off, and doing the job,
he was paid for, but then changed his job description to beyound human capacity. So much better to die this way being a 10 percent statistic, instead of by bullets, chemical warfare,
and torture from the enemy, taking an enemy hill or being fired on by his own in friendly fire, I can rest assured that the post office is a non hostile place to work and not dangerous for your mental or phsycial heath
after being informed that my spouse was in charge of all the routes in town
even though he was no longer in the military.
Much better that he was retalitated against and his casual removed illegally sending his blood pressure up and him dying 3 weeks later after working short handed for a 2nd summer in a row. I especially like that he was only in a 10 percent catagory of a work force that has been forced to realize that
finacial policy is all that matters and human life no longer does.
lot of injurys are fake. clerk and carrier craft.
they can do anything but the job. and all of you
know it is true.they can have a bad foot and can
not walk, but can go clubbin. clerks have all kinds
of reasons why they can’t do anything but get overtime
to do it.
I have worked for the postal service for almost 13 years and I am pretty young. I have worked at 3 different offices and have seen many people with true injuries, exaggerated injuries, and bullying of management. The Postal Service wants more work in the same amount of time and injuries do in fact happen. I was injured and dislocated my collar bone and was harassed EVERY DAY about faking it and when I would be able to get back to carrying. I had a bone sticking 2 inches higher than the other side and was accused of faking it. On the other hand there are people that work harder at getting out of work than actually working. I think to say 90% of injuries are faked is an exaggeration. Maybe 40%. It has to be understood that some injuries are due to doing the same thing day in and day out. We are working in tough elements: ice, snow, cold, heat, uneven ground, dogs, insects, ect. I have been FORCED to work with a twisted ankle. I have been written up for calling in sick, even with a doctors note. The Postal Service is not kind to its employees, to say the least. We sacrifice our bodies and therefore we make a decent wage – NOT GREAT, but decent. I will say that many of the employees would be happy to see something progressively done about those that are “faking it”. In the end the mail must be delivered and those that do show up hurt or sick are the ones picking up the slack!
I retired from the Postal Service last year. I worked there 24 years. I thing working for the U.S Postal service is detrimental to one’s health. The job certainly made me ill. I was under a doctor’s care for 20 years because of the job. Since I retired, I am taking only half of the medications I was taking while working. I had a supervisor who would not accept my doctor’s note for taking sick leave. The supervisor put me on AWOL even with the note from my doctor. The doctor was so angry about the supervisor not accepting his note, the doctor wrote a letter to a member of Congress about it.
Postal supervisors think they can determine if some one is sick or not. Mind you, they do not hold medical degrees. Practicing medicine without a license is illegal.
I heard where a letter carrier passed out in the extreme heat. Someone called 911, and the paramedic said that the supervisor of this carrier accused the carrier of faking heat illness. The paramedic however, thought the heat illness was real. The paramedic said that the supervisor was more concerned about the mail, than the employee. The paramedic also said that the supervisor was harrassing the ill employee. If I had been the paramedic, I would have called the police to arrest the supervisor for interferring with the treatment the paramedic was attempting to give the carrier. In some places it is against the law for someone to interfere with a public safety employee in the performance of his/her job. That supervisor should have gone to jail.
Many injuries are fake. Lots of people everywhere are fakers. Look at politicians. Many postal supervisors are not trained for the position, they learn along the way. Most of them think they are pretty hot stuff, and get off on the power over people. Anyway, I type this one day after surgery for my shoulder injury received from my job with the USPS while being a mailhandler. 4 months after the injury , surgery was authorized finally!! 2 letters were sent to my dr. asking if I could go back to work before surgery. I found that unfeeling of OWCP. In the time it took to finally be approved, I could have had the surgery, done the physical therapy and been back to work! oh well, the pain meds are kicking in and I’m done with my story. For those who have suffered loss of your loved one due to the stresses of the usps, I am sorry.
We have one girl (PTF) in the office who has NEVER worked an eight hour day since she was hired (4 years ago) and of those 4 years maybe worked 18 months. She is definitely faking it. As we have a limited amount of LLV’s, she would use her car to deliver. When the supervisors/PM got onto what a fake she is, all of a sudden she had no car. So she was given walk out routes and for the third time in four years, found a doctor who comes from the same country she does, who took her out completely. Although supervisors usually suck, ours makes her walk to work, (about 3/4 mile), where she cases our curtailed mail (which we rip down the next day) and write up second notices. No one speaks to her anymore except to tell her to put a bag on! Then she yells something in a language not English which she thinks makes her special while 30% of my community speak the same language. She can walk obviously but now says “it’s too DANGEROUS out there” whatever that means considering she comes from that very “dangerous” crime ridden earthquake area. She sits in a/c casing but at least she’s not home in front of the TV. On the other hand, we have guys who are completely crippled after years of delivering, who are committed to their job and customers. My boyfriend for example has a right leg that looks like he’s been riding horses his whole life, the entire bottom of his spine and hip are locked and he has a hernia. I’m a 52 year old female and yes I hurt, but I’m not staying home. Work ethics vary, but most people wouldn’t want to do what we do (dealing with management and threats, the weather, the going to bed at 8pm because you’re exhausted, the no family life). USPS is based on the military…. take it from there.
I work at a pretty large office and have people injured(citty carriers) all the time. I know they are not fakers…because I know the nature of the job. I am sure that it goes on at some places but for the most part people are hurt. Lots of them don’t even report it due to the problems of other employess, management and workmans comp. A prime example is a lady in our office hurt her back, took sick leave for her surgery even though it was work related. Two men retired over the 3 or so years only to go and get knee replcement surgery…..days after they retired. Some people are so loyal to the PO that they work through their injuries on a daily basis. Look at how we are treated by our mangement!!!! Loyal to a bunch of crap-holes who only care about making your lives miserable! My knees, back, hips, feet bother me and I’ll be durned if I’ll be one of the suckas!!! If I get hurt so bad I am unable to preform duties, I WILL BE ON WC TO PAY FOR IT~! Whats up with the post that says that the USPS makes an injured girl walk to work? Unless she lost her license….don’t see that happening…now maybe that is something you should be looking into! Maybe she’s a management buddy and they are just covering for her so she can work! As for walking house to house…STUPID and time consuming…..time for a cluster or PO BOX. Save Money USPS….all walking routes are dangerous! I can see Businesses getting walking service as needed, and smaller streets, but other than that….you know the drill. I know I wouldn’t have a job….but what if the USPS starts to charge for house delivery as they do a PO BOX? I think that should happen in the best interest of the USPS. I pay for them to get my garbage!
Congratulations, George! You are part of the fake 90%, therefore you think that the majority is like you. Give me a break!
Yeah sure postal managers treat us like if we were dogs,dragging us around.. What’s worse? They treated me worsen cuz I am deaf… They thought I don’t know how to report to owcp….screw them… Thank god, we deaf employee can get social securities disability real easy…..
of course mgmt causes injuires by being so cruel to employees below them.
i was very fast carrier who loved the job (ptf and te). i was denied breaks, pushed beyond reason, mentally harrassed, verbally abused. when i reported supe for denying break i was pushed harder til i got an injury. then fired. hate the evil mgt. so outdated. why in the world are people so dumb! its just a dumb job. why make it a miltary situation? why make it a war? so inhumane. so pointless. so devil like. the union people are just as bad. they dont help, they hurt. all of you …morons!
Not sure what kind of managers these people have, all the managers at my plant are extremely nice. You guys think that people at USPS work hard why don’t you try working at an Amazon warehouse, where every move you make is actually registered on a computer and if you aren’t hitting or exceeding rates you get written up and then fired.
Isn’t there a running joke that people at USPS don’t work? I don’t see that at the plant I work at, but the ones who help customers are some of the slowest people on the planet. I saw an Asian lady take 5 minutes to walk 10 feet and put a package in a bin once, meanwhile 20 customers were lining up waiting to have done what should take about 2 minutes each person.
All of the people who just think 90% are fake must be Doctors themselves. I haven’t seen any fake or truth facts. People aren’t machines and the job does stress the body. I don’t look for a dog to bite me to get out of work. But if I get hurt working I don;t intentionally get hurt.
I do think that some postal employees are fakers with the injuries……………..maybe they were, before the NRAC got involved with firing hurt workers…yes real workers that were actually injured being walked off the job. Now anyone that has a claim is a person who is actually hurt. You would have to be a moron to put in a fake claim these days. I got hurt yrs ago on the Parcel Bundle Sorter, and could not work on a machine for a long time. The pain never goes away, even yrs later. I have to work with a big wrist splint on my wrist. With the NRAC doing their evil, I thought it was best if I went back to full duty….in pain or not. Well right after I did this, management and the clerks there at this station I worked at decided to “get even” with me for being on limited duty, and they wouldnt help me, or send help for me to help with things, I was cussed out by one clerk who got in my face and told me to never ever ask him for any help…….EVER! The supervisor/manager did nothing about it. They probably all laughed because I was struggling to get the mail out at that time. I just did it one day at a time because these people truly made my life he…. for a long time.I thought I was going to have a nervous breakdown. Well I got one of em back. He ended up (the one that told me to never ask him for help) getting hurt really bad. I was behind him and I saw it happen, so I know it was legitimate. About 6 months later….guess what? Hes walked out the door by the evil NRC because he cant go back to full duty, and they claim they have no light duty work for him. Hmmmm wonder if he gets the workers comp to sit at home. From what I hear they dont want to pay you either because they feel the PO has the light duty work and doesnt want to give it. Talk about a catch 22. Anyway I bet he thinks about me, and how nasty he was to me that day, and on many other days…………..all because I was an injured employee. No one ever thinks its going to be them. Their number comes up one day, when you are least expecting it. As for the mental anguish, well I have been under doctors care for the last 20 yrs because of bad nerves, anxiety, depression, social disorder…..I blame the PO for all of this. I have been harassed, yelled and screamed at, bullied and talked down to by managers/supervisors. I have spent alot of time in the bathroom due to being so upset I cannot perform my duties. They are mostly incompetent
morons that love the power the job gives them. I secretly hope that in this bad time of the post office woes, that they are yelled and screamed at by their bosses. I hope they are talked down to…criticized and told to do the job of 4 people, like they seem to think we can do. Thats the most joy I can get from this job. Personally if they offered me 30,000, I think I would take it and go. I am sick of the rude people I am forced to work with, the nastiness of management, the yelling and brow beating if we have to take sick leave. They practically act like you are lying to them, even if you have asthma or some other chronic disease. They make you sick!!!!! Its a miracle that I have made it this far. I never thought that I would be able to do it. The first 6 yrs were hell, then it got better because managers were getting shot at….so they changed for awhile. Now its back to the way it was..I am just waiting to see how many people “lose it and start shooting them again”. Maybe then in will change again. You cant treat employees the way we are treated and expect them to do their best. I for one, work much slower when I am upset. Why should I get the mail done better, faster and make them look better when I am treated like crap? Ok enough of this stuff. All you out there know what I am talking about.
They seem to make it a priority at putting individuals in a supervisor position that enjoy intimidating, harassing, and bullying others. We have one of those and she enjoys it. She acts nice and friendly to your face and then turns around and gossips about everyone in the office. She is also rude to customers on the phone. She and I have had a few “discussions.” I can’t think of anyone in the office that she hasn’t yelled at. I’m not asking for a perfect boss. Whether I like my job or not if my immediate supervisor acts in this manner then I like my job a whole lot less. For those that don’t know much about what we do (i’m a rural carrier) it may sound/seem easy but it can be very physically demanding with the repetitive motions and mentally demanding when your supervisor acts in an unprofessional manner. I’m an adult, treat me like one. I’m also very capable at doing my job. I don’t need you bellyaching at me because someone else got you mad. God Bless
Potal policy. Promote them to their highest level of incompetency.
Peter – if you will cleanup your comments and resubmit we will post them. Please – do not use vulgar language…PEN is a ‘G’ rated site.
Postal Employee Network
I think it is extremely irresponsible for members on both sides to stereotype “all” managers or craft employees. I am a city carrier and enjoy my fellow workers both craft and management. All management are NOT haters and jerks. Likewise not ALL craft employees are lazy bums. Both sides need to clean up their perceptions and grow up. We have no problems in our office because we act like adults and respect each other. Grow up!!!
hey, 4 people committed discrimination and fraud against me and a supervisor committed discrimination fraud and discrimination , fraud and wrongful termination !! I am filing a cliam against the usps in oakland;ca in federal district civil court !!!!!
WOW! Brad that sounds too unbelievable, Where do you work, the land of OZ? Anyway, they’re fakers & they’re real people who just can’t take it any longer. We had one of our own have a heartattack just the other day…IN the office. This person is 60 yrs old & you have management riding him & others his age about pivoting. We have people that’s been here for 40 yrs(that’s longer than I’ve been on this earth) & still have to pivot. What’s the purpose of having seniority. I’ve been carrying mail for over 13 yrs now & I have aches & pains in places I didn’t know could have aches & pains. Buttock, leg, (the pain in my leg extends down a nerve from the pain in my buttock), back , hand, let me see did I miss any body parts, oh! pain in my neck from the bag, pain in my head from the nags( oh you know I had to include supervisors) ,foot, hip& never all at the same time something hurts this day something else hurt that day . When I tell my Dr. about my pains they just say “when you’re in pain then come in” but the pain doesn’t last long enough to bother going in. I just can’t see how people who has been here for 20, 30, & 40 yrs did it. With all my ailments I don’t see how my body is going to last. Not to mention by the end of my day, I’m walking like I’m 99 1/2 yrs old because my legs are in so much pain. Oh! can I add that the MAJORITY of our supervisors NEVER carried mail! Like 99% of them. So in closing, I’ll have to concur with this article about ‘working for the U.S.P.S. is bad for your health . OK I’m going to soak now
People who don’t work for the post office have no idea what it’s like. Some, not all, of the managers are just plain evil. But then again, their supervisors are evil times two. I heard my supervisor’s boss yell at her across the workroom floor that if she didnt know how to do her job, just to go home. Funny thing is she left ill that night. So what did it gain him to embarrass his employee in front of the people she has to supervise. The managers don’t think about their actions in advance they just act. That is why large percentage of USPS employees (supervisors included) are under care of physician for anxiety and depression. We need outside eyes looking at postal management to ever make any productive change. Not just BS service talks that dont mean anything.
I am in agreement with you 150%. The management is malicious and devious. If an employee is opinionated or uses their voice to speak up for themselves they become are a target of manufactured lies. I have contacted the OPM and the DOL in Washington, DC for assistance with an interal investigation only to be told to go through the USPS/OIG. I am in Northern VA. The management at the USPS are so bold and vindictive with the cruelest intentions, and they are not being held accountable.
Is the USPS upper management reading the posted comments? The USPS is in severe decline because the foundation that holds it together is cracked. The USPS is broken from the top to the bottom. The USPS needs an overhaul immediately. Management engaging in sexual activity to be advanced, it is unethical but very real. Wrongful terminations are common. EEOC complaints are staggering. The employees dare not to speak up because they fear retaliation. The bold ones have more than likely been fired or on their way to being fired. Exposure for the corruption will come. The employees who help hold the USPS together need to be heard. We are desperately seeking assistance. The surveys are not resolving the internal problems that are out of control.
When I first started working as an RCA, I was astonished at the dangerous and difficult nature of the job. I was almost killed by a semi during my first weeks of work. We cannot meet time requirements without breaking all the safety rules and putting ourselves in grave danger. And on top of that, I was not and am not allowed to be sick. Ever. We are harassed to kingdom come for taking sick leave. One of the other RCA’s was investigated for taking sick leave which I know was legitimate. Another one recently quit because she was near to having a nervous breakdown after management didn’t accept that a car wreck she had during work was not her fault, even though it was all corroborated by the cops. Now I’m under investigation before I’ve even been a year in the service for a mistake I make doing a job that is not even mine (clerking) to help my manager out of a bind. It’s possible I could be fired.
So, yes. It’s a toxic environment and I want out.
I am a former manager in the usps and do understand this rca:s plight. the management team’s running the po are not capable nor do they want to go out to the ao’s and work. all they do is sit back in there office’s and wait for clerks, carriersor field managers to do something they consider wrong and try to fire them and cause undo stress to these employee’s families for no other reason other than make there positions seem like they are important. without these rca’s clerks, carriers and field managers the postal service would be in worse condition than it is in now. instead of harassing these hard working people get rid of these upper mangement waste and the po would be much better off.
I am a 59 year old carrier with 25 years as a city carrier on a walking route.In all that time I have seen my share of injuries and incompetent ignorant postal supervisors.Let me relate the incident that happened to me this week and you judge the kind of sub-humans we work for. Since I have suffered 2 debilitating IOD’s in the past year I have been treated like some kind of leper. This past Thursday I was on my rt. when 2 supervisors came out to me and started grilling me with the usual postal bs.One minute before they arrived my lawyer called to inform me my home was not only in foreclosure but was being auctioned on 8/23.I was very upset and told my boss to please wait to grill me at a better time.He waited alright by placing me on emergency non-duty status without pay basically firing me. Nice folks HUH?
Paul Ross I am a 59 year old city carrier with 25 years of sevice.I couldn”t agree more that working for USPS is a hazard to your health. Anyone who disagrees with that is either mgmt. or blind. Stress anxiety and injury make you old before your time. Postal managers(not all) are atotal disgrace to the job. Here is an example.As stated at 59 it has been not getting easier to do the job.Last Monday as I sat in my vehicle I recieved devastating news that my home was in foreclosure with a 3 week auction sale date.I was mortified and in taers when my 2 managers appeared at my car grilling me about clock hits.I asked if they would please let me calm down before they grilledme further. They persisted I went home and now I an on Emergency off duty with no pay. What kind of slime are these people.
My boyfriend is a temp worker who just tripped at work and sprained his ankle. They forced him to go to the emergency room and file workman comp. He was only off for one day and now the post office is trying to fire him for negligence stating he did not assess the area properly. Any advise?
Your boyfriend needs to be the one asking is there anything he can do – but, you/he should post his question in our clerk, carrier, or mail handler forum. PEN
I work for the postal service since I was 17yrs old. I done just about any and everything in the postal service. I was hurt in 1994 for and I am still hurting for those who say that we should have recovered you work for the postal service doubt if you could make it a year. When the pressures and the aniexty, stress that the job places on you its something you just could not imagine. it not like the outside world it’s in a world of it own. then you have to deal with the outside world to. Now talk to about the management they have people in management that can not manage that’s been injured themself or could not carry mail or could not clerk themselfs telling you how to work and live. They have not intellect, no human skills and no ethics. Now what?
I have been a loyal city carrier for 18yrs. The more you do, the more they expect! It has gotten to the point of C Y A–I learned that from years in the military! The people you can trust are few, and customers are the Only thing I look forward to everyday! It’s kind of ironic how the customers 99.9 % of them, as well as the dogs, seem to appreciate the work we do! Too bad the management has to lie and play their numbers games. So much for V O E surveys being anonymous also!