![\"1aa-APWU-small\"](\"https:\/\/postalemployeenetwork.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/1aa-APWU-small.gif\")
<\/a><\/p>\nManagement is after a lot more than meets the eye, according to APWU Executive Vice President Debby Szeredy. \u201cWhat management won\u2019t tell you is that historically the USPS has used the Voice of the Employee data against workers at the negotiating table,\u201d she said. The surveys have been a point of contention between the USPS and APWU since 1998, when management first cited survey data during bargaining; the APWU National Executive Board responded by adopting a resolution opposing \u201cthe use of surveys, focus groups, polls, audits, as a means of interviewing employees and union officials to evaluate job-related and internal issues.\u201d<\/p>\n
Since the surveys are voluntary, PSEs can decline to complete them \u2013 just as career employees do. \u201cIf you are handed the survey, remember, it is your mail and you do not have to turn it over to the manager. You can take it home, you can throw it out, or you can turn it in to the union,\u201d Szeredy said.<\/p>\n
\u201cManagement may try to entice you to take the survey on the clock and grant you 15 minutes to participate,\u201d she added. \u201cBut employees should remember: No one is forced to complete the survey. It is voluntary!\u201d<\/p>\n
The Postal Service misrepresents the results of surveys, Szeredy said, noting that executive bonuses are based on the results of performance tracking, which includes results from the Voice of the Employee survey. Performance clusters that meet targets, including VOE results, are celebrated as \u201cbreakthrough performers,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n