Last summer, more than 19,000 bargaining unit employees from the Southeast New England and Suncoast districts participated in a new survey designed to produce a more detailed picture of the Postal Service’s racial and ethnic makeup.
Following this pilot, Employee Development and Diversity sent the survey to 90,000 non-bargaining employees.
Now, it’s time for the next step. This month, the Postal Service will offer the two-question survey to all bargaining and noncareer employees. Answers to the questions — the first asking employees whether they are “Hispanic or Latino,” and the second asking them to identify their race — will help document the shifting demographics of the federal workforce.
Postal employees who participated in the pilot recorded high response rates. “Our employees were surprised at how easy the survey was,” said Zolfo Springs, FL, Postmaster Gloria Jameson. “They were glad to be able to update their records.”
The survey is required by law, noted Susan LaChance, USPS vice president of Employee Development and Diversity. “The goal of this voluntary survey is to get more accurate race and ethnicity data on all our employees,” she said.
