April 14, 2010
by Dr. S. Musacco
Dr. Steve Musacco is a Ph.D. in organizational psychology, a M.S. in Counseling, and a B.A. in psychology. He’s been licensed as a Marriage and Family Therapist and completed Coachu’s coaching program. He also worked for the postal service for 30 years.
Dr. Musacco said:
Prior to my retirement from the USPS, at a former district I worked for, there were three suicides within a two year period that I concluded were contributed to in significant part by how these employees were treated in the workplace. The third employee, a city letter carrier, fatally shot himself in a postal jeep and left a letter stating that he could no longer take the job. The night before he committed suicide he told his wife he did not know if he would be able to handle his job anymore. How do I know? His wife told me this one day after his suicide. He was one of the best employees in the office. The District Manager and I interviewed his coworkers after his death, and they stated he would urinate in a bottle while on delivery route for fear he would not meet an artificial deadline set by postal management. During the interviews, one of the postal supervisors told the District Manager and me that the day before the suicide she gave a letter to all the city letter carriers in the station, noting that any future over time used for their routes would be considered unacceptable performance. The suicide at the Gastonia postal facility was the second since December 2005.
Many people have asked: Why is there so much stress and workplace tragedies in the U.S. Postal Service? The answer to these questions is because the postal culture embraces and reflects core values that center on achieving bottom-line results with little or no regard for employee participation, respect, dignity, or fairness. Additionally, there is little or no accountability for the actions of top management in the Postal Service. Many postal facilities consequently have toxic work environments, and they can be a catalyst or trigger for serious acts of workplace violence, including homicide and suicide. The associated rewards system for behavior consistent with the postal culture core values, moreover, enables systemic organizational and individual bullying of employees at all levels of the organization.
I define a toxic workplace environment as a workplace where there is a high incidence of stress-related illnesses. These stress-related illnesses are manifested by psychological and physical deterioration. In other words, these types of environments seriously erode employees’ health and well-being. The primary factors contributing to a toxic workplace environment are high job demands, low job control, and low social support. Low social support generally entails a lack of respect and validation of employees’ dignity by their “superiors”. It also oftentimes includes organizational practices and methods that encourage the bullying of employees to meet corporate goals.
Dr. Steve Musacco
Beyond Going Postal
Submitted by:
Eric L. Wattree
wattree.blogspot.com
Ewattree@Gmail.com
I am a 60 year old woman who lost my job last summer, was on unemployment for 14 weeks while trying to find another job. By Christmas time, I saw many temp positions for mail carrier associates and actually applied for an RCA position, which in retrospect, was insane. I jumped through all the hoops and made it into the case, and onto the road. Everyone else around me was either much younger or close to retirement, but I needed to “pay my bills”, so I gave it all I had. I realized that they must have hired me because of my demographic, cannot discriminate due to age. I soon understood the treatment of RCA’s by the USPS. One thing to hear them tell you all the expectations, another to experience it. After about 6 weeks, I still was not able to fully complete my route and beat the clock, except for about 4 times. I always needed assistance to finish, although I was slowly making progress.They were working me about 4 days a week.I attribute my lack of success to yes, my age, and my vehicle which was very difficult to work out of because I had to lift my right leg over the console at every dismount, which was not easy all day long, and my car did get very beat up btw. It was the most stressful thing I’d ever done.
So my point I wish to make is, I saw that RCA’s had a long road ahead to even start to receive any kind of benefits,no option even to take a Saturday off every once in a while and basically they are on the front lines.These are human beings, not machines. Many like myself have to straddle in their own vehicles, speeding, not wearing any seatbelt, staring at the rear view mirror, as you are barreling down the road at sometimes 55 mph, on like highways that lead into the neighborhoods, darting in and out between big semis speeding down the highway. Seriously dangerous conditions, and I am amazed that in 2019, they still allow this, the straddling that is. I initially asked my postmaster “isn’t that illegal?” and she replied, “honey , they have been doing that for a long time.”To me, it is criminal. I know that for years carriers have started at the bottom, and gradually worked their way up, and have truly paid their dues, but I also believe that things can change for the better for everyone. If they made more positive changes for people entering as RCA’s , they might have more applicants. All I saw is that from upper management to our managers to us, is that they only care about the bottom line, and not about people and their safety. SAFETY is a joke there, especially for RCA’s. When they said be safe out there, I just laughed, because what I was doing was anything but safe, and they know it. I mean the police even look the other way. If that is not corruption, what is?
I really don’t know how much or if any profit that the USPS makes, but IF they could wake up to the times that are NOW, and make changes to care for people in the workplace above the bottom line they might surprisingly have better results all around. When people are treated well, and they can believe that the the organization really does care, then you get a happier workplace, less stress and more success.I know that people do like being RCA’s and are able to reach and exceed the milestones put in front of them, I just don’t see why it has has be so hard in the first place any more.
I am amazed to see all the continuous stream of comments about the treatment of the USPS to its frontline employees especially, and the lack of accommodation for them. A government agency, and serious organizational and management problems that trickle down.It encrusted. Guess I am not surprised. In this day and age, things need to change.
I do feel that if the USPS could at least assist and help initial RCA’s get into a vehicle that is safe and RHD where they can wear a seat belt, that’d be a step in the right direction, and it would help them perform the job more efficiently and safely from the start.
So I have had my say, at least. Thanks for listening.
post office should promote employees on merits instead of promoting bad employees who climb the ladder on good employees sweat and tears. It is so unethical, unprofessional, dishonest and should never happen. Post Office has very good rules and regulations but what good it can do if you are handing it to wrong doers.
Finally retired after 35 years (31 post office 4 years navy). The last 10 I went to work with a headache. The last straw was when a new manager told me to shut up and face my case. Stress level dropped but they still owe me 19 hours. Had to file a grievance and won. Three pay periods later and still no check. Management and union useless. When you promote bad carriers and clerks this is what you get. One of the best sayings I have heard, and it fits well for the post office, is fed-up move up.
Well, if it’s any consolation to you at all, it is just as bad with management and such in other Government organizations. We are all getting the same “promote those who have the piece of paper” or “those that play the political game” or “those who are related to each other or are of a certain race or sorority”. The ethics training we all have to take each year is not followed in the least by most of management nor the employees. Sad…really sad. From a 30+ year Gov employee.
I just quit after 13 years. I was RCA for 8 years and regular for the rest. I wanted to be a postmaster someday, I admired the idea. When I realized I had a better chance of becoming an elite navy seal and winning a Purple Heart award, I started to make other plans. I had a bachelors degree in business administration by now, yes, to help move up in the post office. Really. Marymount California university.What’s a girl to do??? 1. Get mad 2. Get waitress job at bbq restaurant 3. Quit post office and go to school to be a registered nurse $50 an hour. That is what I am doing, I actually quit last week. It was hard! I am 44,Make appointment at local junior college and say, what do I need to do to get what I want? Don,t forget to apply for fafsa, FREE money from government for school even with good income. Counselor and financial aid can help you apply. This my story.
This is regarding my ca2 form for my right carpal tunnel syndrome in my right arm.
Relevant duties include grasping hundreds of letters and flats and inserting them into precise positions in a vertical case using fine manipulation. Then, upon completion of this, the hundreds of items must then be taken out of the case by grabbing them in handfuls, using sufficient force to maintain their positional integrity, banding into bundles, then traying.
Delivering the mail on the street entails similar physical activities, grabbing handfuls and armfuls of mail of varying sizes, fingering the letters and flats, collating them, then depositing them into varying receptacles. Many of the receptacles on my particular route are, in my opinion, undersized for the average mail deposited, thus requiring bending, scrunching, and using extra force to accomplish the deposits. The above repetitive activities over the course of an eight hour shift cause fatigue and pain in my right arm and forearm.
The coup de gras; the reason my forearm has gotten to the point that I feel I need to have medical intervention; I’ve come to conclude; is due to the mail anomaly that I deliver each week: the Red Plum circular. I deliver over 500 of these each week; sometimes all in one shift, and sometimes half on one day, and half the next day. These are a “flat”-sized circular, consisting of UNBOUND quantities of advertising. These require much extra grabbing force, as one can surely understand, to keep all this together, and from becoming a rather large litter spill (this factor is substantially increased if there is any wind at all to contend with) as the item is withdrawn from the satchel. It, along with the other mail consisting of letters and flats of varying sizes, must be deposited in before mentioned, in my opinion, undersized mail receptacles, with the requisite extra force needed to bend, scrunch, and shove.
There are probably many, like me, with similar symptoms, caused, or at least exacerbated, by these Red Plums. I might suggest that the USPS might do well to negotiate with the Red Plum publishers, that the publisher should somehow bind their circulars; perhaps by stapling or such. This might add some cost to the publisher, but, perhaps some reduction in the costs of demoralizing injuries for the USPS. I say demoralizing because it appears to us carriers that a fix of as little as a couple of staples would greatly decrease the incidence and severity of injury.
Okay so, to summarize; all this grabbing grasping holding, manipulating, bending, scrunching; are necessary parts of the job; and some carriers could probably get through right ’til retirement without ever having to file a ca2 form or claim some sort of disability against the Postal Service; however, I postulate that these numbers can be greatly reduced by as little a thing as a staple or two to hold the Redplum publication together as a unit whereby greatly lessening the exertion necessary to manipulate them as already described.
I will say that if things dont change soon that i may be in the national headlines. Forced back to work while still injured from a car accident and told i can not continue with treatments because the doctor that works for owcp cleared me to return to full duty with no limitations. Can not get anything for pain either. Made calls to local senator and representative but told they can not tell other agencies what to do. My lawyer is a joke as well. I am at the end of my rope. The thoughts that have been going through my head i can not say to anyone. I have applied for disability retirerment but if i dont get it is what may cause me to snap. I have to put food on the table and in this economy where else can a body turn to make a living wage. This is just me screaming for someone to step up and help me before i fall off the cliff.
Look at all of the stealing and theft going on just in the last few months. Look at the shrinking mail volume and how many billions of dollars that are lost every quarter. What a disaster the once mighty USPS has become. You treat hard workers like crap and encourage the lazy. This is my final post as I realize the system is too big for a few decent voices to change it. I gave it my all and was disgraced by lazy people including the NALC (of whom I once actually believed were legit). There comes a time when we all have to turn the page and I thank God I am still alive. Good luck and God bless the hard working carriers and clerks who give it their all. Just remember, when you retire you are just a government number getting a pension. My father always told me to “stay in the military” and I should’ve listened to him. Adios!!!!!!!!!
I have been retired from the Post Office for 10 years now. I was lucky, I was on the old Civil Service Retirement system, the new FERS isn’t near as good. I have good health benefits, and I own my home free and clear. All in all I have done well, compared to most workers, since I managed to make it until retirement. When they offered the early out I took it since it only cost me a few months, which was made up by all the sick leave I had accumulated. Anyone who tells you it is a gravy job, should try doing it and see how long they last. I remember a man who said he waited 2 years to get the job of city carrier, and quit after one day. He said it wasn’t what he thought it would be. If you get paid that kind of money with little or no job skills, you have to figure there is a catch somewhere.
Resigned as cca after 5th day of “trainibg”. 5th day was “shadow day”, following carrier who took zero breaks. No thank you. I’m not going to be a slave.
Waited 2 weeks for today’s paycheck and they shorted me 12 hours and i have to wait 2 more weeks for it.
Any other employer has to pay you within 72 hrs if you quit.
Within the last 6 months I have ran into 3 different carriers that I worked with who had between 5 to 15 years seniority on the job who have ALL resigned from the Postal Service. They were all super workers that any company would appreciate having. They all chose other paths in their life because they didn’t want to be “stuck” when they reached close to 40 years old with a job they absolutely hate and they easily saw the toll that it took on some us older guys who somehow made it through. I applaud them and I am sure that this is a trend that is happening in many other offices throughout the US. The Postal Service will soon be stuck with all the crap at the bottom of the barrel who don’t give a damn about anything except doing as little as possible and padding their paychecks from what pretty soon might be an empty pool of money. This was actually a “dream job” for many veterans back in the day. That dream turned very ugly about 20 years ago when the bullying became rampant and the once mighty union (NALC) starting electing officers who are afraid to speak up when they should. If you are a carrier who feels stuck with no one to turn to, I encourage you to use your local Office of Congress. I learned the hard way that the USPS, NALC, EEO, EAP, etc. are all on the same merry go round. Citizens, veterans and voters, you have every right to use your local Congress office if you see something that is waaaaay out of line. There is nothing that burns me more than seeing a good, dedicated worker being bullied by a zero work ethic piece of management garbage that couldn’t do the job themselves.
It’s ok
I find it quite ironic that I received a letter in the mail from USPS HRSC offering me a CCA holiday position during the month of December. The same company that threw me out the door after I busted my rear end for them for over 30 years only to end up on a surgery table upon retirement. The same company that laughed at me and ridiculed me for having a work ethic. The same company that provided a small party and a cake for the rear end kissers that retired before me and left me hanging to dry. Go find someone else to make a fool of, I’ll be drinking beer with with hot women in SE Asia this holiday season. God only knows of the dues that I paid for this company. Merry Christmas…….Hello Thailand!
This is absolutely true….I quit due to the stress issues and being bullied by management. You ask for help and the people that suppose to have your back just shuffles you around. My stress level has ceased and doing ALOT better. God bless all of you that have to deal with Ess situations!!
Dear Namiki,
The post office is a ridiculous environment mostly unseen by the public. I often feel as though National Geographic should setup a camouflage observation platform and film the absurd interactions between management and employees. It is the most unprofessional and uneducated and unskilled multi-billion dollar business in the world. It is a wasteland of disrespectful behavior from one end to the other. Don’t come here to work and do not let anyone you care about come here to work. I am ashamed to come in the door every day. It is an insult to anyone’s intelligence to be an employee of the modern day post office.
We’re worse than animals.
I applied for PSE position at a local post-office and got a call for an interview. After reading all these comments (and the comments everywhere else) I would avoid USPS as plague…
The management where I work is absolutely horrible!!!! Unfortunately this man took his own life because of it suppose he decided to go the other route and killed the person he had the problem with and others. The sad part is although he would suffer the consequences no one will look into what drove him to it, he is the one who gets my sympathy. Management treats people like shit because it has been ALLOWED for a long time at that!!! When it stops being allowed then there will be better results. You’re told to be treated with dignity and respect when you’re hired but that is pure bs. Your carriers should be and are the heart of the post office NO MATTER WHAT LEVEL OR POSITION YOU HAVE. As the person stated above. Give a clean and comfortable work environment( especially the bathrooms cause they are atrocious and need a major upgrade!!), speak with kindness and compassion and stop treating folks like liabilities and cattle. I don’t know what’s wrong with folks. You never know what a person is going through and to be talked to like a dog at work not knowing when someone will reach their breaking point, then there are casualties. I’m sure something can be done other than sharing opinions on a website or blog, there is strength in numbers folks just need to get the nerve and hold the right people accountable. In August of 1986, 14 people were innocent casualties of a disgruntled employee and the latest December of last yr. Stop blaming a person’s mental state cause that’s not always the case , working there I witness alot of verbal abuse then to be told you’re being let go, that’s enough to make anyone snap. Some folks have low tolerance levels and most want to be treated with the dignity and respect the USPS claims their employees deserve, period!!!! Someone of a higher authority needs to look into the deeper root of the problem and fix the situation ASAP! This cannot continue or there are going to be more stories like this, unfortunately.
Year after year they find new ways of doing old things instead of focusing on what is working and sticking with that they just keep making changes for the sake of change. The big concerns six months ago are no longer mentioned. The new concerns are things that don’t make any difference to productivity or improving mail delivery. They just keep coming up with new terms and plans with fancy names like mentoring and lean six sigma with within a few months will fall by the wayside just like all the dozens of other lame ideas of the past. What they need to be doing is focusing on the employee and treating the employee with dignity and respect therefor creating a higher quality of life while at work. Happy employees treat each other with dignity but unhappy employees look for ways to make other people unhappy too. Focus on communicating with the rank and file employee. Find out what they need to do their job. Find out what would make their work day more bearable.
Clean the bathrooms. Give us a place to was our lunch plates. Give us a swing room with edible food. Give us a clean work environment. Speak to us with kindness and compassion. Stop treating us like liabilities.
I’ve been a PSE here in a level 21 office for a while – going on about 5 years and I can say management is literally a rotating door, and none of them are qualified for their roles. They understand nothing of postal rules or regulations, they would rather force a problem to someone down the road than actually deal with it at the source – because they are slaves to reports and their MPOOs. And yeah – it’s a systemically toxic atmosphere. I work 60-70 hours a week basically 12 hours every day, 6 days a week; throw parcels in the morning – help with boxing mail at the main office and an RMPO and, help the window during the day and dispatch the trucks at the end of the day. All of this on one employee is super exhausting and they still refuse to hire any sort of help, siting that we have “over” the amount of hours necessary to perform our duties despite us having a 15 minute line out the door 100% of the day and always being late on SPM. They apportion clerk help based on total district employee count so there are always localities that are totally understaffed. The problem is that managers basically have no say in how an office is run anymore – everything is controlled at the district level, and all the managers want to do is file their reports and stay off the naughty list by any means. Instead of a constructive and helpful atmosphere it forces managers to be strict and spontaneous. Everyday they they are stormed with several emails telling them how much they failed to be perfect, and that they better get it done correctly the next day or else. It’s just such a terrible mentality. There is never a “good” communication with a boss because the only reason a boss would ever confront you on anything is if you did it wrong or not in time.
And the best part is that I am a PSE, worked here for 5 years, have qualifications for BMEU and SSA, RSS trained, basically run WebBats at 2 stations, run HAZMAT and RFS and even with all of that I will NEVER become career, because PSE’s are considered “temporary” assets and “aren’t worth the investment” (yes literally been told this before). How can they continue to justify that PSE’s are temporary when we work 60 hour weeks?
I remember one time I was fixing a problem with a 1412 and when I talking to the accounting specialist from district on the phone, she was saying “Yeah, we got to protect that revenue for our retirement.” And I said “Well I’m a PSE and I don’t get retirement.” And she literally replied with. “Oh yeah, you’re just a PSE, well at least you’re protecting my retirement.” It frustrates me when they belittle coworkers and enforce hierarchies like this.
I truly hope that the Trump people take a hard look into the Postal Service and start cleaning up all of these phony positions (city manager, postmaster, area director, too many janitors for a small area, bosses of janitors who look the other way, vice president and second vice president of this and that, etc., etc.). Years ago, they finally got rid of the superintendent position which was someone in between the station manager and the floor supervisor. The last one I knew of walked around the building outside all day smoking cigarettes like a chimney. Of course, he passed away before he could enjoy retirement. The carriers and clerks that bust their rear ends don’t deserve to even look at all this phony, lazy garbage. I still get a kick out of some area director who shows up once every few years in a suit and doesn’t say anything and seems to have zero input and then gets promoted for God knows what. Like I said, I hope Mr. Trump and his staff take a good look at all of the waste and abuse that has been going on for years and starts to clean house.
Building maintenance is a joke. Once every month or two I see a guy walk around with a long wooden stick which he uses to test the emergency power failure lights. In the summer time there is a guy who cuts the grass. He doesn’t even pick up the trash before he runs over it with the mower scattering it into a thousand pieces.
The bathrooms are so filthy I hate to even go in there. The floors are always nasty with black silt along with the walls, sinks, and toilets. It’s disgusting to have to work in a facility with such dilapidated conditions. I have no idea what maintenance is doing all day every day but it is not maintaining the work environment in any way. The roof leaks and the ceiling tiles have brown puddle stains that have been there for years. The floor tiles are breaking up from the floor literally fragmenting into pieces to the point where they are tripping hazards. I don’t even know how many maintenance supervisors there are in this facility but I would say at least 8. We have the head maintenance supervisor and then there are midlevel maintenance supervisors and then there are front line maintenance supervisors so yeah I’d guess there are at least 8 but more likely 10. I don’t know why we need 8 – 10 maintenance supervisors when they obviously are not managing any operations that relate to keeping the building clean or “maintained.” I am surprised however when I see the head maintenance supervisor and they seem to be under some sort of stress. I don’t understand how there could be any stress involved in an operation where nothing seems to be happening on a regular basis. The custodial maintenance crew are always hiding out in various places but mainly in the men’s locker room. I also see them in the swing room and in the outside designated smoking area. I rarely see one with a broom or a mop in hand. I have a pile of dust and dirt that has been in the same place for the last 3 months that has not even been disturbed in the slightest bit. It is right out in the open where anyone could see it well enough to sweep it up but it is still there. It’s gross. Whenever a custodian does come through as if they are cleaning I like to time them with my watch just to see how much time they spend in my particular area. Usually they are here for less than 3 minutes. I actually mentioned that to one of the supervisors about how little time the custodians spend cleaning the unit and the supervisor defended them by saying that “they don’t get much time for that.” I have no idea what that even means. That is what they do, clean. How could they NOT have much time for cleaning? So I realized that it’s not just the custodians that are the problems but it’s the managers who are enabling their poor performance.
Sandy B.,
For many years I would be the first carrier to arrive at work (about 30 minutes early), I liked to sit in the break room or janitor’s closet and drink a Vitamin Water and just relax and get myself mentally ready for another long day. I remembered how depressed I was when I had about 15 years left in my career and thinking that special day of retirement would never come. When I had about 4 years left, I had one of the most dreaded bully supervisors tell me that I was coming into work too early and she told me not to do it any more. I asked her what the minimum time was that a person could show up for work (what about many people who came in about 7 or 8 minutes early?) Are we all to wait outside until exactly 7 A.M. and then enter the building? From that day on, I cared about nothing. All the fun was gone from the job, I didn’t even enjoy the relationship with my co-workers or customers any more. All the hard work ethics that my parents taught me as a kid didn’t seem to matter any more. I started showing up to work at the last possible second and stayed away from work as much as I could. If a doctor put me off for exactly 6 weeks after a surgery, I took the entire 6 weeks instead of trying to push myself back in 4 or 5 weeks. I always prided myself with a hard work ethic, my bosses in the military appreciated them, the Post Office disgraced me because of them. I knew a carrier who complained of horrible foot pain after 2 years of carrying mail. He is now a Postmaster. He kissed the bosses rear end until he got himself out of carrying, good for him. Good luck when you look in the mirror.
My coworker disappears several times a day. My coworker walks off from her work location without saying anything to anyone and stays gone for 45 minutes, 1 hour, and 2 hours. I am afraid to complain to my supervisor because I believe that my coworker is related to people in management. If I complain then instead of correcting the problem the managers will screw with me like they have in the past. There is so much nepotism here and a network of those people who tend to show favoritism to others in the same demographic group. I have to find a better way of coping with these negligent conditions. I think what I will do is the most lousy job as possible. I think I will do everything I can to make my work area fail. I will simply neglect to do the work of 2-3 people anymore. My attendance is excellent so I’ll wait until we’re short staffed the most and call in sick on those days just to help magnify the problem. Instead of reporting the problem I will just sandbag it.
Doug 27,
I can not believe your response because it is almost exactly as what happened in our station. They hired a two-bit outfit to wash our vehicles and would leave the interior soaking wet to a point that it would be impossible to keep some parcels from getting saturated and ruined. There is NO accountability at all for what goes on. I am still trying to figure out where they get these managers from. In the military you meet people from all walks of life but they are decent human beings when you break it all down. I have NEVER seen people like I have seen in the Post Office. They sell their souls to the devil to become managers because actual work scares them to death. Where do they come from? Like one guy once told me, many managers with college degrees have failed elsewhere because how many people go to college to get a 4 year degree with the goal of working at a Post Office?
GI Joe,
Our facility used to have a contract with a two bit outfit that was supposed to clean our postal vehicles once a week. They did a horrible job because they didn’t even use a water hose just spray bottles and rags. One evening I noticed the contractor had brought his children in to help and some how they had made it into the facility and were pilfering the men’s lockers. I reported it to the supervisor but he did nothing.
One manager, at another facility, actually cornered me one day and reprimanded me because my vehicle was so dirty it was an embarrassment to the Post Office. I informed that manager that we were paying a contractor to clean the vehicles. She said she expected me to take it to a car was and pay with my own money to get it cleaned. I did not. What she really expected was for me to fight back and say something disrespectful so she could file some other violation against me. She literally asked me why I did say anything in my defense. I explained how it is best to keep my mouth shut when approached by a no win situation. She then later harassed me by sending me an email of someone washing a postal vehicle. I ignored this as well.
As the years go by I’ve realized my whole career has been a slow steady degradation of my soul as a result of unqualified managers who are allowed to continually inflict misery on employees like me. Any of you, young or old, especially newly hired employees, if you want to make a career out of the USPS then heed my advice, beyond all else, keep your mouth shut at all cost. If you speak up you will be punished and harassed without mercy.
The complaints that I have filed at local, district, and national levels have been written so articulately that the managers responding to my complaints don’t believe that I actually wrote the complaint. They believe I had someone else write them for me.
The final straw for me was when I had to notify the FBI about physical threats against me that the postal managers refused to investigate.
I dislike this place to a degree that I can’t explain. It’s a complete miracle (or a curse) that I have not been fired by now. I hope I can retire before I die of a heart attack. Either way will be a relief I guess. Good luck to the rest of you.
How about when you come back from a 3 day break or a vacation and the first thing that you notice as you are driving into the parking lot is that the postal vehicle that you always use is missing? Then, the boss gives you a spare vehicle that has a few drops of gas, filthy windows that you can barely see out of, a few banana and orange peels on the floor and a bunch of change of address cards stuck into the sun visor that have been recolored by the sun the last 10 years? This company just oozes laziness and poor management who care about nothing outside of numbers. I wish to God that I never left the military and became a part of this mess. Does this happen at ALL post offices? I love feedback, it makes me feel better.
re: Brian,
Postal managers are punitive, egregious, vindictive and sadistic to employees whom they deduce have caused them some inconvenience. These types of hostile acts are commonplace here at the usps. This manager, even if caught red-handed, will not be held accountable. This is another perfect example of an unqualified manager in the position of authority who has gone out of their way to hurt a fellow employee. In the event that any justice is served in regard to correcting this managers behavior it will only result in a transfer and or a promotion to a higher level of pay. The remedy of removing this manager from their position of authority will be to reward them with a higher salary along with a transfer to another location where he/she will continue the bad behavior with different victims.
Yep, this is my workplace.
I worked at a station in Jacksonville Florida for about a month as an rca. When I was hired I was told that I would get so many hours that I would get tired of them calling me. That was a total mistruth. I resigned without notice due to accepting another job which paid more with regular hours and required me to start immediately. I went to the station a week after my last check was issued. The supervisor named Carol refused to release my paycheck to me. She then went into a lecture about how I did not give them notice of leaving. I stopped her in the middle of her lecture and told her that I was just here to collect my last check. She turned around around and started walking away and said “we will mail it to you”. The check was cut on April 6th. I went up there on April 14th. Today is April 28th and I have still not received my final paycheck. I have called the wage and labor department who told me I need to call the office of personnel management. They told me me I needed to call the postal inspectors office, they told me to call the company that handles the payroll. The person I spoke to there sent an email to the supervisors at that station telling them they needed to release my paycheck and I have still not received it. Does anyone know who I should really contact in order to get my last paycheck? Any information would be a great help. Thank you.
Brian – I really do not know but if I were you I would contact my Congressman or Senator and ask for their assistance.
The general public does not have a clue about how functionally crippled each operation is within the post office. When customers call in with a problem they seem to have this pre conceived notion that whoever (if anyone) answers the phone should be able to immediately correct their problem. Well, we can’t. That’s a shocker I know, right?
Some of us might have some idea about what you are talking about when you describe your problem but the chances of that are slim because most postal workers only know how to do one specific job and that’s it. Most postal workers stay in one position for years and years and don’t venture out of their safety zone. So when you call us and you think, “glory hallelujah” because you’ve reached a human being, don’t jump for joy too quickly. Just because someone answered the phone doesn’t mean they will be able to help you, okay. The chances are that if the first postal employee you approached with your problem should have given you the name of a supervisor. Supervisors are the people who are ultimately responsible for everything. If you have spoken to a postal supervisor and he/she forwarded you to someone else or gave you a phone number for some other post office then they have done you wrong.
Any postal manager should acknowledge your problem and follow through until they’ve reached closure. If a person has been promoted to the EAS level in management then they have been chosen as a member of management who has the skills to deal with customer issues. Any “manager” who tells you that you need to call some other post office to solve your problem has done you wrong and you need to write their name and phone number down. Any manager who is not able to help a customer should not be a manager and should be reported to a higher authority.
If you have been given numerous telephone numbers to call and none of those numbers work and no one is able to help you it is because management has failed you, the customer. Keep asking for the manager. Once you get a manager on the phone make sure you write their name down and phone number. Most managers don’t answer their phones anymore and their voice mails are full so you can not leave a message but keep trying.
Just because we are getting paid a salary that is over and above what our qualifications and skill levels would demand we are still the bottom of the barrel when it comes to education and desirability in the market workforce. We are not the next generation of technical genius nor are we charismatic hosts and hostesses oozing with hospitality from our pores.
All we want is a salary and a decent place to work. We don’t want to come in to work each day and hear that our current job has been abolished. We don’t want our family’s lives disrupted every time a manager makes a huge mistake and has to repost the entire facility’s starting times and schedules. We just want a decent life. We have morale issues because ignorant managers keep jacking us around with their stupid reorganization ideas. All of these things are what creates a “toxic” work environment. Managers are NEVER held accountable for their stupid mistakes. Our families are left to suffer for their (usps) stupidity. Our quality of life is affected each time they come up with another silly idea that doesn’t work.
So just because we’re being paid more than we are worth doesn’t mean we should be subjected to a toxic work environment. It’s totally unnecessary for the postal environment to be this way. This is a completely man made disaster and there is an absolute remedy for it as well. Just put qualified people in management positions, period.
I had someone in high authority tell me recently that she didn’t care about any personal or family problems that we might have at home or outside of work. Whenever you come to work you leave your personal life at the door. Not only did she put it that bluntly she said that she expected us to be cheerful and animated to customers when we greet them coming in the post office. She went on to give an example of some insanity that was grossly exaggerated and annoying to everyone including the customer who happened to be next in line.
She was like Nancy Pelosi and we were the media. We were just looking on in disbelief. The woman is a nut-job.
These managers are living in a world of make believe if they think we are going to act like some carnival workers or Disney employee just because our business is failing and management wants to keep trying to reinvent the wheel every other week.
I just sat there with a dead look in my eyes as she rambled on merging one topic into another without ever coming up with anything tangible that we could relate to.
This is it America, this is your Post Office. It is a white elephant that should be on display in a museum. Your Post Office is like the mullet hair cut and lawn darts. It’s a baked potato. Stick a fork in it. It’s done.
Earl, your point is well made, however, please don’t think that ALL veterans that work for the Post Office are like that. The thing that I had a hard time accepting in the Postal Service is that the managers couldn’t do the job that they were supervising which is in contrast to the military where your military boss could do the job they supervise very well and you can count on them if you had any questions about the job. I did buy my military time back towards my retirement and I am proud of that because I worked tons of overtime in the military that I wasn’t paid fairly for but hey, I realize that I signed up for it. There are always going to be those that “abuse the system” but let them deal with bad karma down the road. I have seen many postal janitors have heart attacks because they thought that smoking cigarettes outside all day and not doing their job was acceptable, boy were they ever wrong.
“I’m taking ‘wounded warrior leave’ so I can go to the VA and get a mole burn.” Says a double dipper who is raping the system in every way possible. The post office is full of former military employees who have found a lucrative practice in supplementing their salary by evading and manipulating the government system.
The first step is to serve a brief term in the US military and make sure you have a “disability” before your get discharged. No part of your “injury” has to be related to combat or military duty in general all you have to have is a “condition” that was diagnosed while in service to your country. After that you work the program.
No matter what happens, no matter what job you go into after the military you will be drawing a “disability compensation.” Compared to any other place of business if you claimed any kind of “on the job injury” you would be forever scrutinized to make sure you never violated the doctor’s restrictions on your physical limitations. This is not how it works with military on-the-job injuries. Oh no. You can have a 60% disability and draw compensation indefinitely for this condition while working a civilian job in excess of 40 hours per week plus overtime.
The US government doesn’t consider these “injuries” in the same category as “workers comp claims.”
These people are wrecking and raping the government and the American tax payers by working this con game and it’s perfectly legal.
The post office not only complies with favoritism to ex military it enables them to work the system in every way possible because the USPS is still a government agency even though it claims it is wholly supported by the sale of postage, fees and services.
“I’m a disabled veteran.” is a badge of rights earned by thousands of postal workers who haven’t done one damn thing to be considered a “warrior” or especially a “wounded warrior.”
Being allowed to received a regular salary without the use of earned leave in order to go to the nearest VA office to have a “mole burned” off your body is not an entitlement most people would think of when they picture a Purple Heart wounded in battle veteran who has made a true sacrifice for his country.
So lets think of some other way of labeling this type of free salary being paid to employees who are a little less entitled to the term “wounded warrior” okay? Your ingrown toenail is not on the same level as my double amputation caused by an IED in Iraq. Let’s not get those two things confused.
I saw this guy the other day. I guess he was the postmaster’s supervisor. What do you call him? I don’t know but he wore an expensive suit and smiled a lot. Area supervisor or district supervisor anyway. He doesn’t talk much he just walks around looking and I guess when he finds something he doesn’t like he tells the postmaster. I don’t know. Nobody seems to be in charge from my point of view. Nobody seems to be trying to fix any problems. If they are they sure aren’t letting us know about it. They sure are not communicating with the employee about what their goals are. They are not telling us what changes they want to make. They do not tell us anything except when we do something wrong. Somebody got in trouble for having a bottle of drinking water in view of the customers line of sight. I guess all the managers are angry about something because they are never happy and they never greet us with a “good morning” anymore like they used to years ago. They used to meet us at the time clock and speak to us but they don’t do that anymore either. They used to give us our job assignments and everybody knew what everyone else was supposed to be doing. If somebody was missing from an operation you knew about it immediately but it’s not like that anymore. We don’t even know who is supposed to be at work from one day to the next. There is not a posted schedule. There is not a manager to talk to. There is not a supervisor to ask about who is supposed to be at work today. There is no way of knowing if your coworker was in an automobile accident or not. There is no way to know. We keep wondering how long we can keep going on like this before something happens. We think something weird is going on. We can’t call anybody because they never answer the phone. I’m still getting paid every two weeks so I guess that means that somebody is still putting in the time. I guess once I am no longer getting a paycheck I can stop coming to work. That will be the way I know that it’s time to leave.
I have seen more problems with the people in charge I guess they are called Post Master I got to the point of I go in to get stamps or something else and I see her I will leave she is a Bi#+# totally unprofessional. It seems the PO needs a better way to pick the people they put in charge when she’s not there the employees are very nice and when she’s there you can tell the employees seem like they are walking on eggshells Shell’s
We can go for days and even weeks without seeing or hearing from a manager. That’s a good thing right? Well, not always because:
We don’t have the authorization to complete the tasks required by the operational functions of this job.
We can’t buy or order needed office supplies.
We can’t submit work orders to have the facilities maintained in presentable condition.
We don’t even know where our manager is or how to contact him/her. The manager does not respond to emails or return telephone calls.
The postmaster doesn’t answer his/her telephone and does not have a receptionist/secretary.
Customers call with problems that we cannot solve and there is no one else to refer them to.
Other post offices call with problems that we cannot solve. They call constantly which prevents us from doing our job.
It’s beyond ridiculous when the district manager comes by and says that we need to wipe off our customer counter space because the custodial maintenance staff won’t do it.
What am I supposed to wipe it off with? I can’t order cleaning supplies. Custodians only empty the trash a few times per week if we’re lucky. Lord only know what they do with the rest of their time (8hrs) per day.
It seems like the district wants to take over day to day management but they can’t because they aren’t here day to day. District want’s us to tell each other what to do on a daily basis. District thinks we have the skills needed to work together as a team but we don’t. I’m for afraid of disrespecting a coworker by asking them to do something. I’m afraid that a coworker will get angry if I tell them a different way to do something. I’m constantly afraid that a coworker will become confrontational over conflicting viewpoints.
I prefer to keep my mouth shut and wait for the whole management structure to fail instead of sticking my neck out by being proactive and trying to solve problems that I have no control over. Once the management structure falls apart then it can be rebuilt to something that is more workable. I take no responsibility for what is happening right now. I don’t have to.
Re: Selfmadeboss, I’m guessing that there are quite a few people who don’t really like their jobs that much. For example; the man who drives the truck that pumps out your septic tank. I don’t know if I’d like pumping solid waste from people’s toilets or not, I’m guessing, not.
Working in this postal environment is toxic just like the sewer pumper outer. I’ll bet those guys complain about their stinky jobs too but they keep on keeping own. Why? because it pays the bills. That’s why. We’re not all self made bosses. After working here, I don’t want to be anybody’s boss. Good for you if you like what you do. We are not all that fortunate. As you said, and I agree, we are “uneducated, idiots” making 50 – 60k per year. Hard to quit that paycheck.
Cry me a freaking river. Maybe this is karma for possibly the worst customer service toward the public of any semi-private business in the USA. Don’t believe me just read some of the reviews on post offices ( which they obviously don’t care about) and you will see. Respect is a 2 way street. Of course when you lump a bunch of uneducated, self entitled, power thirsty idiots under one roof what did you expect will come out of it? As with any job, if you don’t feel it’s for you, quit and find something different. Don’t torture the public with your low morale and bad attitude or try doing some of the real hard labor immigrants in this country do for a fraction of the pay. I bet your attitude will change then.
Hard Headed, we must work at the same post office.
PSE, I have them where I work. The PSE where I work get away with everything they stay In the P.O box section for hours, No one says nothing. They have told me many times they get more money and come in late, call in ECT.
You only been there seven months wait into it seventeen years, you’ll change your tune.
At least I don’t feel alone, after reading these prospectus postings. I can relate to every single one of them. I transfer from a I.M.F to a post office thinking it would regenerate me into a better place. -WRONG- My disillusion was quickly a cold joke. The management the short of a joke, the manger I work under If she not playing on her cell phone she tried to bully me into doing more.
Its such a negative place I been into fights, with one clerk who a career and does nothing but walk around does littlest as possible.and the mangers know this. I saw two carriers get into a fight, Where they had two pull them a part. While her pets P.S.E (4)who’s been there going on four years do boundless nothing If they can. What so sad about it two of them have been wrote–up so much it a running joke.
The other mangers one a 204B over carriers got the job after she told them she couldn’t carry mail no more.
The front window clerks don’t even stay up from their too busy talking to everyone else. I had so many customers tell me they hate coming in there, It either they have too way for help or there talk to rudely. Productivity is a joke, unless your a good worker, them you get bullying into picking up the slack. The boss, head of the window clerk don’t even know who’s show-up for work.
I tell every young person; GO BACK TO SCHOOL. I put my transfer back to the I.M.F and the management knows. Their guiltless answer to me is sorry things didn’t work out. Inadequate is the best way to describe the Post Office. If you want to be a manger you can you only need three years….NO exp. just act like you know what your doing. Bully the good and let the slackers alone.
Finally. I found out I will be number 5 who be leaving that Post office. It been either career personal or P.S. E who transfer out or quit. Toxic , YES!.
You are not going to believe this. I take that back. This is the post office, anything is possible. This manager, who used to be a station manager was escorted out of the facility a few years ago because he refused to cooperate with postal inspectors who found delayed mail in his facility. He was days away from getting a requested transfer to another post office and he just didn’t want to deal with the problem that was brought to his attention. He was relieved of his duties and escorted out of the facility by postal inspectors.
Now, guess what? He has been brought back as postmaster of the entire city. Yep! The same guy who neglected his responsibility to the customer has not only been allowed to continue managing but now has been promoted to postmaster of a large city.
No other business in the world would do this except for the post office. We sabotage ourselves with actions like this. Over and over and over this kind of thing happens and not just here, it’s everywhere in the country. This loser is now in charge of hundreds of employees and millions of dollars in employee salaries not to mention productivity. The customer will also be the loser as this type of thing keeps happening.
From previous Rosealie…please forgive the placement of double ?? marks, placed twice in my comment, but I had put 2 imogee’s there, then when I re-read what I shared, to my surprise was the 2 ??’s in their place. Sorry everyone. Thanks a lot for allowing me to share here. Your all the best!
To all my wonderful fellow coworkers, I salute you! What is so incredible, is none of us know each other, never spoke to one another, yet all our comments match word for word! I have 19 years in, 19 years of almost 100% abuse, harassment, bullying, being followed & spyed on, intimidated, sexual harassment, lied to (can’t put a number on that one, too many to count), cried many nights, have multiple health issues, which almost all, literally came from them. I started at 43 as a carrier, which as you know, that’s a bit old…at least back then for hiring. But I had, somehow realized, that I must have been a token hire…meaning they have to have on record, so many females, males, different nationalities, age differentials, etc., just to make themselves look good.Some of the co-workers literally bet on us…like a “horse”, & gave me 2 days, as my 1st, 2 weeks, was in 2-3 feet of snow & ice…but the Lord got me through! The reason I used the 100% figure above, is because my heart ?? goes out to every soul who “has” worked there, and whose stuck there! I have witnessed so much evil, stuff you would see in a movie, that never would fly in the secular place! Every comment is nothing but TRUTH ??. I can’t add to it, because everything said…I can echo. What a sick environment. There are days, I literally want to run out of the building. We see the place falling apart. No one hardly cares, except for the old-school mentality…who gives all they got, but one slip up, & we all know the rest. Management is the base cause. They don’t know what they’re doing. Because we are failing financially, they can’t figure out how to run every office. They blindly make stupid decisions, set the bar high, with unrealistic expectations, treat us like animals, & make us feel like dirt, after we’ve given them every ounce of our being. Mostly everyone looks disgusted, except what I call, the elite. I mean the carriers who have good health, lots of pride, & think their invincible. But I have seen even them get ill or whatever, then suddenly they get it…parties over, cause mgt., could care less…we are only a number. We have a supervisor, 2 yrs., now…and have never seen anything so disastrous. When I foolishly thought, all the several batches of mgt. we’ve endured, the evil level being so high, in comes the most destructive women. We have never seen anything this bad. The firing count…unbelievable! The quitting count, the same. Before her, only 5 people lost their jobs. 4 for theft, 1 alcohol. But never, performance. She degrades almost all on her poopie list. And naturally, has her “pets”. Plays games constantly. Lies & twists everything. And “must” be the “Queen”. Of course, only in her deluded mind. And the other supervisors follow suit. The postmaster does nothing to any of them. He’s walking his own chalk line, so he let’s them do the dirty work,to lowball his past & keep his nose as clean as possible. So, chaos every day! The workers who get away with murder…nothing gets addressed. Workers who hide, live on smartphones, desktops, earphones, etc., forget it. But the more you give, the more they squeeze you…until you finally fall apart. It’s going to get worse…there juggling balls, those above us, and their clueless. I want to say…thank you to ALL of you…for giving your heart & soul, do the best you can, & may God’s love surround you and all those in your hearts…much love…hang on, tight! ?
I just heard something about an employee appreciation day. I vaguely remember how we used to get pizza or a sub sandwich or at the least donuts and coffee once a year. I haven’t seen anything that resembles “employee appreciation” in years. I decided to do a google search for usps employee appreciation day and found out that we missed it.
Employee appreciation day came and went without as much as a nod from anyone. I wouldn’t expect it anyway but I thought I would voice my sentiment on the topic just the same. It’s not the employee’s fault that the USPS is losing money. A few dozen donuts and a gallon of orange juice doesn’t add that much to the deficit either. It’s not like a measly gesture like that would make me value my job any more or less but at least it would give me one less thing to complain about. With all of the wastefulness going on in the front office it’s down right insulting to not at least acknowledge the people who move the mail and generate what little bit of revenue we do make.
Dee,
Sorry to hear your son has it that bad. Tell him to keep on keep’n on if that’s what he wants to do but the future isn’t that bright for a RCA sub. He might be on the top of his game at the present time but all it takes is one slip up and he might become a punching bag. If he’s young and strong he can keep on going like this for years. One day he might get lucky and become a regular RCA. The money is good if you can stand the headaches. I can’t stand it anymore but I’m too old to care. Today’s post office ain’t the same as it was 30 years ago.
If you want to make it a career you have to keep your head down and your mouth shut. Don’t complain about anything unless you’re not getting paid and then you have a legitimate complaint. Don’t plan any vacations or take any sick leave either. Don’t file any grievances, period. Don’t get on management’s radar as a troublemaker. 90% of managers are scum, you can not trust them no matter what.
I’d recommend staying in school and getting a degree, move away from Chicago. Sign up with Uber or something that you have some control over. I don’t wish the post office on anybody. Save money. Invest in a Roth IRA. Go to school to be a CDL “over the road” Truck Driver. That’s good money and you get to travel. Maybe get a job with AMAZON out west or down in Texas. Just get out of Chicago asap.
My son, once again, has been paid for only one day instead of 12. Eleven days of no pay.
Union steward tells him to go through the PO channels first.
This means start with your immediate supervisor on up.
He has been shorted numerous times this past year with payroll taking 6+ weeks to adjust it. It affected a number of employees this year at that same PO.
The posts this month are true… toxic work environment permitted. The quote above, “…on a regular basis coworkers will disrespect you by; not showing up to work on time, wandering off from their work location, calling in sick, foul language, etc.
What to do???
The workers have to sign a non-disclosure agreement upon hire. He is considered a ‘sub’, not a ‘regular’ and has been there for 3 years in a far northern burb of Chicago, IL. as a RR carrier.
Shows up faithfully, on time and fills in when others ‘call off’ suddenly. He has a great work ethic and also needs the job.
Additionally, many mail delivery vehicles are unsafe. Brakes that are beyond bad, dash lights not operational, urine left in bottles on the truck, filthy interior, etc. and nobody does anything to maintain the 20-30+ yr. old vehicles.
Any suggestions besides the obvious of finding a new job?
We are at wits end!
I was, just this minute, treated disrespectfully by a frontline postal supervisor. I reported damage to the structure of the building that obviously happened over the weekend and the supervisor nearly ignored me completely.
The supervisor was smacking on a bag of potatoe chips and mumbled something inaudible. The supervisor didn’t even bother to look at the damage that was apparently caused by motorized equipment. This is just another reinforcement of what I already know. This is a TOXIC work environment.
The well that the post office is drawing from is very shallow. They promote from within. I’ve never heard of anyone who went to college for their purpose in life of pursuing a career with the USPS. The typical postal worker goes to college for two basic reasons; either to finish their degree so they can quit the post office or to achieve a higher level of pay within the EAS pay-grade. Well educated folk do not (typically) seek out employment here. This place is the bottom of the barrel in professionalism and respect. If you come to work for the USPS you will pay a price for that high salary. The price is; you will be disrespected from many angles. The most immediate disrespect will come from your coworkers. Your coworkers are not held accountable for any wrongdoings and those wrongdoings include disrespect to one another. On a regular basis your coworkers will disrespect you by; not showing up to work on time, wandering off from their work location, calling in sick, foul language, hostile personality traits and attitude, unethical favoritism and corrupt business practices, nepotism, ignorant street language. Some employees stink; like you can smell them from 40 feet away while some come to work drunk.
One employee was harassed because he/she informed a manager that their coworker was drunk on the clock. The whistleblower was treated as hostile while the drunk coworker was not punished. These are the types of things that you can’t makeup. This is everyday life in the USPS. We have ignorant, uneducated, unqualified, hostile people in charge here.
Note to HQ:
If you want the 30 year employees to retire; offer them full retirement: Supplement and Annuity regardless of minimum retirement age. That would be all the incentive they would need. It’s simple 30 years of service at any age -> full retirement benefits. You will immediately start saving money because these people are at the top of their pay scale.
Most of us are sick of this place anyway. Go ahead and cut us loose.
It’s just plain disrespectful to let people become managers over other people when they don’t have any knowledge about being a manager. It’s immediately and grossly disrespectful to allow an ignorant person to control a workforce. It’s ridiculous but the post office does it everyday.
There’s no way to succeed. Failure is inevitable. There’s no professionalism here, not one ioda. It’s a freaking miracle that the place can function at all.
If there ever became a national emergency where the postal system is put under stress, it will collapse and implode. There is no management structure at all.
Someone recently retired from an EAS position and a new face showed up in her place. She asked me if I was taking the early out. I said that I had bills to pay. She agreed that’s what most people say.
Really,
What’s the incentive? There is none. The incentive is to milk the system for all it’s worth until the cows come home. That’s the incentive.
I can’t pay bills on the annuity alone. That’s garbage; 1% x 30 years. That’s below poverty. I’d lose my house, car, and everything else and have to live in a tent beside the interstate with the other homeless people.
How can I give up $5,000.00 per month to live on $1,500.00?
They’re going to have to step up the intimidation tactics a notch or too in order to get me to retire on that piddling amount of money.
I think the days of the ERA VERA buyouts are over. Remember the last buyout? How much was it? $15,000.00 paid out over 2 years. Are you kidding? That’s not even enough to pay for your healthcare after retirement.
No, I’m going to have to be completely debt-free before I retire. The only thing I’ll consider borrowing money for at this point will be a nice RV.
I’ll just drive around burning up fossil fuel in a gas guzzling tanker of a motorhome until I’m too old to climb up into the driver’s seat. After that I’ll find a tiny little retirement community out west somewhere where I can shrivel up and die.
I will need to pay off my bills though. My wife and I were smart enough to buy a house well within our budget which we refinanced for 15 years at 4% over 12 years ago. It will be paid off by the time I reach MRA – 56. Yep. Cut me loose. I’ll be debt free and carefree.
I think I might like to join up with a tribe of nomads who go from campsite to campsite mostly out west. I’ll maybe buy me a pound of that legal weed out there in California or Colorado.
I don’t know.
I hope I live long enough to enjoy what I’ve worked for this long.