How can it be fair to have mail counts during this time of year. The upper Midwest is going to experience terrible winter weather and icy conditions affecting travel during the first week of the count. This system may head east and affect vast swaths of country. This sort of thing HAS to affect transportation and volume of mail.
bad weather
- Thread starter George
- Start date
Kubota Man
Well-known member
About 10 years ago I happened to notice on my managers desk a printout of DPS volume broken down into months for the whole year. I made a copy. It showed February as the lightest by far and September as dead in the middle. Everything for me is lighter in Feb. especially flats and parcels. Our contract has always said the count should be conducted during an average period in the year which is what Sept. was. The bad weather is another added benefit for the USPS. My dream is a significant snow two days before the count making the first day of the count the day when all that backed up mail would come flooding into the office. If things went in that direction I bet they would cancel the count. Since the count was moved to Feb. and FSS flats were introduced, I have had trouble maintaining my previous route evaluation and the worry of bad weather on top of it all has always been hard.
dhoward541
New member
In 2015 (the last time I counted) we had bad weather during the count; well in it's infinite wisdom the union agreed that the mail for the day it snowed would be average based on the same day the week before---period. The only problem with that was that I got a full coverage, flat, addressed mailing on the snow day; so when they averaged the mail I actually lost 30 minutes off my weekly evaluation. So when the union negotiates an agreement in the future; I would hope they would add a stipulation that it does not apply if it decreases the carrier's evaluation.
Kubota Man et al -- Apparently the USPS was well aware that FEB was far lighter in volume than SEP for a l-o-n-g time. The infamous Well's "award" 2002 changed counts from SEP to FEB-MAR. Some of the details of that "award" must have been leaked out early. The "award" was published on 03 FEB 2002 and "somehow" a count was conducted 3+ weeks later, beginning 28 FEB, which contained numerous standard changes.
-- Most carriers would agree that a 4-week count during SEP was the fairest for carrier.
-- As what can only be viewed as a slap in the face of the rural carrier is the 2010-2015 Clarke "award". In part: "Both parties proposed changes to the mail counts. The evidence persuades the Chairman that the NRLCA's proposal of alternating three- and two-week counts during the February/March time frame should be adopted. This proposal is consistent with the parties' practice of alternating longer [ once 4-week, but now 3-week ] and shorter [ 2-week ] mail counts during an appropriate [ low volume ] time-frame." That "award" also produced the infamous "middle of March" count in 2016.
-- Moving on to the 2015-2018 "negotiated" contract. No count for 2017, which would have been a 3-week count and which would have addressed the avalanche of Amazon and other parcels.
-- Looking ahead to the 2019-20?? contract. Certainly up in the air!! Arbitrator Clarke's "award" called for the New Evaluated Compensation System to be "effective with the next scheduled mail count." The 2018 count is the last scheduled count. And supposedly the last count "as we know it." With the prospects that the NECS won't be fully implemented until - well, that depends on when the Chairperson publishes his final recommendation, doesn't it? One report says the study will be phased in three month increments using the daily automation count data for each route and updated at the six-month, nine-month and one year mark. So sometime in 2019 maybe -- another 20 MAY dead line missed? If the alternating counts were adhered to, 2019 would have / should have been a 3-week count, however, with no guarantee of a contract being in place by FEB-MAR 2019, either by negotiation or arbitration, the NRLCA will no doubt fall back on "no contract, no count."
-- Something else to consider. Arbitrator Clarke's "award" called for the New Evaluated Compensation System to be "effective with the next scheduled mail count." What's going to happen if there are no more "scheduled counts" since the word is out there that 2018 will be the last count "as we know it"? Heck, save that for later as you have the 2018 count to contend with!
-- Most carriers would agree that a 4-week count during SEP was the fairest for carrier.
-- As what can only be viewed as a slap in the face of the rural carrier is the 2010-2015 Clarke "award". In part: "Both parties proposed changes to the mail counts. The evidence persuades the Chairman that the NRLCA's proposal of alternating three- and two-week counts during the February/March time frame should be adopted. This proposal is consistent with the parties' practice of alternating longer [ once 4-week, but now 3-week ] and shorter [ 2-week ] mail counts during an appropriate [ low volume ] time-frame." That "award" also produced the infamous "middle of March" count in 2016.
-- Moving on to the 2015-2018 "negotiated" contract. No count for 2017, which would have been a 3-week count and which would have addressed the avalanche of Amazon and other parcels.
-- Looking ahead to the 2019-20?? contract. Certainly up in the air!! Arbitrator Clarke's "award" called for the New Evaluated Compensation System to be "effective with the next scheduled mail count." The 2018 count is the last scheduled count. And supposedly the last count "as we know it." With the prospects that the NECS won't be fully implemented until - well, that depends on when the Chairperson publishes his final recommendation, doesn't it? One report says the study will be phased in three month increments using the daily automation count data for each route and updated at the six-month, nine-month and one year mark. So sometime in 2019 maybe -- another 20 MAY dead line missed? If the alternating counts were adhered to, 2019 would have / should have been a 3-week count, however, with no guarantee of a contract being in place by FEB-MAR 2019, either by negotiation or arbitration, the NRLCA will no doubt fall back on "no contract, no count."
-- Something else to consider. Arbitrator Clarke's "award" called for the New Evaluated Compensation System to be "effective with the next scheduled mail count." What's going to happen if there are no more "scheduled counts" since the word is out there that 2018 will be the last count "as we know it"? Heck, save that for later as you have the 2018 count to contend with!
D.B.Cooper
Active member
I'm just gonna assume that I'll get royally screwed... and if something better happens, then I'll be pleasantly surprised... <img title="Confused" alt="Confused" src="https://www.ruralmailtalk.ruralinfo.net/wp-content/sp-resources/forum-smileys/sf-confused.gif" />
So many things are stated in contracts and arbitration... from arbitrators, etc., etc... until it shows up as a "win" in my paycheck, then color me skeptical... <img title="Frown" alt="Frown" src="https://www.ruralmailtalk.ruralinfo.net/wp-content/sp-resources/forum-smileys/sf-frown.gif" />
Everybody wants to hope, and wish, and speculate... for me, I'll believe it when I see it... when we start getting raises that outpace how much our insurance goes up, when RCAs get pay increases, rather than pay cuts... when a new pay Table comes out for Regulars, that is HIGHER, not lower, than Tables One & Two... okay, somebody kick me and wake me up... I must be dreaming... <img title="Surprised" alt="Surprised" src="https://www.ruralmailtalk.ruralinfo.net/wp-content/sp-resources/forum-smileys/sf-surprised.gif" />
So many things are stated in contracts and arbitration... from arbitrators, etc., etc... until it shows up as a "win" in my paycheck, then color me skeptical... <img title="Frown" alt="Frown" src="https://www.ruralmailtalk.ruralinfo.net/wp-content/sp-resources/forum-smileys/sf-frown.gif" />
Everybody wants to hope, and wish, and speculate... for me, I'll believe it when I see it... when we start getting raises that outpace how much our insurance goes up, when RCAs get pay increases, rather than pay cuts... when a new pay Table comes out for Regulars, that is HIGHER, not lower, than Tables One & Two... okay, somebody kick me and wake me up... I must be dreaming... <img title="Surprised" alt="Surprised" src="https://www.ruralmailtalk.ruralinfo.net/wp-content/sp-resources/forum-smileys/sf-surprised.gif" />
