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A dozen postal workers claim they were bullied at work

The allegations range from verbal to physical abuse.
Credit: KSDK
Thursday, four USPS employees came together to share their stories.

ST. LOUIS – Last week, a St. Louis mail carrier shared her story of being bullied on the job. She said a supervisor threw a key at her.

"I thought about committing suicide because it had gotten that bad," she said.

After her story aired, 5 On Your Side got at least a dozen phone calls and e-mails from postal workers saying they're being bullied, too. The allegations range from verbal to physical abuse.

"It is now being exposed because one brave female came forward," one woman said.

"It reminded me of the Hollywood movement," another woman added. "It's like, 'Yes, we're having our 'me too' moment now at the Post Office.'"

Thursday, four USPS employees — three mail carriers and one mail clerk — came together to share their stories. They each work for different stations.

"A male supervisor told me that I was nothing," one woman said. "'You are nothing here. You are nothing to us.'"

"I've been called an idiot, that I am a horrible carrier, I am a stupid person," another woman added.

The Postal Service's bullying policy is clear. It says, being yelled at, receiving discipline for trivial matters, and being put down, especially in front of others, are all forms of bullying.

"I was physically pushed by a supervisor," one woman said. "Then, I was physically pushed by a union rep."

"There's something called a Nutting truck," another woman added. "I had a man run one into my shoulder."

USPS says to take action against bullying by keeping a written account of the bullying incidents and sharing the information with a supervisor. Its policy also says to contact Human Resources.

However, the four women say, when they reported the bullying, things only got worse.

"I've made phone calls up the ladder and every phone call you make comes back down on your head," one woman said. "You are the problem and the next thing you know, you're the one that's off the clock."

Some say transferring is out of the question.

"I've tried to go to another station," one woman said. "They won't let me go."

"All we want, bottom line, is that contract that they want us to follow," another woman added, "we want them to follow that same contract because in there, it says, that we are to be treated with dignity and respect."

Apparently, this isn't only an issue for women. Two men reached out to 5 On Your Side saying they work for USPS and they've been bullied, too.

A spokesperson says USPS doesn’t publicly discuss employees' personal matters. He says, as soon as USPS becomes aware of employees' concerns, it takes immediate steps to investigate. 5 On Your Side asked how many bullying investigations there are right now in the St. Louis area, but the spokesperson said he can't provide that information.

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