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OT Tax Letters and other random information · United We Scan

0:34
Hey, welcome to the United We Scan podcast.
0:37
Just a quick disclaimer here that any of the views and
0:39
opinions expressed by the individuals are not that of the
0:44
USPS or the NRLCA. This podcast is for
0:49
entertainment purposes only and if you are in need of any
0:53
assistance, please contact your designated union representative.
0:58
Thank you. Welcome back, everybody.
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Episode 146. So tonight we're going to touch
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on all those fun, big, beautiful bill overtime tax break letters
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everybody's been getting. I guess I haven't received mine
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yet. If I did, I don't know where
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it's at 'cause I was gone for a couple days.
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But I know a lot of people have gotten them.
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Some of us haven't gotten them yet.
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So and people have been flooding the social webs with with it.
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So we're kind of going to touch on how it's supposed to be
1:35
deciphered and where they get the numbers from that the best
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of information that we could dig up.
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So on that note, how was your week, Josh Excuse.
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Me, my week was pretty good. I don't remember if we were on
1:50
here or not, you know, car things.
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And this time it was my fault. I seem to strategically
1:57
misplaced my car key, which cost me a tow and $300 to get a
2:02
replacement and it programmed and that work was it was work
2:08
meow. How was your week?
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It was work week was OK. I'm a yeah, nothing really too
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memorable. I think happened just kind of I
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have a lot of growth on my route.
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So it's just trying to maintain that I have new buildings that
2:24
are, are because the weather has been so nice here.
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The construction workers have been able to build a little
2:29
quicker. So I'm normally like this time
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of the year, it's, it's kind of a little bit of a, a break in
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the growth part. But they've finished some
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buildings right before Christmas and now there's like an influx
2:42
of people moving in and it's like a like townhouse building.
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And this building specifically is different than all the rest
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of them in that area. So kind of trying to find where
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all their front doors are, making sure, you know, I'm
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getting that all squared away. So, but other than that, how was
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your week, Kristen? Oh, Monday and Tuesday weren't
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too bad. I was away for Wednesday and
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Thursday and came back Friday. Luckily I had a heads up
3:19
Thursday on my drive home that no Amazon or DPS showed up in my
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office on Thursday. So Friday I walk into two runs
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of DPS and double Amazon and I felt like Christmas all over
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again. But so, yeah.
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And then of course we had weather that moved in, snow,
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that wonderful, wonderful stuff we get in January.
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And so that made my long day even longer to approximately
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nearly 11 1/2 hours on Friday. But that was OK because I knew
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when I walked out of the office I had a three day weekend and I
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was not returning my route until the 26th.
4:02
So yeah, then we'll play clean up all over again.
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But it's all good. So, you know, I'm on to the next
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step of my next hat I'll be wearing with the girl craft.
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So, you know, I have more training to do.
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But other than that, it wasn't really that bad of a week.
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Yeah, I don't know. I'm pretty excited.
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I've been today I finally went out, got myself a filing cabinet
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and cleaning up my office space and organizing my stuff and
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which has been a long time overdue.
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So finally getting some productivity done on the home
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front too. So on.
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That hasn't been out of a week. I'll be out of town the rest of
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this week. I'm starting tomorrow evening
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and get home Friday night and back to the grind on next
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Monday. From my understand you guys have
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sack next weekend. Yep, so this could be a short
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week for me. Wednesday, Wednesday and then
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I'm off until Tuesday the 27th. Is it?
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So I'll go ahead and skip next week.
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So that's not a big deal. Don't pull it.
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Up. I won't be able to make sack, so
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it's all good, but you know, we can skip a week and ain't going
5:20
to hurt nothing unless something pops up and we decide to do
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something in the middle of the week and we apologize.
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Last week's episode didn't come out until Wednesday, but that's
5:30
family stuff going and other stuff going on on Sunday, so you
5:34
know it happens. But we did what we could and we
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still got an episode out last week.
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Yeah, we're, we're busy people. We.
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We, yeah. Yeah, we really are, and me
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throwing another hat on is just making me even busier, but it's
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all good. This is a hat that I wanted to
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wear for a while, so I'm pretty excited for this next step.
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Yeah, it will be good so. Yes it will.
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So tonight I thought we could like all, we all kind of thought
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that we could talk about the no tax on overtime.
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I know we've kind of briefly talked about it before, but
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before we get into it, I just want to say we are not tax
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professionals. We are not.
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We are not payroll specialist, we are just rural carriers
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trying to help some other rural carriers out there.
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Just like all this stuff. And personally, I know that
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there's a lot of I I even was confused by some of it too.
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And I've had AI sometimes overthink it.
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But I hope some of this language, yeah, no, some of this
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language. You overthink.
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Yeah, no, not at all. I hope some of this language
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that we are going to read will help you and guide you into
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whatever you need to do come your taxes.
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I would keep track of some of this language numbers I'm going
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to read. Just get like a pencil you can
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write that on. Write this on your letter that
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you got from the post office or like put a little sticky note
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with your W2 once we get our W twos so that if you do need to
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possibly bring it up to a tax person, you have the ability to
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do so. But back at the beginning of
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last year, there was a bill that got passed called the One Big
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Beautiful Bill Act. And if you just follow the news
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part it and it's, there's a section in there that's labeled
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no tax on overtime, no tax on car loan interest.
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And I think there's also like no taxes on tips.
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So I'm just going to, I know there's some legal ease in here,
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but I, I just want to read the verbatim language from the Big
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beautiful Bill Act because this was passed by Congress and the
8:20
administration. It was not passed by the Postal
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Service or the union, the NRLCA. So if there's any finger point
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that needs to happen, that's and where our pay structure as rule
8:36
carriers is complicated. I would say to some people if
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you're not like ingrained in the understanding of our evaluated
8:43
system. So there might be.
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A little bit more. It's even complicated to the
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ones that are in our base system.
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Yeah, or people that have worked here for 20 years and have been
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a real carrier for 20 years and still don't understand it.
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So it's it's good, good refresher if you do understand
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it. And, but, but first I want to
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read the language. It's in statue 174, section
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702O2. No tax on overtime.
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Part seven. Sorry a Deductions allowed.
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Part 7 of sub chapter B of chapter 1, as amended by the
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provisions preceding provisions of this Act, is amended by re
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designating section 225 as section 226 and by inserting
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after section 224 the following new section.
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Section 225. Qualified overtime compensation.
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A. In general, there shall be
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allowed as a deduction an amount equal to the qualified overtime
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compensation received during the taxable year and included on
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statements furnished to the individual pursuant to section
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6041D4 or 6051-A-19. Limitations.
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One. In general, the amount allowed
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as a deduction under this section for any taxable year so
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not exceed $12,500 or $25,000 in the case of a joint return. 2
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Limitations based on adjusted gross income.
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A. In general, the amount allowable
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as a deduction under subsection A after application of paragraph
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one shall be reduced, but not below 0, by $100 for each $1000
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by which the employers modified adjusted gross income exceeds
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$150,000 or $300,000 in the case of a joint return.
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Modified adjusted gross income. For the purposes of this
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paragraph, the the term modified adjusted gross income means the
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adjusted gross income of the taxpayer for the taxable year
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increased by any amount excluded from gross income under Section
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9/11, 931 or 933. Sorry guys, I know this is a is
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a lot of reading but it's important.
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Qualified overtime compensation in general.
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For purposes of this section, the term qualified overtime
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compensation means overtime compensation paid to an
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individual required under the Section 7 of the Fair Labor
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Standards Act of 1938 that is in excess of the regular rate as
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used in such section at which such individual is employed.
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Two exclusions. Such terms shall not include any
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qualified tip. And then that's about like the
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no tax on tips. And then Section D Social
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Security number required. And in general, no deduction
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shall be allowed under the section unless the tax player
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includes on the return of tax for the taxable year, such
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individual Social Security number.
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Social Security number defined for purposes of paragraph one.
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The term Social Security number shall have the meaning given
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such in section 24-H7. So I'm not going to read that
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one part, but sorry. Section F Regulations.
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The Secretary shall issue such regulations or other guidance as
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may be necessary or appropriate to carry out the purposes
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purposes of this section, including regulations or other
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guidance to prevent abuse of the deduction allowed by this
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section and then G termination. No deduction shall be allowed
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under this section for any taxable year beginning after
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December 31st 2028. Deduction allowed to non
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itemizer sections 63 be as amended by the preceding
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provisions of this Act is amended by striking and and at
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the end of paragraph 4 by striking the period.
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So then they trying to think if I need to read this, it's going
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to get all right at the beginning of paragraph 5 and
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inserting and sorry. Section C reporting one
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requirement to include overtime compensation on W2.
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Section 6051-A, as amended by the preceding provisions of this
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act, is amended by striking and at the end of paragraph 17 by
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striking the period at the end of paragraph 18 and inserting
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and and by inserting after paragraph 18 the following new
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paragraph 19. The total amount of qualified
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overtime compensation as defined in section 225, which is what
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I-225-C, which is just what I read above.
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Section 2, payments to persons not treated as employees under
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tax laws. Section A statement furnished to
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Secretary. Section 6041A, as amended by
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section 70201 E 1A, is amended by inserting and a separate
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accounting of any amount of qualified overtime compensation
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as defined in section 225C after occupation of the person
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receiving such tips. Anyways.
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Alright, enough of that. So did I lose you guys?
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You guys? Are you guys still with me?
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Yep. I'm here.
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Everybody's. Falling off.
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Sorry, I fell asleep. What?
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Yep, everybody fell. Asleep.
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I fell asleep. I'm still with you, but you
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know, I I'm crazy like that, so it's all good, yeah.
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No, I, I was with you. Before I read the next chunk, I
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want I there's. I want to read all the like
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legalese verbatim language first before I go into what the letter
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was that we got from the Postal Service.
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So if you have a pencil or paper, write this down.
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Elm Section 443.3 exemptions and then 443.31 policy 443.311
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General. The FLSA exempts from its
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overtime provisions any employee whose work qualifies the
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employee as a bonafide executive, administrative
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professional, outside sales computer, or highly compensated
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employee. The Postal Service applies these
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classifications consistently according to the requirements
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set forth in the FLSA and the FLSA regulations, Section
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443.312 Postal Service Administration, the Office of
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Compensation makes FLSA classification German
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determinations. Now I'm going to jump for a
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second here and I'm going to talk a little bit about where
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did it go, the FLSA, the Fair Labor Standards Act.
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If, and I'm not going to go into all of this because it's going
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to get real confusing. If you want to go on to the
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dol.gov, which is the Department of labor.gov and you can look up
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Fair Labor Standards Act and Overtime Pay Interpretive Guide.
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There is an entire guide that explains this kind of left field
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here. If you want to know like why
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that Elm language is in there, it's purposefully because of the
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Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 lists out like it.
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There's the SEC chapter 22 of it executive, administrative,
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professional or outside salespersons exemptions.
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So there's different exemptions in here of of classifications.
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Where did it just go? So back to the Elm, Section 444
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of the Elm, which is also very important here. 444.1 regular
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rule carriers granted annual wage.
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The National Rule Letter carrier agreement conforms to Section
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7B2 of the FLSA. Certain regular rule carriers
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assigned to a route of 35 hours or more 31 paid miles or more,
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receiving a guaranteed annual wage based on the number of
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hours or miles designated sorry assigned to their route.
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Section 444.12 Base rate of pay. The base rate of pay for the
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YEES Rule carriers equals the base annual rate of a 40 hour
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evaluated route plus overtime at 1 1/2 times the base hourly rate
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for the for all assigned hours or equivalent miles in excess of
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2080 hours, 2184 miles For the one mileage drought a year,
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hours worked in excess of 12 hours a day or 56 hours in an
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FLSA work week are payable at 150% of the carrier's regular
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rate. 444.2 Other rule carriers, rule carriers who are not
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covered under the guarantee provisions of seven of Section
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7B2 of the FLSA are compensated at the rate of a 40 mile route
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in accordance with the compensation provisions of 433
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and 434. So basically that's the Elm
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section that coincides with the contract and coincides with the
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Fair Labor Standards Act in showing that we have the
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overtime rate. Our overtime in regular rule
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carrier salary is built in at time and 1/2 for those hours
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over 40. Does that make sense?
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OK. So then the one big, big, so the
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IRS also now has provisions here that there is the no tax on
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tips, no tax on overtime, new deduction effective for 2025
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through 2028. So this is, this isn't going to
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be the first year we're going to deal with this.
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Individuals who received qualified overtime compensation
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may deduct the pay that exceeds their regular rate of pay, such
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as the half portion of time and a half compensation that is
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required by the Fair Labor Standards Act, FLSA, and that is
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reported on a Form W2 or Form 1099 or other specified
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statements furnished to the individual.
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Maximal annual deduction is 12,500 dollars, 25,000 for joint
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filers. Deduction phases out for
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taxpayers with modified adjusted gross income of over $150,000 or
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300,000 for joint filers. Taxpayer eligibility deduction
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is available for both itemizing and non itemizing taxpayers.
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Taxpayers must include their Social Security number on the
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return and file jointly if Mary to claim the deduction.
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Reporting Employers and other payers are required to file
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information returns with the IRS or SSA and furnish statements to
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taxpayers showing the total amount of qualified overtime
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compensation paid during during the year.
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Guidance the IRS will provide transition relief for the tax
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year 2025 for taxpayers claiming the deduction and for employers,
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other payers subject to the new reporting requirements.
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So that all being said now, the Postal Service held up their end
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of the agreement that they were required to with the big
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beautiful bill, and there was a letter that was sent out.
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Now, everything I just said, per Elm section, where did it just
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go? Sorry, Elm Section 44.
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Where did it just go? Part time employee.
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Nope. Yeah.
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Which I'm like, I thought it went.
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It went away. Sorry, 444 The base rate for pay
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for these real carriers equals the base annual rate of a 40
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hour evaluated route plus overtime at one and a half 1/2
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times the base hourly rate for all hours worked in excess of
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2080 hours a year. Hours worked in excess of 12
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hours a day or 56 hours in an FLSA work week are payable at
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150% of the carrier's regular rate.
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So that being said, the Postal Service sent out the letter and
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the letter is, it's from the accounting service and it
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usually it'll say like it'll come like kind of like your Form
22:23
50 or your or your pay stub does.
22:27
And it says subject tax information temporary federal
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tax deduction for qualified overtime compensation,
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Supplemental Form W2 data tax year 2025 Supplemental form W2
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data for your federal tax return.
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Effective for 2025 through 2028, individuals who are eligible for
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overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act, FLSA, may be
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eligible to deduct their premium portion of the FLSA overtime,
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the half portion of time and a half C Elm Section 443.1 from
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their federal taxes as qualified overtime compensation.
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Pursuant to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
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The total amount of qualified overtime compensation for you is
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as follows. And then it'll say tax year
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2025. And then it'll say qualified
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overtime compensation. And then there's an amount and
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some people, it'll be 0 and I'll come back to that in a second.
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Eligible employees may have received postal overtime C Elm
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Section 434.131 or penalty overtime C Elm 434.133, which
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are generally more generous than FLSA overtime.
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And pause here for a second. That does not apply to rule
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carriers because we do not have penalty overtime or in those
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sections. However, the deductions is
24:03
limited to the qualifying premium portion of FLSA overtime
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and does not extend to other overtimes or premiums.
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For most FLSA non exempt employees, FLSA overtime is
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overtime paid for working more than 40 hours in a work week.
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For most FLSA non exempt employees, FLSA overtime is
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overtime paid for working more than 40 hours in a work week.
24:32
For regular rule carriers compensated under Section 7B2 of
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the FLSA, FLSA overtime is paid for working more than 12 hours
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in a day or 56 hours in a work week.
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The Postal Service makes no representation about your
24:51
eligibility for this temporary federal tax deduction.
24:55
The Postal Service does not provide tax advice.
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If you have questions about your eligibility for this deduction
25:02
or this deduction generally, you can contact a qualified tax
25:06
professional at your own expense.
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The IRS has also shared information about this temporary
25:13
deduction on its website, www.irs.gov, including
25:18
eligibility requirements, deduction limits, and income
25:21
phase outs. Now if you guys really want, I
25:23
could go and find section 7B2 of FLSA.
25:31
You want me to get that too? You want me to pause for a
25:36
second? Pause.
25:40
Breathing moment here, Yeah. I said, didn't we do that when
25:46
we went over the overtime or the Christmas overtime?
25:49
I think we did, but I, I think that it's a little bit more, we
25:54
lost everybody too in the audience.
25:56
Ha ha, that's funny. I'm sorry, guys.
25:58
I know it's real fun, real boring.
26:02
So the big thing is that amount that we're going to get is if
26:08
you worked over 12 hours a day or over 56 hours in a work week.
26:13
And the other part that I'm assuming because I did not work
26:18
over 12 hours very often is that it is also if you assisted on
26:23
other routes because that rate is also an FLSA overtime rate.
26:29
So and it is also only the half portion of that.
26:36
Now, if you want to get really technical, if the union also put
26:40
out a thing that said they don't know how they calculated that.
26:46
There was like in a couple weeks ago, there was that weird
26:50
adjustment that happened and the union had put out a statement
26:53
that said they they're in, they're still talking with the
26:55
Postal Service about how they came up with those amounts.
27:00
And we have not had any follow up still on that.
27:04
If you want, you could go through your pay stubs.
27:08
There's only 20, it's just one year's worth.
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So if you want, you can go through and you can actually
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look at the pay stubs that probably say FLSA I'm I'm
27:18
assuming, or you can look for like the hours, the overtime
27:25
hours from what it's looking like to me, your DACA 3 and your
27:29
DACA fives that are in there do not count towards it.
27:33
No they do not. I know a carrier in my office
27:36
that got his letter. His was a big fat zero amount
27:39
and he works his relief day every week under a deck of five.
27:44
Yeah. And I think that because of the
27:46
fact of Section 7, what is it? I don't even remember now that
27:52
Section 7, Yeah, of the Fair Labor Standards Act and that Elm
27:59
Section 444. That's why it's not counting
28:03
towards it. And I wish I, I think I've said
28:07
this before, I really wish that the post, not the Postal
28:10
Service, I wish that Congress would have been a little bit
28:13
more specific about this. No tax on overtime because it
28:18
looks on the outside looking in, it could, it looks like it's
28:22
very, it looks good. But there is when you really go
28:29
and look at the Fair Labor Standards Act and there's a lot
28:33
of people that are not covered under this bill now, like there
28:38
is that I, I didn't, I wasn't aware of before either.
28:42
I mean, I've, I've in the process of me looking this up,
28:46
you know, the, the executives, the, which I think that's fair.
28:50
But also like it, it should be like there's exemptions.
28:54
You know, there's, if you're going to say no tax on overtime
28:59
and you're not going to explain like it should be like no tax on
29:03
you working over 40 hours. That's how Congress, like, I
29:08
mean, that's, that's just my opinion of it, but like Congress
29:11
should have done something along those lines.
29:13
Yeah, it makes it. I mean, when it first came out,
29:15
everybody talked about the no tax and overtime.
29:18
You're thinking, all right, so I'm working 50 hours this week
29:21
and I'm not talking about us, I'm talking about normal jobs
29:26
that have a 40 hour work week or whatnot.
29:30
And they're thinking, oh, so I worked 50 hours, so I won't get
29:34
taxed on that 10 hours of overtime.
29:36
No, that's not how it worked. It's, you know, you're still
29:41
getting taxed on the base amount, but it's that
29:45
additional. 50% hours. Is what is being.
29:50
Yeah, you're getting the tax credit.
29:51
Five hours is non tax. Yeah.
29:53
But I, I know that there's I know me and Kristen have seen a
29:56
couple on there. There's so many, there's so many
30:01
people online right now posting about it because they're just so
30:05
confused about it. Now, I will say this, the Postal
30:08
Service actually did kind of OK in that paper.
30:13
Like it is a little vague, but if you, I guess do the research
30:19
of those of that language that's quoted in there, it makes a
30:22
little bit more sense. And even like putting like, hey,
30:25
look, we're just giving you this because we're, we're supposed to
30:28
give you what we what we are showing as your FLSA overtime or
30:35
even they could have just put FLSA overtime.
30:38
That probably would have simplified it more than
30:40
qualifying overtime. Yeah, it it, it's interesting.
30:44
I know one of the social wood groups there, I don't know if it
30:49
was a troll, but they were all just like blah blah blah, posted
30:53
as anonymous. And you know, I came in and was
30:56
like, yeah, it's based on FLSA. I'll explain that.
30:59
And of course, you know, they won't accuse anybody of saying
31:02
that is being management troll. I just kind of laughed at that
31:05
going and I couldn't even reply because the comments have been
31:08
turned off. At that point.
31:09
I'm thinking I'm the furthest away from a management troll
31:12
that you can get, probably. Yeah, right.
31:15
Well, well, and I've actually, some of my managers, I went,
31:19
I've talked to them a little bit about it and theirs is all zero.
31:23
And because, I mean, and I think it's part partly because of,
31:28
yeah, they're also on salary. And I think the like their
31:32
penalty overtime and all those sorts of things don't really
31:36
count towards it or something along those lines too.
31:40
But yeah, they still were required to get that letter and
31:42
it's just shows a big fat 0 on there so for them.
31:46
Yeah, he said. I have not seen mine yet, so
31:49
when it gets here, I'll look at it.
31:51
I don't think it'll be much. I have not seen mine either.
31:55
Yeah. And I'm the one that I'm really
31:56
curious about is, is seeing the RC as.
31:59
Yeah. Yeah.
32:01
And I, I haven't really seen much of that on social media
32:04
yet. And that's that honestly is
32:06
still kind of a question mark to me because they once they hit
32:11
40, they do they are like more like the the normal jobs where
32:16
you hit 40 and you get time and 1/2 so.
32:20
Yeah, depending on where you're at, for them to hit 50 plus
32:24
hours in a week is not unheard of.
32:27
Yeah. And I mean and and this, this
32:29
note was very specific that it said regular role carriers in
32:32
it. So that, that leads me to
32:35
believe that the RCA's ones are going to look different than
32:37
what the regulars will, obviously, because they once
32:41
they hit 40, it's no longer evaluated.
32:43
It's it's, it turns an hourly. And I think maybe it's for like
32:48
situations like this where it, it just gets really confusing
32:53
with a lot of it. So, but the other part that's
32:58
I'm going to also say, because I know I also have been looking
33:02
and waiting the postal the W twos.
33:06
I've not seen any postal W twos yet.
33:09
This is the only thing I've seen.
33:10
They have until January 30th to start it.
33:14
Was it the 30th or 28th at the end of the month?
33:17
To start, the regal definition is they must be postmarked by
33:22
first business day prior to the 31st.
33:27
OK, so we'll get them one week, we'll get them soon, but we
33:30
don't have them yet. I know that I've started
33:32
delivering other people's W twos.
33:35
Oh, so have I, I, you know, I usually, I always expect them to
33:39
come the 20th or after. It's kind of tends to be about
33:43
where they are. It's usually, you know, right?
33:45
Around, I wouldn't say that the 23rd you you, they started
33:49
showing up on both the leaves. Yeah, it's usually around the
33:53
20th. It's usually, well, that's where
33:56
we're at right now, pay period 3 through the 1st week of it.
33:59
So I imagine they'd probably be out sometime by the end of this
34:02
coming week. That's at least online anyways,
34:06
if you get yours off of post police just by going by from,
34:12
you know, the last 11 years that yeah, it should be I I roughly
34:19
should be by the end of this week.
34:20
I mean, it could be later, but that's kind of how I foresee.
34:25
It's usually between a periods 2 and 3.
34:28
Yeah. And the advanced, the other part
34:30
is the advanced annual leave. Usually it gets put into your
34:38
into the system the second full pay period in January.
34:42
Yep. So it was, it was available as
34:46
of the 10th. And I do believe from what I was
34:48
reading it would will show up on the check coming on your pay
34:53
stub coming on the 30th. So the pay period that we're
34:56
currently in that paycheck will show your advanced annual if you
35:01
are a regular, yeah. Yeah, sorry to.
35:07
Use if you have to use it as of the 10th in the computer system.
35:10
I do know I postmaster had to look it up for another carrier.
35:15
So it is it is showing in the system available, it just won't
35:18
register on your paycheck until the 30th.
35:21
Yeah, sorry. I know.
35:22
That was a fun. People are like really?
35:28
We're going to talk about taxes. We're roll carriers.
35:34
And in in tax season, you know, it is, it is coming up, it is,
35:38
you know, starting. So you know, it's not a bad
35:41
thing to talk about. And going on to with those that
35:45
drive PO VS on the route. I have seen a lot of things come
35:49
about. Well, hey, can I deduct any of
35:51
my expenses? The thing is, is you receive
35:54
EMA. If you receive EMA that is your
35:57
reimbursement for using your car on the route.
36:00
I know in the past if your expenses went above and beyond
36:04
the EMA. I mean that is stuff you
36:07
definitely need to talk to your tax professional with.
36:11
I know it it comes to the. Point where you.
36:13
Have to then turn around and include your EMA as income which
36:18
then changes your taxes. Especially if you have a big
36:22
route long route it could put you in a different tax bracket.
36:27
It's just a cluster. So if you drive APOV and you are
36:32
paying out the wazoo for repairs and you save every single little
36:37
receipt for everything including.
36:39
Gas and including windshield wiper fluid.
36:42
Yes, every single little thing you have to have a receipt for.
36:47
That is something you want to talk to a tax preparer with.
36:49
That's not anything you want to dive in because EMA is a so it
36:54
is not taxed. So if it comes into a thing
36:57
where you have to claim it as income, it could affect your tax
37:01
bracket. The understanding I have briefly
37:05
on that is it has your EMA has become taxable income and then
37:11
you have you're deducting whatever your maintenance
37:15
charges are. So it's a matter of how does it,
37:19
is it, did you pay more versus what you received and is it
37:24
going to be worth it? I had a friend of mine, every
37:26
year he would play that game. Yeah, and.
37:29
He would, he would calculate it out to see if it was even worth
37:31
it for him that to put it in there.
37:34
And I know of several carriers that use a separate bank,
37:38
separate account just to put their EMA in.
37:42
I mean, that's, you know, because that's what it is for
37:44
is, is is for your vehicle. Yeah.
37:46
And you could put some of it into a savings and then, you
37:49
know, manage it a different way. You just have to figure out the
37:52
way that you want to manage that and then go down that road if
37:56
that's if that's what you want to do.
37:57
But the fact that it's not taxed is a big, big thing.
38:03
And I think that that's why it's designed that way because
38:07
because you are using it for delivering and it, it is you do,
38:13
you know, occurring the expenses and such.
38:15
So I think there was one year I think I had, I'd gotten like
38:19
$11,000 in EMA and I spent it all like it was, I kind of
38:26
tracked it pretty closely. And once I started ticking over,
38:30
it was when I bid off too. And then I was pregnant and
38:34
stuff too. So I didn't want to go into
38:35
labor out there in the boonie lands, but that's another story.
38:40
Right. I, I, I hear you on that.
38:46
That's a completely different story and a completely different
38:48
topic. Yeah.
38:51
And we have covered the, the, the pregnancy and, and, and
38:55
stuff in the past. I know I went over it as a
38:58
request and we can touch on it again.
39:01
I've, I've seen quite a bit on that coming up, maybe on a
39:05
future episode. I know Meow and I need to start
39:08
putting together our history of the NRLCA series though.
39:12
Yes, yes, we need to work on that.
39:15
Maybe I can do that while I'm sitting in my hotel room in the
39:18
evenings this week. Start digging stuff up, yeah.
39:21
Yeah, there's a whole bunch of. Stuff, yeah, that that'll be a
39:24
fun series that's, you know, we wanted to get through the
39:26
holidays and whatnot. And that is just something more
39:30
It it will be a series. We're not going to cover it all
39:33
in one episode, that's for sure. Yeah, there's too much.
39:37
I mean, well, and, and even like us with these documents and
39:41
stuff too, there's there's so much history, there's so much
39:44
that has happened and like referenced.
39:48
And I think looking back and seeing like why it's referenced
39:52
is important. You know, there's there's things
39:57
that have happened and and resulted to us in in like why we
40:01
have the evaluated system. You know, there's.
40:04
There's a lot. Yeah, the evaluated system, we
40:07
can go back in, you know, history of contract negotiations
40:10
and how Rex was formed. And you know, which I mean,
40:14
there, there, there's a ton it, it really is.
40:17
I mean, I know you still blame, I still see people blaming Rex
40:21
on, you know, why did they allow this to heck?
40:23
Oh well. And if you don't know the
40:25
history, you're not going to understand how it came to be.
40:28
You know, it it wasn't just something, yeah, it was
40:31
something that was thrown in our lap.
40:33
But again, it wasn't something thrown in our lap.
40:36
And it's, you know, it came out of an arbitration, which was not
40:41
a vote down of a contract. It was an impasse.
40:45
But they were looking at other ways to properly evaluate a
40:49
route. So that's eventually we'll touch
40:52
on that in history too, as we come up into the more recent
40:55
history of it. But we'll start in the beginning
40:57
and work our way forward. Yeah, cuz.
40:59
There's a lot of things that have, yeah, even like, what was
41:02
it like World War 2? They had to during World War 2,
41:06
the tires that they were using on the vehicles were thinner and
41:11
because they were trying to use a lot more material for World
41:13
War 2 and not on actual vehicles in the country.
41:19
So there's those sorts of things.
41:23
Yeah, it it's, it'll be fun. I mean, it's going to be a deep
41:27
dive for for both of us and it'll be interesting.
41:30
I'm ready to deep dive into it but that's.
41:33
Just yeah. I haven't had a moment to
41:35
breathe the last few weeks. Ago, Yeah, Yep, I get that so
41:41
but. I understand and I'll just be
41:43
here. I'll be here to look pretty and
41:46
come for the ride. There you go.
41:50
You may be learning a few things too, You never know.
41:53
Yeah, I might. Yeah, I think we'll all be
41:56
learning stuff as we deep dive into it.
41:58
Yeah, it's fascinating. It's very fascinating.
42:03
And as a reminder, the new national agreement is available
42:08
on the website in a flipbook version and everybody should be
42:11
getting a printed copy in their mailbox.
42:14
If you are a dues paying member of the union, you will get that
42:18
in your mailbox. Don't throw it away.
42:20
Keep it in a safe place. You know, use it for bathroom
42:23
reading material if you must. But be acquainted with your
42:26
contract. Now that's the biggest thing I
42:29
can say for people is, you know, get it, get acquainted with it.
42:32
I'm not saying you have to read it section by section by
42:35
section. But if you're curious about how
42:38
leave works or bidding on routes and how things are supposed to
42:43
be posted and adding in more of job responsibility stuff outside
42:50
of the PO6O3 and stuff like that, you know, take a moment
42:54
and you know, read a section here or there.
42:55
It never hurts to educate yourself on your job and your
42:59
rights. Yeah, well.
43:01
Yep, I would suggest start with six or three in the contract and
43:05
then if you're that much of a glutton of punishment, the M38.
43:09
That way you know how management supposed to do their job in.
43:12
Regards to the roles, yes, and the last one that was published
43:16
in the 80s, so if that tells anybody anything.
43:20
Well, through that, but yes, it's still there.
43:24
It's still there. And you can still use it against
43:27
them if need be. Yep.
43:30
I love using their own manuals against them.
43:33
It's. Great, like go read the.
43:35
Elm still. I was just going to say it, it's
43:38
still having insomnia. There's always the Elm.
43:42
Yeah, the Elm will put you to sleep, hopefully. 0900 sections
43:47
of it. Yeah, and that covers all
43:50
crafts, not just ours. Yep.
43:54
I'm sorry, it's 960 pages. Yeah, I I don't look at it
43:59
unless I'm looking for something specific.
44:01
So I am not going to try and even print that out.
44:05
I think I have it downloaded some, yeah.
44:08
Yeah, I have it downloaded. I think I have it downloaded
44:10
somewhere, also on my phone maybe, but classes?
44:15
Alan Geegak, Class of the male, did a series where he read the
44:20
Elm. Wow, did he read?
44:22
The 100% I, I know he did a chunk of it.
44:26
I don't know if he did the all 900 pages, but he did.
44:31
The maybe maybe we do one where we read M 38 from 9.
44:35
What is it 1980? It's 1970.
44:38
Oh, the M38's a fun one. Yeah, let me find it.
44:42
Yeah, when I'm looking. At it too.
44:44
I was looking it up real quick too.
44:46
Yeah, it's an an oldie, but a goodie.
44:50
Oh, it is. It really is.
44:52
Oh, there it is. 1980. Nineteen.
44:55
Yeah. July of 1980.
44:57
Yeah. M38 is 10 years older than me,
44:59
so yeah, we're it's two years younger than me.
45:05
So in July the M38 will be 46 years old.
45:09
Yeah, like we're doing good. Here, right, right.
45:14
It even says July of 1980. Yeah, does it?
45:17
Oh. Yeah, Yep, yeah.
45:19
My birthday's in July, so it's literally 10 years older than I
45:22
am. Wow, it's great.
45:26
It's great. It's two years and four months
45:30
younger than I am. If any of anybody asked me at
45:34
work. We won't discuss how many, how,
45:36
what the age difference between me and it is.
45:39
You've got a few years on. Actually, not that it's not that
45:42
bad. I have a couple years on it.
45:46
Thinking about it, it's not as bad as I thought it first.
45:48
No, it's not that bad. No, it's not.
45:51
And it's not an overly huge manual either.
45:55
No, it's pretty vague and there's stuff that needs to get
45:57
updated but. Yeah.
46:00
I want PO6O3 get updated first but.
46:03
Yeah, I would love to see the PO6O3 updated, that'd be nice.
46:07
Yeah, yeah, in. Fact.
46:08
I just found a copy while I was going through stuff.
46:11
Yeah. And I think 2013 was the last
46:14
publication date for that one. Yeah, knock over that pile of
46:20
papers at the moment and dig it out.
46:22
I got that older copy of the car.
46:24
OK, I forgot I wanted to say this too before we get I know.
46:30
I don't think it's officially officially out yet though.
46:35
The mini mail survey, the mini, the next mini mail survey is
46:38
going to be February. Where did it just go?
46:42
February 21st through March 6th. The last day for RMSS updates is
46:47
Tuesday February 13th. Sorry, 17th mapping cut off.
46:54
So the last day that you can map and have it count towards that
46:56
evaluation is Friday, March 6th. And the last day for mini mail
47:01
survey changes. And like if management hasn't
47:05
entered all the stuff, there's corrections that need to happen
47:08
is Friday, March 13th. But I also want to add a little
47:10
disclaimer there. Usually there's a cut off time
47:13
and it's usually central time. So make sure that you're getting
47:18
those in there as quick as possible.
47:19
And then the effective date for those evals will be Saturday,
47:23
April 4th. And then to add with that too,
47:29
that's usually like it. It's it's close to around when
47:33
the the next relief day work list will have to go up.
47:37
Yeah. So kind of keep that in mind.
47:41
And then this isn't as far as this is further out, but the,
47:48
the fall mini mail survey would be, is going to be August 22nd
47:53
through September 4th to 2026. And the mapping cut off for that
47:59
would be February, September 4th, sorry February, Friday,
48:03
September 4th, 2026. And the last day for many mail
48:07
survey changes is going to be Friday, September 11th.
48:11
And those evaluations will be effective Saturday, October 3rd,
48:15
which is the beginning of the guarantee year.
48:17
So February 21st through March 6th is the next mini mail survey
48:23
and the one right after and though not right after, the one
48:26
later on this year will be August 22nd through September
48:30
4th, 2026. So I hope, I hope that.
48:35
And I'm just going to, as I, you know, I'm cruising the website
48:38
here. But for those that are looking
48:40
to retire soon, OPM Office of Personal Management has now
48:46
personnel management. Excuse me has introduced a new
48:49
system to process retirement applications.
48:51
It's done, they can be done online now and it's disability
48:58
applications will continue to be processed through the legacy
49:01
process using the paper forms, but online retirement Ora secure
49:07
fully digital system will replace the paper based process.
49:12
To begin a retirement application process, ensure you
49:15
have a valid personal e-mail address and a login.gov account.
49:20
Again, OPM where you had to do a login.gov account for open
49:25
enrollment insurance purposes. So that's the same one you're
49:27
going to use. Once you have a login.gov, it's
49:30
good for everything that it's required for.
49:34
So it does say contact HRSSC, it gives the phone number.
49:40
Option 5. Provide your personal e-mail
49:43
that's linked into your login.gov account.
49:46
HRSSC will initiate your account using your provided personal
49:51
e-mail address. You'll receive an e-mail
49:54
invitation with instructions for accessing Ora and then login
49:59
securely using your login.gov account to access it.
50:02
The system will prompt you to link your account, create a
50:04
digital signature PIN, which you'll use to certify your
50:07
retirement application. Once you have accessed Ora, you
50:11
can begin to prepare your retirement package by cleaning
50:13
the completing the application and uploading PDF versions of
50:17
your supplemental documents. Example.
50:20
SF 2818 W 4 P Marriage certificate and spouse's
50:25
consent. The Postal Service will be
50:28
providing Frequently Asked questions and additional
50:31
information on Retirement Guide regarding this application
50:33
process in the coming weeks. So if you are getting close to
50:38
or looking into retiring, you'll be able to process that online.
50:43
Yeah. Do you know would that be in
50:48
lieu of requesting the Blue Book I?
50:51
Don't know if that's in lieu of, I think it probably goes hand in
50:54
hand if I still get the retirement book.
50:58
It's just that you can process instead of mailing the papers
51:01
in. You can do the application right
51:04
online. Don't call me on that and do not
51:06
know if that's going to take away the retirement book or not.
51:10
I'm going to say. Probably, yeah.
51:11
And you can ask when? When?
51:15
If you're at SAC next week, you could ask John Ambleton that
51:18
question lutely. I could.
51:20
Because they got the retirement seminar that's going to be in
51:22
there. So that'll be good for him to.
51:25
Yeah. So yeah.
51:29
Yeah, got that down to remember to ask.
51:32
There you go. Those of you who've got POV
51:34
routes, as you probably already know, your EMA decreased half a
51:39
cent effective January 10th. So it's down to $0.97 per mile
51:45
now, or 3880 per day, whichever is greater.
51:47
For those of you that use your POV's other goods that I can.
51:53
I know I'll think of like 10 after I'm done.
51:56
Oh, I know, right? And we'll be like, hey, the
51:59
holidays are done now it's just driving.
52:01
January and February are winter for me.
52:03
That's we've got this Arctic temperature thing coming in.
52:06
I'm actually kind of glad I'm not going to be on the route,
52:10
but. Because I know it's going to
52:12
sink down to here and it's already been.
52:16
It's going to be ugly. So you know, you guys make sure
52:19
you layer up, be warm. You know, I do have two pairs of
52:23
heated socks. Really uncomfortable to wear in
52:27
my boots because you have to wear a pair of regular socks
52:30
under them. I usually go with a thinner pair
52:32
underneath of them, but they're thick, so wearing them under my
52:35
boots has not been comfortable. So I actually haven't had to use
52:39
them with my boots yet, but we'll see.
52:42
It's been interesting. That's what That's why you get
52:47
boots at least 1/2 size bigger to accommodate for the extra
52:51
bulk of the socks. Yeah, and these are big enough
52:54
that I'd be tripping over them if I got them any bigger.
52:56
Trust me, I know it's been, you know, those that want to get on
53:02
the national delegate ballots. I know those are available in
53:07
the national magazines already to send those in.
53:12
Oh, I got to get mine up to do that.
53:15
Yeah, I got to pull here's you got to make sure that you send
53:18
it to the PO Box listed for your state.
53:21
Absolutely. You can't just send it right to
53:25
the your state secretary right it has due to labor law.
53:30
It has to go to that PO Box designated for them.
53:34
That would be the same for if your state requires you to mail
53:39
them in as well for your be a state delegate at your
53:44
convention. I know states tend to do those a
53:45
little differently depending on the state you're in mind.
53:48
We do have to send them in to our local secretary, treasurer,
53:53
So you know, you know what you got to do for your state to be a
53:57
delegate at your state convention if you want to be
53:59
that. Yeah, our state, they do it.
54:02
We can vote on the delegates at the local meeting when we vote
54:05
on our board. Gotcha.
54:09
Which basically is a sign in. Yeah, we basic basically it's a
54:12
sign up sheet and then the secretary or my local secretary
54:17
treasure reads all the names and we vote to adopt those names as
54:22
delegates for our district. Gotcha, gotcha.
54:25
Yeah, every state kind of, they have their own way.
54:28
So make sure you know, you know how your state works when it
54:31
comes to being a delegate for your state convention, if that's
54:33
what you want to do. So yeah, I've got to send mine
54:37
in because I think ours is only in the one state magazine.
54:42
Believe so. That'll do.
54:44
Yeah, like ours say they started paying the delegates as long as
54:49
but you have to pre register prior to with the secretary,
54:56
state secretary, treasurer to be considered for that and
55:00
obviously a registered delegate for your district.
55:06
The National Convention is going to be August 18th through the
55:09
21st Grapevine, TX This year those will normally come out.
55:14
Hotel reservations normally open up the 1st of May.
55:19
As it gets closer they will announce that so be on the
55:22
lookout for that. I'm still deciding if I'm going
55:25
to drive to Texas or fly. I was actually thinking about
55:30
driving. As y'all know I drive
55:32
everywhere. I drove to Reno of Orlando
55:34
twice. That's just how I flow.
55:37
The last time we were in Grapevine I did fly down but it
55:40
was just me going. But my son is relocating to the
55:45
Littleton, Co area so I told him to keep me informed of what's
55:51
going on around his birthday, which is 2 days before national
55:55
starts. And I was thinking about either
55:59
taking a couple extra days before or after because I
56:03
already looked it up and it's like going to be like a 12 hour
56:05
drive. So I figure maybe I can go see
56:09
myself while I'm out there. We'll see what's going on.
56:12
Yeah. Yeah, once I told him that he
56:15
was like, Oh yeah, really? I was like, well, just, you
56:18
know, I'll remind you as it gets closer cuz that's August
56:20
obviously so. Yeah, it's a little bit time.
56:23
Yeah. Well, and then keep in mind the
56:25
mini mail survey. I know if you if.
56:28
Yep. Yeah, I was just gonna say I
56:30
would suggest going before rather than after.
56:34
You know, it really just depends on on, you know, who I have,
56:40
we're in RCA for my route at that time and whether it's
56:43
something I feel I'm going to have to worry about or not.
56:47
Cross that bridge when you get there.
56:48
Exactly, exactly. I, you know, I'm not stressing
56:53
over it at the moment anyways. So it just depends.
56:56
I know there's a concert festival that weekend before
57:00
that's local to my parents and I'm trying to decide if I want
57:04
to go to or not. So that kind of is playing on
57:06
whether I fly or drive or y'all know me in my concerts.
57:12
But yeah, it'll we've got SAC coming up this weekend.
57:17
What's the next one, SWAC The next one or Eastern?
57:20
Eastern's in April. I think it's SWAC after SWAC.
57:23
Eastern in February. OK.
57:26
Eastern States is in April and Mid States always closes out the
57:30
regional conferences in May. I know Mid States.
57:36
Oh yeah. Also, yeah, Western States is in
57:39
there too. Yeah.
57:40
And I know I got to make my reservation for Mid States and I
57:45
discovered when I was checking it out that I have to have the
57:48
full payment upfront so not doing it this week.
57:52
Yeah, there hasn't been any new information that I've seen about
57:56
router adjustments. I think because of the fact that
57:59
we have the mini mail survey date, typically they they have
58:04
like a certain criteria of time to adjust the route before I
58:09
have an e-mail survey. It's like a project that they
58:12
work on. Nice.
58:13
I think like right after the evals go into effect is usually
58:18
about like within that first month or two and or like the
58:23
first couple months right after it.
58:26
But if you were a route that was adjusted, you per that Mou, you
58:33
need 52 weeks of data for them to generate a new eval and have
58:41
it essentially become unlocked unless you have natural growth
58:45
or there's other things that are going on and it with the growth,
58:50
then that's another story. Yeah, I'm going to be curious to
58:54
see what my route does with this next mini mail survey.
58:58
I don't want to go back down an hour.
59:00
I don't think I will my packages because I track my scans every
59:03
day. I write them on the calendar.
59:04
I wish I could talk all the Subs into doing it, but I'm not going
59:08
to hold it against them from not doing it, especially now that I
59:10
don't have an assigned RCA to my route.
59:12
But I'm just, you know, and I had, I just tossed out the other
59:16
calendar, but I used to have last year's calendar.
59:19
I tossed out 2020 fours already. But you know, I kind of go back
59:23
and I could try to see a pattern with my parcels and yes, I know
59:27
your scan count still everything you scan certifies all that is
59:31
included. I get it.
59:32
But it just kind of, it gives me an idea of a pattern on how,
59:38
where I'm at with my package volume in general.
59:40
So I know the last couple weeks have been just crazy.
59:44
I mean, yeah, Friday I had double Amazon.
59:47
So I mean, I had 191 scans Friday, but it's I've been
59:51
holding well over 100. Well, obviously except for
59:54
Thursday when we didn't get Amazon and it was light
59:57
otherwise, because all they had was flats and post office
1:00:00
packages. But, and I know UPS is coming
1:00:04
back to several offices, it's kind of phasing.
1:00:09
Overtime coming back in some offices have already gotten it
1:00:12
back. Ours hasn't quite yet but I know
1:00:15
it will happen eventually. And I you know when that almost
1:00:19
correlated when we lost the UPS and it was the following man
1:00:23
e-mail survey is when my route dropped an hour.
1:00:26
Yeah. Yeah, I just want to, I mean, I
1:00:28
it's, it's always a good time. Like like right now especially,
1:00:33
I know we're, we're approaching that mini mail survey, but if
1:00:36
you're a sub that's listening to this, I please, I encourage you
1:00:39
to just ref regulars too. But the Subs, please refresh
1:00:44
yourself on those 24 activity scans.
1:00:48
I feel like it's, it's almost, I don't want to say that it's
1:00:51
forgotten, but I just don't feel like there's as much of an
1:00:54
emphasis on the education of it and the, the, it's, it's
1:01:01
repetition, it's the reiteration of it.
1:01:04
We all have to it. It has to be ingrained in us to
1:01:10
make sure that we're all compensated fairly.
1:01:13
And I know that you, you can vent.
1:01:15
There's the frustration of it. It's, it's obviously it's not
1:01:18
gone away. It's not going away.
1:01:20
So we have to help educate one another.
1:01:25
We got to look out for each other.
1:01:28
And the easiest way to do that is refreshing yourself on the 24
1:01:35
activity scans. There is a newer RCA that's in
1:01:39
my office. He's been there for nine months,
1:01:41
I want to say now. And he had a postage due and he
1:01:45
was asking me something about it.
1:01:47
And I was like, oh, you need to make sure that you enter the
1:01:49
postage due scan when you're attempting to collect the funds
1:01:53
or what, or, you know, when you're, when you're, or when
1:01:57
you're delivering it. And he was like, what?
1:02:00
There's a postage due RX scan. And I'm like, yeah, did they not
1:02:04
like they, I know they taught you that at the Academy.
1:02:07
Like there's a sheet of the 24 activity scans.
1:02:12
And I think that especially with the newer Subs, you get so
1:02:16
overwhelmed with having to learn the routes, but if you're
1:02:21
learning the routes and the scans together, it you won't
1:02:24
forget. And if you know, and if you're
1:02:28
training a new RCA in your office, you know, go through the
1:02:32
scans as they occur out on the route.
1:02:34
I mean, that's what I've always done as an OJI, you know, if I,
1:02:40
if, you know, I they had to make two or three trips to the door
1:02:43
with, with parcels. You know, that's why I say, all
1:02:46
right, pull up that Rex menu and go into trip to door and put how
1:02:50
many trips you put in there. You know it.
1:02:53
That's how they're going to learn how they fall into the
1:02:57
port or you know, when to do them on the route and get in the
1:03:00
habit of doing it. And it starts right with
1:03:02
especially, yes, they cover it during Academy, but to actually
1:03:07
get in the habit of doing it while you're training them, you
1:03:11
need to step them through it as it happens.
1:03:15
That's the only way that they're going to fully realize.
1:03:18
OK, I so when I go to the door and I got to go to the door more
1:03:22
than once, I got to go to trip to door and plug that in.
1:03:26
So, you know, that's what I can, you know, and suggest,
1:03:31
especially if you're the ones training them in the office.
1:03:34
Every office should have an OJI. I know many, many, many, many do
1:03:38
not. But that is, you know, and I
1:03:41
have heard of areas saying, oh, we don't do that anymore.
1:03:43
That is not true. The OJI position is, you know,
1:03:47
alive and well. Yeah.
1:03:50
And I think that. Underutilized.
1:03:52
Yes. It's yeah.
1:03:54
And I think that, you know, there's we all have an
1:03:58
obligation to lookout for one another with it.
1:04:02
But also I view like in my like my personal opinion of it.
1:04:06
And I've had a, I've been telling this to the managers
1:04:09
because I, I know that they're very hard about scanning
1:04:13
integrity and making sure all the parcels are scanned where
1:04:17
they're delivered and that all the, the parcel scans are
1:04:21
cleared. The RX scans are equally as
1:04:24
important, if not more important.
1:04:27
Like you have to show what we're doing.
1:04:32
It's no different than you delivering the parcel and
1:04:35
scanning it where you're delivering it.
1:04:37
It's we have, we all have. It's if you think about it in
1:04:41
that way, I think maybe it'll get through to different people,
1:04:47
but and you. Know just refresh yourself,
1:04:50
yeah. And, and there is, there's,
1:04:52
there's two important reasons on why you scan that parcel where
1:04:58
you leave it. You know, I mean, if it's
1:05:00
delivering to the door and you're scanning it at the truck
1:05:03
because it's raining, don't scan it at the truck.
1:05:05
You need to scan it where you deliver it.
1:05:08
Number one reason is the evaluation under Rex because
1:05:13
when that route has been mapped under the DPM, you have a park
1:05:18
point and then you have the delivery point, the door and
1:05:23
that distance is what is considered your out of route
1:05:28
distance. And that's the distance it adds
1:05:32
to that pack that that value for that parcel delivery.
1:05:37
So yes, that is part of your pay with the evaluation.
1:05:40
That is 1 big reason on why you scan it, where you deliver it or
1:05:46
that GPS pinpoint. The second reason is cover your
1:05:51
own behind because if you scan it at the truck or you scan it
1:05:56
in the middle of the driveway as you're driving up the driveway,
1:05:58
don't ever scan it while you're driving anywhere.
1:06:01
I don't care what what package it is a small that's going in
1:06:05
the mailbox. You scan it at the mailbox.
1:06:07
Don't scan while you're driving, Don't scan it somewhere else.
1:06:11
Scan it where you leave it because if that customer then
1:06:15
questions where their parcel is that they didn't get it and
1:06:19
management can pull up and see where it was pinpointed at.
1:06:23
And then you said you left it at the door and it's pinpointed
1:06:26
right at the door of where you delivered it.
1:06:29
Well, then you're, you're in the clear.
1:06:31
But if it showed that you scanned it in the middle of the
1:06:34
woods walking to the door, well then you're not clear because
1:06:37
it's not showing that it was delivered to the door by that
1:06:40
that GPS pinpoint. I've had that happen to me
1:06:43
before. I had a customer.
1:06:44
I was still a sub and I scanned it right at the front porch
1:06:48
where I left it. And they called saying they
1:06:50
didn't receive that package. And my scan showed right at the
1:06:54
door where exactly where I left it.
1:06:57
So I was in the clear for that. But yeah, that's the two
1:07:00
important reasons why you scan. Where you stand is #1 your
1:07:04
evaluations and #2 is a CYA. And that way, you know, if maybe
1:07:09
if it was left in a different place because it was raining and
1:07:12
there was an overhang around, you know, where it wasn't going
1:07:16
to get wet even though it was close to the door.
1:07:19
So it sat at the door or the porch, but it wasn't necessarily
1:07:22
exactly in front of the door. Then also if the customer called
1:07:27
and they could say, oh, yeah, it was scanned, Looks like it was
1:07:29
around the corner from the front door or, you know, by the garage
1:07:33
or or whatnot. That way, you know, oh, OK,
1:07:36
maybe you know, didn't go look and see or somebody else brought
1:07:39
it in like, oh, OK, you know, so that's why it's, you know,
1:07:43
that's why you want to scan it where you stand, where you're
1:07:45
dropping that package off at. Sorry to backtrack because my
1:07:50
issue, sorry where you were talking about scanning it in the
1:07:53
truck or because it's raining now there's no one I've no one
1:08:00
has been able to show me personally one way or another.
1:08:04
But over time, and I'll admit on a rare occasion I'm guilty of
1:08:10
halfway up the driveway, I'll initiate the scan.
1:08:13
Yeah, you don't want to do it. Brake crumbs that you I I said
1:08:17
I, I know I'm and I try not to, but just have it from years and
1:08:23
years of doing it. The brake crumbs, potentially
1:08:27
worse thing. The pinpoints yes.
1:08:31
I also noticed doing the initial mapping when we did the first
1:08:35
phase of mapping for the DPM and LTMS.
1:08:39
Doing the initial mapping, I did have a carrier who scanned in
1:08:43
the truck all the time and then delivered it to the door.
1:08:46
So when I was doing her, was with her and we were doing the
1:08:51
park points and the door points, they instantly knew where she
1:08:54
was parking because that's where she was scanning it.
1:08:57
And when you scan it, as soon as you do that initial scan, that's
1:09:02
when it pinpoints, not when you clear out the scan.
1:09:04
Now there is a breadcrumb trail from where you initiated it to
1:09:08
where you cleared it out. So if you forgot to clear it out
1:09:11
and you're driving down the road, they can actually see
1:09:13
where it was cleared out at. But that initial pinpoint when
1:09:16
you initially scan it is where it pinpoints to be dropped at.
1:09:21
Yep. And even if you have to manually
1:09:24
enter it in when you start, soon as you start hitting those
1:09:27
numbers to manually enter it in and you hit enter, that's where
1:09:30
it's pinpointing it. Right, let's say when you hit
1:09:33
enter. Yes and when I when you have to
1:09:36
type in that that tracking number cuz for some reason it's
1:09:39
not scanning and it may not have a QR to scan or you know
1:09:43
Amazon's ridiculous sometimes with their their heat printed
1:09:47
labels and it's not always readable so or scannable.
1:09:51
So you may have to type it in or you know it happens labels get
1:09:55
messed up. So if you have to type in the
1:09:57
tracking number to to get that number in there, make sure you
1:10:01
are standing where you're dropping it to when you start
1:10:04
typing it in, because that is where it's gonna pinpoint it.
1:10:07
Yep. Yep, Yep.
1:10:08
Anything else tonight, guys? No, I think that's it.
1:10:11
I'll go on too many tangents. Tomorrow night's number.
1:10:19
Yeah. Powerball Mega Ball.
1:10:21
Also if you are going back to the Subs and going over the Rex
1:10:28
information and reacquainting yourself with stuff, if you are
1:10:31
a member of the union, get on the NRLCA website and on the
1:10:36
main page is Rex resources and Rex training.
1:10:42
And I mean this can go for regulars to anybody a member of
1:10:46
the union. Get on the NRLC website and all
1:10:50
your information. The comprehensive guide is
1:10:52
available on there. Updated.
1:10:54
The most recent update was February 4th, 2025.
1:10:58
Mini mail survey resource pages. Those tend to get updated
1:11:04
shortly before if there's any changes.
1:11:07
Cover factor explanations, calculators.
1:11:10
The Q&A is still up there. Reports to request under Rex
1:11:18
dispute process presentations and if shift duties, yes, the
1:11:22
end of shift duties are highlighted in there as well.
1:11:24
So if you have management that's coming down and trying to say
1:11:28
you only have so no, you can print out the list of into shift
1:11:32
duties directly from the NRLCA web page and it has 31 items on
1:11:39
there. So you can't tell me that.
1:11:42
I mean, maybe some days if it's stupid light that you can get
1:11:47
done in under 10 minutes. I usually average 17 to 1820
1:11:52
between 15 to 20 minutes and the shift duties myself on an
1:11:55
average. But some days it's longer
1:11:58
depending if I got to do edit book case labels, mapping, you
1:12:03
know, other stuff that needs to get done that hasn't been done
1:12:06
yet. You know any leave slips I need
1:12:09
to submit? What it takes?
1:12:11
Yes, exactly. It takes what it takes.
1:12:15
And if management's trying to benchmark you, well, there is a
1:12:19
form for that and I suggest you contact your assigned steward.
1:12:24
But yeah, all that information's on there.
1:12:26
There's the MDD, the the activity scan Quick guide.
1:12:32
There's the 2024 state convention, Rex PowerPoints on
1:12:38
there, all under resources, under training, get all that
1:12:43
good stuff on their carrier pickup procedure.
1:12:46
So if y'all are still questioning what to do under the
1:12:51
RO, under carrier pickup, I mean those are there for you as well.
1:12:56
Mapping training the DPMLTMI mean even if you're not a
1:13:00
regular, if you're a designated 79 on an aux route, you're going
1:13:05
to have to do your DPM and LTM every month.
1:13:08
If you're a designated 74 on a regular route, you know DPM and
1:13:14
LTM, you're going to be the one responsible.
1:13:15
The same with the edit book. Now make your get yourself
1:13:19
familiar with that, the roll route, AMS edit book maintenance
1:13:23
SWII know I have to fight with my management, especially with
1:13:28
the SWI with the days, because in here it specifically says,
1:13:33
you know, day 23 through 30 is when you do your DPM and LTM.
1:13:39
And I've got them wanting to do it this past week.
1:13:43
And I'm like, yeah, no. And you have to redo it cuz it
1:13:47
won't it. Will re upload.
1:13:49
Yeah yeah, and I had a sticky note on my clipboard when I came
1:13:53
into work Friday wanting me to do it well after an 11 and 1/2
1:13:56
hour a day. I'm not doing it at 7:30 at
1:13:58
night. Sorry, not happening.
1:14:00
So I'll do it, Doctor. We'll.
1:14:02
DPS definitely episode. Exactly.
1:14:06
I'll do it when I return to the office next week.
1:14:09
So it will still be within days 23 and 30.
1:14:13
But yeah, so I mean, there really is all that stuff.
1:14:17
I know some offices are trying to get all the edit books in
1:14:20
before the 10th. You have until the 10th to to
1:14:22
turn your edit book in. So don't let them try and bully
1:14:25
you into something that is in black and white.
1:14:29
All right, guys, we're going to wind this down.
1:14:31
Josh, your final words for this evening.
1:14:33
Depending on where you're at, the weather's starting to
1:14:36
change. Trustworthy.
1:14:39
Be safe out there, Give yourself extra room if need be due to
1:14:43
weather conditions. If you get overwhelmed, both
1:14:47
first, don't get overwhelmed, but if you do, take a step back,
1:14:50
take a deep breath and step back in.
1:14:52
Have a good week, we'll catch you next time, meow.
1:14:56
Well, thank you guys. I know the beginning of this
1:14:58
wasn't this wasn't a fun, fun episode, but I hope that it was
1:15:04
insightful for you. And if you need any additional
1:15:08
help with that, you know, please contact like your tax person
1:15:13
because they're going to be the one that's going to be a little
1:15:15
bit more knowledgeable about that.
1:15:17
But I think that we're all kind of learning right now with, you
1:15:20
know, it's a new thing this year, so and it'll be be going
1:15:24
on until 2028. So kind of keep that in mind
1:15:27
when you're doing your taxes. But I hopefully everybody has a
1:15:33
good week. Thankfully tomorrow's a holiday,
1:15:36
so I'm pretty happy to have today and tomorrow off.
1:15:40
It's a rarity for me to get 2 days off in a row.
1:15:43
But I know again, I wanted to remind you guys if, if you need
1:15:48
some outside help of and what's going on in your life and you
1:15:53
just need to talk with somebody else who you need, you know,
1:15:57
just like that's not involved in your life or you are feeling
1:16:04
overwhelmed. You do have the EAP, the ability
1:16:09
to contact EAP, the Employee Assistance program if you need
1:16:13
it. Their phone number is
1:16:16
1-800-327-4968 and it is the Employee Assistance program for
1:16:24
USPS employees and anybody in your household.
1:16:27
So again, that phone number is 1-800-327-4968 if just in case
1:16:34
you need it. So, but hopefully everybody has
1:16:37
a good week. So Kristen, thank you guys.
1:16:40
Yeah, it was, it was a lot at the end.
1:16:42
That's why we try to lighten it up a little bit.
1:16:45
At the beginning it was quite heavy and and taxes are all
1:16:49
frazzling anyways. I'm usually my own tax preparer
1:16:54
even when I had my own business. So for me it's really, you know,
1:16:57
it's helpful to have that information and then we try to
1:17:00
lighten it up towards the end a little bit.
1:17:02
Touch on some, you know, other things going on and reach out to
1:17:06
our Rcas and where we can get them on point with doing things
1:17:12
correctly. Because yeah, route evaluations
1:17:14
affect our CAS too, regardless of what people think.
1:17:18
And I know those offices where Rcas are working massive amounts
1:17:21
of overtime. I understand that.
1:17:24
But in the event that you're working 40 hours or less, you
1:17:27
know, that route evaluation, that's your pay too.
1:17:30
And that's your pay when you eventually go regular, you know,
1:17:33
so you want to make sure those routes are properly evaluated
1:17:36
for everybody. And as our old friend Bill used
1:17:39
to say, you know, what you put in the scanner goes in your
1:17:43
wallet. So just kind of remember that
1:17:45
and educate and reeducate yourself on the recs because
1:17:50
it's not going to go anywhere. That's pretty much a given.
1:17:55
It's what we have for now. But on that note, yes, those
1:17:58
that are getting the blistering cold that's coming in, please be
1:18:02
safe, layer up. You know, it's if you have to
1:18:05
take a comfort break to warm up, please do.
1:18:08
And you know, hand warmers, you know, if you have heated socks
1:18:13
or heated gloves, heated vests, you know, don't leave them on.
1:18:18
I know a lot of people yell about the batteries and fires
1:18:21
and whatnot. Use them when you need them,
1:18:23
turn them back off, disconnect them.
1:18:25
I know if I have, I'm like, all right, I'm warm enough now.
1:18:29
Not just even just turn it off. I'll actually disconnect the
1:18:32
battery completely. And then if I need to turn it
1:18:36
back on and warm back up again, I'll reconnect it.
1:18:39
That's just, you know, for my safety as well.
1:18:41
So we don't need anybody getting injured when you're using heated
1:18:45
articles of clothing. So, you know, if you need to
1:18:48
turn them off, disconnect the batteries as well, just to be
1:18:51
safe. Don't forget, you know, usually
1:18:53
it's drier air in this weather. So please stay hydrated.
1:18:58
It is important year round. We we do preach that quite a
1:19:02
bit. So, and I think we're going to
1:19:05
take a break for next weekend since 2 out of the three of us
1:19:09
will be at the South Atlantic Conference.
1:19:12
I am not making it again this year, but someday I will.
1:19:16
So on that note, guys, have a safe week and we'll be back in
1:19:20
two weeks.