"Helping"

UnhappyRCA · Mar 25, 2018

Alrighty. I am an RCA, almost to my 90 days. I'm doing well, finishing my routes under evaluation, working Sundays and all the fun stuff, but at my office when an RCA is finished we don't get to go home, we have to go help other RCAs all of which are above me because I'm the newest........ is this everywhere or just my office? I feel like management is taking away one of the only perks of being rural. Getting the job done and getting to go home.

Chwpakabra · Mar 25, 2018

As an rca they can basically make you work anytime you are done with your route, every minute should be in a green card time. In our office generally the rca’s help the newest rca’s finish their routes only when they aren’t going to make the last dispatch.

UnhappyRCA · Mar 25, 2018

<blockquote class="spPostEmbedQuote">Chwpakabra said 
As an rca they can basically make you work anytime you are done with your route, every minute should be in a green card time. In our office generally the rca’s help the newest rca’s finish their routes only when they aren’t going to make the last dispatch. </blockquote>
I'm helping RCAs that have been there for years running the same routes. These people will be regular well before I could ever dream of it but me, the newest rca is out helping them until the sujn goes down..... that seems wrong.

Ihatesnow · Mar 25, 2018

You're under 90 days and finishing under eval? How? I can't remember how long it normally takes to reach 90 days.

But to answer your question, the only time in my office RCAs have to help is when someone calls off, or theres a brand new RCA (kinda like you but kinda not like you) that is struggling with the job and can't complete the route before 5.

btdtret · Mar 25, 2018

UnhappyRCA -- "I feel like management is taking away one of the only perks of being rural. Getting the job done and getting to go home."

-- You are going to be unhappy at the response.

-- Going home when the job ( route ) is done applies to regular carriers.

-- Page 46 of the contract: A regular rural carrier SHALL NOT be required to serve all or part of any rural route than his or her assigned route, except as provided in ELM, Section 546 ( which deals with on-the-job-injury ).

-- It also used to apply to AUX carriers, but the 2015-2018 contract ended it. 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 serve as a leave replacement or provide auxiliary assistance on any regular route.

UnhappyRCA · Mar 25, 2018

<blockquote class="spPostEmbedQuote">btdtret said 
UnhappyRCA -- "I feel like management is taking away one of the only perks of being rural. Getting the job done and getting to go home."

-- You are going to be unhappy at the response.

-- Going home when the job ( route ) is done applies to regular carriers.

-- Page 46 of the contract: A regular rural carrier SHALL NOT be required to serve all or part of any rural route than his or her assigned route, except as provided in ELM, Section 546 ( which deals with on-the-job-injury ).

-- It also used to apply to AUX carriers, but the 2015-2018 contract ended it. 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 serve as a leave replacement or provide auxiliary assistance on any regular route. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="spPostEmbedQuote">btdtret said 
UnhappyRCA -- "I feel like management is taking away one of the only perks of being rural. Getting the job done and getting to go home."

-- You are going to be unhappy at the response.

-- Going home when the job ( route ) is done applies to regular carriers.

-- Page 46 of the contract: A regular rural carrier SHALL NOT be required to serve all or part of any rural route than his or her assigned route, except as provided in ELM, Section 546 ( which deals with on-the-job-injury ).

-- It also used to apply to AUX carriers, but the 2015-2018 contract ended it. 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 serve as a leave replacement or provide auxiliary assistance on any regular route. </blockquote>
Thank you, I was unaware that going home was just for regulars. I thought once we were finished we got to go home. Very good info thank you again.

UnhappyRCA · Mar 25, 2018

<blockquote class="spPostEmbedQuote">Ihatesnow said 
You're under 90 days and finishing under eval? How? I can't remember how long it normally takes to reach 90 days.

But to answer your question, the only time in my office RCAs have to help is when someone calls off, or theres a brand new RCA (kinda like you but kinda not like you) that is struggling with the job and can't complete the route before 5. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="spPostEmbedQuote">Ihatesnow said 
You're under 90 days and finishing under eval? How? I can't remember how long it normally takes to reach 90 days.

But to answer your question, the only time in my office RCAs have to help is when someone calls off, or theres a brand new RCA (kinda like you but kinda not like you) that is struggling with the job and can't complete the route before 5. </blockquote>
I like the job, and I found a great way to case and pull down quickly, load my packages without marking them and that gets me out earlier. I finish my 9 hour route in 6 and my 8 in 5 so I think I'm doing ok.

stillfirstclass · Mar 25, 2018

<blockquote class="spPostEmbedQuote">UnhappyRCA said 

<blockquote class="spPostEmbedQuote">Ihatesnow said 
You're under 90 days and finishing under eval? How? I can't remember how long it normally takes to reach 90 days.

But to answer your question, the only time in my office RCAs have to help is when someone calls off, or theres a brand new RCA (kinda like you but kinda not like you) that is struggling with the job and can't complete the route before 5. </blockquote>

I like the job, and I found a great way to case and pull down quickly, load my packages without marking them and that gets me out earlier. I finish my 9 hour route in 6 and my 8 in 5 so I think I'm doing ok. </blockquote>
would guess you guys lost your a.. in this last mail count

Rt2mailman · Mar 25, 2018

UnhappyRCA, can you teach me to be unhappy like you are? I've been working 12 hours/day almost everyday since last October on my maxed out 48-k, I would love to be that "unhappy". When you get done you get to go out and earn more pay than other slower carriers are able to, and I just get to keep doing it for free and ie. lowering my hourly wage.

btdtret · Mar 25, 2018

UnhappyRCA -- "I like the job, and I found a great way to case and pull down quickly, load my packages without marking them and that gets me out earlier. I finish my 9 hour route in 6 and my 8 in 5 so I think I’m doing ok. "

-- You certainly have found a "system" that really works for you.

-- So you are going like this even less.

-- You might be doing okay, but in the long run you are not help the craft. By finishing your route way under evaluated time, you are contributing to the "bump", which is time the USPS pays for, but no work is done. The USPS loves to drag out the "bump" at contract and arbitration time. ( although with the Amazon fiasco, I'd guess the "bump" time is way down. ) On the other side of the coin, the USPS never mentions the "free" workhours they get.

-- Apparently manglement has noticed your efficiency and that's why you get the extra work assisting others.

-- One of the city carriers mantras is: go fast, won't last. go slow, more dough.

-- How do your work hours compare to the regular?

-- Apparently manglement is turning a blind eye to your work hours. Page 5 of the PO-603, Section 151.2 - Performance Appraisal - If the weekly time required to serve the route consistently varies more the three hours, either below or in excess of the route's standard hours, managers should consider corrective action. Just on your own, you've given manglement reason to consider corrective action. But not to worry, manglement never does anything that would alter "free" work hours.

-- I am not the one to tell you to slow down - some. You have already established your "demonstrated ability" for manglement. Sure, it is a city term, but pretty sure rural manglement also takes note of it. And it very well may come into play, if and when the new evaluated pay system is implemented. But then we will have to wait for all the routes to be properly "mapped" which seems to have a May 2019 target date.

Morty · Mar 25, 2018

Easiest solution is to slow down.

I came into work a few weeks ago feeling sick. Left for the street and decided to call in sick rather than sit in my car for the next 9hr. There was a sub loading when I came back, told him the news, then he sadly said:

Looks like I'll be carrying 2 routes today.

No way bro, you take all day to do that route. They'll figure out something, just take your time. He did and they figured it out without his help.

D.B.Cooper · Mar 25, 2018

I work Saturdays as I have a non-Saturday relief day... so I'm always seeing them loading up the RCAs with running 2 or more routes... and if there's really a rule about not more than 12 evaluated hours per day... well that's another rule they blow off... <img title="Frown" alt="Frown" src="https://www.ruralmailtalk.ruralinfo.net/wp-content/sp-resources/forum-smileys/sf-frown.gif" />

I suppose if the subs will play along, then it's whatever they can get away with... <img title="Confused" alt="Confused" src="https://www.ruralmailtalk.ruralinfo.net/wp-content/sp-resources/forum-smileys/sf-confused.gif" />

gotstamps · Mar 25, 2018

<blockquote class="spPostEmbedQuote">D.B.Cooper said 
I work Saturdays as I have a non-Saturday relief day... so I'm always seeing them loading up the RCAs with running 2 or more routes... and if there's really a rule about not more than 12 evaluated hours per day... well that's another rule they blow off... <img title="Frown" alt="Frown" src="https://www.ruralmailtalk.ruralinfo.net/wp-content/sp-resources/forum-smileys/sf-frown.gif" />

I suppose if the subs will play along, then it's whatever they can get away with... <img title="Confused" alt="Confused" src="https://www.ruralmailtalk.ruralinfo.net/wp-content/sp-resources/forum-smileys/sf-confused.gif" /> </blockquote>
That's exactly right! If subs don't file grievances, nothing gets corrected. Is it possible that the subs don't know they have rights? JS

D.B.Cooper · Mar 25, 2018

I think some of the RCAs look at it like, if I can run a 9+ Reg Rt and a 4 or 5 hours Auxy Rt, all in one day, by running like a moonshine runner and going like a bat outa hail... well then that's some pretty good $$$ bank... <img title="Surprised" alt="Surprised" src="https://www.ruralmailtalk.ruralinfo.net/wp-content/sp-resources/forum-smileys/sf-surprised.gif" />

But what happens when somebody gets in an accident or something like that... the same mgt peep who scheduled them to do it will likely be all too happy to throw them under the bus at that point... js... <img title="Confused" alt="Confused" src="https://www.ruralmailtalk.ruralinfo.net/wp-content/sp-resources/forum-smileys/sf-confused.gif" />

Kubota Man · Mar 25, 2018

UnhappyRCA, I agree with you. There's nothing more management hates than an employee leaving the building way under their evaluation. In our office great RCA's have left for other offices, become part time city carriers at other offices and have tried to move over to the city side in our office. And the reason for all of it is very poor management. By not holding RCA's accountable who have been on routes long enough to deliver close to evaluation, the burden is moved over to other RCA's to carry pieces of a route or parcels or casing, etc. You could have an RCA at your office who is willing to work 7 days a week, who is the favorite of every Rural carrier in the office, but for personal reasons can't work past 5:00 pm and rarely ever would, but that would not be enough for management. They can't see how valuable this carrier is, the only thing they see is the carrier's need to be off by 5:00 pm. UnhappyRCA should be allowed to carry a 9 hour route without the expectation of another two hours just because he is fast. Not every carrier is hungry for extra hours and management should have the flexibility and wisdom to understand and schedule accordingly.

Howah44 · Mar 26, 2018

At my first office (40 plus rural routes and 4-5 city routes), I had a long term hold down on my primary route, I would be getting done by 1 or 2 daily, and many times I would be asked to help other RCA's who would be purposely going slow so they wouldnt have to help others.

It would piss me off, I just wanted to do my hold down and leave. Mgt wouldnt hold these ppl accountable, sound familiar, mgt not doing crap.

mtyler27 · Mar 26, 2018

I am not super fast (unlike my regular who finishes her route 2 to 3 hours early most every day), but by learning to not mark my parcels, I have gotten to where I can finish a half hour to an hour short of evaluation (and sometimes half an hour over still on heavy days). I am not working slow, I am working at the pace I can work to deliver accurately and safely. Management will use and abuse RCAs to the limit. Even I get sent out to help on other routes when I am done. What I have learned is to make sure I take my break. Because if I don't, and then get sent out to help someone else, it's going to be a LONG day without anything to eat....

subpar · Mar 27, 2018

Finishing a 9 hour day in 6 hours and your not even to your 90 days yet...there is no way that mail and/or parcels are getting delivered accurately. Having to help out others is what you get for flying through routes just to try to go home early. Even if you don't care about your safety at least think of others, when you are speeding down the road (and you would have to be) what happens when a car pulls out of a blind driveway or someone is stopped around a curve and you plow into them killing everyone, but I guess you can have fastest RCA on your tombstone.

Howah44 · Mar 27, 2018

<blockquote class="spPostEmbedQuote">
subpar said 
Finishing a 9 hour day in 6 hours and your not even to your 90 days yet...there is no way that mail and/or parcels are getting delivered accurately. Having to help out others is what you get for flying through routes just to try to go home early. Even if you don't care about your safety at least think of others, when you are speeding down the road (and you would have to be) what happens when a car pulls out of a blind driveway or someone is stopped around a curve and you plow into them killing everyone, but I guess you can have fastest RCA on your tombstone.

</blockquote>

How do you know that this person is not delivering mail/packages accurately ????

How do you know this person is not delivering the mail in a safe manner ???

Perhaps, the route is not evaluated properly.

I realize, this is the internet but accusing someone of lying without having any clue of all the facts does not exactly look good on you.

D.B.Cooper · Mar 27, 2018

If you're flying around, being unsafe and delivering the mail all Helter Skelter... then stop it... <img title="Yell" alt="Yell" src="https://www.ruralmailtalk.ruralinfo.net/wp-content/sp-resources/forum-smileys/sf-yell.gif" />

But maybe somehow the eval is out of whack... hard to say... <img title="Confused" alt="Confused" src="https://www.ruralmailtalk.ruralinfo.net/wp-content/sp-resources/forum-smileys/sf-confused.gif" />