Un-Merry Christmas For 27-Year Postal Employee Fired After Failing Window Training

Postal Employee Fired 5-Days Before Christmas

Just an overview of the letter below:

The Walnut Creek (CA) Post Office changed 16 mail processing jobs of the most senior employees to window/distribution clerks (Sales, Service & Distribution Associates). The employees were told after becoming senior bidders on the re-posted duty assignments that passing window training will be a requirement in order to retain their jobs.

The fired employee was not awarded any of the re-posted duty assigments as the senior bidder until two days (November 20, 2009) after she was given a “Notice of Removal” on November 18, 2009 for failing to meet the qualifications of her position. She attended window training during the week of October 19-23, 2009.

Briefly Postal Employees are scheduled for window training if in part: (1) Employees are PTFs (2) Full-Time Regular senior bidders on duty assignments with window duties. None of the aforementioned reasons applied to this employee. The employee according to the contract was still considered an unassigned mail processing clerk with no requirement to pass window training.

Management has taken the position that employee “volunteered” for window training and failed so her removal from the Postal Service effective December 20, 2009 still stands. The employee’s 27 years of service means nothing but a number.

The letter below is from Postal Employee Surbjit Khatkar:

In the beginning when my supervisors xxxx and xxxx asked if anybody wanted to go for window training , nobody volunteered. As no one wanted to go, I volunteered first, and they agreed to send me for SSA window training. That time I had no bid assignment and never received any notification that I was a senior bidder on any bid assignment. I started my training on Oct. 19, 2009 while I received my notification for bid (MO-50B) assignment on Nov. 20, 2009.

No one explained that if I did not pass the test, I will be removed from Post Office. If I had known such a harsh consequence of not passing the exam, I could have waited for my turn (I was the senior of employees awaiting window training).

I did not know that taking the window exam required a sufficient computer knowledge. I’ve worked in mail processing my entire postal career. I had to ask for help from instructor to show me how to use computer/ mouse to write my answers at appropriate places, while my clock was still ticking. Shockingly, I did not pass the exam, absolutely due to lack of computer knowledge.

Most shocking and disgraceful thing is that after performing my job in an excellent way for 27 years, I did not get even second chance to pass this exam; while in the past, 6-7 people in my facility had been granted second and sometimes third chances to pass the window training exam.

I volunteered to help management and this is how they repay me?

Thanks!

21 thoughts on “Un-Merry Christmas For 27-Year Postal Employee Fired After Failing Window Training

  1. That’s why I try to tell people all the time Do not do management any favors. They don’t appreciate anything we do for them and they will fire you any chance they get. I know clerks that carry mail when management is down a carrier. Then they get harassed because it took them too long. Hello they are not carriers. Imagine if one of them had an accident, they’d be fired without a blink of managements eyes. The Post Office is insane. I hope there is nothing else like it. One USPS is too many.

  2. Chuckles, Dec. 31, you are a qualified idiot, probably eligible for a management position, working in mail processing has nothing and I mean nothing whatsoever to do with window service. I guess by your stupid answer you are not even a postal employee. Just because you are a postal employee does not mean you not it all. Postal training is only minimal at best and only in the job you will perform, so how in hell is a mail processing clerk have any knowledge and how window services operate, Oh, I forgot all us postal employees know everything, by osmosis, you are truly and idiot or a supervisor either of which will qualify you for even higher position with us, the USPS, because you walked into the post office inhaled and gain the knowledge of all postal crafts you sir are truyly amazing!!!!

  3. All is not lost. Are you aware of the rule, that if you have 20 years or more postal service, age 50 or 25 years at any age, and you are forced to drive >50 miles to work,.fail any qualifications for your job, or simply not competent to do your job, you are entitled to early retirement, even if it is not being offered to the general work force, The exception is being let go for bad conduct of various kinds. If you are FERS no penalty, if CSRS docked 2% for every year of service under 30 years. In your case full retirement, less 6%. Not so bad after all.
    Make sure you apply,I am positive you will get this. Not to worry. I am surprised that your union president or chief steward, did not tell you about this. God bless you E-MAIL IF YOU WANT TO KNOW MORE.

    JEROME W

  4. The right person for the right job. Just because you can’t pass window training doesn’t mean you are “dumber than a box of rocks”. The union is also in the process of going through the process of doing the grievance, you can’t fix things “instantly” even though you can get fired/terminated instantly. If you read your contract management can only get away with this if “we” let them get away with it. If management can get away with not telling you anything about a particular process, then they will and get away with it! They are an, as mentioned above, an evil, thinking, machine, that will try anything to further their own agenda and pad their pockets. It is up to us, as a unified body, to stand up to this putrified mess that the PMG heads up and tell him that we are angry and are not going to take it anymore!! No more unfair, biased treatment of our people!!

  5. Read your contract…..The evil management foe can fire you for not passing window training. A couple of years ago they fired 3 clerks in my office. (One had 15 yrs). They can fire you for not passing scheme or window.

  6. Others had another shot at it. Sounds like a classic case of disparate treatment.
    Way to go P.O.!

  7. ONE SHOULD NOT BE SURPRIZED AT THIS TYPE OF BEHAVIOR BY MANAGEMENT…. AS NOTED ABOVE, “IT IS AN EVIL” ORGANIZATION…
    BUT WORSE THAN BEING EVIL, IT IS A NEPOTISTIC, AFFIRMATIVE ACTION
    GRANTING MACHINE FROM HELL…. BUT DON’T WORRY, THIS EVIL WILL BE AVENGED BY THE EVEN MORE BRUTAL REALITY OF ECONOMICS 101.. THIS MANAGEMENT INEPT DINOSAUR OF A BUSINESS MODEL CANNOT CONTINUE IN ITS PRESENT FORM… IT IS A DIGITAL WORLD NOW….
    NO ONE LIKES JUNK MAIL…. THE DAYS OF SNAIL MAIL ARE GONE FOREVER.
    YOUNG PEOPLE …GET OUT NOW! SKILLS PAY THE BILLS!

  8. Just more proof that postal management is evil and worthy of the scorn and disdain with whichthe employees view them.

  9. hang in there no way this will stand up get some computer practice next time the test will be a breeze

  10. Sorry about your losing your job. Sounds like a way to off people to me, especially if management can get away with doing it. What are the unions doing about this. Sounds like not much. Union picks and chooses to help which people they like and don’t like. Excessing people is pretty much the same in the clerk craft as you probably already know. Management will excess lower sceniority clerks into carrier craft to get rid of them and will intentionally fail them one way or another so they can fire them too.

  11. Thats bull they didnt know everyone that works at po knows if you dont pass window training you are fired periodz> same with driving test dont pass no job
    and there are so many places to learn and study the test beforehand this person is just not cut out for the job oh well ..dont go to window training if you dont think you can pass the test.go for carrier trainign or something stupid dont feel sorry for a 27 year employee that cant pass any test we have

  12. Just being in a PO 27 years more than enough info to pass the test would have be acquired through osmosis. I only fired one person for failing the test. A new hire thought that failing the window test was his ticket to a delivery job.

    I only have sympathy for her as she must be ‘dumber than a box of rocks’!

  13. Not surprised, not surprised in the slightest. They are F#ckin crazy and will do antyhing at this point to get rid of craft employees. EXAMPLE: The magority of a $239.3 Million budget to investigate and come to a conclussion that only 0.3% of the injured work force are frauds. Its good that they get these beaters out but come on man, $239.3 million! Just F#ckin crazy.

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