Cancer Survivor PO’d! Too Much Money, Attention On Lance Armstrong
by LEONARD SAFFIR - Staff Writer
Copyright 2002 - The Lake Worth Herald Press, Inc.
Cancer survivor Lance Armstrong has received millions of dollars from the U.S. Postal Service to support his cycling team and now comes a Massachusetts post office mail carrier - also a cancer survivor - who wants him to stop.
Years ago, Armstrong overcame a battle with cancer and this summer won his fourth Tour de France race backed by an estimated $25 million of support from the USPS.
Edward Kelso, 54, has worked for the postal service for nearly 25 years. Prior to that he served four years in the Air Force during the Vietnam War period.
Today, after an operation to remove a cancerous kidney, Kelso is fighting to return to work on limited duty status. He is also asking for salary he was denied when the post office did not allow him back on the job last summer.
“Perhaps you should reconsider your association with an organization as callous and cold-hearted as the postal service,” Kelso wrote in a letter he was preparing to send to Armstrong this week.
Kelso faxed a copy of the letter to The Lake Worth Herald and Observer newspapers. He discussed Armstrong and his own plight in an exclusive interview.
“I believe the story should be told,” he told the newspapers.
Inspiration
“First of all I would like to congratulate you on your inspiring achievements. I am not only talking about your cycling victories but also your victories against cancer,” he said in his letter.
“You are truly an inspiration to all Americans. As a fellow American, I am very proud of your accomplishments so please don’t misinterpret my story,” Kelso wrote.
“I am also a cancer survivor. I lost a kidney to it. After almost 25 years of service, as well as being a veteran, postal management has been totally unsympathetic to my plight. The postmaster at the Newburyport (Mass.) post office, John Cantwell, has refused to allow me to return to work.
“The postal service spends untold millions of dollars sponsoring the cycling team of a cancer victim and proudly claims their support for cancer survivors.
“When at the same time, they won’t even allow one of their own to earn an honest living.
“This is something that is very hard for me and other postal employees to understand.
“The postal service claims they are very safety conscious and protective of their employees well being. Well nothing could be farther from the truth; in fact their actions speak volumes,” Kelso said.
Couldn’t Work
The Newburyport post office employs about 65 and is located 35 miles north of Boston.
Postmaster Cantwell refused to allow Kelso to return to work on July 11, 2001 after an operation nine months earlier to remove a cancerous kidney.
“That morning, I was looking for my time card in the rack when (supervisor) Fernando Bellavance came running over to me, literally. Out of breath, he told me he couldn’t let me return to work. This was all pre-planned and obvious.
“I couldn’t return to work on orders from the postmaster because I didn’t have enough medical documentation,” he said.
“Please be advised that in order to return to duty at the Newbury Post Office, (you must) obtain detailed medical documentation from the doctor that treated you for your cancer condition clearing you for duty,” wrote Postmaster Cantwell, Jan. 31, 2002.
“See if you can rise above the maturity level you have set for yourself,” Cantwell concluded in his letter, in an apparent attempt to belittle Kelso’s grievances.
Doctors Said OK
Kelso said his doctor had supplied the appropriate medical information that cleared him to return to work on light duty.
“They received every bit of medical documentation they needed from my doctor and a Department of Labor doctor prior to my return on July 11,” Kelso said.
Cantwell wrote Kelso again March 5, 2002.
“I regret to inform you that failure to provide the requested information will result in your being considered Absent Without Leave (AWOL). Furthermore be advised being in an AWOL status, may result in appropriate administrative action, including removal from the postal service,” the postmaster wrote.
Seven weeks later Kelso received a letter from Susan Lewis, a Supervisor of Customer Services, who reported he was in fact AWOL.
“Your actions are very serious in nature and are in violation of the Employee & Labor Relations Manual,” Lewis wrote.
“I don’t understand how you can be AWOL if they won’t let you return to work,” Kelso said.
Show Me The Scar
Kelso said he visited a Labor Department doctor at the request of the post office.
“At first the doctor didn’t believe I had an operation at all concerning the cancer and kidney removal. I actually had to show him the scar, and after he saw I actually had a scar he was pretty upset.
“Did you ever think they don’t want you back Kelso,” the postal worker quoted Dr. Leonard Popowitz.
“Why am I being punished for my medical condition?” Kelso wrote his supervisor Bellavance.
While considered by the post office to be AWOL, Kelso is still employed, receiving four hours a day Workmen’s Compensation for a previous back injury.
Back Problem
Kelso said his problem started in 1996 when he hurt his back.
“The minute you’re injured, you’re on their s--- list,” Kelso said.
“Although I was in extreme pain, I did my absolute best to continue working. When the pain became too much for me to bear, I called my supervisor. I was yelled at, threatened, harassed and constantly warned that there would be repercussions if I filed an injury claim.
“Then in 2000 I found out I had cancer.
“This is my punishment for being injured on the job and then being diagnosed a few years later with cancer,” Kelso said.
“The postmaster saw this as an opportunity to get rid of me.”
While Kelso said he thought long and hard about speaking out to a newspaper, he was free and open speaking of his dislike for Postmaster Cantwell..
“He (Cantwell) is selfish, arrogant and self-centered only keyed to his own advancement.
“He is above everyone and everything, and he can do as he pleases without question.
“The doctors always tell you to eliminate stress from your life.
“The stress never stops with these guys. I call them the Hitler youth group,” Kelso said.
More Criticism
The USPS has received considerable criticism about its sponsorship of the Armstrong team from other postal workers and organizations.
“It’s just absurd that Lance gets $25 million from the same organization for which I have trouble getting a hundred bucks for drugs (to overcome anthrax poisoning),” said a 15-year Pennsylvania veteran of the post office, according to an article in The Wall Street Journal, July 29.
“I think any organization that is hemorrhaging money should not spend it on frivolous activities,” said David Williams, a policy expert with Citizens Against Government Waste in Washington.
“Ask people at Enron and WorldCom if they’re going to sponsor anything right now.”
The post office lost $1.6 billion last year and has accumulated debts of $13 billion. It expects the losses this year to be higher than last year.
PO: No Comment
Meanwhile, the USPS has refused to reveal how much money was spent or how it was spent to sponsor the Tour de France, according to The Indianapolis Star.
The Star filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the USPS for budget documentation.
“The post office denied the request,” John Fritze, a reporter with the newspaper said.
“If it’s a great thing why won’t they tell us about it?” he asked.
Cantwell refused to comment on Kelso’s charges.
However, the Vice President for Public Affairs and Communications feels that the post office is doing the right thing by sponsoring Armstrong.
“We had faith in him all along, just as we have faith in our organization and its employees,” Azeezaly Jaffer told The Los Angeles Times.