Sunday, January 11, 1998

Who is deserving?

I am amazed that Kerry Hall (Jan. 6) as a postal employee is uninformed about the "bonus" issue.

Only "supervisors" received the bonus checks. In Abilene the main post office lists nine supervisors with bonuses totaling more than $21,000. There are supervisors at Southern Hills, Mail Processing and the encoding center. They also received bonus checks. The Abilene bonus checks ranged from more than $4,000 to just under $1,000.

None of these supervisors make my mail experience enjoyable. My letter carrier, who always has a smile and warm greeting and who delivers my mail accurately and timely, and Jessie at the Southern Hills counter, who always has a moment to ask about my daughter, deserve the bonuses. One of the supervisors who could not answer a simple question about "not-for-profit" postage requirements does not deserve a dime.

I know how much mail I personally generate, and I know it is the encoding center, processing center, counter clerks and letter carriers that insure this mail gets to its destination -- not a supervisor.

I realize this does not replace cold cash, but thank you to the overlooked real movers of the mail.

TERRI MARCUS

Abilene

Via e-mail

Management knows

Kerry Hall ("Postal watch," Jan. 6) is accurate on several counts. The "invisible workers" he refers to are the backbone of the postal service.

Unfortunately, he does not recognize that management does know and appreciate that postal employees at all levels of the organization are committed to their jobs and to providing our customers with the highest level of service.

Hall's problem with management is misplaced. Managers who are not represented by a union do receive pay for performance.

That means if they achieve their goals and targets, they receive compensation based on that performance. If they fail to make these targets, they do not receive performance compensation.

The various unions representing postal employees were given the opportunity to receive pay for performance. The unions chose not to take advantage of this opportunity.

Hall should be better informed before he points his finger. If he is unhappy over the pay for performance issue, he needs to direct his complaints to the appropriate union instead of blaming management.

VALERIE WELSCH

SWA Corporate Relations

Fort Worth District

United Stated Postal Service