Amazon Sunday as a Regular Hold Down

[RuralCaffeinatedAhole]

This whole situation has my head spinning and always tired.

In my office there are 2 PTFs, 2 new RCA's (hired January), 1 RCA on an AUX Hold, and myself RCA on a Regular route Hold. 12 Rural Routes all together.

So me and the other RCA started our holds back in January. His route is an AUX route that takes about 3 to 4 hrs a day. I on the other hand have what many claim to be the heaviest route in the office. The fastest ive completed it has been 6.5 hrs out of the 8.6hr evaluation.

At the start of the Holds the Aux carrier was told he works 6 days and has every sunday off. I was told i will take Tuesday off and work every sunday. Since January this is how its been. I know i am entitled to all days on the route but we have enough relief to give me the tuesday off as the PTFs have been getting 2 or 3 days off a week. The problem now comes as I am doing the route under Eval (and under 40 for the route) so i was expecting to recieve the 43K pay and my sunday overtime as since i have started i was always told, Sundays are seperate, they dont go against your route hours. Well my last 2 checks i noticed the time is being taken off sunday and added to my route to make 40 hours thus locking me out of the 3 hours overtime from the route evaluation. I then only get the left over hours from sunday as overtime. We are a Hub office that 2 other offices work out of on sundays and our days take about 6.5 to 7 hours to complete. This means im losing out on about 6 hours of overtime every paycheck. While the AUX route hold down complains he cant make 40 hrs.

Im still fairly new as i started back in September and taking this hold really rocked the boat in the office as they tried saying i was doing some sheisty things trying to jump seniority, but i did everything with the union stewards blessing. They have definately been favoring the guy on the AUX hold and I feel thats why im stuck doing every sunday (perception vs reality tho). I have done a lot of reading and found the MOU stating that AUX holds should be used before Regular holds, HUBs should be using spoke office employees for help, and that i am entitled to all hours of the route, but I cant get a straight answer from my stewart about how to move forward because my route gets heavier each week as the snowbirds move back to the area and Sundays really take a toll as admittedly i am the hardest worker for sundays.

TL;DR/IMO - the AUX hold should be working Sundays, and I should be off Sundays as a regular hold down since January. Grievance or nah?

 

[jaymacgthree]

Only Regular Rural Carriers get compensated at overtime pay rate on Sunday for the hours they volunteer to work.

You are a RCA so you get overtime for hours worked each 7 day week in excess of 40. You are only entitled up to 40 hours and then management has the right to manage carriers so that they do not get overtime which they should be doing but it sounds as if they are not in your office.

If the RCA serving the Aux Route wants more hours they need to speak up since it sounds like they may have the grievance for disparate treatment and not following the order of consideration but that is their battle to fight.

PTFs "can" be scheduled Sundays prior to RCAs so they all should be working as well as any RCA's not on hold down status prior to scheduling carriers already working 6 days a week. Hub offices should be sending staff for their routes. It sounds like your steward doesn't have the knowledge to help you so you need to contact your DR.

 

[gotstamps]

This whole situation has my head spinning and always tired.

In my office there are 2 PTFs, 2 new RCA's (hired January), 1 RCA on an AUX Hold, and myself RCA on a Regular route Hold. 12 Rural Routes all together.

Auxiliary is not a Hold-down. The assigned sub works 6 days/week just like an H-route.

So me and the other RCA started our holds back in January. His route is an AUX route that takes about 3 to 4 hrs a day. I on the other hand have what many claim to be the heaviest route in the office. The fastest ive completed it has been 6.5 hrs out of the 8.6hr evaluation.

At the start of the Holds the Aux carrier was told he works 6 days and has every sunday off. I was told i will take Tuesday off and work every sunday. Since January this is how its been. I know i am entitled to all days on the route but we have enough relief to give me the tuesday off as the PTFs have been getting 2 or 3 days off a week. The problem now comes as I am doing the route under Eval (and under 40 for the route) so i was expecting to recieve the 43K pay and my sunday overtime as since i have started i was always told, Sundays are seperate, they dont go against your route hours. Well my last 2 checks i noticed the time is being taken off sunday and added to my route to make 40 hours thus locking me out of the 3 hours overtime from the route evaluation. I then only get the left over hours from sunday as overtime. We are a Hub office that 2 other offices work out of on sundays and our days take about 6.5 to 7 hours to complete. This means im losing out on about 6 hours of overtime every paycheck. While the AUX route hold down complains he cant make 40 hrs.

Aux subs (Des 79) work Sundays before Regular Route Hold-down subs (Des 74 & pre-74). It doesn’t matter about working 6 days/week. There’s no such thing as a 7-day rule. That’s made up by mgmt.
Also, you have the right to work the Evaluation hours of your Primary route regardless of working 6 days. Mgmt can send you home after 43 hours on the Primary; no other hours count towards that 43. Mgmt can work you over 43 ON YOUR PRIMARY but not under when the Regular Carrier isn’t available.
Sunday hours & assisting other route hours (Green card time) are added to any actual work hours. If your actual work hours equal 40 or more, you are paid hourly instead of evaluated.

Im still fairly new as i started back in September and taking this hold really rocked the boat in the office as they tried saying i was doing some sheisty things trying to jump seniority, but i did everything with the union stewards blessing. They have definately been favoring the guy on the AUX hold and I feel thats why im stuck doing every sunday (perception vs reality tho). I have done a lot of reading and found the MOU stating that AUX holds should be used before Regular holds, HUBs should be using spoke office employees for help, and that i am entitled to all hours of the route, but I cant get a straight answer from my stewart about how to move forward because my route gets heavier each week as the snowbirds move back to the area and Sundays really take a toll as admittedly i am the hardest worker for sundays.

TL;DR/IMO - the AUX hold should be working Sundays, and I should be off Sundays as a regular hold down since January. Grievance or nah?

File a grievance on Mgmt bypassing the Auxiliary RCA & forcing you to work.
File another on mgmt not allowing you to work the full evaluation of your Primary route.
If you don’t trust your Steward, let the District Rep know when you file so the Steward cannot blow it off.

 

[Rt2mailman]

There also should be a list in your offer for all rcas that wish to work in Sundays and a list for those that DO NOT want to work on Sundays. The ones wanting the Sunday work, will work before the others, but if they don’t have enough people management can work those on the “Don’t want Sunday work” list.
The way your manager is working you currently, you are working for free for any (over 40) hours, for weeks that you are working under 40 on your evaluated route.

 

[Beanut]

This whole situation has my head spinning and always tired.

In my office there are 2 PTFs, 2 new RCA's (hired January), 1 RCA on an AUX Hold, and myself RCA on a Regular route Hold. 12 Rural Routes all together.

So me and the other RCA started our holds back in January. His route is an AUX route that takes about 3 to 4 hrs a day. I on the other hand have what many claim to be the heaviest route in the office. The fastest ive completed it has been 6.5 hrs out of the 8.6hr evaluation.

At the start of the Holds the Aux carrier was told he works 6 days and has every sunday off. I was told i will take Tuesday off and work every sunday. Since January this is how its been. I know i am entitled to all days on the route but we have enough relief to give me the tuesday off as the PTFs have been getting 2 or 3 days off a week. The problem now comes as I am doing the route under Eval (and under 40 for the route) so i was expecting to recieve the 43K pay and my sunday overtime as since i have started i was always told, Sundays are seperate, they dont go against your route hours. Well my last 2 checks i noticed the time is being taken off sunday and added to my route to make 40 hours thus locking me out of the 3 hours overtime from the route evaluation. I then only get the left over hours from sunday as overtime. We are a Hub office that 2 other offices work out of on sundays and our days take about 6.5 to 7 hours to complete. This means im losing out on about 6 hours of overtime every paycheck. While the AUX route hold down complains he cant make 40 hrs.

Im still fairly new as i started back in September and taking this hold really rocked the boat in the office as they tried saying i was doing some sheisty things trying to jump seniority, but i did everything with the union stewards blessing. They have definately been favoring the guy on the AUX hold and I feel thats why im stuck doing every sunday (perception vs reality tho). I have done a lot of reading and found the MOU stating that AUX holds should be used before Regular holds, HUBs should be using spoke office employees for help, and that i am entitled to all hours of the route, but I cant get a straight answer from my stewart about how to move forward because my route gets heavier each week as the snowbirds move back to the area and Sundays really take a toll as admittedly i am the hardest worker for sundays.

TL;DR/IMO - the AUX hold should be working Sundays, and I should be off Sundays as a regular hold down since January. Grievance or nah?

The unfortunate reality of being an RCA. Assigned to an AUX or covering an FT route. You are still an RCA. Which means, you are not guaranteed a day off. And can be worked 7 days a week up to 12 hrs a day.

Thank the union for that.

 

[RuralCaffeinatedAhole]

There also should be a list in your offer for all rcas that wish to work in Sundays and a list for those that DO NOT want to work on Sundays. The ones wanting the Sunday work, will work before the others, but if they don’t have enough people management can work those on the “Don’t want Sunday work” list.
The way your manager is working you currently, you are working for free for any (over 40) hours, for weeks that you are working under 40 on your evaluated route.

The Want To Work list was just taken down and the new one replaced it. Luckily i snapped a pic and there was a few names on their. When i went around and asked if they were ever asked to work they all said No and were pissed their names were still on the list. Now that the new one is posted not one person has put their name on it knowing im dealing with this issue.

In the meantime i spoke with the PM, straight admitted they have never dealt with an RCA taking a hold down and are fumbling the paper work hard. I took AL 2 weeks ago and the time was never put in. So i was shorted on the last paycheck and will be on the next as well. Since they worked me over 40 since returning that AL is going to be refunded anyway but they still have not fixed the payroll errors. I was told i have to wait til next paycheck for 1 day and then the next paycheck for the remaining 2 days. While that is going on, they never submitted my forms to change my designation to a 74. My 91st day was April 26th. HR denied my request as they claim its worked hours not calendar. I gave a copy of the contract to the PM explicitly stating calendar days and still have no response 2 weeks later. (I called out today and have been called/texted multiple times stating i still don't have my owed SL)

The PM also told me that it is impossible to give me all days on the route due to the need for me to work on Sundays and that the AUX carrier only had to work sundays after their 90th day on the hold...( i really dont know where these people get their info)...and that he was to be on sundays moving forward. Well today is Sunday and he is home and not scheduled for next Sunday either. The 2 PTFs are steady 2/3 days off and spent this past week training each other on routes. So i feel like im just getting alot of lip service because im not one of the "liked" carriers. This office runs on backdoor deals and how they want it done rather than by the contracts and methods put in place. It has ran this way for so long our steward is viewed as the office crazy and since so many people rather make private deals with management im left screwed and viewed poorly cause im "bucking the system"

 

[gotstamps]

The Want To Work list was just taken down and the new one replaced it. Luckily i snapped a pic and there was a few names on their. When i went around and asked if they were ever asked to work they all said No and were pissed their names were still on the list. Now that the new one is posted not one person has put their name on it knowing im dealing with this issue.

All RCAs should have placed their name on the list & checked “Yes” or “No”. Des 74 & pre-74 RCAs are to check the “Des 74”, also. DES 74 are considered “last resort”.

In the meantime i spoke with the PM, straight admitted they have never dealt with an RCA taking a hold down and are fumbling the paper work hard. I took AL 2 weeks ago and the time was never put in. So i was shorted on the last paycheck and will be on the next as well. Since they worked me over 40 since returning that AL is going to be refunded anyway but they still have not fixed the payroll errors. I was told i have to wait til next paycheck for 1 day and then the next paycheck for the remaining 2 days. While that is going on, they never submitted my forms to change my designation to a 74. My 91st day was April 26th. HR denied my request as they claim its worked hours not calendar. I gave a copy of the contract to the PM explicitly stating calendar days and still have no response 2 weeks later. (I called out today and have been called/texted multiple times stating i still don't have my owed SL)

File a grievance! The 90 Calendar Days has not changed.

The PM also told me that it is impossible to give me all days on the route due to the need for me to work on Sundays and that the AUX carrier only had to work sundays after their 90th day on the hold...( i really dont know where these people get their info)...and that he was to be on sundays moving forward. Well today is Sunday and he is home and not scheduled for next Sunday either.

RCAs on Aux routes are Des 79 & NOT excluded from the rotation, even during the 1st 90 days. The 90-Day rule for Aux subs is the same for hold-down subs; Des change from 78 & credit for the past 90 for SL.
Aux subs are NOT hold-down subs. “Hold-down” subs are holding down a route for a Regular Carrier.

The 2 PTFs are steady 2/3 days off and spent this past week training each other on routes. So i feel like im just getting alot of lip service because im not one of the "liked" carriers. This office runs on backdoor deals and how they want it done rather than by the contracts and methods put in place. It has ran this way for so long our steward is viewed as the office crazy and since so many people rather make private deals with management im left screwed and viewed poorly cause im "bucking the system"

Why would PTFs need to train each other on routes? They are the senior subs so…
PTFs are also 2nd in line behind ARCs to work Sundays which is before RCAs 78 & 79 are utilized.

 

[Rt2mailman]

Call your district representative and explain the situation. Stewards are not to make "Sweetheart" deals and are required to make managers follow the Contract. Consider running for office steward in June, against your current Steward, that will fix many of your office problems

 

[blue_goose1348]

Call your district representative and explain the situation. Stewards are not to make "Sweetheart" deals and are required to make managers follow the Contract. Consider running for office steward in June, against your current Steward, that will fix many of your office problems

Steward elections are held every 4 years, in July not June. If the office has a local steward, the next time an election can be held is 2028. If the Steward resigns or is decertified by the District Representative, an election can be held immediately.

 

[gotstamps]

Steward elections are held every 4 years, in July not June. If the office has a local steward, the next time an election can be held is 2028. If the Steward resigns or is decertified by the District Representative, an election can be held immediately.

There is also another rule that a re-election can occur when 2/3 of the members sign a petition & submit it to the DR for approval.
This can be difficult in a large office but if there are 50 or more Rural Craft employees in the Delivery Unit, 2 Stewards can be elected.

 

[blue_goose1348]

There is also another rule that a re-election can occur when 2/3 of the members sign a petition & submit it to the DR for approval.
This can be difficult in a large office but if there are 50 or more Rural Craft employees in the Delivery Unit, 2 Stewards can be elected.

This is correct. PM and carriers attempted this for/on me. DR and I laughed like hell when we discussed it. Reason they listed "Only looked out for himself." They should have talked to the local Steward, me, and I would have informed them that specific examples would be required; none were given.

 

[Shannonboy]

Auxiliary is not a Hold-down. The assigned sub works 6 days/week just like an H-route.

Aux subs (Des 79) work Sundays before Regular Route Hold-down subs (Des 74 & pre-74). It doesn’t matter about working 6 days/week. There’s no such thing as a 7-day rule. That’s made up by mgmt.
Also, you have the right to work the Evaluation hours of your Primary route regardless of working 6 days. Mgmt can send you home after 43 hours on the Primary; no other hours count towards that 43. Mgmt can work you over 43 ON YOUR PRIMARY but not under when the Regular Carrier isn’t available.
Sunday hours & assisting other route hours (Green card time) are added to any actual work hours. If your actual work hours equal 40 or more, you are paid hourly instead of evaluated.

File a grievance on Mgmt bypassing the Auxiliary RCA & forcing you to work.
File another on mgmt not allowing you to work the full evaluation of your Primary route.
If you don’t trust your Steward, let the District Rep know when you file so the Steward cannot blow it off.

Great comment....and exactly right.