My husband is an RCA and has been holding down an auxiliary route for over 90 days. He's been earning leave, however, he just received notification that he will no longer be earning leave on the same route b/c the route was expanded and they are saying it is now a "new route" and his 90 days has to start over. Is this correct? This doesn't make any sense. He's still on a six day hold down on the same route and actually is working much longer hours on that route. Route number hasn't changed. I have been looking for guidance in the contract but I can't find anything on this topic.
Auxiliary Route Expanded...Restart 90 day period for leave?
- Thread starter JoJoMac
- Start date
Charlie Brown
Well-known member
I'll take a guess on this. RCA's are designated as 78 unless they either are working an Aux. route for more than 90 days then they are changed to a designation 79 (leave earning) or are holding down a regular route while the regular is out for more than 90 days then they are designated 74, again (leave earning) So my guess is that the Aux. route has surpassed 42 hours and is going to be converted to a regular route. As soon as it becomes a regular route then the RCA assigned can no longer be a designation 79 and is assigned to the route as designation 78 The route should be put up for bid within 30 days of the change. Your husband will be eligible to bid on the route and become regular. If he's not senior then he will be the RCA assigned to the route and work when the new regular is off. He should also have the option to transfer as sub or record to any other regular routes in the office that don't currently have a sub of record.
faceindawind
New member
If your husband is not senior sub and is not going to win this new fulltime route. Which more than likely will be H (6 days a week like an AUX). He should look into cross training on other routes in office for more hours.
Past practice in my area a new route creation leads to new choices for coverage for the RCA'S too.
Aux wording is hard to find in any contract or manual. I was one for 7 years. What I learned is the Machine has the rite to rape you of hours when time standards change or routes become sub standard at anytime. Have one in the office now at near the minimum 0f 12 per week. We REGS at low 40k's are hoping the new time allowances with the IE will kill it.
Past practice in my area a new route creation leads to new choices for coverage for the RCA'S too.
Aux wording is hard to find in any contract or manual. I was one for 7 years. What I learned is the Machine has the rite to rape you of hours when time standards change or routes become sub standard at anytime. Have one in the office now at near the minimum 0f 12 per week. We REGS at low 40k's are hoping the new time allowances with the IE will kill it.
Thanks for the info! His supervisor advised him to stay on that route b/c he told him he would continue earning leave until it was bid out to a regular. Another lie.No issues with hours here..he's working more hours than he would care to work to be honest. 70-80 hours per week easily.
JoJoMac -- "My husband is an RCA and has been holding down an auxiliary route for over 90 days. He's been earning leave, however, he just received notification that he will no longer be earning leave on the same route b/c the route was expanded and they are saying it is now a "new route" and his 90 days has to start over. "
-- A couple of questions: What were the standard hours of the AUX before it "expanded" and what are the standard hours since it "expanded"?
-- Once an AUX reached 42 standards hours ( thanks to Arbitrator Clarke ) it has to be converted to a regular route. Meaning it has to be put up for bidding.
-- IMHO if the AUX had never been a regular route, hence never had a regular rural carrier assigned to it, then it will only become a regular route once the bidding process has concluded and a regular rural carrier is assigned.
-- Again, JMHO - your husband should continue to earn leave until the route is officially awarded. Doubt if manglement will see it that way!
-- Something to look forward to: when ever your husband drops out of leave earning status, any annual leave will be paid in a lump sum. Any sick leave will remain on the "books" for 3 years even though it may not show on the pay sub. ( keep those pay stubs -- forever!! ) Dropping out of leave-earning status will generate another Form 50 because of the change of designation! ( Keep those Form 50's forever, too! )
"actually is working much longer hours on that route. "
-- Sorry to say that is not a big concern to manglement. Is your husband working just on the current route or also providing assistance on other routes?
-- If your husband has one year of continuous service as an RCA, he can bid on the route ( just bid ALL ).
-- Have husband or yourself search for "bidding" in the KNOWLEDGEBASE section at the top of the page. There is 34-page power point presentation on the in's and out's of e-bidding.
-- A couple of questions: What were the standard hours of the AUX before it "expanded" and what are the standard hours since it "expanded"?
-- Once an AUX reached 42 standards hours ( thanks to Arbitrator Clarke ) it has to be converted to a regular route. Meaning it has to be put up for bidding.
-- IMHO if the AUX had never been a regular route, hence never had a regular rural carrier assigned to it, then it will only become a regular route once the bidding process has concluded and a regular rural carrier is assigned.
-- Again, JMHO - your husband should continue to earn leave until the route is officially awarded. Doubt if manglement will see it that way!
-- Something to look forward to: when ever your husband drops out of leave earning status, any annual leave will be paid in a lump sum. Any sick leave will remain on the "books" for 3 years even though it may not show on the pay sub. ( keep those pay stubs -- forever!! ) Dropping out of leave-earning status will generate another Form 50 because of the change of designation! ( Keep those Form 50's forever, too! )
"actually is working much longer hours on that route. "
-- Sorry to say that is not a big concern to manglement. Is your husband working just on the current route or also providing assistance on other routes?
-- If your husband has one year of continuous service as an RCA, he can bid on the route ( just bid ALL ).
-- Have husband or yourself search for "bidding" in the KNOWLEDGEBASE section at the top of the page. There is 34-page power point presentation on the in's and out's of e-bidding.
dumbolehickfromms
New member
JoJoMac, it appears that he has fallen into the "hole". He is currently a designation 79 RCA (on the aux), but that aux route has been converted to regular (for example A22 to R22 after expansion). Therefore the hole opens up and he is converted back to a Designation 78 RCA. 79 earns leave 78's don't. If he doesn't get a form 50 soon showing conversion to Des 78 on R22 (going back to example) then you might want to call ADR or DR. If the form 50 shows conversion to des 78 on A 22,,,,,,,, then he will need to file a grievance for the leave he was supposed to have earned. Really all to look for is des 79 on A22 or des 78 on R22...........(again using route 22 for example)
We had an Aux route that after our last count became a regular route because it was over 42 hours.With that being said, the PM arbitrarily made the person on the route a regular and the route was NEVER put up for bid.I know this is not right but no one will challenge it because the ADR in our area won't do anything about it. Then the union wonders why the members are so disgusted. Go figure!
Yes...appears he's in the "hole" as you call it. Just got the 50 earlier this week changing him back to non-leave earning status, which is what prompted the confusion and the question.So just to be clear...that is correct...he shouldn't be earning leave anymore since the route has been converted and will eventually be placed out for bid? Or...should he file a grievance for the time period where he's still holding it down and it hasn't been placed for bid yet?Sorry for all of the questions....this stuff is SUPER confusing and since he is working 70-80 hrs a week and trying to keep up with house and family stuff in between he's a bit overwhelmed to actually LEARN the rules. I swear that's how they are taking advantage of people..too tired and overworked to fight back.
So we checked his forms...they are trying to convert him back to a 74 instead of a 78 while the route is being converted (still hasn't even been put out for bid yet). He spoke to someone more knowledgeable and they agreed that is not correct.It seems that the problem is that management doesn't even know the rules.
