• Everyone, please help make our jobs easier and choose the correct category. Thank you

120 day letter-Lost RCA

Beanut

Well-known member
How soon after losing an RCA can I file 120 day letter?

I lost my RCA yesterday. Can I put in a 120 day letter today?
 
How soon after losing an RCA can I file 120 day letter?

I lost my RCA yesterday. Can I put in a 120 day letter today?
you could have put it in two weeks ago if there is nobody applying for the job how are they going to fill it. our office hasn'nt had a RCA in a year all the letters in the world didn't help am I to believe the union did not know and are going to pull one out a hat as soon as they get a letter.
 
you could have put it in two weeks ago if there is nobody applying for the job how are they going to fill it. our office hasn'nt had a RCA in a year all the letters in the world didn't help am I to believe the union did not know and are going to pull one out a hat as soon as they get a letter.
Union does not know until you grieve the letter the day after 120 days have gone by. Have a calendar with the date mine expires with a smiley sticker 😂😂.
 
Union does not know until you grieve the letter the day after 120 days have gone by. Have a calendar with the date mine expires with a smiley sticker 😂😂.
That better not be the case. " Union does not know......" What kind of training do they give these Stewards, ADRs, DRs ? They BETTER know. The local / shop Steward BETTER know how many RCAs his / her office is "short". If no local Steward, then the ADR better know. This 120 letter stuff is not and would not be necessary if there was a vigilant, proactive, and aggressive approach to this as well as many other "situations". Let's start with enforcing the language in Article 30 of The Nat'l Agreement ;
2. The Employer shall make every effort to expeditiously
fill leave-replacement vacancies when they occur.
Regular rural carriers shall have the right to require
that a leave replacement be assigned to their route.

That's BEEN there forever. If that isn't being and hasn't been enforced , what makes anyone think this 120 letter thing is all of a sudden , out of nowhere, came to you in a vision, and we just grew a set yesterday going to be enforced ? Also, since this particular issue is non disciplinary OR affects more than one person, this should be grieved as class action because a representative of the union SHOULD be on top of all of this.

. For other than disciplinary actions the Union may
also initiate a grievance at Step 1 in accordance
with the above, and may initiate a class grievance at
Step 1 when the grievance concerns the complaint
of more than one employee in the office. If the Union
initiates a grievance, the steward or Union represen-
tative is the only appropriate party to meet with the
appropriate supervisor.
 
, what makes anyone think this 120 letter thing is all of a sudden , out of nowhere, came to you in a vision, and we just grew a set yesterday going to be enforced ?
I would think that it MORE that the PO can’t penalize when you go over 2080/2240 at the end of the year if you have formally requested a sub via 120 day form.

Some offices have been allowed to hire PTFs direct from the street or convert RCAs to PTFs before 1 year when RCAs can’t be hired.
 
That better not be the case. " Union does not know......" What kind of training do they give these Stewards, ADRs, DRs ? They BETTER know. The local / shop Steward BETTER know how many RCAs his / her office is "short". If no local Steward, then the ADR better know. This 120 letter stuff is not and would not be necessary if there was a vigilant, proactive, and aggressive approach to this as well as many other "situations". Let's start with enforcing the language in Article 30 of The Nat'l Agreement ;
2. The Employer shall make every effort to expeditiously
fill leave-replacement vacancies when they occur.
Regular rural carriers shall have the right to require
that a leave replacement be assigned to their route.

That's BEEN there forever. If that isn't being and hasn't been enforced , what makes anyone think this 120 letter thing is all of a sudden , out of nowhere, came to you in a vision, and we just grew a set yesterday going to be enforced ? Also, since this particular issue is non disciplinary OR affects more than one person, this should be grieved as class action because a representative of the union SHOULD be on top of all of this.

. For other than disciplinary actions the Union may
also initiate a grievance at Step 1 in accordance
with the above, and may initiate a class grievance at
Step 1 when the grievance concerns the complaint
of more than one employee in the office. If the Union
initiates a grievance, the steward or Union represen-
tative is the only appropriate party to meet with the
appropriate supervisor.
Let me rephrase they have other issues on the plate currently. I hold no grudge or bone against reps, they literally have a thousand and 1 other things going on at any moment in time. Until they see that grievance there is not much they can do to try and remedy it. Hope that clarifies my point and stance on the issue.
 
Let me rephrase they have other issues on the plate currently. I hold no grudge or bone against reps, they literally have a thousand and 1 other things going on at any moment in time. Until they see that grievance there is not much they can do to try and remedy it. Hope that clarifies my point and stance on the issue.
I understand. Locals can be and usually are way overwhelmed especially in even a halfway decent sized office. They pretty much volunteer for the position. Do I believe they should receive more support ? ABSOLUTELY !! I believe being even a local shop Steward is a full time job in and of itself, you know, being the contract police. Heck, I do a ton of research and work at home on my own time and I am NOT a Steward. I totally respect and appreciate the front line Steward. I have seen local reps and even ADRs though, who will know who is a member of the union and who is not a member in a particular office and , yet, have no clue as to how many RCAs the office is short. To me, that's messed up. We just need a more ominous presense in offices. Always on the look out. Always have the ears and eyes open and aware. Many times, remedying one issue will also , in turn, PREVENT susequent issues and , therfore, the burden will be greatly lessened on our local Stewards.
 
Take a copy/pic of your 120 day letter before you turn it in and verbally say you got my 120 day letter in front of a witness. Funny how things like this just vanish....
I believe when you file your letter, you give a copy to your ADR/DR.... when the 120 days are up, and still no sub, then file the grievance as stated above... you should get some sort of answer on the grievance.... :unsure: 🤷‍♂️👉:oops:
 
I believe when you file your letter, you give a copy to your ADR/DR.... when the 120 days are up, and still no sub, then file the grievance as stated above... you should get some sort of answer on the grievance.... :unsure: 🤷‍♂️👉:oops:
I always did. After the 120 days passed and the grievance was filled management was going to start looking for a substitute. I am not trying to say this happened one time. It happened many times over the years.
 
I always did. After the 120 days passed and the grievance was filled management was going to start looking for a substitute. I am not trying to say this happened one time. It happened many times over the years.

Like many things, it likely varies by location.... in my neck of the woods, mngt never seemed to like getting the 120 day letters, as it's basically the carriers telling them to do their job... and if the grievance gets filed, usually it's something that will get under the nose of the POOM, basically saying they aren't getting their job done.... so, maybe it helps, maybe not, but it's the process, and wth, it's worth a shot.... :unsure: 🤷‍♂️👉🧐
 
sinister minister -- "My experience is that the 120 day letter is nothing more than an illusion of action."

-- On the other hand, it creates a paper trail of how long manglement has not hired.
 
sinister minister -- "My experience is that the 120 day letter is nothing more than an illusion of action."

-- On the other hand, it creates a paper trail of how long manglement has not hired.
I don't get the feeling that the association or most of the members of craft understand the concept of building a paper trail. I see more one shot instant gratification or nothing used.

1 to 1 fights, the managers word being worth more than a full office of craft is not a constructive situation for paper trails. It leaves few ways other than using a grievance form to build documentation of the situation.

Ideally, team work would be involved. People need to learn to bring this documentation together. So, training would be needed and the hardest part is understanding the learning curve. There will be many failures if things are changed. The opportunity is that new tools may be tried to see if they work better.
 
A paper trail is cold comfort when management sez, "no one is applying for the job". In the end, there will be a stack of 120 day letters.
While it may be true, currently after the next reg retires any new hire is looking at a long long time for career. My DR pushes for PTF position anytime 120 day letter is grieved. The more who do it and grieve it the bigger the case they have. If doing my due diligence and grieving it creates another Ptf position it would mean another sub could be career sooner. It might be the difference between 1 sub or 2 subs for my 10 route office. I am willing to take the gamble to get time off I absolutely may need in the future.
 
Last edited:
My point is that a 120 day letter is toothless. A 120 day letter with a penalty of double/triple time until it is filled, will likely get quicker results.
 
Back
Top