Is it really as bad as you all say?

[Rural Mail Lady]

Hi Happy Sunday. Glad to have 2 days off.
Question for you all....

What do you all do to take care of dry, cracked, sore, papercut fingers? My poor little hands are so sad.

Also, I found myself cursing tricky mailboxes on my route yesterday. I made myself laugh. Then I remembered a form I could shove in the box to let the customer know, "Hey, your mailbox is slightly dilapidated." Do those ever work?

Anyway, my supervisor asked ME if I'd like more training. Of course I would! Still the best job I've ever had. I'd just like those few customers to fix their boxes and it'd be a dream ?✌??

They work sometimes, like Blame the sub said. We give them 10 days to repair or replace the box, after 10 days if the repairs are not done, we suspend their mail service. I take into consideration, if it's a elderly or handicap customer, that has "no one" to do for them . "you can always tell" I'll have a friend go a fix it for them. But !! I enjoy giving the "green hornets" thats what we call the form, to Jerks. LOL. As far as your hands, whew, they will toughen up, but I use "finger cots" I get them from dare I say "Amazon" they are very thin like a second skin, I can't work with gloves etc, They look like a "tiny condom" thats the only way I know how to describe them , they are about the size of a penny, and you just put them on your finger tip and roll them down they go down just below your second finger joint. They have been a finger saver for me.

 

[justasinger]

I too love the job! But you just highlighted the vast difference in rural carrier life! I'm on table 2, where i live, in the northeast, median income is over 55k, median housing price is 350k. I make 40k on a 40k route and can't get a day off. After all the deductions I take home @ 1k per pay period. Not pretty

I'm a PTF rural carrier and my take home through the first 4 PP of 2019 is $7,444.54. My gross is $9579.50. If I continue with my current earning averages, my take home pay will be $48,389.51 for the year, but the silly season (aka the 6 weeks of christmas) will add approximately 3k additional take home. Now I do use my own vehicle so I receive EMA (2018 ema was $10,200), but approximately 1/3rd of that is left over after paying all my vehicle costs. I live in the northeast also, and I live in a home I paid $45k for. It's not the prettiest house in the world, but it's roomy (2500 SQ ft), and a decent amount of land (19 Acres), and the only building you can see from my house is my 3 car detached garage 300 ft away. The median housing price here is $250k. I guess my point is there are always deals to be had, you just may have to look a bit harder, and/or travel a bit. My post office is 58 miles from my house (just because when I took the career position I chose not to move since I have no mortgage currently).

 

[DB.Cooper]

Sure everyone can substitute hot dogs for steaks at all future cookouts... and everybody may get enuf to eat, but somehow it just won't quite seem as good as that steak...

But, when the USPS makes that choice for you, aka Table 2, then I guess you gotta do, what you gotta do... but, wouldn't it be nice if you didn't have to??? Think about that the next time you see Meg and all her buddies getting those big pay raises while already making the big $$$ money... bon appetite...

Also, what will you make when you go on to Table 2 as a Regular on a 40K route??? Probably less than you're making now... where else can you work your way DOWN the ladder of success???

You can put lipstick on a pig, but it's still a pig... ???

Here's a clip I did from a NRLCA Table 2 I got via a Google search... (39 & 40 hour routes), and yes, that's ANNUAL salary... Gross not Net... just sayin'...

39 $36,175
40 $37,099

 

[Skierstmoritz]

Just a singer- glad you are doing well! When u go regular it's 40k/ for a 40k route unless you were hired before 11/20/2010 with no ot unless u work your relief day. 45k where I live won't buy you a quarter acre swampland lot lol. I wish you well and thanks for highlighting the difference within our craft.

 

[btdtret]

justasinger -- You certainly seem to have things under control.

-- A good winter storm could make you wish your detached garage was a bit closer to the house! Heck, in the right situation, the garage could be in a neighboring state!

-- Prospects of going regular anytime soon?

"the silly season (aka the 6 weeks of christmas)"

-- 6 weeks? Must be in a truthful post office!! For ARC's, it is almost 2 months!

" My post office is 58 miles from my house .."

-- That probably helps cut down on the "Can you come in today?" phone calls from manglement.

-- Here's to your continued success.

 

[justasinger]

I love what I do and have no problems with the amount I am paid for it. I really don't want to make regular. I enjoy seeing 4-5 different routes per week, I think i would get bored with the same route 5-6 days a week. As a PTF I am career and I earn AL and SL,... I even get 13 days of WW leave a year.

 

[DB.Cooper]

Sorry to break it to ya... but you can't just stay a PTF forever... see, just when you think you got the world all figured out, and you're on top of it... along comes the USPS and knocks you off of it... welcome to reality, and welcome to the USPS... it's real... and it's fun... but, it's not real fun... ?

So, get ready to be "bored" with that 5-6 day a week, $30-something thousand a year gig... Gross that is... take out the retirement and benefits, taxes, etc., etc... and what's left??? You did say hot dogs were okay, didn't ya??? ?

 

[Skierstmoritz]

I love what I do and have no problems with the amount I am paid for it. I really don't want to make regular. I enjoy seeing 4-5 different routes per week, I think i would get bored with the same route 5-6 days a week. As a PTF I am career and I earn AL and SL,... I even get 13 days of WW leave a year.

First route that becomes vacant in your office you are required to take and become a regular. A drawback? Of being a ptf. DB is right on with that. Good luck tho, glad you are doing well and enjoy the 6work. Fellow carriers and customers are what makes the job enjoyable

 

[Voglio-il mio]

I love what I do and have no problems with the amount I am paid for it. I really don't want to make regular. I enjoy seeing 4-5 different routes per week, I think i would get bored with the same route 5-6 days a week. As a PTF I am career and I earn AL and SL,... I even get 13 days of WW leave a year.

Ok I'm stumped? What is WW leave?

 

[Coolio]

Wounded Warrior Leave. Its my understanding its only for your first year. Disabled veterans use it so they can go to there VA appointments.

 

[DB.Cooper]

I wonder where this appears in a contract or ELM??? I don't recall ever seeing it... not that I think it's not a good idea, but just never heard of it...

 

[btdtret]

Voglio-il mio -- "Ok I'm stumped? What is WW leave?

-- Probably "Wounded Warrior" Leave.

-- It is an authorized absence from the Postal Service to undergo medical treatment for a service-connected disability rated at 30 percent or more. It is a separate leave category, distinct from sick leave.

-- Eligible military veterans will be credited with 104 hours of WW Leave EACH leave year. Use it or lose it as WW Leave can not be carried over into the new Leave Year. It is a BIG improvement over previous guidelines which limited WW Leave to only one year.

-- Updated details came out in Management Instruction EL-510-2019-2 ( effective 05 JAN 2019 )

Thanks for your service, "justasinger".

 

[Voglio-il mio]

Voglio-il mio -- "Ok I'm stumped? What is WW leave?

-- Probably "Wounded Warrior" Leave.

-- It is an authorized absence from the Postal Service to undergo medical treatment for a service-connected disability rated at 30 percent or more. It is a separate leave category, distinct from sick leave.

-- Eligible military veterans will be credited with 104 hours of WW Leave EACH leave year. Use it or lose it as WW Leave can not be carried over into the new Leave Year. It is a BIG improvement over previous guidelines which limited WW Leave to only one year.

-- Updated details came out in Management Instruction EL-510-2019-2 ( effective 05 JAN 2019 )

Thanks for your service, "justasinger".

Thanks for the answer and reference I've never heard of it before. I'm also a vet that would like to thank a fellow brother or sister for their service as well as your family for their sacrifices. ???‍?‍?‍??

 

[oi veh.]

NRLCA Supports the Wounded Warriors Federal Leave Act

National Rural Letter Carriers’ Association Supports the Wounded Warriors Federal Leave ActFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEDecember 17, 2014National Rural Letter Carriers' Association – www.nrlca.orgContact: Margaret Boehm, MBoehm@nrlca.org, 703-797-8412The National Rural Letter Carriers' Association...

www.ruralinfo.net

NRLCA: Wounded Warriors Act Passes House

Wounded Warriors Act Passes House The Wounded Warriors Federal Leave Act of 2015 (H.R. 313) was passed in the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. The NRLCA had previously endorsed the legislation when it was

www.ruralinfo.net

 

[12345]

The median housing around here starts at $587k. It is a tad challenging finding anyone to work here...rca's or regulars. Cheap, nasty rentals start at $2500 a month. And gas is consistently close to or over $4 a gallon.

I've often thought they should look into locality pay for some places. The cost of living can vary in the extreme from place to place. Perhaps, nrlca could work on an mou formula for initiating locality pay in high cost areas. Perhaps, this is something to push forward at unit and state mtgs to be voted upon at national. It would certainly benefit the membership. It might even keep some from quiting because they can't afford to work for USPS.

My problem with locality pay is the postal service would want to lower the pay and EMA in rural areas such as where I am and leave things the same in more expensive areas. They would then pat themselves on the back and say the more expensive locations are paid more than more rural areas.

 

[Crispcracker]

It really depends a lot on the Postmaster in your home office. In my experience, most PMs care only about making life as easy as possible for themselves and care not one bit about the organization or anyone else - unless they are related to that person in some way.
If you have to use your own vehicle like most of us, it is best to have two or one less than 10 years old. The job is hard enough when starting without vehicle issues right away.
As an RCA, you must have a reasonable sense of responsibility to earn favor with most regular rural carriers in an office.
The job is often "feast or famine" when it comes to the number of days of work. For this reason, if you want to have some level of control over your schedule, you are best to work for a small office or one that has the near maximum number of RCAs. This way you are not required to work as much, but can "volunteer" to help other offices.
If you have a serious college degree (and/or real world business experience in some level of management), it is sometimes best to not to let your home office managers know, lest they view you as a threat (to their position) as opposed to an asset to the organization.
ALWAYS KEEP YOUR OWN RECORDS OF YOUR HOURS AND EXTRA MILES and know how to read your convoluted paystub.
If you forget everything else remember the following:
1. If your PM and/or supervisor can't (at least) pretend to be nice the first two weeks and your home office has no rural LLV (PO provided vehicle) routes, start looking elsewhere immediately.
2. If you stay and survive the probationary period as an RCA, do not escalate your lifestyle by buying "assets" that depreciate exponentially like new cars, expensive vacations, etc. Keep expenses low and set as much money aside as possible every week. Eventually, the odds are, you will get a PM that affects your health in such a way you must logically leave, your home office or the USPS.
3. If you must provide your own vehicle and your husband can keep tabs on your brake wear (along with keeping a spare set of those - front and rear - and a starter at all times) and store snow tires on an extra set of rims for you (and maintain these three issues) it is possible to significantly minimize your EMA shortfall.

In your spare time, read the following book and remember that an ENTIRE life of constantly trading time for money is modern day slavery.
Buy it now
Best of luck

This must truly be from one whom knows!

 

[Crispcracker]

Ask the postmaster for the names of the last 5 RCA hires. Then ask where are they now?

Great suggestion by the way!

 

[Crispcracker]

My problem with locality pay is the postal service would want to lower the pay and EMA in rural areas such as where I am and leave things the same in more expensive areas. They would then pat themselves on the back and say the more expensive locations are paid more than more rural areas.

Locality pay should be a given. Just sayin, cost of livin isn't fairly spread.