Rural mail carrier arrested in Culpeper County mail‑theft investigation

BillyBoi said:

EDIT: Sorry it took so long to get the post finalized as I realized errors in my math after posting and that I had to do some significant math to make comparisons.

The $12+ gap (40k used for 2080 sake) between a maxed out regular and a fresh one is pretty ridiculous considering we all do the same job. A new regular has to go up 9 steps (~8 years) just to reach halfway into that $12 gap. I can understand the bennies (ie more leave) being better with seniority but considering the time it takes to become a regular in the first place it just seems silly to have such a large pay/time gap before we even reach HALFWAY into pay parity with maxed folks.

As a step 2 regular on table 2 on a 45k I make ($65,060 / (52 weeks * 45 hrs)) = $27.80 an hour.
A table 1 equivalent would make $34.26 an hour.
I won't see that until step 11.

In the time it takes to reach step 11 here is what each table would make in just salary alone:

Table 1 salaries in that time:

SALARY	75,227	80,170	81,938	85,614	86,169	86,720	87,269	87,825	88,376
WEEKS WORKED	96	96	44	44	44	44	44	44	40
WEEKLY SALARY	1,446.67	1,541.73	1,575.73	1,646.42	1,657.10	1,667.69	1,678.25	1,688.94	1,699.54
PAID EARNINGS	138,880.32	148,006.08	69,332.12	72,442.62	72,912.23	73,378.46	73,843.00	74,313.46	74,779.69

TOTAL: $910,220.89 over 450 weeks

Table 2 salaries in that time:

SALARY	63,321	65,060	66,803	68,543	70,287	72,026	73,766	75,507	77,250	78,987
WEEKS WORKED	50	50	50	50	50	50	50	50	50	50
WEEKLY SALARY	1,217.71	1,251.15	1284.67	1,318.13	1351.67,	1,385.12	1,418.58	1,452.06	1,485.58	1518.98,
PAID EARNINGS	60,885.50	62,557.50	64,233.50	65,906.50	67,583.50	69,256.00	70,929.00	72,603.00	74,279.00	75,949.00

TOTAL: $790,611.11 over 450 weeks

A difference of roughly $119,609.78 in salary earned before I reach that step 2 value.

($266.67 per week, $533.34 per pay period average difference, 20% of my gross pay of $2,502)
This gap decreases as I reach parity but hurts worse for the first 7 or 8 steps.

I essentially earn 13-14% less in that time overall.

This doesn't account for all the k days and FLSA overtime that would be made in that time made at significantly different rates which widens the % even more especially considering said average gap shown above.

FLSA rate is salary / hours worked * 1.5

FLSA/Daily OT rate for a 45k averaging 6.5 hours on step 2:
table 1 would pay you $71.16 an hour (1.5 * 80170 / ( 52 * 5 * 6.5)
table 2 would pay you $57.75 an hour (1.5 * 65060 / ( 52 * 5 * 6.5)
A 19% difference

Table 2 is significantly underpaid compared to table 1.
The pay does matter.

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Your math ain’t mathing.

Pay rates will change over time with wage increases. You make more in your 2nd year than what I did on Table 1- Step B in my 2nd year. You would have to go back at least 12.4 years of wages for both charts to calculate what the actual difference is although I started way before at even lesser wages.
I understand that it isn’t fair all the way around but this is also how it is in the Private Sector, too, except not everyone has the same Starting wage & raises as their co-workers doing the same job.

For Overtime, there are 2 different types of FLSA overtime.
The normal hourly rate at each Step is determined by a 40-hr route salary divided by 2080 hours. Overtime is not part of the hourly rate which is why we get screwed on 8127 time. 8127 time pays just the hourly rate at the Adjustment tax rate. Relief Day work as DACA 5 is paid at 150% of the daily rate.


What you are showing in your math is similar to Christmas OT & MOU Assistance Overtime. You are showing it as almost double time rate but that doesn’t happen with an average of 6.5 hrs per day.
This overtime is paid at a different hourly rate that is an average of compensation divided by actual work hours times 150%. This calculation also goes off of the actual work hours since the beginning of the Guarantee Period so it is never a full year of pay. Average work hours will change from day to day, week to week, and month to month.

The Annual Wage of a Step & Route Size could be used to find the daily rate of pay for working a Relief Day but is never used for the Christmas/Assistance Overtime rate.

jsthere723 said:

This immigrant people from no good country are ruining the USPS !

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NO political commentary in General Discussion areas... Js... Sober up DOOBER!!!!!

DB.Cooper said:

NO political commentary in General Discussion areas... Js... Sober up DOOBER!!!!!

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No political comment . Reflection on how USPS is getting ruined Goober !

gotstamps said:

Your math ain’t mathing.

Pay rates will change over time with wage increases. You make more in your 2nd year than what I did on Table 1- Step B in my 2nd year. You would have to go back at least 12.4 years of wages for both charts to calculate what the actual difference is although I started way before at even lesser wages.
I understand that it isn’t fair all the way around but this is also how it is in the Private Sector, too, except not everyone has the same Starting wage & raises as their co-workers doing the same job.

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If there was a table 2 when you were in your second year I assure you the 15% figure would still remain. How much you made in the past is irrelevant when the rate of change is still nerfed into the ground in table 2. We simply don't receive that same % gain each step which means we are payed less %wise overall.
The private sector also pays and promotes based on skill and not just seniority, also if you are caught stealing or doing other shenanigans, you don't get to stick around or have a chance at getting your job back (or becoming management )

gotstamps said:

For Overtime, there are 2 different types of FLSA overtime.
The normal hourly rate at each Step is determined by a 40-hr route salary divided by 2080 hours. Overtime is not part of the hourly rate which is why we get screwed on 8127 time. 8127 time pays just the hourly rate at the Adjustment tax rate. Relief Day work as DACA 5 is paid at 150% of the daily rate.

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The 2080 hours is actually a common misconception that many rural carriers and management have. Your daca overtime is adjusted based on total hours your route works.
You can look at a DACA 5 day and reverse engineer this one easily to see.
On a step 1 check :

EDIT: Actually I'm glad I looked at this and we had this discussion. My Actual Hours appear to be weird for the last 3 pay periods starting with pp 14... I hope its just my imagination and management isn't messing with my clock rings.... One week even says I averaged 10 hours a day...... There's no way...

My salary was $63,321
My daily salary was $243.54
I was paid $365.31 for a DACA 5 day
So to reverse engineer that:
My route is a 45k so, 365.31/9 = 40.59 should be my ot rate
Let's math it out by using my total routes hours and not 2080
Daily hourly rate = Salary / (route hours * 52 weeks)
63321 / (45 * 52)
63321 / (45 * 52) = 27.06
27.06 * 9 hours = 243.54, my daily salary
1.5 * 27.06 = 40.59
40.59 * 9 = 365.31, which is what I was paid for my DACA 5

If you divide by 2080 you end up with the wrong hourly rate if you look at your ot hours it will show the hours for your route and not a flat 8 like leave hours.
This shows my hourly rate is $27.06 and not $30.44. That 2080 hourly rate again is only used when calculating leave hours as they are a flat 8 and the flat 2080 adjusts your pay accordingly. If this rate was my true hourly rate my daca days should be paying $5 more an hour than they do or they should say 8 hours and not 9 in the hours field.

gotstamps said:

What you are showing in your math is similar to Christmas OT & MOU Assistance Overtime. You are showing it as almost double time rate but that doesn’t happen with an average of 6.5 hrs per day.
This overtime is paid at a different hourly rate that is an average of compensation divided by actual work hours times 150%. This calculation also goes off of the actual work hours since the beginning of the Guarantee Period so it is never a full year of pay. Average work hours will change from day to day, week to week, and month to month.

The Annual Wage of a Step & Route Size could be used to find the daily rate of pay for working a Relief Day but is never used for the Christmas/Assistance Overtime rate.

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I had to calculate a bunch of back pay for a grievance for several carriers in my office including myself. Here is the text from my grievance:

Article 9.2.A.1.k.
Overtime compensation for regular rural carriers compensated pursuant to FLSA Section 7(b)(2) shall be paid at the rate of 150 percent of the carrier’s regular rate.
The regular rate for such carriers shall be:

the total amount of compensation earned for hours actually worked since commencement of the guarantee period,
(SEE 434.12 Definitions above FOR Hours actually worked) excluding previous overtime pay, (daca 5s and other hours earned/worked outside of route)

divided by

the total number of hours the carrier has actually worked since commencement of the guarantee period, excluding previous overtime hours,
(daca 5s and other hours earned/worked outside of route)

IN SUMMARY
FLSA OT = (Salary Earned so far this guarantee period / Hours actually worked this guarantee period) * 1.5
As a new regular or on the first day of the new guarantee period this number is calculated from scratch the very first day. Every day this rate is recalculated as a route is completed.

This calculation is used for ANY work you do outside of your route as a regular. Every carrier eventually averages out to a set pay rate each guarantee period.
The only time it's volatile is in the first month or so. This is why I used 6.5 hours as an average because I personally average about 6.5 - 7 hours myself overall. This is why management constantly gets yelled at when regular carriers pick up the slack for subs and help on other routes. This is the one figure where we are paid based on skill and not just seniority alone.