Ah! You're both right & wrong at the same time. While I was at the PO arguing with the station mngr and carrier supervisor
a "helpful" woman decided she wanted in to the debate and said precisely what you said regarding the carrier
not being a civil servant because USPS is "privately owned"..
So when I came home I made sure I hadn't been transported to Bizarro World and still know what's up.
This from wiki though there are surely more authoritative sources:
The United States Postal Service, also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, often abbreviated as USPS, is an independent agency of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the United States. It is one of the few government agencies explicitly authorized by the United States Constitution.
{note that though an independent agency it is still an agency of the US Government}
Because of the Postal strike of March of 1970 then President Richard Nixon passed the Postal Reorganization Act
in August 1970 (Public Law 91-375) which replaced the cabinet-level Post Office Department with the independent United States Postal Service, and took effect on July 1, 1971.
However if you read said law you'll find in section 1001:
Appointment and status:
(a) Except as otherwise provided in this title, the Postal Service shall appoint all officers and employees of the Postal Service.
b) Officers and employees of the Postal Service (other than those individuals appointed under sections 202, 204, and 1001(c) of this
Ante,PP.720.title) shall be in the postal career service, which shall be a part of the
civil service. Such appointments and promotions shall be in accordance with the procedures established by the Postal Service.
{Note the bold maroon underlined words *civil service* }
So what we have in the USPS is an independent GOVERNMENT AGENCY structured like an independent corporation
(thus excusing it from complying with Freedom of Information Act requests), a monopoly whose personnel are
CIVIL SERVANTS...
When I came home and telephoned both USPS Customer Service and USPS Department of Consumer Affairs
I was told by both agents I spoke with that indeed they are still CIVIL SERVANTS...of course I already knew this because
my ex girlfriend is a mail handler, her dad is a carrier, her mom is chief of the local Postal Police, her brother is a USPS mechanic
and I helped her to get her (ex girlfriend) job back when she got fired for crashing her postal Jeep into a building while she was a carrier
while still on probation. I researched USPS and the Equal Employment Opportunity Act in order to do so...
So...yea, you're both right and wrong. USPS is an (independent) Gub'min agency BUT I am my mail lady's boss and so are you.
Regards,
Hazy
Last edited:
