Am I basically unemployed right now?

[EthelAnne]

It strikes me as odd that considering your spotless record, they went straight to a 14-day suspension in lieu of progressive discipline

Don't try to apply any sort of intelligence or reason to their logic--they went straight to the 14 day suspension because they're stupid or they think we're stupid. To me, it isn't odd at all. It's extremely typical. They're all morons, with the exception of two supervisors I've had in my 14 year career (and my office is a freaking merry-go-round of new PMs and supervisors cycling in and out, so I've seen quite a few).

 

[csparks]

So, I did go the "road hazard" route, and the safety team here apparently doesn't distinguish between road hazards and actual collisions if there's even a scratch on the LLV.
And that's not me just angry ranting, that's what the safety team told me... apparently this district had the worst accident rate in the country (which is funny cause that's what my old district said too ?) so they said that's their reason for being stricter.
But I don't see how they actually have any authority to dole out advice for disciplinary action even if that is the case.

If they are treating road hazards, tree limbs, etc like traffic accidents, its no wonder the accident rate is horrible. Quit thinking like a automaton, and figure out how to accurately record damage without calling it a collision.

 

[gotstamps]

My advice is to file a grievance immediately!
Unless you are on Emergency Placement, mgmt cannot remove you from the schedule. You should also write a statement of what happened & when, and which mgrs you dealt with. Note all days that you know you should have been scheduled. If there were any witnesses to any conversations, write those names down. This starts the clock & forces the Union to take action & mgmt to bring you back ASAP and/or issue discipline.
If discipline is issued, file on that if you cannot get mgmt to lower it to an Official Discussion. You’re going to need a written statement for that one also.
You should be “made whole” which means paid for every day that you would have worked and any benefits that you lost due to being off-the-clock.

 

[Blondie13]

My advice is to file a grievance immediately!
Unless you are on Emergency Placement, mgmt cannot remove you from the schedule. You should also write a statement of what happened & when, and which mgrs you dealt with. Note all days that you know you should have been scheduled. If there were any witnesses to any conversations, write those names down. This starts the clock & forces the Union to take action & mgmt to bring you back ASAP and/or issue discipline.
If discipline is issued, file on that if you cannot get mgmt to lower it to an Official Discussion. You’re going to need a written statement for that one also.
You should be “made whole” which means paid for every day that you would have worked and any benefits that you lost due to being off-the-clock.

Thank you, I'll get to work on that tonight
Question: what is the proper procedure for revoking driving privileges? Was I supposed to be given paperwork or a notice of some sort? (For emergency placement, or just revocation of driving privileges)
Because she originally took me of the schedule for not having a POV, despite me telling them I wouldn't have one the week before.

 

[gotstamps]

Thank you, I'll get to work on that tonight
Question: what is the proper procedure for revoking driving privileges? Was I supposed to be given paperwork or a notice of some sort? (For emergency placement, or just revocation of driving privileges)
Because she originally took me of the schedule for not having a POV, despite me telling them I wouldn't have one the week before.

There is documentation for Emergency Placement that would have been issued.
For the issue of not being available for POV routes, sorry but you should have submitted a leave slip for LWOP if you couldn’t obtain a vehicle to use on POV routes. Mgmt has no obligation to forgo scheduling due to our personal vehicle issues nor do they have to supply an LLV except on LLV routes. I’ve rented a van when my POV was in the shop when I was a POV route.

 

[Blondie13]

There is documentation for Emergency Placement that would have been issued.
For the issue of not being available for POV routes, sorry but you should have submitted a leave slip for LWOP if you couldn’t obtain a vehicle to use on POV routes. Mgmt has no obligation to forgo scheduling due to our personal vehicle issues nor do they have to supply an LLV except on LLV routes. I’ve rented a van when my POV was in the shop when I was a POV route.

And as I've stated on this forum before, POVing is still fairly new to me. They know this.
This supervisor should've said "Ok, you're going to need to fill out LWOP"... because 1) I had no idea that's what you're supposed to do and 2) I would've grieved that anyways because literally every other POV carrier in the office has LLV accommodations made for them while their POV is in the shop.

 

[DB.Cooper]

That's what I don't understand- the union attitude here is just sort of...pandering? to management... Like just give management what they want and work yourself around it. During the talk with one of our union reps, he told me our area rep had told him to say something to me about "excessive grievances."

Have you previously filed a lot of grievances???

 

[Blondie13]

@DB.Cooper
I'd actually never filed a grievance before transferring into this office... but over the past 2 months or so yes, I guess you could say I've filed a lot of grievances. (Because this is a nightmare office and the management here has been walking around doing and saying basically whatever they want for a long time and no one else wants to take the time to fill out a grievance form.)

 

[Blondie13]

Ruralinfo.net Knowledgebase

Rural carriers, find what you need fast!

knowledgebase.ruralinfo.net

I printed this out and stapled it to my grievance regarding my driving privileges being revoked
Thank you!

 

[Blondie13]

Concurrence and review means another supervisor must take a look at the incident/issue prior to the carrier being disciplined. In your case, I don't think you've received any discipline yet so not a concern yet, but it can be if you grieve the discipline (which you should, of course).

They're telling me that in this district at this post office, the safety team, station manager, postmaster, POOM and district manager all have to sign of on my driving privileges in order for them to be reinstated... And that's what I'm waiting on at this point.

 

[DB.Cooper]

I printed this out and stapled it to my grievance regarding my driving privileges being revoked
Thank you!

Sometimes, it's best to keep things like this in your hip pocket.... let them do things incorrecly, THEN show the references to your steward after filing the grievances... imo, why tell them how to do what they are supposed to be doing??? Let them eff it up, then grieve it...

Now that you gave them the reference, they'll likely scramble to cover their butts with whatever it is they were supposed to have done previously... just sayin'....

 

[Rt2mailman]

"They're telling me that in this district at this post office, the safety team, station manager, postmaster, POOM and district manager all have to sign of on my driving privileges in order for them to be reinstated"
Let them take all the time they need, but file a grievance before 14 days goes by asking to be paid for not being worked as you should have been scheduled. Think of it as a paid vacation as a thank you from the USPS for working so hard.

 

[btdtret]

Blondie13 et al -- "I'm told my driving privileges are revoked.."

-- Have someone in the office drag out the 2019 May/Pre-Convention issue of the national magazine. Pre-Arbitration Settlement on Suspension of Driving Privileges was among the articles.

-- At the heart of the grievance was whether the USPS had to provide the rural carrier craft employee non-driving duties or paid administrative leave when their driving privileges had been suspended following a review of the on-duty record after a vehicle accident. ( might be hard to do if no record/report was made of the "accident" )

-- In part: The parties agree there are NO PROVISIONS for the AUTOMATIC SUSPENSION of an employee's driving privileges based on the sole fact that the employee was involved in a motor vehicle accident.

-- It was remanded to the Step 3 parties to determine whether driving privileges were PROPERLY SUSPENDED and what action, if any, was necessary.

-- Digging through the "files", Step 4 ( A-46 ) echoes the statement from the above mentioned Step 4.

- it also cites Handbook, EL-804, Safe Driver Program. Section 422 provides management my withhold driving privileges up to fourteen ( 14 ) days pending the completion of the accident investigation. Once the accident investigation is completed, driving privileges MUST be reinstated, suspended up to sixty ( 60 ) days, or revoked. If driving privileges are suspended or revoked, management MUST provide an explanation to the employee IN WRITING. ( grievance time if you haven't got that in writing. )

"They're telling me that in this district at this post office, the safety team, station manager, postmaster, POOM and district manager all have to sign of on my driving privileges in order for them to be reinstated...

-- Since you are already on the "popularity" list, might was well politely ( or otherwise ) ask for that particular reference.

-- Watch the 14-day time limit on filing a grievance.

 

[Blondie13]

Well, I sent off the grievances regarding backpay and removal from the schedule today.... maybe that will light a fire under their asses to get me back to work...

Still haven't heard anything from anyone and management avoided eye contact and generally tried to scoot away as quick as they could when I went in to "discuss" my grievances ?

I hope it happens sooner rather than later though; I'm starting to go a little nuts ?

 

[Blondie13]

Update on this whole situation:
I'm still sitting around at home. I did get ahold of our union rep this evening (who's been out on medical leave with a broken ankle and coming back tomorrow), and she said that when she called my office earlier today, they told her they were just waiting on the safety team to sign off on my driving privileges
...which is funny cause I was sitting across the table from them when they did... they might have actually been the first people to sign off.
I told the union rep this, so she's going to call the postmaster first thing tomorrow and get back to me.

I'm going to be low key super stoked if they could've brought me back last week but didn't... Making themselves look like the petty, conniving idiots they are to upper UPPER management

 

[DB.Cooper]

What will be great and really expose their idiocy, will be if they have to pay you for sitting home when you should have been working... have you discussed this aspect with your union rep???

 

[callofthewild]

Blondie13, enjoy your PAID vacation.