RCA working for Amazon
- Thread starter KoiPond
- Start date
muttleycrue
Well-known member
Here's the wording on outside employment from a 7-year old USPS Orientation for New Employees handbook.
Postal employees may NOT engage in outside employment or business activities with or for:
- a person or company that delivers mailable matter (other than newspapers) outside of the U.S. mails. This includes FedEx and all other persons or companies that provide delivery services involving items that could otherwise be sent through the mails. The FedEx-USPS agreements do not affect this prohibition;
(that's only the first bullet item, but it is the applicable clause)
Doubt the official policies have changed since this was issued. If it is still in effect, the conflict of interest seems pretty clear cut.
Postal employees may NOT engage in outside employment or business activities with or for:
- a person or company that delivers mailable matter (other than newspapers) outside of the U.S. mails. This includes FedEx and all other persons or companies that provide delivery services involving items that could otherwise be sent through the mails. The FedEx-USPS agreements do not affect this prohibition;
(that's only the first bullet item, but it is the applicable clause)
Doubt the official policies have changed since this was issued. If it is still in effect, the conflict of interest seems pretty clear cut.
KoiPond et al -- "We have an RCA who also working for Amazon. I remember, not so long ago, not being able to work for UPS when I was an RCA because of conflict of interest. Is working for Amazon acceptable?
-- Still a conflict of interest.
-- The individual probably figured why not get paid to deliver Amazon parcels instead to doing it for free with the USPS.
-- USPS News Link 12/11/18 article popped up on 20 JUN 2019 at postalemployeenetwork.com entitled "USPS says "Know the rules about seeking other jobs.""
in part: You're prohibited from engaging in any outside employment or business activities with certain types of organizations, including Amazon, FedEx, UPS, and DHL. For other types of employment, you must obtain approval from the USPS Ethics Office [ LOL ] before taking the job.
-- Ethics Hotline: 202-268-6346
-- ethics.help@usps.gov
-- Still a conflict of interest.
-- The individual probably figured why not get paid to deliver Amazon parcels instead to doing it for free with the USPS.
-- USPS News Link 12/11/18 article popped up on 20 JUN 2019 at postalemployeenetwork.com entitled "USPS says "Know the rules about seeking other jobs.""
in part: You're prohibited from engaging in any outside employment or business activities with certain types of organizations, including Amazon, FedEx, UPS, and DHL. For other types of employment, you must obtain approval from the USPS Ethics Office [ LOL ] before taking the job.
-- Ethics Hotline: 202-268-6346
-- ethics.help@usps.gov
eunomios
Well-known member
Are you able to clarify what type of work they complete (warehouse work or delivery) and if they are an actual Amazon Associate or if they are doing the work via "Amazon Flex" ? - I have also heard of RCAs/CCAs even clerks working Amazon Flex as a side gig.
When the question was directed towards my PM I got a "I don't know" if it falls under "conflict of interest". This was after a short conversation about HCR (which my office had an RCA, Regular Carrier, and Clerk from another office deliver recently). It was mentioned that I should get trained on the HCR, so I brought up concern about that being a conflict of interest. I was also told by PM that USPS employees working a HCR wasn't a conflict of interest as long as USPS or the HCR owner doesn't pay them.... in other words "someone" is paying them under the table to run it...
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btdtret: "The individual probably figured why not get paid to deliver Amazon parcels instead to doing it for free with the USPS."
Ain't that the pathetic truth! Not to mention having some a/c and no clunky scanner. A RCA doing this is probably just trying make ends meet due to a lack of hours...just adding another gig job.
Shafted
Well-known member
KoiPond, two questions here. Are you an RCA, and is this RCA senior to you? If the answer is yes to both, please be careful how you approach a situation that doesn’t involve you. Having harmony in an office long term with a respectful interaction between everyone is important. You don’t want to directly involve yourself in something that you potentially have something to gain from down the road.
KoiPond
Active member
I am a reguar. To be honest this RCA is a problem and has been a problem for a long time now. My PM is useless and is only in the office one day a week. We blow through supervisors. We have a steward who only looks out for him/herself and a DR that is utterly useless and hates my office with a passion.
Alright, just to cover the bases: what are the odds this RCA is really running a deep cover covert op for the USPS? Infiltrating behind enemy lines, spying weaknesses, and finding their vulnerable underbelly?
If you see your guy wearing some phony Chuck Taylor high top Converse All Stars, there's a good chance there's a piano wire wrapped up in there for emergencies. Let this thing play out.
If you see your guy wearing some phony Chuck Taylor high top Converse All Stars, there's a good chance there's a piano wire wrapped up in there for emergencies. Let this thing play out.
Nyfarmer
Well-known member
Hank (Ford !) figured this out about a century or so back. If'n 'ya want 'loyalty' and workers to put up (and show up !) with bad hours and crappy conditions (such as sixty hour work time -- plus Amazon Sunday's and Holiday's !) --- pay for it !! It is far more costly to continuously train subs, have them work for 'the opposition', and have an eighty percent dropout rate. -- Or NO hires at all !
To -- Armchair regular 'Union' members ! 'Yer not off 'the hook' for the sub debacle either !! Get involved !
The - 'refer to committee' on the RCA/ACA issue - of the proposed contract is unacceptable !!!!
To -- Armchair regular 'Union' members ! 'Yer not off 'the hook' for the sub debacle either !! Get involved !
The - 'refer to committee' on the RCA/ACA issue - of the proposed contract is unacceptable !!!!
Lyra
Well-known member
I thought I had it bad as an RCA... I didn't think it could get any worst. Boy was I wrong.. I didn't need to provide a pov in our office. They do now.. thats crazy to buy a car and only be guarantee 1 day a week. I think I had amazon Sunday 2 years before I went regular out of 3 years as a sub.. something like that. The post office will never understand they are sinking this ship and we all are drowning.
Management material.
DontTrustTheUnion
Well-known member
This is what needs to be done these days when you are on Table 2 as a regular, so for a RCA to be doing this with what they pay them these days I dont blame anyone for doing this!
No doubt. I think this policy is a catch-all for all USPS employees, but the intended audience is really for those in a work position that can actually commit some type of fraud...those that affect contracting and money, or by sharing information that degrades comptetiveness. Unless it becomes a scheduling problem, I don't see an issue. UPS and Fedex are unionized, Amazon is a gig job.
charlie
Well-known member
Ethics and USPS hah.. when did they ever meet?I never heard of our ethics hotline!
Then again, I've seen scant evidence of proper ethics from this organization.
