Auxiliary carrier with LLV a sign to my route, do I have to have a POV?

[asher78]

 (I can't edit the title, sorry about the typo. My "smart phone" "helped". lol)

I have been a carrier for 10 years and have been the auxiliary carrier for three months. There is an LLV assigned to my route. When I get back at the end of the day they normally take my LLV and give it to a city carrier so that they can assist with tail ups on the city side. So if I need to give auxiliary assistance to any of the rural routes, they tell me that I have to take my own vehicle. Does anyone know if this is true or not? If not can you tell or show me specifics of where this is stated?

I am looking at purchasing another personal vehicle and I want to know if I need to get something specifically that I am able to deliver out of. Obviously I would prefer not to since most of the time I don’t have to use my vehicle for work other than back-and-forth to the office. My union steward tells me that because I am a RCA, I HAVE TO have a POV vehicle and as the aux carrier, they can use me whenever and however they want me to, as long as it's under 12 hours a day.

 

[btdtret]

asher78 --  "My union steward tells me that because I am a RCA, I HAVE TO have a POV vehicle and as the aux carrier, they can use me whenever and however they want me to, as long as it’s under 12 hours a day."

--  In your situation, your steward pretty well summed it up correctly.

--  Breaking it down:

--  Step 4 ( L-101 )  Other Use of Rural Vehicles.  Vehicles assigned to rural routes MAY be used for other duties, as long as that usage DOES NOT INTERFERE with the rural carrier's completion of the ASSIGNED ROUTE.   ( as far as manglement is concerned, once you have competed your AUX route, the USPS's LLV is available for other work ).  Moving on:  This usage should be on an exception or emergency basis, and other users MUST return the vehicle with a FULL tank of gas, since the rural refueling standard only covers the rural route needs.  ( Article 3 "allows" manglement to utilize "emergency" pretty much as they see fit - even though Article 3 does provide a good definition of "emergency". )

--  Step 4 ( L-101 ) Non-Availability of a Postal Vehicle.  In the event a postal-provided vehicle is not available for a route to which one is assigned, a rural carrier MAY be requested, BUT NOT REQUIRED, to provide a vehicle.  If a carrier provides a vehicle for any portion of the route, normal daily equipment maintenance allowance ( EMA ) is payable.  ( the problem that arises here - say the LLV goes in for maintenance.   Manglement requests you provide a vehicle to run the route.   Sorry, I don't have such a vehicle ( which is your right ).   Manglement most likely will come back with "No route vehicle, I guess that makes you "unavailable" for the day".  Too many "unavailable's" can lead to removal -- despite the PMG's edict to "keep RCA's at all costs."

--  Showing my age here, but in the last portion of the last century, it was drummed into persons applying for an RCA position that one had to have a route-capable vehicle, even if the assigned route had a postal-provided vehicle.

 

--  Page 1 of the PO-603, Section 12 Basic Carrier Responsibilities.  Your responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the following items:  e.  Providing and maintaining a vehicle ( if a USPS-owned/leased vehicle is not provided ) of adequate size, etc

--  Page 4 of the PO-603, Section 14.1 Vehicle Equipment - You are responsible for furnishing all vehicle equipment necessary for safe and prompt handling of the mail, unless a USPS-owned vehicle is assigned to the route.

--  Section 141.2 Vehicle Requirements -- Your personal vehicle must be large enough to accommodate the normal mail volume and constructed to protect the mail from loss or damage.

--  You can try to cite the above sections as a reason not to have a route-capable vehicle, but don't plan on winning.   ( IMHO )  Remember, for starters, the LLV belongs to the USPS.  And not having a route-capable vehicle can lead to being "unavailable".

 

The 2015-2018 contract now allows AUX carriers who have COMPLETED their route to be used anywhere.  Page 49 of the contract:  AFTER COMPLETION of the assigned auxiliary route or the primary route assignment, a leave replacement assigned to serve the auxiliary route MAY be utilized on any other auxiliary route, or service as a leave replacement or provide auxiliary assistance on any regular route.  ( basically cancels out Step 4 ( R-4 ))

 

"I am looking at purchasing another personal vehicle and I want to know if I need to get something specifically that I am able to deliver out of. "

--  Take a look at what other RCA's / Regular carriers at your post office and / or nearby post offices use for a POV delivery vehicle and keep that in mind while doing your vehicle search.

--  A dirty little USPS secret about POV's that manglement will not mention -- they expect you to have a second route capable vehicle as a back up or expect you to rent a vehicle should your POV be inop.

 

Regarding that 12 hours a day.  Step 4 ( R-96 ) in part:  ....management MUST NOT schedule a leave replacement to serve on two full assignments or one full assignment or one full assignment and one or more partial assignments in a single day, <strong>if the evaluation of assignments total twelve hours or more.</strong>

--  Manglement is not going to care ( unless they get a call from District later on ) if the assignments for the day take more than 12 hours to complete.

 

[asher78]

Thank you. Boy, they sure did screw the aux carrier with that contract. :-/

Here's hoping some of our routes will bust during mail count (carriers are hoping, too) and I'll gain enough to be in "regular" status. 10 years of being the BOHICA carrier is more than enough for me.

 

[gotstamps]

<blockquote class="spPostEmbedQuote"><strong>asher78 said </strong>
Thank you. Boy, they sure did screw the aux carrier with that contract. :-/
Here's hoping some of our routes will bust during mail count (carriers are hoping, too) and I'll gain enough to be in "regular" status. 10 years of being the BOHICA carrier is more than enough for me.  </blockquote>
One thing to remember is that you're assigned to an AUXILIARY route. When/if it grows to Regular status or goes away due to a bad count, would you need a POV for other routes or when you do make Regular? It's good to think ahead instead of getting stuck delivering from a vehicle that isn't good for this job.

Last I recall, when running a route that has a Postal vehicle assigned, the carrier has that vehicle for the day including assisting other routes.

 

[btdtret]

gotstamps -- "Last I recall, when running a route that has a Postal vehicle assigned, the carrier has that vehicle for the day including assisting other routes."

--  That would be nice, but it might come down to the policy in each post office.

 

[asher78]

<blockquote class="spPostEmbedQuote"><strong>gotstamps said </strong>

One thing to remember is that you're assigned to an AUXILIARY route. When/if it grows to Regular status or goes away due to a bad count, would you need a POV for other routes or when you do make Regular? It's good to think ahead instead of getting stuck delivering from a vehicle that isn't good for this job.

Last I recall, when running a route that has a Postal vehicle assigned, the carrier has that vehicle for the day including assisting other routes.  </blockquote>
My current vehicle will work in a pinch as it's got a bench seat in the front and is what I used when I was holding down a regular route for 2+ years, but I'll be giving it to my daughter when I get another car and I'll need to know in advance that I need it so I can 1)have it and 2)have it route ready.

I've been told when this one becomes a regular route, the LLV will still be assigned to it. So as long as I stay on that route, I shouldn't need another POV. If I take a bigger route, that will come with enough money that I can afford a right hand drive so that will settle that. Right now I need a vehicle that I can drive my family around in and a right hand drive is not in the budget with the aux pay.

 

Do you have the specifics on that about the carrier having it for the day? Union steward swears it's not the case and (not in her specific words) since I'm still "just a rca" they can screw me however and whenever they choose to. I will say that since the city carrier is taking it at least 3 days a week when I get back, I'm going to fight that a little in mail count because the pay is built in for ME to fill the gas for MY ROUTE, but not for me to fill it extra due to the city carrier taking it. Talked to the steward today and she said I need to start keeping track so I can get paid for it since they've filled it all of ONCE in the 3 months I've been on it.

 

[btdtret]

asher78 --  " since I’m still “just a rca” they can screw me however and whenever they choose to." so says the steward!!

--  Too bad you were not able to get the steward's comment on tape ( of course that would have to have been done outside the post office ).  Does not say much about the "quality" of service from your steward.

--  Even your steward should be able to win that grievance [ city carrier not filling the tank after using the LLV ] by citing Step 4 ( L-101 ) -- see above.  So file EACH time the route's gas tank is not filled after use by the city carrier.

"Do you have the specifics on that about the carrier having it for the day? "

--  That will be all in the interpretation - IMHO.   Step 4 ( L-101 ) in part:  Vehicles assigned to rural routes MAY be used for other duties, as long as that usage DOES NOT INTERFERE with the rural carrier’s completion of the ASSIGNED ROUTE.   Manglement's view is that you have the LLV to run your AUX.   Once you have completed running your AUX, their view is "It's the USPS's LLV, the carrier has completed the assigned route the LLV is assigned to, so we can use it else where."

--  You or the steward might try: "the RCA has completed the assigned route, but you [ manglement ] have assigned additional auxiliary assistance [ essentially another "route" ] so the RCA should have the LLV until that assignment [ aux assistance ] has been competed."  Or words to that effect.