But now, after one month of a new assignment in Harrisburg, Gallagher's back.
Named acting district manager for the Philadelphia area on Dec. 5, the former letter carrier returned to get the mail moving again. He's also trying to solve problems with employees, businesses, customers and equipment amid a criminal investigation of alleged mismanagement and a mail audit by the Postal Service's Office of Inspector General.
"I'm trying to get a clean slate," Gallagher said yesterday during a two-hour interview and tour of the plant. "I want to treat everyone with dignity and respect."
He's reached out to unions, staff, business and political figures and major customers to hear their concerns.
"I'm doing damage control," he added.
But Gallagher, 56, a Southwest Philly native with white hair and a goatee and who was dressed in a pin-striped suit, would not comment on allegations outlined in an Oct. 24 complaint filed by the American Postal Workers Union.
He wanted to talk about measures he's taking to correct the problems:
* Management: He said he has no plans to replace anyone.
The union complaint alleged that, in an effort to cut overtime and jobs, senior plant managers were ordering clerks to undercount the daily mail volume by millions each week, to reroute trucks of unprocessed mail and change the daily color code on bins to make it appear as if the mail was not late.
The complaint alleged that managers received bonuses based on fraudulent government reports.
* A potential Government Accountability Office probe:
Gallagher said he did not ask U.S. Rep. Bob Brady, D-Phila., a lifelong friend, to withdraw a request for the probe. Brady made that decision himself, he said.
"I didn't care about the GAO investigation," he said. "That has no bearing on what we do here."
* Undercounting the mail:
