By Lynn Jones – During the 1940’s through the 1960’s, the United States Post Service (USPS) saw a surge of equal opportunity hiring access for African Africans as clerks and carriers. In the African American community securing a job with the USPS was considered a good career job choice that provided great pay, benefits and pension plan options. Capitalizing on these options is USPS retired employee Phyllis Riley. For 35 years Riley was employed as a mail technician with the United States Postal Service (USPS) Business Mail Entry Unit (BMEU) located on Southside near Beach Blvd. The BMEU postal facility is where mailers present bulk and permit mail for acceptance postal mailings.
When asked about her longevity and tenure, Riley reasoned, “Aside from salary, benefits and pension, I got to meet a lot of people, learn and experience a lot of things,” she said. During her tenure Riley received a plethora of awards that include the: Gold Star Award for Sales Service Associate; award for highest sales in passports one year; and served as the Political and Election Mail Coordinator. In her spare time, she dotes on her hobbies of sewing and gardening with retirement plans to travel to Los Angeles and Seoul, Korea later in the year.
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