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Friday Message – February 19, 2021

On Wednesday of this week, I had the opportunity to meet with the team from USPS Headquarters that is heading up the initiative that is entitled, “Supervisor Skills Enhancement and Development Initiative.”   One of the components of this initiative is a twenty-question survey that will be going to the field either today, or perhaps Monday, asking their opinions and feedback on several topics.   These topics will deal with their day-to-day life as a supervisor, as well as the training and preparation they have had in the past.   For this effort to be successful, it is important that the team that is heading this up has as much cooperation and participation from the field as possible.   So, they are asking that as Postmasters and Managers, that when the supervisors receive the email with the survey information that you, as the leaders in your facilities, make sure they have the time to fill out the survey and that you encourage them, as much as possible, to take the time to participate.    This survey is seen as a first step in developing a strategy and focused program going forward to strengthen our supervisory staff in their current positions and to help develop them for more challenging assignments down the road should they desire to take the steps necessary to get to the positions.     As I receive more information, I will do my best to share it with you.   Just so you are aware, when the survey goes out the supervisors will have ten days to complete it.

Starting tomorrow your National Executive Board will be meeting here in Arlington, Virginia to conduct the business of the organization.   I was very pleased earlier this week when I found out that Postmaster General Louis DeJoy and the USPS Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO), Doug Tulino, have accepted my invitation and they will be joining us for part of the meeting on Saturday morning.   It gives your board the opportunity to hear directly from the PMG, as well as a member of the Executive Leadership Team at the Headquarters level.   We will do our best to share information with you on what the PMG and Mr. Tulino had to say during their visit.  

If you are like me and you have been patiently waiting to get the COVID-19 vaccine, it can be very frustrating to be put on waiting list after waiting list or making numerous calls to get put on a waiting list for the vaccine.   I recognize that the supplies are limited, and they need to prioritize the distribution but that does not mean I won’t keep trying to get vaccinated as soon as possible.   Again, if you want to receive the vaccine and you have the opportunity in your area to get the shot, I would encourage you to take advantage of that chance.

In addition to the board meeting this weekend, the Pay Talk Team also will be in the office today to go over the plans that we laid out last month and adjust the issues we want to take forward, so we are ready to go when the talks actually open.    As I have stated before, we will share information as we are able, however, for the most part everything remains confidential throughout the process.

Last night we had our second informational session on the PS Form 150.    The sessions have been recorded and we will be putting the presentation up on our website early next week for those of you that might want to check it out.   In addition to the recording, we also have a PowerPoint presentation that was prepared by Patty Traendly from USPS Headquarters staff that was used as a guide for the live presentation.   We will make sure that that information is placed on the website, as well.    If there are similar topics that you would like to see covered in the coming months, please feel free to share those with me.   I want to thank Patty and Chad Smith, who did the presentation last night for their assistance in this endeavor and the information they shared.    We had almost 100 people that took advantage of this informational opportunity over the past two weeks.   Thank you to the participants, as well.

As always, stay safe, wear your masks, practice social distancing, and follow the CDC and Postal Service guidelines when it comes to cleaning your facilities.    I recognize the struggles you are going through daily and I hope and pray that things will get better in the very near future.

Take care,

Dan Heins
UPMA National President