# Postal workers can't be fired? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 30, 2002, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/postal-workers-cant-be-fired/116735 "2002-06-30T20:01:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2011, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/postal-workers-cant-be-fired/116735/21 "2011-06-30T19:37:34Z")
Alternatively, use a flamethrower on the zombie letter carriers as they shamble towards you. Can’t fire’em my ass! ---
**Author:** ![srzss05](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/898d66/32.png) [@srzss05](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/srzss05)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2011, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/postal-workers-cant-be-fired/116735/22 "2011-06-30T19:40:25Z")
> [@Gorsnak](#): > > Alternatively, use a flamethrower on the zombie letter carriers as they shamble towards you. Can’t fire’em my ass! You know, I was going to type "3, 2, 1…’ after the new poster above responded, but I thought better of it. Thank you for not disappointing me. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2011, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/postal-workers-cant-be-fired/116735/23 "2011-06-30T19:47:27Z")
> [@doreen](#): > > I am not a postal worker, but I have been a member of three different unions. In each case it was “common knowledge” that people couldn’t be fired becaause the union would protect them. People often weren’t fired because the union protected them, but the part that’s often left out is that the union was only successful because management didn’t follow the proper procedures- not documenting lateness, or giving satisfactory evaluations for unsatisfactory work. For example, someone would be fired for constant lateness. They would go to the union, and it would turn out there wasn’t any documentation of lesser,required disciplinary actions being taken first. They still had a job. What supervisors often would do, rather than take those steps, was have the problem reassigned or transferred. This is correct. Failure of management to follow the rules _that they negotiated with the union_ is the reason most escape being fired and just end up with some sort of minor disciplinary action. This is why it’s critical to have a competent HR manager who can recite contract provisions from memory. ---
**Author:** ![code\_grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@code\_grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/code_grey)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2011, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/postal-workers-cant-be-fired/116735/24 "2011-06-30T21:40:18Z")
given that Post Office is a huge outfit, can they just routinely [del]dump[/del] reassign employees they don’t like to Tundra-city, Alaska? ---
**Author:** ![Crown\_Prince\_of\_Irony](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ed655f/32.png) [@Crown\_Prince\_of\_Irony](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crown_Prince_of_Irony)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2011, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/postal-workers-cant-be-fired/116735/25 "2011-06-30T21:55:20Z")
Could a postal worker be fired for, oh, I don’t know, delivering mail 9 years too late? Pssst. Look at the dates for posts 19 and 20. ---
**Author:** ![srzss05](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/898d66/32.png) [@srzss05](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/srzss05)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2011, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/postal-workers-cant-be-fired/116735/26 "2011-06-30T22:27:52Z")
> [@Crown\_Prince\_of\_Irony](#): > > Pssst. Look at the dates for posts 19 and 20. Psst. Look at post 21. ---
**Author:** ![Crown\_Prince\_of\_Irony](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ed655f/32.png) [@Crown\_Prince\_of\_Irony](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crown_Prince_of_Irony)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2011, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/postal-workers-cant-be-fired/116735/27 "2011-06-30T22:59:38Z")
> [@srzss05](#): > > Psst. Look at post 21. Oops. Does this mean I’m fired? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/postal-workers-cant-be-fired/116735.md?page=1)