Transcript

After the MMS · United We Scan

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Thank you. Now here are the hosts of the
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United We Scan podcast. Welcome back, everybody.
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Episode 65. This is our post mini mail
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survey episode and we'll probably throw in some listener
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questions comments as we go. How was your week, James it?
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Was about normal. I know I heard from a lot of
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carriers that it was terrible after the Mini mail survey.
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And yeah, there there was a bit more DPS errors in my mail than
1:32
during the mini mail survey. But a lot of it was just the
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same old, same old before it. So it wasn't really much of an
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issue. A lot of it was just a set of
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WSH that was put in upside down. Or you know it was literally a
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specific set of mail was set upside down throughout the whole
1:52
process. It was crazy to look at at that
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point but mostly it was about normal a little heavier on the
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parcels these last couple this last week, especially Friday.
2:04
I know some people got off super early compared to others but it
2:09
was pretty much normal overall. Saturday worked really well for
2:13
me. Day off and got some relaxation
2:17
in and had to go work on the Model River Museum because next
2:22
weekend is our last weekend for public viewing of it.
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And it may, according to sources, it may actually be the
2:29
last weekend forever. So it's kind of sad to hear
2:33
that, Yeah. But unfortunately, when the
2:37
owner passed away, there wasn't really much of A plan for it to
2:40
continue on. So we'll have to figure out what
2:44
they're gonna do over the summer with it.
2:47
But other than that, how was your week Bill?
2:52
Oh, it started off heavy. It petered out through the
2:56
course of the week. I I had some young lady from
3:01
North Central part of the country rub it in that, you know
3:05
she was almost done her route and why we're still talking
3:08
said, oh I am done my route. And I'm not going to mention
3:11
Kristen by name. So.
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I'm not mentioning not mentioning Kristen by name.
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I turned. Around Hey, hey, hey.
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Make sure you're not mentioning Kristen by name.
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No, no, no. Not Kristen.
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Kristen. Anyway, my suburb record had a
3:34
funeral to attend yesterday so I volunteered to come in and cover
3:41
my own route and people were looking at me like Phil's is on
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a Saturday and I said yes and I was going to bring in Donuts
3:55
until I found Gigi was back. And Gigi's our supervisor, not a
3:59
supervisor on the City side and she can sell food from 3/4 of a
4:04
mile away. So I didn't bring food in for
4:08
the the carriers, which disheartened a lot of them
4:11
because they know when I come in on Saturdays I always bring
4:14
stuff in. But this this lady, so help me
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God, I've never seen somebody with an ear or nose for food.
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One day we had a a discussion about a birthday cake for a
4:26
carrier and she was over there in 48 seconds and she goes, you
4:31
have cake over here. It's like, how the hell did you
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hear that? I mean, she's almost a football
4:38
field away and she heard us talk about cake, but now it is.
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Saturday wasn't a bad day. The weather is beautiful.
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It was perfect, you know, maybe 62° out, very, very light wind
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and, you know, everybody was out, the dogs, it's the
4:56
customers. So yeah, it was enjoyable.
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And I I, I really, you know, like being out there, you know,
5:04
taking care of my route instead of having it massacred by it
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being split by the Subs who don't know my route.
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So, you know I gave up a day with my grandson, but I, I the
5:15
opportunity to serve my route and my customers and I was happy
5:18
about that. And Stacy got a day off without
5:21
any. How was your week?
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Kristen early Kristen. Kristen.
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Early off, Done early, Kristen. Well Monday.
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Monday was a Monday. I got back to the office about
5:35
4:30, a little after 4/4 thirtyish I guess and went and
5:43
took the did the last hour and a half overtime on the other route
5:46
that the new sub was her first day on her own on a Monday and
5:52
she got all turned around and I talked to her twice while I was
5:55
on the route. She called me and I got her back
5:58
on the route the first time. Second time she was just in
6:01
hysteric tears so trying to call the office 'cause she had to get
6:06
back. She had to get pick up her kid
6:08
from daycare and all this stuff and nobody was answering the
6:11
phone. I told her just head back and
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when I literally pulled in the driveway right behind her.
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So I went and got supervisor, let supervisor know what was
6:21
going on. She come out and she was trying
6:24
to calm her down. And we I just said, look, I said
6:29
I'll go ahead and I'll, I'll take this and finish it off.
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It won't take me very long. She I guess, I don't know if she
6:37
felt rushed to get out, but she did the load truck for the
6:39
packages to get them in sequence order, but she didn't mark them
6:42
so that threw her off. And when she loaded the truck on
6:45
her own with the extra trays of mail, she didn't load the trays
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in and didn't move them around. And so I basically had to rerun
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that small little part of the route to catch up to where she
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left off with DPS, which she didn't have a lot left, but a
7:01
few packages she missed at the very beginning of the route.
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So about an hour and a half is all it took me to get it done
7:06
and get back to the office. So it was no big deal.
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And then I know, right? Tuesday was light.
7:16
I was back to the office by 130, was doing some case maintenance,
7:23
clocked out just shy at 2:00. Wednesday was lighter.
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I was back and clocked out by 1:30 on Wednesday.
7:35
Thursday I was off for my daughter's OB appointment.
7:40
And then Friday, Friday it was done, you know, just after 2:00.
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So yeah, that was a day just. Rubbing it in.
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Bill calls me and he's like, how's it going?
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I'm like, I I got about 1520 minutes left of the route and
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he's like, shut up. I'm like, yeah, I know.
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And then we're still yakking away.
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And I was like, oh, I hate to tell you, but I just tossed my
8:02
last box. Yeah, you can imagine what he
8:05
said to be at that point. I let him go when I pulled into
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my parking spot and I had to put my stuff away.
8:13
But and then Saturday was my K day and so I was off and it was
8:20
my birthday yesterday and my my daughter went and picked up my
8:27
other daughter after school on Friday.
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So I had both my girls home. My bonus son showed up
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yesterday. My parents came up and visited.
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This is the first long trip my parents have taken since my
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dad's hip replacement in January, so that was awesome to
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see them. Eric's niece and her boyfriend
8:47
came over which I had never met them before so that was really
8:50
awesome. And then my sub, my RCA,
8:54
actually stopped by after he was done with work and Aaron he had
8:58
to run after work and stuff. He stopped by and hung out for a
9:00
little bit with us. He tried to take off with my
9:03
bottle of BlackBerry crown. I did stop him, but the Today we
9:12
Oh yeah, me and the kids and the boyfriend and my daughter's new
9:18
friends went down to a little reptile Expo and then went did a
9:24
little shopping lunch and came home with a crested gecko and
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then got home and discovered that my daughter's cat had three
9:32
kittens underneath her bed. While we're gone today, that's
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been my week in a nutshell. And get to go back to work
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tomorrow and run a full week for a change.
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I haven't ran a full week in several weeks between training
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and having weekends off for Tattoo Expo and.
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Yes, we. Know spring booster and
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daughter's doctor's appointments?
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Yeah, I actually have a full week this week.
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I get to work Monday through Friday.
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Boy, she's making people that can't get a day off jealous,
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isn't she? That's only she's getting done
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early. But now she's getting making
10:06
them jealous by being able to take all this time off.
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Oh no, it's like I went regular and got an RCA or something.
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I even told my RCA yesterday when he stopped by last.
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I said dude if you ever want a weekend off or you want you need
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a Saturday off. I said just let me know.
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I'm more than happy to daca R it and take off the following
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Friday so I could have a three day weekend, but no, I I've told
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him a few times if he ever needed a weekend or needed a
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Saturday off to just let me know it's not a big deal, I'll work.
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Yep, 'cause we're all in this together.
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Exactly. And you know, I I know what it's
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like. I I did it forever.
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You know, if you need, if you need it off, you need it off.
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Whether it's, you know, you got your son or you got your kid or
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you just want a weekend off because you want to do something
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on the weekend. You know, just say, hey, you
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know, I kind of want to make plans this coming Saturday or
11:10
next Saturday, whatever Saturday.
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Yeah, if I got nothing else going on, no big deal to me.
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How was your week, Josh? Oh, wasn't too bad up until
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about 5:00 this evening when went to pick up dinner and
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sitting at the light waiting for a clearing to turn onto the arm
11:33
ramp and the woman behind me's foot slipped off the brake.
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Now I have a nice little Ding in the trunk, hatchback, whatever
11:43
you want to call it. Tailgate thing on the S on the
11:48
wife's car. So we'll see how that plays out.
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All right. So it's after the mini mail
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survey, everybody should have gotten their mini mail survey
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count sheets back. And if you agreed with them, you
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signed them. If you wanted the high option
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and had the 10 years of credible service to get the high option,
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you could select that as well. It's hard to know whether you're
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going to get the high option or not with the mini mail survey
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and the rec system as it stands, which I still don't understand
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why they can't figure that stuff out.
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But that should have been done Friday and then input Friday
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evening by 5:00. And if that wasn't done, then
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you can still dispute that there's been a lot of talk going
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on about what management has been doing and things like that.
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So we wanted to go over what are your rights in this situation,
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what can you do? What is the procedures that we
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have in place after a mini mail survey?
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I know we talked about this previously on many Aftermath
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podcast episodes, so we're gonna talk about it again because it
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is fresh in our minds. It's something that's happening
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to us and it is still a problem with management.
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So the first thing I wanted to talk about is what is the
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response you have when you get back your evaluations at the end
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of this month? They're supposed to be in at the
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end of this month. So what's the, what's the
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process? Anybody want to tell us what?
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What is the things that we are looking for on our on our 4241
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M's and A's that we're going to get?
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I was just before we get into that, I was just going to say,
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So what you're saying is it's a red flag that local management
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didn't print out our numbers to verify them until Thursday
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evening and then was calling a carrier at 5:30 on Friday to
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question one of the corrections she had.
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We'll get there. That's part of it.
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But it is a red flag if management did not have them
14:17
available for review ahead of the closing time of them on
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Friday, because that gives management ample opportunity to
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review the numbers, make sure that they're supposedly accurate
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and things like that. They should have had those done
14:33
by Wednesday. They should have had them on
14:35
your desk by Thursday morning, so you had at least a day to
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review them to make sure they were right.
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But the fact is, a lot of managers wait until the very,
14:44
very last minute to do anything, and they don't give you ample
14:50
time to make sure all your numbers are right or anything
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like that. And it irritates the crap out of
14:56
me that they don't do that. But unfortunately you should
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have been reviewing your numbers every day yourself, making sure
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the numbers are accurate. But there is a process in place
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that is outside of the grievance process and it is the only
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process we can use to argue numbers on the mini Mail survey
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as well as our 4241 AS and 4241 Ms. and that is.
15:29
Butte process. Exactly the only answer I want.
15:36
To dispute you on this because you said we're supposed to check
15:39
our numbers every day, How about if we don't get our end of day
15:42
sheets every day? You're supposed to get your end
15:47
of day sheets every day. Supposedly you're supposed to
15:50
get your radar report every day. Supposedly management failing to
15:55
do that is grievable. It is not part of the dispute
16:00
process. That's what I was talking about.
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Thursday afternoon is when they printed all the end of day
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papers. Yes, and that's wrong.
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Management should be printing these numbers every single day.
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They should be printing the radar report and the end of run
16:18
report for everybody. The end of day report comes the
16:23
next day after because sometimes the end of day report is not
16:28
completely finished at the close of business on the day because
16:32
we have carriers that are on routes that last beyond the end
16:35
of day. So it would come in the next
16:38
morning would be the appropriate time for them to print the
16:41
previous day's end of day report.
16:44
Management Not doing that is a problem, but I still I I
16:48
personally have a problem with it not being accessible on a
16:50
system that we can actually view it ourselves online.
16:54
So that way we don't have to waste paper because they're not
16:58
mailing it anywhere. It's costing the post office
17:01
money every time they print that paper every single day.
17:04
We should have a digital version of it to be able to to view it,
17:08
but they're not even giving us that.
17:12
Now your end of day report's going to be different than your
17:14
end of run report, which they can access in the mornings
17:18
because that's your numbers of your end of run is they have to
17:21
pull that up for City side anyways.
17:24
Yes. Well, I'm going to say the end
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of run information. All of that is on the radar
17:33
report. But it's a way to verify the
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radar report is accurate. And let's not forget that the
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radar report, the numbers are delayed anyways.
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They're not 4. Yeah, on flats and and such, but
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the dispute process is the only way to argue numbers for your
18:04
evaluation. There are, I've heard reports
18:09
out there and you guys can check me on this, but it's been posted
18:13
in a lot of groups. But there is management out
18:16
there that is turning around and saying your numbers are too
18:19
high. These are way over what you
18:23
usually have on the route, so on and so forth.
18:27
That is benchmarking. Benchmarking is agreeable.
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Benchmarking means that management thinks that you
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should only have these numbers and no higher and that is not
18:43
how you evaluate. You can't have everybody right
18:47
in the middle where they're where everybody's in the middle.
18:52
An evaluation has highs and lows, but if everything's in the
18:56
middle, you don't get that spread to give you the accurate
18:59
evaluation. And sometimes they are a lot
19:02
higher. I saw somebody who said they had
19:05
630 returns because they have an apartment complex and people
19:11
moving in, moving out, things like that.
19:13
Plus, they don't put in the apartment number, and that's a
19:17
big one. If it is not in address order,
19:21
it is a random letter in your DPS.
19:25
It is Adps error. Even if even if it's in the
19:30
block with the apartment complex and you know which apartment it
19:33
goes into, it is still considered Adps error because
19:37
the apartment number is not on there and it didn't put it in
19:40
the apartment sequence. But a lot of managers are
19:45
arguing that it doesn't count. And Bill, what do you say to
19:50
that? File file file to smart.
19:57
Don't let them benchmark you. It's the same with unscanned
20:02
parcels. It's the same with the amount of
20:04
time it takes you to do your end of shift duties.
20:07
It's the same with the amount of time it takes you to load the
20:09
truck, the same as the amount of time it takes you to do your
20:12
stuff in the office. It takes what it takes, and the
20:15
numbers are what they're going to be.
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And any manager who is turning around and cutting your numbers
20:24
is falsifying a document and you need to use that word,
20:30
falsification and falsify. This falls right into a listener
20:39
message that I got and I do apologize for just seeing this
20:42
today and it was sent on the 5th.
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I have a lot. Lot of my notifications are
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silent so I don't get everything right away.
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So I do apologize to this listener.
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I'm going to read this real quick because this kind of falls
20:55
a little bit into that. But then again it falls into a
20:59
falsification too. Says I'm sorry to bother you and
21:02
your personal messenger. I listen to the podcast weekly.
21:05
It has helped me so much. I feel I can trust your judgment
21:08
on this matter. I have a problem I was afraid to
21:11
share concerning my postmaster. I think my postmaster is
21:14
changing our times during count. He does not like it when you're
21:18
doing end of shift duties and he wants to go home and keep our
21:22
times at minimum. He has been walking out when I
21:25
come back to the office. I asked him if he was clocking
21:27
me out and he stated he was putting numbers in and my clock
21:30
out would override his numbers. The clerk checked it behind his
21:34
back and it did not override. I also think he could be using
21:38
our lunch times that we do not use to make his budget look
21:40
better since we usually do not take only 5 or 10 minutes.
21:45
Our routes have been caught and we we're very seldom and we very
21:49
seldom make evaluation. I've been trying to find a way
21:53
to view my times. I tried the virtual time card
21:55
and it states I'm not a city carrier.
21:58
Do you have ideas on how I can view my times to see if he is
22:01
falsifying? Thank you so much.
22:07
Request the time certificate before they submit at the end of
22:11
the week or pay period. Before the end of pay period,
22:16
request the time certificate of the times on your time card and
22:20
compare them to your 4240. Because according to our
22:24
contract that they ratified and for the 2021 through 2024, which
22:29
is still in effect and will be in effect until we sign a new
22:32
contract, it states that the 4240 is still the standard for
22:39
our times. They are supposed to be
22:43
supposedly inputting the times on our 42 forties into the time
22:50
sheets on the computer. And if it is inaccurate, then
22:57
you have to talk with your designated union representative.
23:01
Because falsifying time on a carrier's records is a federal
23:07
offense. It is a felony because that's
23:14
through the Department of Labor. It is the Fair Labor Standards
23:21
Act and we are supposed to be on the clock when we are working.
23:28
So we should call Bridget, right?
23:33
You should be contacting your designated union Rep and they
23:36
can take it up the chain, but if they are falsifying your time
23:42
records, then you definitely need to contact your designated
23:45
union representative, have your step one discussion and then
23:48
file your Step 1 grievance with it.
23:55
All righty, so there is your answer.
23:59
And remember with the the supervisors, managers, 2O4B,
24:04
SOICS, whatever who are telling you that your numbers are skewed
24:10
and they can't put these in, that is benchmarking.
24:14
And benchmarking is illegal is a predetermined number that
24:19
they're willing to accept. Well like every route isn't same
24:25
as the route next to it or the one across the the aisle.
24:28
Benchmarking cannot be allowed because you do run into
24:31
situations where you have excessive amount of missed sorts
24:35
upside down. You have a part, parts of other
24:39
routes you know buried in your your DPS, all those numbers.
24:43
And as far as I know 500 was the the high number that they were
24:48
allowing. Without benchmarking coming into
24:50
play, it is illegal for them to change those numbers or request
24:55
you to change those. Those are the numbers.
24:59
Stand by them. And this comes directly from
25:03
national leadership. They actually passed it down
25:07
through the the steward system on how to file agreements on
25:11
benchmarking. So your steward will know how to
25:13
file agreements on benchmarking. And if they don't?
25:18
If they don't, they need to contact their Dr. or their ADR
25:22
for assistance because there is a guide out there for
25:25
benchmarking grievances. Bill, from what I was told from
25:31
someone is that that 500 number, Yep it throws a warning at them
25:41
just like when you were mapping. If it was too far away, it threw
25:44
a warning, but it does not prevent them from entering it.
25:51
Correct. Correct.
25:55
Just like all the warnings for people that have trailer parks
25:58
where the CBU is centralized in in the trailer park and then
26:01
they have to go to the far back end of the park to deliver a
26:04
package to the door and it says you're too far away from your
26:07
mail stop, it's the same thing. Yeah, and it's just a threshold
26:12
warning. It's not a an error per
26:16
southeast. Exactly.
26:18
It doesn't. It doesn't preclude you from
26:20
completing the task. It's just asking you.
26:22
Are you sure that this number is right?
26:26
It's a verification. It's not a.
26:28
It's not a suppose. It's not supposed to be a
26:32
benchmark. It's supposed to just say Are
26:34
you sure you wanted to hit a nine here or something like
26:39
that? Basically, that's what it's
26:40
saying. No, I wanted to hit 1100, but I
26:46
figured that was pushing it. Since my my DPS was 11 O2, I
26:54
figured, you know, I might be fudging that one.
26:58
Yeah, I would say that's nearly a full tray of DPS, but go
27:12
ahead. So that's one of the one of the
27:14
things that's going on. Another thing that's been going
27:17
on, and I've been seeing this in a lot of places, is that
27:23
management is dividing everything by 4, Using the
27:30
upside down standard for even the random letters and things
27:33
like that. That is still wrong.
27:36
Only inverted letters in your DPS are A1 for four system.
27:42
Every four inverted equals one random letter, everything else
27:46
is 1 for one yes. So just be mindful of what
27:55
management is doing and if they are doing something wrong, call
28:01
them out on it. Be like, hey, I think this is
28:04
incorrect. This is not supposed to be
28:07
divided by 4, these are supposed to be 1 to one, things like
28:10
that. Then you're going to get your
28:14
evaluations back. They're saying March 30th, we'll
28:18
see. But when you get them back, go
28:23
through them, find everything. They will give you your 4241A,
28:29
but you have to ask for your 4241 M Management is not
28:34
required to print that one out. So please ask if they do not, I
28:41
mean some management's decent about it and they'll print both
28:44
for you. I know my management's pretty
28:46
good about printing both out for everybody, but if they only
28:50
print out the A, you do have to request the M and they are
28:54
supposed to print that M out for you.
28:58
Yeah. And another thing they were
29:02
talking about is the service talk time.
29:07
That's one that people were arguing about.
29:09
The miscellaneous. Time for that.
29:11
And I know we covered that in our last.
29:14
Yes, in our last. Bit you should be checking your
29:18
4241A and your 4241 M for it to be actually in the service talk
29:24
slot. Yes, they they they allowed them
29:28
to put it into the miscellaneous time.
29:30
The last too many mail surveys, however, that was to stop and
29:35
they are supposed to put it into the RMSRMSS system every time
29:43
they do a stand up service safety talk.
29:46
That time they are supposed to input every single time they do
29:50
one, not just at many mail survey under miscellaneous time
29:55
anymore. That's why nobody got the safety
29:57
service talk time under the miscellaneous time this time
30:01
around, 'cause they are supposed to be doing it the way they're
30:04
supposed to have been doing it from the very beginning, and
30:06
they weren't, which is entering it into the RMSS system every
30:11
time they do it. But that just proves that just
30:16
like we didn't get training on the rec system, management
30:19
didn't get training on the rec system.
30:21
And so they had to fix the mistakes that they were making
30:25
as they went along. Which is why the safety service
30:28
talks were on the miscellaneous time.
30:31
And Speaking of miscellaneous time, this has been more
30:35
stopping for a regular delay due to trains.
30:42
Yes, we get a credit for train crossings, but the issue is
30:47
there are a lot of routes that go through areas where the train
30:50
will stop back up block the crossing for a while.
30:53
I saw a post from a carrier that's had to sit for 2 1/2
30:57
hours because the neighborhood they were in had three exits to
31:01
it and all three of them were blocked by the same train.
31:07
When you are constantly delayed by a train for an extended
31:12
amount of time, 1020 minutes a day, that should be a
31:17
miscellaneous time. It is actually listed in the
31:20
manual as part of the miscellaneous time.
31:23
There are some managers that are removing that time because, oh,
31:27
you get the credit for the train crossing.
31:29
So we don't have to put it in for there anymore or it's
31:32
already built in. It's only already built in
31:35
because you put it in miscellaneous time.
31:38
You have to keep putting it in to keep it built in.
31:41
So if they're taking out miscellaneous time that you
31:44
rightfully deserve, you have a dispute.
31:52
Anybody else got Mini Mail survey stuff to talk about?
31:56
Well. Well, I would say in regards
31:58
with the dispute, just make sure you have the numbers or
32:03
documentation to show that you should have gotten credit.
32:09
And each dispute that you have has to be on its own.
32:15
If you have three different disputes about your new
32:18
evaluation, you need to file three different dispute forms,
32:23
one for each, and have the backing documentation for each
32:26
dispute. And on a side note, welcome
32:31
toasty. How was your week?
32:34
I only worked about half the week, had to take a couple of
32:37
days off one for an appointment and then it took off Saturday.
32:41
My wife wanted to do a big hoopla on for her birthday, but
32:46
sorry, getting here late, just everything that could go wrong
32:49
today went wrong. So, but I'm here now.
32:57
And we're happy you're here. Yes.
32:59
Well, happy birthday to your wife.
33:02
My birthday was yesterday. And happy birthday to you.
33:05
I was like, OK, well now I know, you know my wife's one week and
33:08
then yours another week and then my nephew's is the next day, so.
33:13
That's going to be our August is going to be full, that's for
33:16
sure. Yeah, yeah, anybody else
33:21
haven't. Go ahead, Bill.
33:23
And just for a reminder, the disputed items can only be where
33:28
you have questions on zeros on your form and feel that there
33:31
should be a time, credit, your office walk, your route length,
33:36
regular, centralized and total boxes, daily dismounts, daily
33:41
dismount distances, daily activities, miscellaneous time
33:46
and optional election. Those are the only things you
33:48
can dispute. Items outside of that have to go
33:52
through the grievance process which bill held in abeyance
33:56
until they get your dispute settled.
33:59
So remember, those are the items you can dispute.
34:03
Will you repeat those items again, Bill?
34:05
It's your any entry of 0 that's questionable number for your
34:09
your form on your 4241 A that we would expect to have a time
34:14
credit, your office walk distance, your route length,
34:18
regular, centralized or total box.
34:21
Daily Dismounts. The daily dismounts distance
34:25
your daily activities, miscellaneous time, and your
34:29
option election and your optional elections only apply to
34:32
carriers with more than 10 years of career status.
34:38
Yep, 10 years from your computation date.
34:41
So PT. If you were APTF and you then go
34:45
full time that the day you start from as your PTF, the day you go
34:50
career counts towards your computation date.
34:54
Any military service that you had?
34:57
That you bought back? That you bought back?
35:04
All right, do we want to get into just some listener
35:07
comments? I have a good one here.
35:10
Let's go for it. This I'm pulling up the YouTube
35:13
comments. We haven't done this in a while
35:14
guys. And then I have a lengthy report
35:18
from a 2022 state conference that outlines some pretty good
35:22
stuff here. So let me get into this was the
35:27
most recent one. And from this was commented 2
35:32
days ago, it says why are they cutting 47 and 48 evaluations?
35:37
I've never worked for a company that you take one step forward,
35:40
then you take 2 steps back. If you can handle the route, why
35:43
are they cutting them? It's another way for them to
35:45
take away, well to answer the 47 and 48 evaluations.
35:51
Even in the contract, it says that 47 and 48 K's are interim
35:58
evaluations, meaning that they are considered overburdened.
36:01
Once you reach a, reach a 4748 and those are the ones that will
36:08
can be slated to be chopped. And the reason that?
36:15
Go ahead, James. Yeah, the reason that is, is
36:18
because there is nothing higher that you can get paid than 48.
36:24
So if your route were to grow from that 48, you would then go
36:29
into 49 that you wouldn't be paid for.
36:33
You'd be giving an hour free to the Postal Service.
36:37
Cutting the routes back to 43 allows room for growth on the
36:43
route if that were to happen. Now I understand there's a lot
36:46
of places where growth's not going to happen.
36:48
My route will very rarely have any growth at all on it other
36:53
than the boxes that are there actually be going from vacant to
36:56
active. So that's where that comes in is
37:01
because a lot of rural routes, especially in areas where it's
37:05
very rural would have growth as subdivisions get built and
37:10
things like that. So it's giving room for that to
37:13
happen if it were to happen in your area.
37:17
And management does have the OP the right to cut you all the way
37:20
down to 43 K However, they don't.
37:23
They're not required to cut you down to 43 K If it makes more
37:27
sense to just cut off one street that you're already is already
37:31
next to another carrier or another route, it's going to
37:34
make more sense for them to just cut that street off.
37:36
And even though it only brings you down to 44 K, maybe 45 K it
37:42
that keeps you squared off and they know that you're going to
37:44
not going to have any more growth on your route.
37:47
That's something that you can try to argue and go ahead and
37:49
try to put that into your whenever they ask you, hey, what
37:52
should be cut off, you know, carrier input.
37:56
Also, if you agree to take AK day that's a Tuesday, Wednesday
37:59
or Thursday, then they technically don't have to cut
38:04
you below a 45. If you're not in the formula
38:07
office. Correct.
38:10
Formula yes. Well, I was just going to make
38:13
that point. The key to that though is you
38:16
have to volunteer for the day off.
38:21
If the route already has Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and
38:26
you bid on to it, you didn't volunteer for it so you won't
38:31
get that additional bonus option.
38:35
Or if they redo your formula and they ask for your suggested days
38:42
and they'll tell you, they'll count that as a volunteer.
38:46
If you say I went Tuesday and they say no, you have to take
38:49
Wednesday, that still would not count.
38:55
But if it was when they wanted you to take Wednesday and you
38:58
said I'll take Wednesday and they agreed to it, then it's
39:00
voluntary. That one falls into that double
39:06
edged sword. It could or couldn't, but but
39:12
yes. All right, we have another one
39:18
that was actually a comment left on episode 16.
39:21
Our activities scan AKA carrier discretion episode from over a
39:28
year ago and this one was from 8 days ago and it says.
39:33
So I'm actually supposed to be hitting authorized dismount when
39:38
I go back for more mail and packages at my CPU question
39:41
mark. I have three at one spot, and I
39:44
make at least three trips, if not more, every day.
39:47
Oh my goodness, this shows the lack of management training.
39:57
And yes. Yeah, exactly.
39:59
It's sad when they just print out the PowerPoint and throw it
40:02
at you and say here's your scans.
40:04
No, I'm 1/2 CVU route, half curbside route and one of my
40:10
first stops is about. Seven and a half 16 units CPU is
40:15
the last one. The half one is a 12 unit, and
40:19
that one takes me several trips to do 'cause, you know, I can
40:22
only hold so much DPS, it gets the most DPS out of all my CPU
40:25
stops and my other ones that are 5 units.
40:29
I can usually do those in like 2-3 trips.
40:32
I have one that's only three units and they're all only
40:35
twelves. I can do that in one to two
40:37
trips, depending on how bulky the parcels are.
40:41
But yeah, every time you get off and do extra trips at your
40:46
authorized dismounts when you're servicing them, you put that
40:49
number in authorized dismount. Took you 4 trips, 5 trips, 6
40:53
trips. You put that in, hit enter, get
40:57
back in your vehicle, drive to the next stop.
41:03
Here's one from a previous episode that wanted to remind us
41:08
I I just kind of say this 'cause I I I just read it, It says the
41:12
sea is silent in miscellaneous. I think I kind of sometimes say
41:16
miscellaneous at times, but. Thank you for that supposedly.
41:23
Supposedly. She uses she uses carrier
41:26
discretion on that. Yeah, yeah, I.
41:29
Thought that was the Michigan accent.
41:32
Could be too. Northern Michigan.
41:39
Like down South, where you you say y'all to the you all.
41:43
Mm hmm. That's just quicker to say
41:46
y'all. Y'all, no, no, it's you, me and
41:49
y'alls. Or use guys.
41:56
Use guys to Philly, New York guys.
42:00
All right, I'm going to read this summary that this carrier
42:06
had to submit for their 2022 State Conference Convention.
42:12
This I'm not. No names, no offices.
42:16
But let me tell you, this kind of really is well written and it
42:21
really puts it out there especially for you that for
42:24
those that have never attended a state convention or or the union
42:29
stuff, I I think this is this is really good.
42:34
I was hoping to have it last week but I didn't.
42:35
So I'm going to share with you, just bear with me.
42:37
It is kind of long but I think you guys will will definitely
42:43
get the gist of what they're saying.
42:46
Says though this was an astonishing first time
42:48
experience it was by no means a vacation and in some ways much
42:53
more work than that of being a rural carrier.
42:57
These three days consisted of an information overload, networking
43:01
with carriers across the state, and having the ability to make
43:04
my voice heard in hopes to make the union better for future
43:08
generations. Some of the main things I
43:11
learned was how the union works across all levels, be it at a
43:15
local, state or national level. Along with seeing generational
43:19
objectives, concerns and viewpoints, I also got to
43:24
further inform myself with current changes, challenges and
43:27
concerns with our new national contract with the United States
43:31
Post Office. Though I do not believe I can
43:35
make this a report of everything I learned without it being 10
43:38
pages long, I'll do my best to summarize my experiences.
43:42
Let's start out with what I witnessed with the inner works
43:45
of the union itself. It appears that there are
43:48
different tiers from local to national.
43:51
Now local should really be split into two different sections.
43:54
At the base there is the office you operate out of.
43:58
From there is the county level. After that is the district level
44:01
and state. Finally at the top is national
44:04
where everything gets hashed out with politicians.
44:07
Now every level is weighted differently due to county union
44:10
members. What I already knew was that you
44:12
had an office and a county representative.
44:15
I was not aware that each district had their own reps as
44:17
well. At a state level, you have
44:20
different positions as well, from President, Vice President,
44:23
Secretary, treasurer, and finally junior Executive.
44:26
Though I was pleasantly surprised and disappointed at
44:29
how political these positions are, it was still a learning
44:33
experience when it came to voting for the people to fill
44:36
the positions, they each got to voice their own reasons on why
44:39
we should vote for them. However, as a first timer, most
44:43
of their words meant nothing to me and I lack the passion I had
44:46
hoped to see or and lack the passion I hope to see you as a
44:52
first timer. Most of the words meant nothing
44:55
to me. However, as a first timer, most
44:57
of the words meant nothing to me and lack the passion I'd hope to
45:00
see. You can see the bias across the
45:03
room on who people wanted in office.
45:05
Now the question is whether or not it has to do with the
45:08
majority being older than dirt and change terrifies them or
45:13
them not wanting to take the chance someone else can do the
45:15
job better. Or maybe it's both.
45:18
Either way, it's disappointing, but that's just one man's
45:21
opinion. All that being said, it was nice
45:24
to see the cut and dryness of it all.
45:26
No overdrawn debates between two parties, just this is who I am
45:30
and This is why you should vote for me.
45:33
Though they say that with wisdom comes with age, I would
45:36
disagree. Wisdom comes with failures and
45:39
challenging experiences. By no means am I calling this
45:42
generation of carriers on wise, ignorant or uninformed.
45:47
There is definitely a generational gap you find with
45:50
younger people wanting to take bigger leaps of faith due to
45:53
their own lack of experiences. That in turn allows for great
45:57
strives to step in and help guide the new ideas, not shut it
46:03
down. They should be the mentors while
46:06
also allowing the passion to continue.
46:08
With that being said, it allowed me to look at things from a
46:11
different perspective and be a bit more political.
46:14
I must have a bit more salesman approach that will target people
46:18
who aren't nearly as willing to change or see things from a
46:21
different perspective. Not everyone seen things as
46:24
straightforward as you may as you may not understand.
46:27
This forces you to expand your vocabulary and people skills.
46:32
Debates are a whole different experience On their own they can
46:35
be intimidating, challenging and absolutely fun all at the same
46:39
time. Whether state, constitutional,
46:41
or national contractual, this is your time to shine.
46:45
This is when you get to voice your opinions and stand up for
46:48
what you want to see changed, for there is a bit of legwork to
46:52
be done. First off, you must make sure
46:54
you have an idea. Secondly, address it and put it
46:57
into words. Finally, elaborate on it and
47:00
make it sound like a legal document.
47:03
Thoroughness is key here. If you have an issue you would
47:06
like to see changes made to, unless it is apparent you have
47:10
taken the time to make it cut and clear with the loopholes
47:13
filled it won't be passed. The best example of that was
47:17
when my office wanted to see changes made in the OJA on the
47:21
job instructor position. We had one to two sentence
47:24
amendments that left too much unclear and easily abusable.
47:29
This was not passed to say the least.
47:31
However a non delegate had a whole new contractual idea that
47:36
was 4 pages long. They had made it very clear how
47:40
this new system would work and how much thought had been put
47:43
into it. Though it was very long, it was
47:46
at the same time very understandable and everything
47:49
was clear. Another thing with debates that
47:52
was a new experience was the formality of them.
47:55
The formality was that of something I'd never experienced.
47:58
It felt as though you were in a Senate meeting.
48:01
You had to be called on at the microphone, state who you were,
48:05
whether you were for or against the proposal, and then finally
48:08
get to speak your mind. What was probably the most
48:11
amazing thing about this was that even if you were debating
48:14
with someone at the end of it, both sides respected the
48:18
opinions of each other. Win or lose the vote, this was
48:21
what fine really felt like a connection with all my peers.
48:25
This is when we came together and there was a passion for the
48:28
union. This was the part that made me
48:30
feel like I was actually doing something for the future.
48:34
Oh boy. Arguably the most important
48:37
reason I was at State, but also close to the driest part of it
48:40
all, contractual lessons and clarifications.
48:44
This was the part I took to the most amount of notes on.
48:47
One of the biggest concerns of this entire trip was Rex.
48:51
My focus of this was scans. You're only to be clocking in
48:55
and out once per day device, even if you are running part of
49:00
a whole part of or whole other route.
49:03
The only scans that should be duplicated are vehicle loading,
49:06
both start and end. You need to switch to that route
49:09
and do your begin and end load scans.
49:11
Then finish your day, switch to the original route and clock out
49:15
with miss sorts and expresses. You should be switching to each
49:18
route the packages are assigned to.
49:21
This ensures that those routes get the credit for those extras
49:25
that didn't go out with the carrier service talks and.
49:28
Deviations still. Need to be tracked manually and
49:31
put on your timesheet to ensure you still get paid for them.
49:35
The start deviation option is only for express mail.
49:38
One of the biggest concerns of Rex is how it'll affect the pay
49:41
of routes. Come to find out the majority of
49:44
routes whether stay the same or rise in pay.
49:46
Now guys remember this was done before Rex went into effect.
49:51
The Rex system is so heavily based.
49:53
On everyone doing their part, because if you have an RCA not
49:57
doing their scans, it has the potential to take the tank the
50:01
average work done for the route. It really makes you communicate
50:05
with your regulars and work together.
50:07
For example, if you must take multiple trips for a hardship or
50:11
CBU, make sure you're adding those to your extra trips.
50:15
Something else that I found out to be very interesting was that
50:18
the SPM requests are also called mini mail surveys.
50:22
This is all part of the average for pay and volume.
50:26
The route average is based off an entire year's worth of data.
50:30
Addresses that are new and not on the routing map will be added
50:34
over time when you continue to make stops at those mailboxes.
50:38
This is when your scanner drops bread crumbs on your route map.
50:42
Finally, I found out the amount of resources the Union and USPS
50:46
offer. Programs like PAC, Political
50:49
Action Committee, Provident Guild which they have
50:52
discontinued participating with EAP Employee Assistance Program
50:57
and TSP Thrift Savings Plan. Now EAP and TSP already knew
51:02
about but was given further knowledge of them such as there
51:06
isn't ATSP for Rcas. It isn't until you become career
51:10
that you are eligible. Then how in depth EAP goes with
51:14
mental health of carriers that is offered to all no matter your
51:17
position. PAC and Profit and Gills were
51:19
both new to me and the services they offer.
51:22
PAC is a nonpartisan organization that helps with
51:25
lobbying for laws to benefit carriers.
51:28
They are the ones the talk with the aids and sometimes face to
51:32
face with legislators. This is beneficial for new
51:35
contractual changes, especially if there are more politicians
51:38
that are aware of our challenges and then it goes on to.
51:41
Talk about Provident. Guild which we no longer
51:43
participate with and this is my. Notes are insufficient, but it.
51:47
Is to my understanding there is a price life insurance basis for
51:50
those, but we no longer participate with Provident
51:52
Guild, so I'll leave that part out.
51:54
After all this, I have had more questions answered than I
51:57
realize I had With that though, it also creates more questions
52:02
that require more research on my own time.
52:05
For example, what is OWCP, the HR3O6HR4268 and the HR 3278?
52:14
Those have already been put the rest of new bills proposed so we
52:16
don't have to worry about those anymore.
52:18
Beyond that, it'll come down to me reading the contract to
52:21
familiar myself with it further. This has also allowed me to gain
52:26
a larger passion for what it means to be part of the NRLCA
52:30
and the potential it has. I have my work cut out for me,
52:32
but I look forward to expanding and pushing the Union to the
52:35
future by laying out the groundwork.
52:40
This was a first timers. This person was an RCA at the
52:43
time. Unfortunately, they are no
52:46
longer with the Postal Service due to other reasons, but I
52:50
think as a first timer this plays it out pretty good.
52:54
What do you guys think? I I think that that's.
52:58
Pretty much spot on Nail on the head that that.
53:03
Was basically my experience also going.
53:05
To Swack, I, you know, I've been part of the union since I, you
53:09
know, got recruited at RCA Academy and I just kind of, you
53:12
know, went to the local meetings, went to the count
53:14
meetings cause the regulars told me, hey, this is gonna be really
53:17
useful for when you become regular and everything like
53:19
that. But going to an actual
53:22
convention and sitting through all the different lectures, all
53:26
the, you know, OWCP resolutions. Every.
53:33
Other you know, lesson that they give out there is very
53:37
informative which is why after we did the SWAC episode, I was
53:42
saying you know get to 1, it's going to be informative.
53:45
You're gonna learn a lot. You're gonna meet a lot of new
53:47
people and you know, regardless of what's going on, you know,
53:52
RRECS and everything like that, it's still a good time to go.
53:56
It's still a good place to go to get good information.
54:02
And he did compare the difference between.
54:04
You know, some of the resolutions that were left with
54:08
Gray areas as opposed to that four page resolution that James
54:12
submitted. They found it very familiar.
54:18
I thought it would. Yes, 'cause, like I said, this
54:21
was from 20/22, so this wasn't last year, this was 2022.
54:26
But you know, honestly, people, that really is a synopsis of how
54:33
state conventions are. And for a first timer, I mean
54:37
that. I mean that was pretty, you
54:40
know, cut and dry as to what we experience at state conventions
54:45
and with those coming up in June.
54:48
And the the other thing is and it's a.
54:50
Shame we've lost as individual is that they recognize that they
54:54
have to put in their own time in regards to researching you know
54:59
contract, you know the the 603, the M38, all those different
55:04
forms you have to you're required to fill out and and
55:08
have knowledge of. And it's a shame because this,
55:12
this is a perfect example. If you don't invest in your job,
55:17
you're not going to get any return on it and that's a shame.
55:20
That that's an. Awful shame because they also
55:23
pointed out that it's a lot of work and and we as hosts we have
55:28
first hand knowledge especially at the National Convention how
55:31
much work you're putting in till 10:00 at night just to get
55:35
things lined up for the next day.
55:38
It's it's not a party atmosphere there.
55:40
There is some socializing but until after Thursday night
55:43
caucus night there there's no time to relax.
55:47
No and and any of. The pictures that you see that
55:49
you people, it looks like a party with the banquets or
55:52
people sitting out on patios. That's after we've put a full
55:56
8910 hours in on the convention floor and we all need to
56:00
decompress for a little bit before we hit the hay and do it
56:03
all over again the next day. That's.
56:07
All that is, it's not. It's not a party, that's for
56:11
sure, no. Kristen, I just.
56:14
I just looked we still have a Providence Guild representative
56:20
as of the March, April newsletter in North Carolina.
56:24
Really. Yes.
56:28
So. So yeah, I know there was.
56:33
Issues. And I know the National Board
56:36
last year sat down with the Providence Guild board, but no
56:42
one, nothing was put out one way or another after that.
56:47
But yeah, like I said, I know as of our most recent.
56:51
Newsletter there is a. Providence Guild representative
56:55
listed Yeah, no, I was just not. I remember that coming down at a
56:59
state board meeting and was taken out of everything for
57:03
ours. But yeah, I technically I I
57:08
don't. There wasn't even a Provident
57:09
Guild person there at National Convention last year.
57:15
All right. This questions come up in our.
57:17
Chat. Does anyone actually have local
57:20
meetings? I know some, I know our office
57:23
city carriers do, but never the rural.
57:26
So does anybody want to explain how the rural local meetings
57:29
work? I know there are a couple states
57:31
that don't have local meetings. They just have their state
57:35
meetings. But for a lot of places, how
57:38
they work, Bill, go ahead. We just had one our local.
57:45
Meetings. I'm secretary treasurer for our
57:47
local meetings and the reason being is that there's it's a lot
57:50
of work and we have our meetings.
57:54
Sometimes they're closed for union members, open let lonely
57:58
and this past one was an open one so that non union members
58:02
could attend. Now in our chapter Delchester we
58:07
also provide food. So it's an enticement to come
58:11
and learn. You have a local representative
58:14
or ADR, at least an ADR attending it.
58:18
For the NSS, you have a state representative, which is usually
58:23
an executive committee person that will attend, and then you
58:27
have your three officers, your president, Vice President, and
58:30
your secretary treasurer. The local meetings that we have
58:34
are at least 4 * a year based on our local chapters constitution.
58:40
Every year before our June date convention, we have to submit
58:46
information about the four dates that we want to have them.
58:49
They're not set in stone, but they're approximate.
58:52
So they spread out throughout the year and we generally try to
58:55
have one right after the National Convention, and we have
58:59
one beginning of November and then late January, February, and
59:04
then another one in April, May, depending on when our state
59:08
convention is. Because we have to have
59:09
everything submitted to the state 45 days prior to the
59:13
convention, such as the delegates attending the State
59:16
Convention book grants, constitutional resolutions for
59:21
the state and national during. These meetings we you.
59:26
Know give a report of the treasurer's report and that is
59:29
rectified usually at the September meeting in which you
59:34
know people will do an audit on there to make sure all the
59:36
finances are are in line. Then we do a old business
59:42
reading, which is anything that didn't get resolved at the
59:44
previous. And then we start into the new
59:47
business and ours just concluded.
59:51
So we were doing the business meeting about the mini Mail
59:54
survey, how to file disputes, what items can be disputed, what
59:59
can be grieved. Unfortunately, our.
1:00:04
ADR, in attendance for our meeting, kept referring
1:00:07
everybody back to me to answer the question like, OK, why do we
1:00:12
need you here? Well, because by constitutional
1:00:15
law for the state of Pennsylvania, they have to have
1:00:17
an NSS representative there. After we do the formal
1:00:23
discussions of the business of our local chapter, we then close
1:00:27
the meeting as far as official business and we open the floor
1:00:32
and the floor is open to the National Steward system
1:00:35
representative and it's open to the state Executive Committee
1:00:39
person. And then we also have somebody
1:00:42
from the auxiliary, they're presenting items for sale and
1:00:45
points of interest that the auxiliary is doing and basically
1:00:50
we go into about an hour and a half to almost two hours per
1:00:54
meeting. It's one of those things where I
1:00:58
keep track of the non union members who attend and they get
1:01:02
one opportunity to do with 10. They're offered a 1187 to fill
1:01:07
out if they want to join the union.
1:01:10
The next time that they show up, they either sign the form and
1:01:14
hand it to me or they're not allowed in the meeting.
1:01:16
But we welcome the always to come there and have the
1:01:19
experience of what goes on in the local chapter.
1:01:28
All right, see where we. Differ a little bit.
1:01:32
I have our one business meeting. Usually I try and make it for
1:01:37
late April which we elect our local board.
1:01:44
We also elect our delegates for the district to go to the state
1:01:49
convention. We.
1:01:52
Used to years ago. Have a fall booster meeting
1:01:56
which I would make sometime after National or.
1:02:01
After the fall. Booster meeting for the state,
1:02:06
we haven't done that and I don't know how many years.
1:02:11
I did just have one this. Past fall, I don't know if
1:02:16
we're. Going to I'll have to look at.
1:02:17
My budget and see if that's something that we can afford to
1:02:21
keep doing. And I plan I.
1:02:26
As the President, I plan the meetings, so I pick a tentative
1:02:31
date. I reach out to the NSS, my NSS
1:02:34
representative. I reach out to the State board
1:02:36
representative that I have and make sure that that date
1:02:41
corresponds with their schedule and I pick a a location that
1:02:45
we're going to have it at. We try and rotate throughout the
1:02:49
district where we have it. At least I do.
1:02:53
I know other. Districts in North Carolina have
1:02:57
it in one central location, usually for.
1:03:01
The District and they. Stay at that one location.
1:03:10
Ours is our county. Does multiple meetings
1:03:13
throughout the year. Most of them are open.
1:03:17
We do close for business, but we have, we invite everybody to
1:03:22
come and then we have our annual in April.
1:03:27
The last one we had just just last week, in the middle of the
1:03:30
week, the day after our special edition.
1:03:34
Last week we submitted some of the resolutions we're putting
1:03:39
forth for our annual meeting in April.
1:03:42
So that way they have time to review them and go over them,
1:03:45
maybe ask questions to the people who wrote them and stuff
1:03:48
like that. Where I submitted my 10
1:03:51
resolutions that I've made so far.
1:03:54
And no, none of them are 4 pages like the one I did in 2022.
1:03:58
I learned my lesson that the people at State and National
1:04:01
Convention are not going to read 4 pages of a resolution, even if
1:04:05
it is as airtight as you could possibly make it.
1:04:10
But the fact is participating in your local area meetings is.
1:04:18
Very vital. To the operation of this the
1:04:21
Union, there are a lot of regional locals and we.
1:04:29
Call them locals. But they're really like county
1:04:31
or little regions. Like for Michigan, the entire UP
1:04:37
the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, the entire part north of the
1:04:40
part that looks like a hand is 1 regional area that is considered
1:04:47
one county coverage. Even though there's a bunch of
1:04:51
counties up there, it's one unit.
1:04:54
And then from there, there are smaller sectors that have 4345
1:05:00
counties in them or you're like mine, you have one county
1:05:03
involved in it. We're big enough, we have enough
1:05:05
people participating to have just the single county and for
1:05:10
our state, if a county does not have enough participation to
1:05:15
elect enough people to cover each board position for that
1:05:19
county unit, then the state takes over that county and
1:05:23
merges it with another. And that's why we have regions
1:05:26
where they have 3-4 or five counties in one region because
1:05:31
people are not participating. And the biggest thing you have
1:05:35
to do is participate and like they said that is your end to
1:05:40
making changes with resolutions whether they're binding or non
1:05:43
binding. You know running for delegate
1:05:46
for your state that happens at your annual meeting and then
1:05:50
running for national that has to be submitted.
1:05:54
I think it's 6050 or 60 days with you guys.
1:05:57
Can correct me on that before your state convention?
1:06:03
So you want to be? Yeah, Pennsylvania's 45 days.
1:06:08
OK. So 45.
1:06:10
For Pennsylvania, some states have say 60.
1:06:12
So carry your discretion to find out what it is and the delegate
1:06:18
ballots for your state come in your state paper.
1:06:21
The delegate ballots for national come in your national
1:06:24
paper. You can also, if you have access
1:06:28
to them online, you can print them off online and submit them
1:06:32
that way and they go to your state secretary or your county
1:06:36
slash local secretary that's that's listed in the magazine,
1:06:42
but if you want. To participate you.
1:06:44
Want to make change? You want to see things happen.
1:06:47
This is how you do it. This is how you get in and you
1:06:51
help affect the path of this union.
1:06:54
Not just for this year, not just for next year, but you could
1:06:59
submit a resolution that gets passed all the way up and gets
1:07:03
put in the contract that could be permanent, could last 20
1:07:08
years, things like that. You want to make change.
1:07:11
That's how you do it well. And I just want to say.
1:07:15
Go ahead. I was going to say.
1:07:20
Where? In Michigan, you guys have your.
1:07:25
Delegates for the local. Unit for the state convention
1:07:31
sent to you know sent in by a nomination form in your
1:07:38
newsletter. We elect our we elect our
1:07:42
delegates at the business meeting, so the way we do.
1:07:47
It at least at my. Meeting is anyone that wants to
1:07:53
be a delegate for our district at the state convention will put
1:07:57
their name on a sign in sheet once we get that.
1:08:03
Sheet goes around. And everyone had the opportunity
1:08:06
to sign it. The Secretary of Treasury will
1:08:08
read out all the names and we will put it to a vote.
1:08:14
Do we? Agree with this list of.
1:08:16
Names to be delegates for our district to the state convention
1:08:21
with a yay or nay vote. And I just want to go ahead and
1:08:27
clarify for. James, according to the
1:08:29
newspaper that was put out in March, Nominations.
1:08:34
Oh, it's in Section B #2. Nominations must be received to
1:08:38
the prearranged post office box for national delegates.
1:08:40
By the way, at least 50 days prior to the opening of the
1:08:44
state convention. Thank you.
1:08:47
Not a problem at all. Thank.
1:08:48
You, I thought it was. I thought it was.
1:08:49
Right there it was either 50 or 60.
1:08:51
I wanted to be sure, but thank you for for making sure it was
1:08:53
accurate. I might have to talk as he
1:08:55
mentioned. Secretary then Well that's we're
1:08:59
still on Phil is that your but is that that's your state
1:09:03
delegates. No, that's no, that's from the.
1:09:06
National Magazine. Delegate.
1:09:08
Yep, right. Yes.
1:09:10
State delegates. Say like that our local meetings
1:09:12
we don't, we don't get to the local.
1:09:15
And. Yeah, but in the state.
1:09:16
In the state of Michigan, you can sign up early for being a
1:09:21
delegate. But yes, if there's, if there's
1:09:23
still spaces left and you're at the annual meeting, you can step
1:09:27
up at the annual meeting is what I'm saying what I was trying to
1:09:30
say, but you can put in ahead of time.
1:09:36
OK, now to go back to. Kristen.
1:09:38
'S long winded letter it it's amazing that this gentleman
1:09:43
observed the nuances of the political scene at at a
1:09:46
convention and this is what gets.
1:09:49
Me is that. They want more participation in
1:09:53
the Union, but they want participation at the dues level
1:09:59
because participation further up than the dues level would not
1:10:04
allow for some of these people to stay in the positions they
1:10:07
are in. They don't want new blood, they
1:10:09
don't want new ideas, and they definitely don't want to be
1:10:11
challenged in regards to their positions on their state boards
1:10:15
or their NSS assignments. And this is what gets me If you
1:10:20
want participation, if you want to inject new blood and new
1:10:23
ideas in there, then you have to allow these people, you have to
1:10:27
mentor them to work their way up instead of stifling them and
1:10:32
keeping them from becoming more viable members for our union.
1:10:38
And that's. That's the difference.
1:10:40
In our line of thinking versus what the National Board is,
1:10:44
where they want to maintain the status quo, we we don't.
1:10:48
Want to upset the? Status quo.
1:10:50
We want to blow it up because it's gotten us nowhere as.
1:10:56
Long as status quo is. In intact folks, I fear for this
1:11:01
union. I really do.
1:11:04
Yes, Bill, that was the one. Thing that was brought up to me
1:11:07
by the person that sent that to me was there noticing that when
1:11:14
it came for. Those that are looking for
1:11:18
change the first step for any change.
1:11:24
In this craft and in this union is just enforcement of what we
1:11:30
have, enforcement of the contract, enforcement of the
1:11:36
Mous, enforcement of the joint statements sitting.
1:11:41
Down and telling. Them.
1:11:43
You can no longer cross this line.
1:11:46
You have danced across it enough with your incompetence.
1:11:51
Now is the time for us to step up and tell management to stop
1:11:57
violating the craft. Because there are carriers out
1:12:01
there that want to do the work, that want to be involved, that
1:12:06
want to help make the post office run smoothly.
1:12:11
But when you have management that stifles these people and
1:12:15
then you have a Union that silences these people.
1:12:21
Where are they going to go? They're going to go to
1:12:23
McDonald's and make the same amount of money.
1:12:26
They're going to go work at Starbucks, make the same amount
1:12:28
of money and maybe they'll get into one of the unionized
1:12:31
Starbucks where the people haven't been fired for, for
1:12:34
trying to unionize. Getting people involved means
1:12:40
also taking care of them at the lowest level and it starts with
1:12:47
our national Stewart system. And let me point out James.
1:12:52
Is correct. We already have the language in
1:12:56
writing to protect us, but we're not getting the protection that
1:13:01
we're paying for this. This is the.
1:13:04
Worst Abuse of. Power that I've ever seen in my
1:13:06
life in regards to let me collect my dues, let me bump my
1:13:11
salary up to $188,000 a year, but I'm going to do minimal
1:13:17
effort in regards protecting the people I am charged to serve.
1:13:24
It is. Your duty to.
1:13:26
Protect, educate, promote the craft, and the only thing you're
1:13:31
doing is lining your pocket. And if you're not willing to
1:13:40
step up. And take care of this craft.
1:13:44
There are people that have a plan to take care of this craft
1:13:48
and we'll step up and we'll make sure that this craft gets the
1:13:54
the care that they need and they so.
1:13:58
Deserve. For the dues that they pay into
1:14:01
this union. Absolutely.
1:14:08
And that was one of the. Reasons why this person sent
1:14:11
this to me to to read because it is noticed by newcomers.
1:14:18
People that are wanting to be involved and they're wanting to
1:14:22
try and get on the you know, see things changed and.
1:14:27
And made. Better, but then they also see
1:14:31
where those that have been around for a long time are kind
1:14:35
of not in support of that at all and we all.
1:14:39
Know with all of us. Up here, this post office is not
1:14:44
the same it was when we first started.
1:14:49
Well, I know. Because Ben Franklin.
1:14:50
Told me this is not. The way to run with with my
1:14:57
going on 9 1/2 years with the Postal Service, It's not the
1:15:01
same when I started as an RCA in December of 2014.
1:15:05
It's not the same. I know it's not the.
1:15:08
Same, you know. Yeah, it's not the same for me
1:15:11
either. I used.
1:15:12
To be able to run a whole route in my 2004 Honda CRV.
1:15:17
You know it was my back seat was full of cased mail and DPS trunk
1:15:22
was full of packages. Now I wouldn't be able to even
1:15:26
do 2 trips, I'd have to do 3. It's completely changed and I
1:15:30
don't have as much DPSI. Barely get a tray of cased mail
1:15:34
every day, yeah? It's, you know, I've got Monday,
1:15:39
for example. I was wondering how I was going
1:15:41
to fit all those. I had a double stroller and a
1:15:46
large gaming chair and not to mention several other large
1:15:50
boxes that I was surprised I got everything in the LLV.
1:15:55
You know the. For and I remember.
1:15:57
With you know having a A2 door O2 Ford Explorer.
1:16:00
When I first started and I had 12 tubs of mail I took out with
1:16:05
me and now you know I go half most of the time.
1:16:10
This week it was a half a tray of pull down maybe a full tray
1:16:14
of pull down. Monday I think I had or
1:16:16
Wednesday because we had our local newspapers.
1:16:18
I had a train and a half a pull down, but a tray and a half ADP,
1:16:21
one tray of DPS, you know Tuesday.
1:16:24
I had a train and 1/2 ADPS. And and a half a tray of pull
1:16:28
down. Yeah, you know, it's I'm happy
1:16:34
when I have less than 4. I'm so I'm.
1:16:37
So old I can remember. When we didn't have scammers,
1:16:42
you know what the hell a scammer was?
1:16:43
Damn hell. You freaking down.
1:16:49
You had a log book of every tracking number.
1:16:53
Hold on, I got to get change my depends.
1:16:55
I think I wet myself. You know, I know carriers that
1:17:02
are still delivering out of a car and what used to be filled
1:17:10
with trays of mail is now filled with parcels.
1:17:15
But the biggest thing here is there are still trays of mail.
1:17:20
Yes, we've transitioned into a combi department where we
1:17:26
deliver both mail and parcels. We're not going to become a
1:17:30
parcel delivery company in the next 20 years because we're
1:17:34
still gonna have all those documents we still have to
1:17:38
deliver certified. The only thing I could see
1:17:41
changing in the Postal Service, especially with the price raises
1:17:45
in first class mail that they continue to do, is probably
1:17:50
putting tracking numbers on letters.
1:17:54
And that would probably be what they.
1:17:56
Consider us turning over to a completely parcel delivery
1:18:00
service is that we actually turn our letter delivery service into
1:18:04
a scannable item like a certified and everything just
1:18:08
becomes a certified tracking system whether you get a
1:18:11
signature or not with a waiver of signature like they do on the
1:18:14
expresses. That's about the only way we're
1:18:17
going to get rid of the paper delivery that we're doing.
1:18:21
I wouldn't go that far, but I. Mean I would never buy all the
1:18:25
ads. For that, no and you know and.
1:18:28
I mean, we already scan mail with SPM scans, so yeah, I'm
1:18:32
going to say most of your mail already.
1:18:34
Has a code on it bar. Code on it, yeah.
1:18:41
Well, it's not, but no. I papers The Political.
1:18:43
Ads. You know, your marriage, mail
1:18:45
and and all those things, your ad vows, what we call them, all
1:18:49
those things wouldn't be included in there.
1:18:51
So you know that that. Those are numbers that you.
1:18:55
Know some people really depend on?
1:18:58
Yeah, let's not give them any ideas.
1:18:59
James, please. Yes.
1:19:03
I was just thinking of raising. Raising my evaluation with more
1:19:06
scans, that's all you know the post office would.
1:19:10
Negotiate that one. Out probably.
1:19:14
We'd probably go to a volume factor of the number of parcels
1:19:17
we have, removing the scan system.
1:19:22
Hey guys, you ready to wrap this up for?
1:19:24
This week. Oh yeah, yeah, I think so.
1:19:28
All right. How about Toasty?
1:19:30
Your final thoughts for this evening, April Showers Bring
1:19:35
May. Flowers.
1:19:36
So just be careful. Turn around, don't drown.
1:19:39
I know the weather's getting crazy.
1:19:41
We've had tornadoes, we've had snowstorms in some places.
1:19:44
It's been kind of nice here where I'm at.
1:19:46
But just remember, stay safe. And like Bill.
1:19:51
Says you're the most important delivery.
1:19:54
Josh. The hard part's over.
1:20:01
I don't know why raise a hands Saturday, Monday, possibly into
1:20:06
Tuesday. How many of you are still
1:20:08
counting inverted in your head like Tosi?
1:20:15
Said the weather's starting. To get nicer, warmer, unstable,
1:20:22
be. Careful out there.
1:20:23
Don't get overwhelmed. If you do, take a step back,
1:20:27
take a deep breath and step back in.
1:20:30
Have a good week. We'll catch you next time.
1:20:34
James, as Toasty said, yes, the weather.
1:20:37
Has been bad. I know there's been fatalities
1:20:41
due to tornadoes and stuff like that.
1:20:43
It's only going to get more severe as we go along as we move
1:20:48
it transition into spring. Even though right now out my
1:20:51
window it doesn't look like that with that dreaded S word that
1:20:54
Michiganders find as a swear word.
1:20:57
But just remember, every day is important.
1:21:03
Every day you wake up is important.
1:21:06
Make the best out of it. If you want to make changes, you
1:21:10
have to participate. You have to participate in your
1:21:14
local, county, state and national in order to make
1:21:20
changes with this union. It's the only way.
1:21:23
You can't just make changes on social media, social media.
1:21:28
Doesn't make changes. Getting involved does, being a
1:21:33
delegate does. And the only way you can do that
1:21:38
is to. Run for that position.
1:21:40
Advertise it on social media that you're running for that to
1:21:43
be a delegate. Get your word out there.
1:21:45
Let people see what kind of changes you'd like to see in the
1:21:48
Postal Service, because at the end of the day, we're all in
1:21:52
this together. Bill your thoughts?
1:21:58
Well, I'm reminded of a picture. That I saw where a postal Jeep
1:22:02
was on fire, A POV. And the lady explained it was
1:22:07
her daughter that you know was checking smoke out from
1:22:09
underneath the vehicle and by the time she turned back to the
1:22:12
front of the vehicle, her front seat was involved.
1:22:15
Of course the first thing is I I came to mind it was was she
1:22:19
safe? Because that that was my own
1:22:21
concern. I didn't care about the mail the
1:22:23
packages and all that. But the daughter was upset that
1:22:25
the fire read so quickly she lost her purse, which you know
1:22:29
is is a pain for people to replace those items.
1:22:33
But the fact of the matter was she was safe and that that's all
1:22:36
I cared about. You can replace the vehicle.
1:22:38
The hell with the mail, get home safe your loved ones every day.
1:22:42
And that's that's my credo, is that I don't care what goes on
1:22:47
during the course of the day. If you have to backtrack for a
1:22:50
parcel or whatever, you know that you know, just takes your
1:22:55
day and screws it up to the point where you just want to
1:22:58
scream. Get done.
1:23:01
Do your job as efficiently as possible.
1:23:04
Safely Go back clock. Out go.
1:23:07
Home because you are the most important delivery today and and
1:23:12
I truly. Mean that I I.
1:23:14
Don't ever, ever want to see another announcement that a
1:23:18
carrier was killed on a route because of a driver passing them
1:23:22
or, you know, clipping them on the side of the road, tractor
1:23:25
trailers. It's just it's just hardening.
1:23:28
I mean, we have a hard enough job putting up with management,
1:23:32
putting up with our leadership, get home at the end of the.
1:23:39
Day get home. Because those people love you,
1:23:43
they care about you, and they depend on.
1:23:46
So remember. You are the most.
1:23:48
Important delivery of the day. Thank you guys.
1:23:53
Yes, definitely you. Are the weather is definitely
1:23:56
interesting as James says he's been getting snow I really don't
1:24:00
have much and I'm further north than he is and we weren't
1:24:04
getting any snow but yeah it's that you know spring come is
1:24:08
coming up officially this next week and the weather gets a
1:24:11
little hairy and let everybody be safe get home our hearts go
1:24:16
out to that office that lost the carrier on the route due to a
1:24:19
heart attack that management failed to notice stationary
1:24:22
event from. We don't have all the
1:24:26
information but unfortunately you know our hearts and thoughts
1:24:29
go out to that office and to that carrier's family And on
1:24:33
that note guys we will be back next week so everybody have a
1:24:37
good week stay safe get home safely to your loved ones.
1:24:40
We love you all. I thought that was the Michigan
1:24:56
accent. Could be too.
1:25:02
Northern Michigan? Yeah, that's it.
1:25:06
Get Bill riled up again.