On August 27, 2010 LEAGUE and NAPUS jointly signed a letter asking that the OIG investigate the 2009 NPA process, specifically the suspected reduction of CORE scores to many Postmasters by higher level management. It was suspected that this unilateral reduction in scores without the immediate manager’s approval or input was driven by higher levels of management. On August 8, 2011 the results of the investigation were shared with the organizations and .found that our concerns were true.
- One district manager stated the area vice president verbally instructed all district managers in the area to align employees’ core requirement ratings with the average NPA unit score for their districts. As a result, the manager reviewed and lowered the core requirement ratings for 606 employees.
- Another district manager stated that managers lowered core requirement ratings after reviewing a few of CORE scores in that district and determining that they were disproportionate to the district’s NPA score. The process states that a district manager only reviews the PFP of direct reports and employees whose core requirement ratings are identified as ‘non-contributor’ or ’exceptional’ by the PES which until 2009 was the case. The intent of CORE was to recognize individual performance outside of the NPA scores that may have not been within the individuals control. Of course CORE scores could be both higher and lower then the district NPA score, that is how the process is suppose to work.
It is unfortunate that Postal Headquarters did not shoulder full responsibility for this action and in fact stated that it may not be statistically correct since only a small portion of the 60,000 were interviewed. They also stated that the OIG did not recognize that part of the process was for the higher level manager to evaluate the score and act accordingly if the score was not justified. We all know that in 2008 far fewer scores were reviewed by District Managers than in 2009 and that tells the real story about whether or not a directive was given.
The OIG has recommended that the Organizations work with Headquarters to improve the process. NPA/PFP will be part of the pay talks we are starting August 15. We will work to improve the NPA process and will spend time discussing the value of having CORE scores and what benefit if any this portion of the process could have with the PFP program. The entire investigation results are linked below for your review.
The only money the PO is “losing” is a manufactured pre-payment that the fed owes the fed.
It seems frankly ludicrous that with all the money the U.S.P.S. is loosing these groups should be worried about “scores” and bonuses! In case they’ve been living on a dessert island somewhere in the Tropics the U.S.P.S. has been upside down on it’s balance sheet all of this year, just read there third quarter 10Q FORM for 2011 filed with the regulatory agency. But yet these self same individuals are part of the problem,that being inept management in the postal service. If the service were a private company they would have been shown the door years ago and that still may be the case. The ISSA postal reform bill proposes receivership of the service and a reduction in managerial facilities of 30% in the second year and will come up for consideration once the U.S.P.S. defaults on any obligation! The date put forth for that is Sept. 30th,2011, by the service’s own admission. If I were them I wouldn’t make any long range plans!
PFP has always been a misguided program. The philosophy that underpins it is antithetical to the mission and purpose of the Postal Service. Unfortunately all the management associations jumped on board when the program looked like it would benefit their members. Forget the fact that Headquarters management has never demonstrated the credibility to run such a program objectively and worse, forget the fact that the Postal Service is not a business or a corporate entity.
Programs like PFP may be suitable for private enterprise where profit is the primary incentive. The Postal Service however is a piece of national infrastructure and while it is useful to utilize some business practices to create efficiencies it is important that we never lose sight of our raison d’etre and our mission to first serve the American people as a whole.
The Postal Service has been a source of employment, it has provided the network infrastructure that allowed businesses of many sizes and kinds to thrive, and it has served as a connection for communities both rural and urban. Both Congress and the management of the Postal Service have lost sight of that and the result is that today we are looking at dismantling that infrastructure in favor of a corporate model with limited vision and less utility.
Those who have championed programs like PFP and claimed that their only fault is in the administration have contributed to the current morass by ignoring our purpose and accepting a premise that can only lead to privatization.
no profit since 2006 and currently losing 1 billion…what performance?
raise? there should be a wholesale firing of mismanagement.
bring in Robert Crandall retired from American Airlines Corporation…..he will show them to the door with the exit sign!
Punching a time clock would be a start. Elimination of the 401 rule would follow. Work 4 hours and one unit and get paid for 8 hours sounds like savings can be had there, plus the dolts being put on higher level to make up the other four hours daily. We’re not taking about make up time, work ten and the company owes you two hours, where talking 4 hours a day getting paid for 8 and replacing themselves with unqualified people. Call it Club FED