Starting to think about giving up the RCA job

[lbpd16]

For starters, I enjoy the job and the people I work with.  I also like the 2 supervisors in my office.I was hired to work 1 day a week.  Ideally I wanted to work 3 or 4 days a week.  I am already retired so I don't need the money or hours.  I just wanted a part time job for some spending money and cheap insurance.Since I started working a route at the beginning of June I've been working 6 days a week, usually 9 to 10+ hours a day.  If I do the aux route its about a 5 hour day.  Amazon sundays can be 4 hours or 9+ hours depending on how the computer spits out the routes.  Some of us have to do 2 routes on Amazon sunday.We keep getting told that this will not go on forever.  That some day we will be begging for more hours.  Problem is the holidays are coming and from what i'm being told I may be working 7 days a week and possibly working from 6 am til late in the evening.  And that this can go on for 6 or 7 weeks.  We are also being told that RCA, CCA, and ARC jobs are being advertised but there are no new workers showing up to help.I can do the job, but i'm tired, i'm achy and I didn't sign up for a 50+ hour work week.  That was not my plan for my retirement.To make matters worse, I had plans for Labor Day, only to find out today that I'm working Labor Day.  Apparently the only days of the year RCA's don't work are New Years Day, July 4, Christmas Day and Thanksgiving.  So now I'm delivering Amazon on Labor Day and casing mail for tuesday morning.The route i've been working kinda regular is overloaded with mail and parcels.  Even the RCA's that have been around a while usually cannot finish the route until 5 or so.I'm not gonna leave before or during the holiday rush.However, if things do not slow down after the holiday rush is over and we don't get any help I'm out the door.  I'm not going to work 6 days a week for the foreseeable future.I'm thinking of staying in the same office by taking an ARC position and/or working as a sub for one or more of the highway contract guys.Any thoughts?  Am I just having a bad day?Thanks 

 

[Gotrope]

Not to upset you but, rca's can  be required to work any day of the year. If your office is that short staffed, I would take the heavy work hours at time and a half thru January. It will slow down only if you get additional bodies to share the work. But if you bank the extra money now, you can delay having to find a new job later if you quit.?

 

[Howah44]

Based on what goes on in MANY offices around the country, there are not exactly people running for these jobs especially if you guys have to provide a vehicle.

The ARC position should be less hours for sure, not sure how the highway routes work.

If I was in your shoes, I would do UBER/Lyft if that is in your area, you can do those jobs when you want.

 

[btdtret]

Ibpd16 -- "To ARC or not to ARC."

-- Sounds as if you ended up in a sub-short office where work is more than plentiful, which is not what you signed up for.

"We keep getting told that this will not go on forever."

-- If you remember, you were also told you were hired for 1 day a week. The consensus is, sorry to say, that if manglement's lips are moving, its a lie!

-- Is / are there ARC opening(s) at your office or near by post offices?

-- The ARC position was created for parcel delivery on Sunday and on Federal Holidays, and to case and carry a route on Saturday if need be.

-- The union will be more than happy to take you dues as an ARC.

-- To work for a contract carrier, you will need to resign from the USPS. It would be a "conflict of interest".

"I just wanted a part time job for some spending money and cheap insurance."

-- A fly in the ointment #1 -- ARC's have no access to non-career health benefits.

"Am I just having a bad day?"

-- From the postings here and at other rural sites, safe to say the every day is a "bad day"!

-- #2 fly in the ointment, with the Mid-Term elections in NOV, you can depend on massive political mailings to get you ready for the Christmas Crunch.

-- Listen to your body!!

 

[eomr]

It's a shame but your feelings are shared by many subs. I agree with the "listen to your body" suggestion. If you were younger and looking to make it a career, then I would say hang in there. At least you'll have some good stories to tell over a few cold ones.

 

[PostalServiceEmployeeNewman]

Dont blame ya one bit.
Hired in your told your only guaranteed subs off day.
So in your shoes your thinking cool, couple days here and there, perfect!

Post office will always have better ideas how you should run your life. You are almost held hostage. And in some cases you are! It's no wonder that more and more people are hating these types of jobs ie FedEx, ups, amazon etc.

When I 1st started working for the post office. I loved it. My co-workers loved it. Today, totally different story! We all hate it. Why? Because unlike when I 1st started, today is micromanaged now. Instead of being left alone for the entire day, management now has their watchful eyes on us telling us what to do. Stress isnt worth the money.

 

[btdtret]

P-S-E-N et al -- "Instead of being left alone for the entire day, management now has their watchful eyes on us telling us what to do. "

-- And when out of the office, the scanner is attending to baby-sitting duties.

-- Big Brother is truly watching - especially from home security cameras!

 

[blamethesub]

Sounds like the ARC position or subbing for contract routes are much better options for you if you're not looking to make a career out of this job. You have to choose one or the other, though because you can't do both. Remember, contract carriers are not postal employees so you'll have to deal with taxes for any money earned from them.

My other concern is what will happen to the ARC position over time? Will it morph into something different as a result of future contracts, or disappear altogether like the old TRC position? At least for now you know exactly what an ARC may and may not be allowed to do, so that works in your favor.

Sorry things are going this way for you. As soon as you showed some promise on this job, we knew you'd get thrown to the wolves. Don't expect it to lighten up in your office. If they hired 2-3 new RCAs next week, you'd get no relief now, and they'd probably all quit by Christmas.

If you switch to the ARC position, keep on posting here about the experience. We don't hear too much about it around here. Best of luck.

 

[Gotrope]

Don't quit before Christmas. Even as an ARC, they will use you for package and mail delivery as you've been through the academy. A warm body, is a warm body after all.

 

[lbpd16]

Today was even worse than yesterday.  More presort, more DPS and many more parcels.  We have to hit 2 scans by no later than 11am.  If I am not ready to leave the office in time to hit those scans I have to stop what i'm doing, drive 10 min for the scans, then drive 10 min back to PO and pick up where I left off.  That happened today.  Then on the way back my transmission went out.  Lucky for me we had a spare LLV I was allowed to use.  But I didn't get out of the office til 1230.  Lots of parcels, many too big for box and needed dismount.  A few certs and a couple expresses.  I had to get help.  Another RCA took the last hour of my route.  I got back to PO just before the truck pulled off.  PM and supv were still in the office when I got back.  I told them that if things  continue like this after the christmas rush is over than I won't be around any longer.  They really didn't seem surprised.  I'm sure RCA's lifespan is pretty short.  Its too bad because I like the job and the folks I work with.  But 6 days a week and 45 to 50 hours a week is just too much.  I suggested cutting that long route to give us a little break but that is out of the question.  Not looking forward to the holiday rush at all.  But I can't leave them hanging during that time.  If I'm unhappy now I can only imagine how i'm going to feel once that gets started.Time for bed.  6am alarm comes early

 

[lbpd16]

The parcels are whats killing me.  If it was only mail or only parcels it would be no problem.  It seems nobody in upper management has anticipated,  accounted for or planned for the out of control increase in parcels.  I still think that there should be people to do only mail and people who just run parcels everywhere nonstop.  

 

[PostalServiceEmployeeNewman]

Trust me when I say this. We ALL hate parcels. Before Amazon, life was great! If you can hang in there for another 2 years or so, the post office life should be great again. Why? Because by then hopefully Amazon has their own people delivering their stuff and not us. If we no longer delivered Amazon, I'd be getting out maybe 12 times a day instead of 40+.

Please oh please Mr billionaire who cares not about your employees, please staff your own people to deliver your stuff.

 

[PostalServiceEmployeeNewman]

Also, if it makes sense, be sure the post office will not see it that way. Itd be safe to say that most of the people making the decisions were never carriers themselves.

 

[fred]

Instead of quitting, why not find a small rural office and transfer once you get your 90 days in.

 

[Wildcatskier50]

Fred, great suggestion!  That worked for me!  Went from large, 60 route, to medium, 12 route to smaller, 6 route!  Total change in culture as well.  Clam happy in my office.  Hope ipid is able to try that.

 

[lbpd16]

my 3rd miserable day in a row yesterday.  I guess the rush has started early.  Parcels and presort have increased over the last 2 weeks.  Alot of presort has been full coverage also, which makes matters worse.I've tried taking full coverage with me, i've tried casing it, I've tried taco-ing, none of those methods makes any difference in my time.  Its just too much stuff no matter what method I use.I also had my minivan blow up friday so I have had to use my only other option, a extra cab F-150.  It was hell yesterday in that thing.  Even though i'm tall when I stretched out the window for the box my foot would come off the brake so I have to put it in park on many stops.  I also have a subdivision that is notorious for parking too close to the mailbox, but not blocking it, which meant I had to dismount for those boxes.I usually get out at 1030 to 11 and am back between 4 and 5.  The last 2 saturdays I havent gotten out till between 12 and 1 and was told to be back at 530, even with help, which is when I came back.  Its really gotten out of hand the last couple weeks.  I can only imagine what the holiday rush will be like.I guess I need to just adjust my mindset.  One of the carriers told me its not my responsibility to worry about how much mail/parcels I have and how long it takes me, just deliver the mail I have and let management decide on help or return time.  That is the job of the supervisors to adjust the mail and help so that it gets done.So i will just get out of the office when I can and deliver as much mail as I can.  If I'm late or need help....oh well.  If it don't get delivered then it goes out the next day.

 

[D.B.Cooper]

I doubt things are gonna slow down much anytime soon... the economy seems to be humming along, everybody is shopping online, and Christmas is coming... add it up, and do the math...  ? 

 

[FrozenToes]

To support D.B. You started in June. Summer is the easiest time of year, for a majority of routes. Flats will be heavier until they slowdown for Christmas. Especially with Elections. Parcels will skyrocket. I average 120-130 a day. After Thanksgiving to Christmas I will average 200-300+.
You need to decide what's best for you. It's great you enjoy your coworkers. But in the end, the Post Office is a selfish beast. It just wants the mail delivered.
Work in the dark,split routes,and work Amazon Sundays. You will also be delivering parcels everyday to prevent regulars from overtime during the Christmas period.
I wish you well.

 

[ibd1]

I started in the mid 90's. It was a great job. I have no idea why anybody would be a sub now. With the way plants are allowed to screw the mail up everyday, substandard standards, the way cheating is allowed on mail counts, substandard management and different pay scales. It is mind boggling. Then you have regular carriers who screw their subs and make comments about how they were once a sub. I never had to deal with the crap that subs go thru now. Sounds like to me that you don't need this bull crap. Go do something fun. Sell shoes or work restocking shelves at night for kroger. I'm already planning for my second job. I'm in my mid 50's and networking so that when I turn 60 I can say audios fother muckers. See you.

 

[hunchback]

If you started in June and allready wore out one vehicle, how much have you really made at this job?
If your health breaks down as a result of this job (torn rotator cuff, back
Or carpel tunnel) what kind of retirement will you really have. I can't wait to get paroled from this prison and you're here as a volunteer, based on what you've earned so far. Wake up and smell the coffee Man.