so my route was cut last spring and part of it was made into an aux route. it is only just over a 2hr a day route. is there a minimum number of hours an aux route can be and what happens if it goes below that? would that be absorbed back to my route or would i have to give up more to keep it above the minimum hours? just trying to be prepared. my route and the aux are rmpo so i don't think any other zip would be involved as it would make a 2 zip route
aux route question?
- Thread starter flyinby
- Start date
flyinby -- "so my route was cut last spring and part of it was made into an aux route. it is only just over a 2hr a day route. is there a minimum number of hours an aux route can be and what happens if it goes below that?"
-- Back in 2018, that version of the ELM mentioned in Section 4 - Guarantees 2 hours pay -- Auxiliary route must be 12 hours week minimum. No idea if the current ELM version as the same wording. Anyone?
-- Why was your route cut? An overburdened K route?
-- Who is running the AUX now?
-- Good question what happens if the AUX falls below 2 hours.
-- Back in 2018, that version of the ELM mentioned in Section 4 - Guarantees 2 hours pay -- Auxiliary route must be 12 hours week minimum. No idea if the current ELM version as the same wording. Anyone?
-- Why was your route cut? An overburdened K route?
-- Who is running the AUX now?
-- Good question what happens if the AUX falls below 2 hours.
From Article 9 of The Nat'l Agreement ;
b. TABLE OF EVALUATED HOURS FOR
AUXILIARY ROUTES
Total Hours and Minutes Per
Week (Standard Hours) Evaluated Hours
11:30 to 12:29 12 Hours
12:30 to 13:29 13 Hours
13:30 to 14:29 14 Hours
14:30 to 15:29 15 Hour
The chart goes further but this PART of it covers the two hour part of your question. As you can see from the LOW END of 11 hours and 30 minutes per week , the evaluation can go quite low in standard hours and minutes.
b. TABLE OF EVALUATED HOURS FOR
AUXILIARY ROUTES
Total Hours and Minutes Per
Week (Standard Hours) Evaluated Hours
11:30 to 12:29 12 Hours
12:30 to 13:29 13 Hours
13:30 to 14:29 14 Hours
14:30 to 15:29 15 Hour
The chart goes further but this PART of it covers the two hour part of your question. As you can see from the LOW END of 11 hours and 30 minutes per week , the evaluation can go quite low in standard hours and minutes.
i had an overburdened k route. the aux route is run by whoever is available. i've even run it a few times
Rogtar
Well-known member
My PM and I had to talk on the subject. His issue was establishing one required 18 hours, whether that was the rules or something from District i never caught. From there it can become abysmally small but would generally be used to shore up a route to 43k instead of taking away from others to become 'adequate'
12 hrs is minimum per week to make an aux. currently nothing contractually to give territory back to a route that falls below substandard.
we had an aux route. It was just under 2 hours. the route where it came from after RRECS then became an H route. I don't remember what nrlca magazine it was in, but it did state that if an H route was under a certain time, the aux could be added back on. Management said they couldn't put it back on, because of RRECS, carrier argued back that no additional mileage would be added, cause it was the first part that was taken off the route, plus what the article showed. Had the DR standing right there when talking to management. DR was no help, and it never was put back on. Until a year ago when we were all adjusted to 43Ks. That was about 2-3 years ago.
See below slightly under 2 hrs a day is 12 hrs a week. Yes no contractual wording forcing the rebuilding of routes. It’s why maximizing every route every single day is crucial to the rural craft. It just so happens to also improve individuals pay, days off, staffing due to office level for the most part. So many fail to see the bigger picture in the rank and file, union is also apart of issue.
Rogtar
Well-known member
Again, not sure whether it was rules in a manual, not contract, or a directive from district. It makes sense as an aux will, by it's nature, drop substantially as it will not be taken care of, likely the 18 creation will lose ⅓ from lack of maintenance to become 12.
District can mandate whatever they want if a sub was on it and designated for it they could have fought it.
DB.Cooper
Well-known member
USPS is crazy like a fox like that .. as far as they're concerned, get 18 hours off a REG route, give those hours to RCA on Auxy Rt (WIN), then if it falls to 12, all that much better in their view (WIN), that's a win-win for them...
That’s why it’s in everyone’s best interest to maximize every day with rrecs. The only one who wins when rural craft doesn’t is usps. So many fail to understand this mentality, tired of being the broken record in my office. Warehouse on my route has had Amazon vans all week showing up. Fully expecting them to start delivering in my area soon at least as far is within city limits for sure. If this happens I feel bad for most of our rural routes they will drop in one year hugely. City routes will get decimated I can see city losing 4-5 routes out of 18. Paper mail is not what it used to be even 3 years ago.USPS is crazy like a fox like that .. as far as they're concerned, get 18 hours off a REG route, give those hours to RCA on Auxy Rt (WIN), then if it falls to 12, all that much better in their view (WIN), that's a win-win for them...
DB.Cooper
Well-known member
Like @Rogtar said tho... Auxy Rts are particularly vulnerable to lack of attention you are calling for.... also routes being run by Regs and RCAs that they're not really assigned to... you can preach it, but it's certainly an uphill battle to ever get carriers to change this behavior.... RRECS was designed to favor USPS in most regards, and that's hard to overcome on a widespread scale...
i am the broken record as well. no one cares.
until their route drops and then they cry, "wha' hoppened?"
i'm blowing this popstand at the end of the year, planning on taking off a bunch and predict that spring's MMS will see my route down by an hour and fall's MMS by 2. i am basing this on the other regulars' behaviors coupled with the subs. one of the regs will bid onto my route because it is the only one that has steadily increased while theirs has stayed static or dropped. they have no idea what it has taken to get that result.
no one in my office will put forth the effort.
Rt2mailman
Well-known member
When many of us long time rural carriers retire the Usps will happily play that song "Another route bites the dust", all while the newish regulars/rcas go home 3-4 hours before their route's evaluation.
Then we will hear, "How can our union allow this?".
