Gilroy – Residents are getting their mail and carrier Patricia
Finley is still delivering it. The
”
do not dismount
”
controversy is over.
Gilroy – Residents are getting their mail and carrier Patricia Finley is still delivering it. The “do not dismount” controversy is over.
Finley, whom Gilroy Postmaster Penny Yates tried to fire for using her postal truck to push trash bins out of her way, received only a “paper suspension” for her transgression and did not miss any work time.
The discipline came after Finley was photographed by The Dispatch for a story detailing the lengths carriers will go to deliver mail without leaving their vehicles, as ordered by Yates.
That order caused a furor among residents on Finley’s route in the northwest quad, who complained about missed deliveries because there was a car or trash bin blocking their mailboxes.
Yates’ order was in violation of USPS policy and she repealed it after the story was published.
Tony Cortese, president of the local branch of the National Association of Letter Carriers, would not comment on Finley, but said he was no longer working on the case. He blamed the confusion over curbside deliveries on orders from the district office in Oakland.
“The issue of curbside deliveries caused by a mistake in Oakland has been cleared up in all the districts,” Cortese said. “No carrier has lost a job because of the mistake.”
In July, Finley received a “notice of removal” letter that said she would be terminated for leaning too far out of her vehicle and using her truck to push plastic garbage bins out of her path.
In the letter, Yates said that Finley’s actions could have resulted in injury to herself or to a small child or dog hidden behind the trash bins.
She accused Finley of disloyalty to the U.S. government and conduct unbecoming a carrier of “good character and reputation.”
Yates said Monday that she could not comment on Finley.
Matt King covers Santa Clara County for The Dispatch. Reach him at 847-7240 or mk***@gi************.com.
