Boricuanessa -- " I am sick of running after goals, being held accountable for other people and not being able to leave the job at work when the shift is over. "
-- Sorry to say but that nicely sums up what you will be facing as an RCA! And depending on the office situation, that could be for years. And unfortunately for rural carriers, the "goals" keep changing - usually for the worst.
-- As a new RCA, your hourly pay will be around $18.19. How does that compare to your current salary?
-- Does your current job provide health insurance? RCA's can purchase it with the USPS paying some of it.
-- Rural carriers, regulars and RCA's, get a 30-minute ( unpaid ) lunch break.
-- Does your current job require you to provide a vehicle? In some post offices, you may have to provide a route-capable vehicle. Sure, the USPS does provide those carriers with an EMA ( Equipment Maintenance Allowance ), but unless you are mechanically inclined to do your own repairs or know someone who is, usually EMA will not cover the costs of using your own vehicle. And country back roads will take a toll on any vehicle.
-- Depending on the route you may be assigned, the post office will "promise" you one ( J-route ) or two ( K-route ) work days in a two-week pay period. If the work day is a Saturday, no more family outings. However - comma - if in an office short on RCA's you can be tossed onto other routes with little or no training and be working several days a week. If the office does Amazon parcels on Sunday, an RCA could be working 7 days a week -- and with the possibility of working 10-hr days especially with the approaching holiday period.
-- As an RCA, unless in leave-earning status, you won't be earning annual or sick leave until you make regular. Any time spent as an RCA does not count toward retirement. There have been 2 recent attempts in congress to have time as an RCA count toward retirement, but they have so far been unsuccessful.
-- As a new RCA, it will be members of management, not the reps, who will be asking you why you are slow, why you didn't do this or that, or why you mis-delivered a parcel last week, etc.
-- While rural carriers are not on "beck and call", some members of manglement don't seem to understand that. And if a goodly distance from the PO, a last minute call to come in to run a route, say at 10 am, can be a problem.
-- If you hire on as an RCA, you will have a Probationary Period of 90-work days or 1 calendar year, whichever comes first. During the Probationary Period, management can fire you for what ever reason they dream up. And usually the union will not be able to help. Once the Probationary Period is completed, you may submit a written request to transfer to another post office -- provided that post office has an RCA vacancy. Might be able to get a post office closer to home. After a year as an RCA you will be eligible to bid on a regular rural route -- but will be facing other carriers will lots more years of service. If an Auxiliary route becomes open, it should be offered to RCA's by seniority in the office. AUX routes can be anywhere from a minimum of 2 hours a day to maximum of 41+ hours ( once an AUX hits 42 hours, it should be converted to a regular route ). Once an AUX carrier finishes the route, the AUX carrier can be utilized on any other route or provide parcel assistance as needed by management.
-- The USPS has many unions and associations representing its workers. The "real" work is done by the rural carriers ( NRLCA ), the city carriers ( NALC ), the clerks ( APWU ), and the mail handlers NPMHU ). The last 3 are all hourly workers, basically an 8-hour day. The rural carriers are paid evaluated hours. The other 3 union member can transfer back and forth -- but not the rural carriers. As an RCA, you will have to resign before signing up to be a clerk, city carrier, or mail handler.
-- If you are the primary bread earner in the family, mostly likely being an RCA is not going to work out for you.
-- With a background in sales, a clerk position might be a better fit, but no guarantee you'll be assigned to work the front counter instead of distributing mail and parcels on the work floor.
-- And yes, that is the "sugar-coated" version.
