Haychica
Well-known member
Go above her head then
Quantity dps
- Thread starter Lyra
- Start date
magnolia72
Well-known member
I called the ADR the day we started this review and she kept telling me I shouldn't have done the Quantity Review, I should have done the Quality Review. I don't think she really know either because I asked her several questions and she wasn't sure of the answer. She only advised me to go to the NRLCA website, so I did. As for the person in charge over the ADR, good luck getting a call back. The last time I called him about a grievance I had filed, he called and talked to the OIC first, made his decision and then called me and told me what the decision was before I ever got to tell him what was going on. Haven't had an ounce of respect for him since.
magnolia72
Well-known member
That’s true but from talking to the ADR the other day, I feel like I’m all alone on this since she was unsure of the protocol.
How long before the PM will have his “results” and we can compare notes? Should I expect to hear something Wednesday afternoon or possibly Thursday morning?
Let your adr know, if they are uncertain of the requirements or procedures for a DPS review, a department of labor charge against the union may be pending if they don't ask national for guidance. Let them know quite clearly you are dissatisfied with DR and adr lack of knowledge. The DR handling an issue prior to discussing it with the claimant is very flawed. They should have asked about any irregularities or preference in outcome. That is standard procedure.
You will get better representation if you demand it. National is very concerned about NLRB charges against any steward in this political environment. Some stewards are tired, some are too lazy to learn the official methods. Both are hurting the union, the craft and the good stewards out there that are kicking butt.
Magnolia----------------Management has 30 days in which to review you and LET YOU KNOW WHAT THE RESULTS WERE / ARE. Upon completion of the review, you don't say anything. You don't ask for anything. You mention NOTHING of the review. If, after the 30th day, they have not let you know of the results of your review. That's when you get with management and explain that they did not meet the deadline of the review process. I would also argue that even if you did not "win" by the percentage, you would win the grievance because they did not let you know.
magnolia72
Well-known member
When this review is done and if it turns out to be in my favor, what can I expect from the PO? And what I mean by that is, I just came out of a special count where they stripped me of 5 hours a week. If this comes out in my favor, I don’t see them allowing that to continue. Will this force me into another count come February or will they demand that another review take place? I apologize for all the questions and I promise I’m not wearing a tinfoil hat!!
On the initial paperwork, it stated the results of a failed review would be to calculate your DPS letters to the next lowest appropriate column. True dps recalculates to sector segment. Sector segment from a mail count will recalculate to random letters. Did you take your newest mail count for weekly average a d use the DPS review calculator on the ruralinfo site? That will tell you the exact impact of time you are looking at.
If your route fails the review and does not enter into 47k+ or above, they will count you again next September. In the meantime, they can't touch your route until it becomes overburdened. If your new time factor puts you over the standard 46k hours they may or may not shift territory off your rt. Lately they've been leaving it pending a new count.
Take the two week mailcount column 3 total from sept and divide in half to get a single week evaluation impact . Take that # and plug it into the review calculator on ruralinfo. For example, If 2 weeks gave you 30000 DPS letters total you use 15000 as your number. There are no more mailcounts scheduled under this contract. The USPS has an option to count all routes in Sept or any route qualifying under current contract. If you fail your review you will be counted next September...just in time for political Armageddon flats.
If your route fails the review and does not enter into 47k+ or above, they will count you again next September. In the meantime, they can't touch your route until it becomes overburdened. If your new time factor puts you over the standard 46k hours they may or may not shift territory off your rt. Lately they've been leaving it pending a new count.
Take the two week mailcount column 3 total from sept and divide in half to get a single week evaluation impact . Take that # and plug it into the review calculator on ruralinfo. For example, If 2 weeks gave you 30000 DPS letters total you use 15000 as your number. There are no more mailcounts scheduled under this contract. The USPS has an option to count all routes in Sept or any route qualifying under current contract. If you fail your review you will be counted next September...just in time for political Armageddon flats.
There are no counts scheduled for the duration of the CURRENT contract. However, should you prevail in this review you can expect to be counted again next September as "they" will say that your route has met at least one of the qualifications / criteria for a special count. Now, I have argued from day one about this over and over again with union poobahs because the review process was NOT intended to punish the carrier but to punish the Postal Service. Some routes that prevail in reviews all of a sudden become "overburdened" . Well, they were not over burdened yesterday !!! So, they get "cut". Say you are a 44k or a 45K. Okay, you prevail in a review and now you are an off the scale 48k. The truth is, you already were an off the scale 48K but they were paying you for a 44K or 45K because of DPS. They can cut you to a 43K which is less than you were BEFORE the review. It's kinda like when you beat a traffic ticket in court and your insurance rates STILL go up !! The purpose of the review process was certainly NOT intended to punish the carrier in a punitive manner. If discipline is not to be punitive, than why can prevailing in a DPS review be punitive ?
It's a numbers game. Not sure why anyone over a 44k would do a review. It would certainly put them in overburdened status. M said her route wa only a 40k, that leaves a lot of hours for impact even accounting for llv impact.
I'm beyond caring if they try to mess with me. I know the rules and consequences of their bad decisions better than they do. It's very rare to find a mgr these days who is knowledgeable about operations let alone the rural craft. Any action has a possible consequence, it really is about playing the odds. Before you ever request a DPS review, know the impact in time to your route. Know what your route is likely to look like next September. Is it a national or local political year? Is the current mailcount a better than average outcome? If so, maybe hold off on that review until April or May. You are more likely to make it to Sept without territory shift if the impact is closer to summer. It would be fantastic to have a review fail and be effective until the next national count but, that's not going to happen anytime soon.
There are reasons both sides have agreed to have a special count. The USPS wants reduced hours. The union wants a carrier negatively impacted by a review to have a chance to recoup their territory loss and be able to elect between high and low options. Would you rather a 43k be stuck at 43 for evermore or a chance to go up or choose a higher wage J?
I'm beyond caring if they try to mess with me. I know the rules and consequences of their bad decisions better than they do. It's very rare to find a mgr these days who is knowledgeable about operations let alone the rural craft. Any action has a possible consequence, it really is about playing the odds. Before you ever request a DPS review, know the impact in time to your route. Know what your route is likely to look like next September. Is it a national or local political year? Is the current mailcount a better than average outcome? If so, maybe hold off on that review until April or May. You are more likely to make it to Sept without territory shift if the impact is closer to summer. It would be fantastic to have a review fail and be effective until the next national count but, that's not going to happen anytime soon.
There are reasons both sides have agreed to have a special count. The USPS wants reduced hours. The union wants a carrier negatively impacted by a review to have a chance to recoup their territory loss and be able to elect between high and low options. Would you rather a 43k be stuck at 43 for evermore or a chance to go up or choose a higher wage J?
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Morty
Well-known member
I've been weighing my options. Ive contacted my DR/ADR. I got all the paperwork for review. Next year is a big political year for September. Im a 43. If i go up, and somehow lose back to a 43, then so be it. I would repeat another review.
DR said if I win review, I will have to request another review because the plant will fix the problem. Then after the 2nd failure, is when I can request sector segment.
DR said if I win review, I will have to request another review because the plant will fix the problem. Then after the 2nd failure, is when I can request sector segment.
magnolia72
Well-known member
I have no desire to be in that office 6 days a week even if I get 1 day every other week. Someone downtown sent out an email a couple of weeks ago and said that he had not entered our withdrawal time. That bumped me up to a 41K. The ending sheet on the count read that I had the option for a 45J but that doesn’t sound desirable to me at all. I have a long POV route with heavy mail/packages and extra wear and tear on my car and body doesn’t sound like a good option. I know what my route is just as they know. They would rather pay someone to skew the numbers for a mail count than just pay the people who are doing this job. Just like I stated earlier, the amount of DPS I’m receiving now compared to mail is mind blowing. I’ve got 3 days left to review and I’ve almost doubled the amount of DPS that came during count. Also, my flats have been consistently heavy since count as well. I realize this has been going on for decades but what gets me is how the NRLCA looks the other way. Whose side are they on here?
Haychica
Well-known member
I'm so sorry..im tired of hearing these stories...Fwiw...I've fought these battles before, and the good news is that afterwards they pretty much leave you alone...
Hang in there
Your DPS is based upon percentage from count. If you received 1000 DPS and 100 random at count it puts you DPS %at 90%. Even if the overall volume changes the % must be maintained. So if you get 3000 DPS you shouldn't have more than 300 random. And having read your adr said you should have requested a quality review just shows how uninformed they are. It's easier for the USPS to manipulate a 3 day test then a 30 day test. But, hopefully they will learn as they process your grievance with additional information they had to research.
Mail volumes will fluctuate with seasons and even days of the week. That's why the evaluation is an average. It is also the impetus behind an arbitrator telling both parties to get a system which captures the year of volume in the average. There is good and bad in the rural system. It admittedly gets a little grumpy working on the short side.
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magnolia72
Well-known member
Today was the last day!! I'm glad this part of the review is over, now on to the fight. When I got back this afternoon, the review worksheet was sitting on my case. Just as I suspected, PM only kept up with the EOR and raw mail he handed off to me. His total came to 97%. When I asked him how he came to that percentage, he said he didn't have time to go into it and that I should "think over" my questions, we'll talk later. I have left a voicemail for ADR.
magnolia72 -- "Today was the last day!! I'm glad this part of the review is over, now on to the fight. When I got back this afternoon, the review worksheet was sitting on my case. Just as I suspected, PM only kept up with the EOR and raw mail he handed off to me. His total came to 97% ."
-- 97% isn't 98%.
-- What was the percentage during count?
-- 97% isn't 98%.
-- What was the percentage during count?
magnolia72
Well-known member
During the special count, the average was 91.7%. My average as of today was 89.5% but that’s me counting like I did during mail count. It’s bologna and I can’t wait to hear his reasoning on this but most of all, I can’t wait to hear back from the ADR. Two weeks ago she advised me to do the quality instead of the quantity and she wasn’t sure about the quantity review. Let’s see where this will go.
Have your grievance form ready for discussion with PM. Use it as your grievance discussion.
After he explains what he did, state calmly that you believe it is contractual violation and why.
Ask him to revert your DPS to sector segment pay.
When he declines, ask him if he would care to sign the grievance form.
(If he doesn't sign, just note that in your carrier's statement page you include with the grievance.)
Caution:
My lazy supervisor tried to spike my last grievance several ways. First, he took the grievance form and did not return it to me for several days. So, from now on, I have a copy of that page, so I can still file while he is sitting on his hands. (When he finally gave me his signed copy, my grievance had already been filed for days.)
Be prepared and organized.
Because PM has violated the contract you should not be required to review again.
Make sure the union rep knows you want your sector segment pay now, not another review by a corrupt PM.
State in the grievant's statement what remedy is required.
