Mailroom clerks just want respect

One of them worked for the United States Postal Service for 33 years. Another did it for 29 years. They are the Residential Living mailroom workers, and they all seem to live and breathe the mail. When I visited two University mailrooms this week, these workers were eager to talk about being blamed for current mail problems across campus. According to Residential Living Director Gigi Simeone, these workers are truly the cream of the crop because of their past experience with the Postal Service. "They are hard-working, conscientious, dedicated and very interested in serving students as quickly and efficiently as possible," Simeone said yesterday. "[They have a] sense of integrity and dedication when it comes to handling mail." Residential Living Services Manager Rodney Robinson said there is no question these mail workers understand their jobs. "For them, our postal operations are simple compared to what they used to do," he said. "It's a walk in the park." Despite all of the employee experience in the mailrooms, however, hundreds of complaints have been logged by students this year for either late or undelivered mail. Simeone has received more than 200 complaints since September, and of 120 students recently surveyed by The Daily Pennsylvanian, at least 394 letters and $13,064 in checks had been lost in the mail. Quadrangle mail clerk John Lucas said the problems originate from the 30th Street Station Post Office. "It's a postal problem," he said. "Every piece of mail that comes in [to the Quad] is put in boxes -- no mail is left over." A quick look at delivery procedure in the Quad reveals that efficiency is not taken lightly by the workers. They first divide the mail into groups by box number, and then distribute it to students' boxes. Each mail worker is assigned a specific section of mailboxes, so when misaddressed mail to students is delivered, the workers distribute most of it immediately -- because they recognize the students' names. One big problem, they said, is that one or two binfuls of mail with wrong or incomplete addresses arrives at the Quad every day. Lucas said he becomes discouraged when he hears students blaming their problems on him and the other mail workers. "I think it's a slap in the face," he said. "I have been in the mail system for 30 years and I know my job. I'm doing everything I can." And to prove it, Lucas pulled out a letter from the day's mail bin, which was postmarked 14 days before it was received at the Quad. The letter was sent from New Jersey. Another clerk, 29-year postal veteran Bernard Smith, showed me a list that he keeps of mail which arrives to the Quad late. He pointed out a letter which was sent from Philadelphia that took nine days to reach the Quad. Though such letters go right into students' mailboxes when they are received, Lucas said, mail workers are still blamed for the delay. Lucas blames the post office for perpetuating a "very bad misconception" among students that mail should arrive two to three days after it has been sent. A good rule of thumb, he said, is to expect a first-class letter one week after it is sent. Smith also stressed that "all the mail is done when we leave -- even if we go over our regular hours." Their normal deadline is 1 p.m. Lucas and Smith said any problems with the 30th Street Post Office might be due to new personnel working there. "They don't have the same people working there every day and they don't know who's who or what's what," Lucas said. "Somewhere, someone is holding up the mail," Smith said. "My idea is that the main post office is hiring too many temporary people. "They don't have their heart in into it," he added. Across campus at High Rise North, the mail clerks acted a little differently. They seemed surprised to see me because very few mail problems are reported there. Mail clerk Carleton Spencer said he is upset that students "just blame the whole mail system," instead of basing their complaints "on what each mailroom does." He said HRN residents often stop by to talk with mailroom workers. "Most of the kids come here and ask questions and we try to give them good answers," the 33-year postal veteran said. "I think they're pretty well satisfied." All in all, these are just regular people who work hard and are proud of what they do.