Jen Self

This episode features Jen Self, Region 2 ROA. Jen is a member of Branch 82, Portland, Oregon.

Transcript

unknown 0:00

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 0:21

Welcome to the History of Female Leadership in the NALC podcast. I'm Craig Schaefer. I'm a city carrier in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, branch 1015. Today I'm honored to have a sister from Oregon. If you don't mind, go ahead and introduce yourself.

SPEAKER_02 0:35

So Jennifer or Jen Self, as most people know me, uh branch 82, uh Portland, Oregon. Been with uh USPS since uh 2014. So my it's it's been it's been a while. So I started off pretty young. And then um I got the opportunity to work at the Region 2 office in uh 2022 in September as an NAA for a little bit. And then I got hired on and was very blessed to be hired on by Brian Renfro in January of 2023.

SPEAKER_00 1:08

All right. Okay, so you started with the post office in 2014. Um what what brought you to the post office in the first place?

SPEAKER_02 1:18

So it was one of those things. I actually got a notice in the mail, says hiring. Um, and I actually wanted to be a part of the post office when I was like 18 years old. Uh, but they I got involved with the the scam thing, right? So they said that you have to pay this much to be able to take a test. And I'm just like, I don't want to pay that much. I'm 18 years old trying to figure out what I truly want to do. And I was like, I'm not gonna pay $2,000 for like a warm-up test that I have no idea if I'm gonna pass it. And so, you know, that was a lot of money for me. So I just kind of put that on the back burner. Uh, so I could have had an opportunity to go when I was 18, but then I probably wouldn't have been able to have my two beautiful girls. Uh, so it's it, I got this thing in the mail uh when I was married to my ex-husband, and I was like, I want to try this. Let's see. It's like it's kind of you know serendipitous, like come come full circle. So I went and applied. I did it back when they did testing for the for the latter part, you know. And so I did the testing, and then I got called for uh for to actually become a rule carrier uh for Clackamas. And so I went in, did the interview, did not enjoy the interview at all. I was like, this is so sloppy, I can't do it. I I'm just it's not not where I want to be. Then I got the in the very awesome call from Oregon City, which is just south of Portland. And so I went in there and the rest is history. I loved it. I really left my postmaster at the time. Uh, I was a bummer when she left. But uh the best part about it was I knew I was gonna come become career within a year or two while everybody else was like, you know, waiting in the lines. So I was gonna become regular so fast. So it was kind of full send from there.

SPEAKER_00 3:09

Nice, nice. Well, um, one thing that I would point out is I've had people come up in on like where I would deliver in southeast Missouri, and uh the scams, they must do it regionally, and apparently in Oregon, they think you guys have more money because down here it's like 50, 100 bucks. So they're like, nobody's gonna, nobody has two thousand dollars in southeast Missouri. We're not doing that.

SPEAKER_02 3:36

And you know, I think it was probably that escalation at the time, you know. That was that was back in, you know, gonna age myself, but 2006. So I mean, back then it was probably going and escalating from there, and I just kind of ignored it and did odd jobs in between, and you know, was getting married and you know, focusing on that with my young life. So it just that I that it just completely went on the back burner. Uh so when it came around, I was like, you know, I've always kind of thought about doing something like this. I always thought it would be fun.

SPEAKER_00 4:08

Yeah, yeah. Um that that I'm well, I'm glad you didn't accept the rule carrier thing. I'm glad you stuck with the stuck with us. Um, you know, you you said that you have been uh an NAA and now you're an ROA, which uh nationally assigned assistant and then regional office assistant. Is that yeah?

SPEAKER_02 4:30

So they're in is an NAA to kind of experiment mostly with uh ROA position. It was very new. So they had these field secretaries, which were folks that they brought off the street. So they had no letter carrier experience, they were just looking for people that did office job work. So when that occurred, um, it just wasn't conducive. You know, it's it I they just didn't really get it, I guess was the whole thing. Like timelines, how important it is, you know, what happens with the grievance, all the steps. They didn't fully comprehend that. So I think that's where the little bit of a disconnect was. And some do, you know, I know that there's still a lot of field secretaries that are out there that are doing a banging job just as much as we are. Um, but I do think that they went in the direction of having us be regional office assistants because we are letter carriers that are now, you know, gradually going in and actually seeing the the third step, if you will, and sometimes even the fourth, with what happens after the grievance process.

SPEAKER_00 5:34

Yeah, I I think it's a great thing. I I would, you know, nothing against the field secretary. We've had a great field secretary in region five before, and then they we we have an ROA now, and uh the previous one and the one we have now are it's it's just easier when you call there and you're talking to somebody that knows the job. I mean, it's nothing against the field secretary, but it just you don't have to worry about, you know, uh maybe they know this one, maybe they don't understand. I don't know. We I know they know, so yeah, it it definitely makes a difference. Well, what what caused you to even uh decide to pursue a role in in a leadership role in the NALC?

SPEAKER_02 6:16

So I I got this became available, and so Nick put out, you know, a mass message saying, hey, we've got this deposition. Who do you recommend somebody that you think would be really interested in it? And uh so Willie Grischel, who is actually uh works with OWCP, uh, so he's at our office too. He ended up coming up there about a year or two later after I got hired on, and he recommended me to Nick, and we're really, really tight. We have kids about the same age, so super good friends. And then he recommended me, and then this is when I did the trial period, and you know, me and Nick work really well together, and it was just I think it was that breath of fresh air of just like they just get it. So it was, and I had like clerical like experience before I came on with the postal service, so it was easy for me to be able to kind of transition with doing um like answering phones and you know, just doing all of the technical work. That was a lot easier for me, um, especially dealing with the postage machine, which can be a nightmare for people. I already had a job where I dealt with Pitney Bose machines, so I kind of already remember the system. So it was kind of this one up that actually just like it was another serendipitous moment of uh something different. And, you know, in my past relationship, so I'm divorced and I have uh two two girls, and so it was it was a job that was gonna be easier for me as a single parent, and it was easier on my ex-husband. So scheduling was easier. It just it really just balanced out everything, and it was nice to be able to have um to be a part of something that I loved as well as be able to have an easier home life because tell you what, it's I I pity the people that are married and have to deal with the whole, you know, what do you do at the post office and I'll be home at the umpteenth hour. Uh, so it makes it a little bit easier for me, uh, just being a single mom. And you know, uh hail to all the single moms out there that have to deal with that schedule because it is grueling. I had to do it for many years, and it was very hard on my children. Yeah, so it was kind of um it it just kind of was a good balance.

SPEAKER_00 8:31

Yeah, yeah, definitely. So um have you held any other positions like in your branch or anything at all? Or is this what you've done?

SPEAKER_02 8:38

I'm still relatively new, you know, compared to all of the others that I've I've worked with. A lot of our NAAs obviously are pretty new, but some of them, you know, are younger or they have older children. They've kind of have that good balance. I'm kind of in this scope where I have like a 12-year-old and a 10-year-old at home. So they still need a lot of attention, but a different amount of attention. So it's hard for me to, you know, go into the NA NAA work. Um, so so yeah, it it's it's been a really good experience dealing with with all of that. And uh, but yeah, it's just I I didn't really get the opportunity to do the NA work as much as I was interested in. Um thank God for Nick being like the the nice thing about Nick is he's very straightforward. And so when I was asked about NA work, he was just like, it's a lot of travel, you're gonna be away from your kids. How old are they? He he does a really good job of balancing that out for people so they aren't distracted with stuff at home, so they can give the best jobs possible. So that was something I was very grateful for when I first met him at Steward College. Yeah, so I haven't really had a lot of roles. Uh, I was a lead steward at my station uh for a couple years. And uh after that, I was like, I want more, I want to do more. And so I got to teach classes at rap, which I was really grateful for. I did two safety classes, um, but I'm still I'm still kind of a pup in the business, you know. I'm still learning the lingo, I'm still learning the past stuff. Uh so I I consider myself kind of kind of a pup in the big big dog world.

SPEAKER_00 10:23

Yeah. Well, uh, you were speaking of the travel. Um, so my region, region five is Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas. I mean, they're you know, from where I'm sitting to the other, you know, the northwest corner of Nebraska. Now that's that's quite a hall. But um, you know, what what area or what states do you cover in region two?

SPEAKER_02 10:47

We're one of the biggest. So we have Alaska, we have Idaho, uh, trying to go in order of um uh Alaska, Idaho, we have Montana, um, we have Oregon, obviously, Washington, Utah. So, I mean, we're we're in that whole circle. And so, like Nick does some of the most travel, and so do our NAAs. Like, they're all over the place. Um, we have we have tons that are able to kind of pickpocket. Um, but yeah, so when you're going to Utah, you know, is the other one. So, I mean, we're we're all over the board. We have a lot of states.

SPEAKER_00 11:21

We have six states that's we have that's and that's that was my point because I know like you know, here of course, traveling to any of the states that we have, you know, it it's a it's it can be a haul, but yeah, that's next level. I mean, you that that's huge. And so that would cause a lot of travel to get to anywhere, you know, because you do have a lot of flyover country there as well, you know, kind of like we do. You know, there's bigger cities here and there, but for the most part, you know, there's not so you're gonna be doing a lot of flying, a lot of travel, I mean, driving after you land and things like that to get to your location. So I think that was I I wanted to make that very clear that when you said the travel, that it's your travel is no joke. When when you're in region two, it's it is travel.

SPEAKER_02 12:08

So yeah, that that's uh every state has this dead space, like you know, Oregon, eastern Oregon, eastern Washington, Idaho does not have a lot. Uh Montana does not have a lot, but they're huge, you know. And then you have Alaska, which is obviously like there's only towns, you know, intermittently, and there's a handful of rural uh Utah. Um, I'd say Utah is just it's just as much. So you have all of these states that we cover that, yeah, the travel is grueling and our NAAs, they're exhausted, I'm sure, by the end of it. And that yeah, there's a lot of seclusion. We definitely have a ton of really tiny branches um that you know have probably two, two carriers, some in Oregon that are two that I know for sure. And so we have a lot of really tiny branches that we take care of. So we definitely had a big merger that came through, which really um alleviated a lot of that. Um, but it's it's kind of like what do you do with the outskirts? So it's kind of hard to find representation, but they they work so hard to to try and alleviate that that pain for people within the branch that don't have a lot of representation or a lot of you know hope really. Yeah, you know, they just kind of just they come to work, they hope for the best, and that's all they got.

SPEAKER_00 13:23

Yep. Yeah, there we have some of those kind of branches even here in Missouri where it's uh two, three members in a in a branch, and uh, you know, it does it you hope that they're doing okay there. And I, you know, they're if they have an issue, they can always get a hold of the business agent's office and and and we can get somebody, you know, they'll they will get somebody to them. But it's uh it it it's a lot when you're in one of those smaller offices. Um and I I you've kind of went over it anyway already, but is there anything else that you would like to add about your duties as an ROA, like anything else that you do? I mean, you've already listed a ton of stuff that you do, so if there's anything that I missed, um it's kind of a growing position.

SPEAKER_02 14:06

Like I from what I've talked to a handful of the ROAs across the country, it sounds like we all kind of do different things. Uh, so it's a very growing position, which is kind of it kind of makes it a little bit more fun. Like I input 1187s uh and send those out, and we sent them a nice cover letter that I believe James Frankfurt uh one of our RAAs, he he wrote up a while ago. So we have that. Um I input all the step Bs. Uh I file the appeals for our impasses, send the letters out to our to our branch leadership. Um I help Nick pretty closely with rap sessions. Um I'm the one that makes the name tags and you know tries to make sure everything is in order. I guess the the way to put is some fixer, you know, whatever he needs. I'm like right there trying to make it better. So um a lot of the time I work with with Nick very, very closely. Um with Steward Colleges, I print the stuff for him. Um we have a really good teaching staff that like our RAAs and our RGAs. Uh they do a really good job of putting stuff together. Uh so I print the books for them, send all the materials. Um, but most of the time I'm definitely working with a lot of DOEs, um, uh, the directors of education. Uh I work a lot with them, uh, a lot of the NAAs. And then I take in all the phone calls and then kind of disperse them to wherever it needs to go. I deal with office inventory. Uh I kind of it's kind of like we're just we're the ones that kind of keep it rolling and we do all the background stuff. Uh, but that I'd say that's probably the best way I can describe it is we're we're the back end and like anything that needs to be ordered or sent out, that's usually coming from me.

SPEAKER_00 16:00

I'm gonna say the backbone, but yeah, we'll just leave it.

SPEAKER_02 16:03

Well, thank you.

SPEAKER_00 16:05

We'll assume that Nick doesn't hear this and you're you're the backbone of the office. We're gonna stick with that.

SPEAKER_02 16:10

I think I'd say that I'm I'm kind of like it, it's it's the well-oiled machine and every cog works together. If if you don't have everyone that goes, then it's not gonna roll, right? So we all have these certain positions that makes makes it a well-oiled machine in region two, especially.

SPEAKER_00 16:26

Yeah, yeah. I've uh been fortunate enough to kind of see the way my business agent's office works, and that's the way it is there. You know, you can tell everybody has their position, they know what they're doing, and yeah, it's it it's uh like you said, it's a well-oil oiled machine. And uh all of us out on the in the field appreciate all you all of you that do all that work for us and and protect us and take care of us. So um the next questions are a little bit not as fun questions, but uh are very important. Um a lot of the people that I spoke to have had issues in the past um with whether it be some kind of discrimination or harassment. Um have you ever had any of those situations? And if so, how did you deal with it? And do you think it was resolved?

SPEAKER_02 17:14

Uh yeah, I'd say that it's like it's um it's kind of both both directions, right? So I've I've witnessed it. Um, you know, discrimination is running rampant and in so many different sectors, especially uh when you're a steward. So it's kind of like I had a double whammy, you know, being like lead shop steward. And it's just like we're looked at by management on a regular basis as kind of a problem, right? We're we're caught, we're doing the poke, and we're just kind of like it's not the way you want to do it. So, you know, I admittedly can be somebody that's very strong, stubborn, and it's just kind of like nah, it's wrong. And so, but there's other times where I'm just like, well, gotta do what's best for the membership, you know. What what fight are we willing to fight? Right. And so, yeah, there's been a couple things in the past that I was not too keen on. Um, do I feel like they were resolved? Yeah, technically, do I feel like it really was a perspective change for the party that was involved in that? Not really. Um, but I I will say that I was very fortunate to have a group of folks. Um, like my office was very heavily uh veteran. So I had a very group, big group of uh veterans that I was kind of I I guess the veteran mom, even though I was the youngest, you know, anytime something would go wrong, I was the one walking them out and being like, have at it, start screaming, get it out of your systems. We had a handful that had PTSD. So um the veteran thing is that's a very passion. Like I have a very big passion for that. I do charity work for veterans whenever I can. Um, so it's it's it's that that's something that was very fortunate for me. So I was able to feel like I had a voice, I had protection, I had a moment to say, you know what, this is wrong. I'm not gonna allow it. And so, as far as resolve, not really. I think it's the same habits that keep happening over. It's pretty much a story cut from the same.

SPEAKER_03 19:20

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 19:21

And that's that's kind of the unfortunate thing. Um, I'm just a different personality where I can kind of move away from it. I was fortunate enough to never have to deal with the horrific stories. Mine were more petty, yeah. Um, is the best way I can describe it. Uh, but you learn from it, right? And both parties don't always have to learn from it, but it's a more of yeah, you just kind of learn what battles you want to fight and which ones, you know, are probably not worth it.

SPEAKER_00 19:46

Yeah, yeah. I totally understand what you're saying there. Um another one that I have for you is um obviously with your position, you you I'm sure have had to work it in the evenings or travel, whatever it might be. Um, has this, you know, the time involved with your role in the NALC now or even in the past, um has that caused you any problems with your family or your friends with the time you're having to stay, you know, spend on NALC uh issues?

SPEAKER_02 20:26

Um, not as much. I mean, when I was a carrier and I was a steward, yes. Long hours, a lot of fights, um, like with management, and it was very stressful at work. Um, I was going through a divorce at the time, so that that was kind of tough. Uh, but luckily on my personal side, I kind of got that resolved. But definitely it, you sometimes you take your your work home with you. And that was the hardest part, I think, about being a steward. And I think a lot of our stewards, you know, they get burnt out. And you can go into your blue in the face, you know, and tell them you're gonna get burnt out, it's gonna be rough, you're still fighting the good fight. But the you almost feel like a guilt, like an extra set of guilt by not taking care of it. So I would say that yeah, it it with friends, they don't really get it. You know, they'll be like, hey, do you want to go out to time? I'm like, no, I just don't. It's not you. And the amount of times you have to decline, um, it it just it really makes it tough. Or if you make plans with somebody, a lot of people don't understand that you can be like, oh yeah, I should be off at 3:30 today, no problem. And then four people call out.

SPEAKER_03 21:39

Yep.

SPEAKER_02 21:39

You always feel like you're disappointing somebody. And that that is something that I really struggled with. Uh luckily, I have I have a really good set of friends. So the ones that didn't get it, nah, it's fine. Uh, but uh I I just don't think that a lot of people truly understand. How the post office just doesn't make sense and how frustrating it is. Like you tell them stories, and they're like, There's no way. I'm like, Oh yeah. Like we could all make so much money off novels at just the lore that happens. So it is, it's it's legendary with some of the stories, and we can all laugh about it now. But yeah, there's sometimes some stories where you're just like, no way. Like this is insane. And my family, it they didn't really enjoy it. You know, it was it was hard on my children, especially. Uh of course, there was other factors in my marriage, but it it could have been that the hard hours were very hard on my ex-husband. And they were very hard on us. It was that communication that was really difficult. And I'm sure a lot of people go through that. Um, so yeah, that that is definitely something that is very difficult. And that's why, you know, a lot of carriers date each other.

unknown 22:56

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 22:57

End up being together because we get it. You know, it's just like, hey, I'm gonna be home at this time. Like, no, you're not.

SPEAKER_01 23:02

We'll see.

SPEAKER_02 23:02

We'll see what happens. So I I I really think that it's over the years, it's been it's been easier to adjust based on where I'm at personally, but I completely empathize with so many carriers out there that you know don't really have a timeline. They they hopefully have spouses and friends that get it. And I think that's why we all become this like little ball. Like we become it's our own little world, right?

SPEAKER_00 23:30

And everybody else is just kind of like, well, if you don't get yeah, yeah, it's uh if you go out with friends that aren't friends from work and you tell them stories, it's always the same thing. It's always nah, you're you're exaggerating. And I'm like, no, this is this is the reality of the Postal Service. You could like you said, you could write a book and it you could write it as nonfiction, but no no publisher is going to publish that as nonfiction. They're gonna be, it's no way this is real. This has got to be fiction. There's no way this could be this dysfunctional and crazy, but it is, and that's what some of the new carriers I always uh tell them. I'm like, listen, when you walk in that door in the morning, before you open that door, you just take your common sense out of your head and just leave it at the door and go on in, do your job. And then as you're walking out, grab it again and put it back in your head. Because if you try to bring common sense into this place, you're going to drive yourself insane. And uh it it is wild. But um, yeah, it it it is hard for someone that doesn't work at the post office to understand the way it and I'll air quote it works because sometimes I don't really think it's working, but you know, it it is what it is. Um well you know, when when you do step away and you're you're off work and you, you know, you're not answering your phone for a few minutes, and you're you know, you close your laptop, what do you like to do to unwind and relax? And do you have any hobbies?

SPEAKER_02 25:02

Oh, yeah, I have tons. Uh so my my kids are kind of my hobby, you know, they're at an age now, super into softball. So that's kind of been our hobby over the past couple years. Uh I golf a lot, so that's something that I've been doing since I was a little kid. Um, I decided to take a on being president of the PTO for my daughter's school. So that's been something that consumes a lot of my time. Um, and I really appreciate giving the opportunity to be able to be a part of something like that. So, you know, it's uh that's something that I'm gonna be doing for another year, luckily. Uh so that's something um I I like going to ball games. I'm a big sports person, so uh especially the Winter Hawks here. They're a uh they're a hockey team, they're a minor league hockey team, super fun. Uh go to Timbers games for soccer. So I'm very, very much into sports. I used to play soccer, but I unfortunately suffered uh injury. So I used to play every Sunday in uh a 35 and over league uh for many, many years. So uh yeah, so I try and stay as active as possible. My kids keep me exceptionally busy uh with all of their activities. But yeah, me and my significant other, we like to travel when we can. Um we do a couple charity uh tournaments, like golf tournaments, uh whenever we can. One of them in particular for wounded veterans. So it's that's kind of our passion uh together since he's uh a purple heart veteran. So anything that we can do for the troops, we definitely go in that direction as much as we can.

SPEAKER_00 26:44

Well, thank him for his service for me. That is that's yeah, I will. Not that he's a purple heart, but that he was a veteran, and now you guys are kind of you know paying it forward by doing those sort of things. That's really really nice. Um, and I noticed you were naming off all your favorite teams, and I think you forgot to mention you're one of the biggest cardinals, St. Louis Cardinals fans.

SPEAKER_01 27:07

I'm a cubby, I'm a cubby all the way. I love my cubs.

SPEAKER_00 27:11

Well, I've well, it's been great talking. No, I just yeah, right. I was actually talking to another lady not too long ago when she had her cub shirt on, and I was like, You're just poking the bear here. Poking the bear. As you can see behind me, I'm in my cardinal room.

SPEAKER_02 27:28

Yes. Um, the wire. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 27:32

Hey, that was that was a good time. That was fun.

SPEAKER_03 27:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 27:35

Um, and also I I don't call myself golfing. I go on a golf course, I hit golf balls, but I think it would be an insult to you and any other person that actually golfs to say that I'm golfing, but I love going out there and hitting golf balls into the water and into the woods. I I do a lot of that, but uh, it is fun though. It is really nice. We we have our MDA golf tournament for the state association. And yeah, so that's that's my my big golf tournament that I play in. That's all I'll say.

SPEAKER_02 28:10

Yeah, I played in high school. Uh I was a four-year-old letterman in in high school for golf. So I was very, very into it when I was younger. And after I had my kids, you know, it like golf kind of went on the back back burner. Uh, but we do anytime we we go to the coast uh with my family, we we try and play when as much as we can. So I've been playing since I was a little kid. Uh I got my partner into it. So he's he's starting to really get the bug for like for that. Uh yeah, I did travel golf with my dad all the time. Anytime we went on trips, so we would go to Bandon. We'd go any anywhere we went, we always took our sticks. So, you know, it's just you always gotta go. And uh lately I've been kind of doing a little bit more uh golf tournaments, but it's only if they're charity tournaments. Uh that's that's mostly what I try and do um with a handful of friends. Uh it's just it's more meaningful to me, I guess, in playing a sport that I love and I know that I'm giving back. So I think that is probably my favorite part now. Um, my girls are starting to get into it a little bit more. We do a family golf tournament every year. So our entire family gets together and we have teams. We have the whole presentation of you know the trophy. Uh so and we have a wall at at that house that has all the pictures of the teams and stuff. So it makes it a lot of fun. It's we're a very big family.

SPEAKER_00 29:31

That is awesome. That is so cool. That is so cool.

SPEAKER_02 29:34

It's a it's a good hobby, you know. Sometimes if you're having a bored day, go hit a bucket. Why not?

SPEAKER_00 29:39

Yeah, it you can take the aggression out on them. I'm not probably hitting it correctly. I'm more happy gilmouring it, but uh at least I can take that aggression out. So yeah, that's that is that is so cool, though. Um well um, you know, you you have been around for a while, and you, you know, you uh obviously you take phone calls all day, you do all this other stuff, but you hear a lot of people uh what their struggles are and what they're dealing with. Um well, with all of that that you've taken in over the years, if there's someone listening to this and they're thinking about kind of maybe you know dipping their toes into an NALC position, some sort of you know, role, um, what would be a piece of advice that you might give that person?

SPEAKER_02 30:23

Always listen. Listen to what's around you. Uh, you'll learn a lot. And you know, sometimes you don't want to listen because you're tired of hearing the same story, uh, but always listen. And I think that's where I've really grown to really love this current position that I have. Uh I hate hearing people's struggles, but if I can help them potentially in some way make it better, then that that's that's kind of where I really feel that this position's for me. Um, I really enjoy helping and being able to do that extra mile. You know, it's like I was helping every everybody that was at my station, uh, but I wanted to help more, you know, like being able to teach was really, really empowering and having people ask questions and us all working together to find a solution. And it's rather than having the gripe having the solution. Uh so listen, it listening is is key. Like I have some really awesome people that I work with that are so smart, have been in the business for so long, you know, and so they're they're fantastic to be able to teach me how to deal with things, see perspective. Um, so I'd say listening is is the number one thing. Listen and engage. Um, and if you feel like you have a question, ask it. You know, they there is a really empowering thing to there is no stupid question. Of course, if you ask it again, then you know it's debatable. But then you gotta listen. But I would say if you have a question, ask it. Otherwise, you're not gonna get the answer. Um so yeah, I'd say that that's probably the number number one thing is some people just want to be heard. Some people want to gripe, some people have a legitimate thing, some people are just like, you know what? Why? Why am I doing this? And to have a sounding board, I think is probably the best thing uh that I'm able to give a good portion of the time. Uh I love it when people call and it's like they can call our office and they hear something happy, even though they've got bad news, just kind of like, hey, how are you? How you been? It's just kind of like talking to a friend on a regular basis. So we get, you know, some consistent calls here and there. Um, but yeah, I want them to call us. I want them to get their question answered. And it's okay to second guess yourself. Like, that's what we're here for. We're here to give you that soundboard. And so, yeah, I would say listening is probably the number one rule. Uh, and it'll give you the most success.

SPEAKER_00 33:04

That's that's great advice. I need to listen to that a little more. I need to listen a little more.

SPEAKER_03 33:10

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 33:12

But no, that that's awesome. Um, I I'll be honest, I'm out of questions here. So now I'm going to turn it back to you and I'm gonna say, did I miss anything? Is there anything else you'd like to add? The floor is yours.

SPEAKER_02 33:25

Um, yeah, I'd say like women in the industry, you know, we're kind of um, I think I don't know if it's 50-50 anymore. I haven't been on a workroom floor in so long. Um, the only thing I can hear from is my significant other. You know, he's and it sounds like uh it's starting to balance out a little bit more. Like when I first started, I was one of four gals out of like I think 18 carriers on our side, um, which is personally my preference. Like, like I'd rather be around a bunch of men than women. Uh but uh yeah, it just I I think that women in the industry are starting to have a little bit stronger of a sound, you know, before it was like meek and it's just like we're just doing our job and going. Um, but I really think that uh this is another example of listening is really important because then you can hear what anybody says who might be having a struggle that day. I think naturally, obviously, women have a maternal instinct. Um, and not not all persons are the same, right? Everybody has a unique story, everybody has uh a different perspective. So uh I think over the years, seeing how it's kind of becoming more balanced from what I've seen, uh, I think that's a really good thing. And I think us working together is something that I've I've really enjoyed witnessing. You know, like in our office, I'd say it's I think it's close to 50-50. Yeah, we're we have because I think it's me, Sue, Amy. Um, yeah, so we've had we've had probably about 50-50. I think.

SPEAKER_00 35:12

That's really impressive. Yeah, we're we're getting better. Our our office is getting better, um, but it's still very male dominated in our office, and most offices I go to uh in our area anyway are are still pretty heavily male, but it's starting to, you know, it's starting to turn a little more, and you know, we're we're getting a little more involvement from the ladies stepping up into union positions, which I love to see. Um and you know, I think that it there we've got a long ways to go, I feel, but I I think that we're definitely hopefully on the right trajectory to getting there, you know. And so um, well, I I just want to tell you that I really appreciate first off you coming on here. I mean, this transpired over the course of one day. I cold messaged you on Facebook. Yeah. I'm just like, hey, and you're like, wow, what's this weirdo one? And you you were gracious and you've been super nice, and you you were willing to do this for me, and I really do appreciate that. And then also I, as a you know, rank and file member down in the field carrying my route every day. I know you guys have a very thankless job there at the regional office. Um, I know our office is the same way. I think probably all of them are. Um, people don't usually just call you guys to say, hey, thanks for such a good job. It's usually I've got an issue and I'm calling you to fix it. And uh every time, you know, I can tell by the way talking to you, our R R O A here in our office, and all of our the RGA, the RAs, everybody, all the way up to our our MBA Dave Tegarden, always there to help, you know. And you know, sometimes carriers are like, I don't know, I just shouldn't call the business agent's office. I always sell them call because that they are there to help. They that's what they want to do. They didn't take that position to just sit there in their office and stare at a computer all day. They're there to help us. That's their job, and that's what they love to do. And uh we yeah, like I said, I know you guys don't get it very often, but we do appreciate you guys and we thank you for all you do. Um and like I said, on a personal note, thank you for hopping on here with me this evening. I really do appreciate it. Um I suppose I will let you go and have a good evening, and uh thank you to everybody out there listening, and be safe and be kind.