Lincoln Postmaster Edmund Carley embarks on a new adventure in Washington D.C.

 

[November 04, 2021] 

At the end of October, Lincoln Postmaster Edmund Carley moved to Washington, D.C. for an exciting opportunity to serve as National President of the United Postmasters and Managers of America. Carley will serve in this role for the next three years.

Carley has worked with the United States Postal Service for the past twenty-two years. He spent nine years working in Springfield. Seven of those years Carley was a city carrier in Springfield and the other two years, he served as a supervisor.

For just over thirteen years, Carley has worked at the Post Office in Lincoln having been installed July 4th, 2008.

Carley said, “Lincoln is blessed with dedicated, hard-working carriers and clerks. They show up and work hard; they care about their customers and each other. It's fair to say it is a family dynamic, but it's not just Lincoln; Emden, Hartsburg, Beason, Mount Pulaski, and Lake Fork all report to Lincoln. Those employees are also family. We all work together to deliver for all of Logan County.”

The pandemic has presented challenges to everyone over the past year including postal workers. Carley said the first and most obvious [challenge] is the danger. Postal workers are front-line employees who came to work every day during the pandemic.

Another challenge has been the workload. Carley said the volume of packages has more than doubled over the last two years, and it does not seem to be slowing down. Packages take longer to sort and deliver than magazines and letters, so our workdays are longer.

Also, there have been staffing issues here, just like everywhere, that we have all had to do extra work to complete our mission. Carley said, “We are having a hard time hiring new employees; we have vacancies if readers want jobs.”

In the position of National President of the United Postmasters and Managers of America, Carley will represent 22,000 members, both active and retired, in all aspects of their employment with the United States Postal Service. Although not a union, UPMA is consulted on pay and benefits, working conditions, and other work environment issues. UPMA also educates its members regularly; we do leadership training, conflict resolution, and management style workshops.

Carley said “We also facilitate furthering education by the USPS specifically for postmasters, supervisors, and managers. The Postal Service cannot, by law, lobby Congress; as federal employees, we cannot either directly. UPMA stands in that gap; we have a robust legislative presence in Washington, DC, advocating for both the Postal Service and UPMA members.”

Cannon, far right, is now serving the Lincoln Post Office as officer in charge.

Supervisor Lee Cannon, a long-time resident of Lincoln and Post Office employee, will act as officer in charge for the three years Carley will be gone.

At his going away breakfast reception held on pink shirt picture day, Friday Oct. 22, 2021, Carley commended his team for their extraordinary work, particularly during the last two years of pandemic. He said, “This is the best run unit. This is the best performing unit. You guys move the most mail with the least amount of hours in time expenditure. I’d put it up against any unit in the country.
 

“That’s not my doing. That’s you all’s doing. You come to work and you work hard.
 

“I’ve appreciated every moment I’ve been here.”

He charged the workers with this last parting request, “What I would ask is that you continue to show up and work hard while you’re here. The postal service is a great place to work.

“It’s been nice to have been in a place this long and it’s nice to have worked with a group of caring individuals such as yourselves.”

Carley concluded with this promise, “I will be back. On Nov. 1, 2024. Mark it on your calendar.”

With those words of inspiration said, he thanked the workers present and said, ‘’Thanks for stopping your work and thinking of me today.” And he kiddingly invited anyone free on Monday to come help him pack to move.

As Carley embarks on this new adventure, he said, “I am looking forward to the opportunity to travel with UPMA; we have members in all 50 states and most other US territories. I enjoy the legislative process and the interaction with our national lawmakers. I am also looking forward to making a real difference in the lives of UPMA members as I represent them.”

These next few years are likely to be full of adventure and interesting experiences for Carley.

Link for careers in the postal service:

Careers - About.usps.com

[Angela Reiners/with contributions and photos by Jan Youngquist]