USPS rural carriers contract sets stage for privatization, does nothing to address wage theft through RRECS

[Ruralinfo]

The contract does nothing to address systematic wage theft through the Rural Route Evaluated Compensation System (RRECS), a piecework-style system that determines pay not by the actual hours worked but through an opaque algorithm that evaluates how long a route should take to deliver. RRECS was imposed behind carriers’ backs through a side agreement between the NRLCA ... Read more

 

[jaymacgthree]

That article nailed it.

 

[Shannonboy]

I agree. I mean, are we really surprised!??
This is par for the course with po mgmt, and crap union....

 

[gotstamps]

Well, right after reading their saying that RRECS was agreed upon by both parties, nothing else they say is credible. The Author did not do their homework, obviously.

Previous of RRECS, mail counts were more BS as mgmt would hide mail for those 2 weeks and would argue every single Column R/17 credit we would try to claim. Every package or flat was argued regardless of a scan bar. I had to recount every single piece, sometimes 4 times, to get proper credit. I had to come in on my Relief Day to observe or the sub would miss things for timing or counting. I DO NOT miss those days.

Route adjustments were more of a guestimate than it is now. Now is 3 minutes per mile so at least that is better than before. There are a lot more details to the RRECS adjustments now than the old way. I used to get cut 2-3 times a year due to my route being all new territory with some older low-volume curbsides. 48k to 43k to 48k to 43k. Over & over & living paycheck to paycheck. The curbside was the 1st to go & if you gained a large pickup from a company, too bad, figure it out. If the package wasn’t a priority or 2 lbs+, you got a letter credit.

I don’t see any ratified Agreement as “paving the way” to privatization. The no-layoff clause is still there and Congress would still need to makes big changes to the laws to allow that.
Having NO Agreement at all would leave us defenseless as At-Will employees. I’ve been in the private sector before coming to the PO. Ain’t nothing like coming back from lunch just to get fired because a supervisor doesn’t like you & found a way to blame you for their own mistake. No recourse to be had; no grievance to file. Just go find another job & unemployment until then. Or come in still sick after having the Flu for 3 days to be fired on the spot because you had the audacity to be “out-of-town” when it happen. I lived “out-of-town”.

This job is nowhere near perfect but a lot of laws have changed to make worklife better. I do wish I had started this career earlier so I’d be closer to 30 than 20 years.

 

[RFD]

Well, right after reading their saying that RRECS was agreed upon by both parties, nothing else they say is credible. The Author did not do their homework, obviously.

Previous of RRECS, mail counts were more BS as mgmt would hide mail for those 2 weeks and would argue every single Column R/17 credit we would try to claim. Every package or flat was argued regardless of a scan bar. I had to recount every single piece, sometimes 4 times, to get proper credit. I had to come in on my Relief Day to observe or the sub would miss things for timing or counting. I DO NOT miss those days.

Route adjustments were more of a guestimate than it is now. Now is 3 minutes per mile so at least that is better than before. There are a lot more details to the RRECS adjustments now than the old way. I used to get cut 2-3 times a year due to my route being all new territory with some older low-volume curbsides. 48k to 43k to 48k to 43k. Over & over & living paycheck to paycheck. The curbside was the 1st to go & if you gained a large pickup from a company, too bad, figure it out. If the package wasn’t a priority or 2 lbs+, you got a letter credit.

I don’t see any ratified Agreement as “paving the way” to privatization. The no-layoff clause is still there and Congress would still need to makes big changes to the laws to allow that.
Having NO Agreement at all would leave us defenseless as At-Will employees. I’ve been in the private sector before coming to the PO. Ain’t nothing like coming back from lunch just to get fired because a supervisor doesn’t like you & found a way to blame you for their own mistake. No recourse to be had; no grievance to file. Just go find another job & unemployment until then. Or come in still sick after having the Flu for 3 days to be fired on the spot because you had the audacity to be “out-of-town” when it happen. I lived “out-of-town”.

This job is nowhere near perfect but a lot of laws have changed to make worklife better. I do wish I had started this career earlier so I’d be closer to 30 than 20 years.

You have no idea what a great feeling it is to be MRA, and to know that the end to all the stupidity is coming to an end. I feel really bad for people who are in their forties that work here. I can only imagine in ten years what more craziness you guys will have to endure.

 

[WesternCORCA]

I don't understand why anybody pays their union dues. Please stop as this is another form of wage theft!!

 

[Pween]

This article is pure propaganda. I started before rrecs was implemented in 2019, and had learned in academy that it was coming in the future. Wasn't it something planned like 10 years ago? And we had more than ample awareness of when it was going to be starting, there's no credibility to their argument saying it was done behind our backs. I'm no rrecs fanboy by any means, I think it's an good idea just horribly coded and executed.

this article was sensationalist garbage intended to influence the unaware public and continue the orange man bad narrative.

 

[damifiknow]

i have increased my time and pay with rrecs, its there for the taking the $$$$$, you have to figure it out, i just said to the clerk the union should hire me to be the rrecs trainer. work it to your advantage. its not rocket science.

 

[stillfirstclass]

horribly coded and executed

and 87 ppm dps and walking speed carrying a scanner package and dodging dog poo across a yard

 

[U caught my attention]

. its not rocket science.

No, its worse, it's AI with tracking.

 

[damifiknow]

dont take me wrong here, it is a scam, but has the ability to be manipulated. not with fixed things like walking times, dps ect. it s again there for the taking if u use it to your advantage, i at first lost 30 minutes on the first evaluation, ,i have got that back and gained , 40 minutes more. HAMMER THEM.

 

[ATCBigE]

This article is pure propaganda. I started before rrecs was implemented in 2019, and had learned in academy that it was coming in the future. Wasn't it something planned like 10 years ago? And we had more than ample awareness of when it was going to be starting, there's no credibility to their argument saying it was done behind our backs. I'm no rrecs fanboy by any means, I think it's an good idea just horribly coded and executed.

this article was sensationalist garbage intended to influence the unaware public and continue the orange man bad narrative.

I will start with the bold.

It was started after 2012 but you want my honest opinion. They didn't do crap til last second. You know like in college when you pull all nighter to finish projet and you get a half @$$ result????? That is RRECS.

RRRECS can be a great idea if done properly but 100% horribly executed and not even following federal time standards.

I still want someone to explain to me this. If mail volume is down as much as they claim it , why did the standard for verifying mail double from 43 PPM (which is doable and fair) to 86 PPM (IMPOSSIBLE)??? If mail volume is down that much, that standard should have never been messed with then.

The other issue with RRECS is they can manipulate system easy. Just come to my office and watch mail volume and you can tell what you are getting in a day if you look at DPS numbers for the day. If my DPS is light, I ain't getting . If DPS is heavy, be prepared because boxholders, ton of presort, tub flats, and packages. They 100% manipulate coverage factor in their favor.

dont take me wrong here, it is a scam, but has the ability to be manipulated. not with fixed things like walking times, dps ect. it s again there for the taking if u use it to your advantage, i at first lost 30 minutes on the first evaluation, ,i have got that back and gained , 40 minutes more. HAMMER THEM.

100% disagree with your statement. Sure some people have RRECS scans they can do on their route, but I have done some routes where there is literally no scans to do at all for the whole day. No pick ups, no dismounts, and so on. Those can't do anything. They are at the mercy of the USPS.

 

[ATCBigE]

i have increased my time and pay with rrecs, its there for the taking the $$$$$, you have to figure it out, i just said to the clerk the union should hire me to be the rrecs trainer. work it to your advantage. its not rocket science.

There are literally some routes that have no RRECS scans to do. Only thing to do is load and EoS and you can only do so much for that.

I mean I consider well-educated on it and I just keep losing time because of mail volume, YET city carriers in last 4 years have lost that volume too and guess what??? No adjustments to their routes nad they are still 8 hours....

 

[U caught my attention]

We were looking for a compensation system but what we got is a digital supervisor that takes notes and has the capacity to filter, compare, and optimize.

 

[gotstamps]

I will start with the bold.

It was started after 2012 but you want my honest opinion. They didn't do crap til last second. You know like in college when you pull all nighter to finish projet and you get a half @$$ result????? That is RRECS.

RRECS was part of the arbitration agreement mid-2012. This was the same that gave us the 2-Tier Pay schedule. Engineers were chosen by both sides & those 2 chose another to mediate. The Study was completed in 2013 at which time the programming & discussions started. Read the RRECS Guide for the full story.

RRRECS can be a great idea if done properly but 100% horribly executed and not even following federal time standards.

There are no “federal time standards” for what we do which is why multiple studies were required to gather timing of the tasks that we do.

I still want someone to explain to me this. If mail volume is down as much as they claim it , why did the standard for verifying mail double from 43 PPM (which is doable and fair) to 86 PPM (IMPOSSIBLE)??? If mail volume is down that much, that standard should have never been messed with then.

Mail volume fluctuation has nothing to do with the credit we get for DPS mail. 43 ppm is 1/2 the time as 86 ppm. The reason we get less time is that some carriers were timed in a Study to READ the address & flip to the next one. That is all verify gives credit for. Flipping it right side up is the Inverted Credit. Putting that letter in the box is the box credit. Placing it in Forwarding is in EOS so timed daily then averaged.

The other issue with RRECS is they can manipulate system easy. Just come to my office and watch mail volume and you can tell what you are getting in a day if you look at DPS numbers for the day. If my DPS is light, I ain't getting . If DPS is heavy, be prepared because boxholders, ton of presort, tub flats, and packages. They 100% manipulate coverage factor in their favor.

Unfortunately, true everywhere. Mgmt has the right to mismanage.

100% disagree with your statement. Sure some people have RRECS scans they can do on their route, but I have done some routes where there is literally no scans to do at all for the whole day. No pick ups, no dismounts, and so on. Those can't do anything. They are at the mercy of the USPS.

Every route has some RRECS scans. The Mandatory 6 Scans are RRECS scans.
If none are done due to a split, the timed functions are averaged. Even for a split route, there should be loading time scans by each carrier serving their portion.

 

[gotstamps]

There are literally some routes that have no RRECS scans to do. Only thing to do is load and EoS and you can only do so much for that.

I mean I consider well-educated on it and I just keep losing time because of mail volume, YET city carriers in last 4 years have lost that volume too and guess what??? No adjustments to their routes nad they are still 8 hours....

There are literally NO routes that do not have any scans to do. Mandatory 6 are RRECS scans. Split routes should have LoadTime at the very minimum which is 2 scans; start & end. If not done, time is credited as an average.

 

[blue_goose1348]

Well, right after reading their saying that RRECS was agreed upon by both parties, nothing else they say is credible. The Author did not do their homework, obviously.

Previous of RRECS, mail counts were more BS as mgmt would hide mail for those 2 weeks and would argue every single Column R/17 credit we would try to claim. Every package or flat was argued regardless of a scan bar. I had to recount every single piece, sometimes 4 times, to get proper credit. I had to come in on my Relief Day to observe or the sub would miss things for timing or counting. I DO NOT miss those days.

Route adjustments were more of a guestimate than it is now. Now is 3 minutes per mile so at least that is better than before. There are a lot more details to the RRECS adjustments now than the old way. I used to get cut 2-3 times a year due to my route being all new territory with some older low-volume curbsides. 48k to 43k to 48k to 43k. Over & over & living paycheck to paycheck. The curbside was the 1st to go & if you gained a large pickup from a company, too bad, figure it out. If the package wasn’t a priority or 2 lbs+, you got a letter credit.

I don’t see any ratified Agreement as “paving the way” to privatization. The no-layoff clause is still there and Congress would still need to makes big changes to the laws to allow that.
Having NO Agreement at all would leave us defenseless as At-Will employees. I’ve been in the private sector before coming to the PO. Ain’t nothing like coming back from lunch just to get fired because a supervisor doesn’t like you & found a way to blame you for their own mistake. No recourse to be had; no grievance to file. Just go find another job & unemployment until then. Or come in still sick after having the Flu for 3 days to be fired on the spot because you had the audacity to be “out-of-town” when it happen. I lived “out-of-town”.

This job is nowhere near perfect but a lot of laws have changed to make worklife better. I do wish I had started this career earlier so I’d be closer to 30 than 20 years.

Blaspheme! Be thee prepared for retribution!

 

[ATCBigE]

There are literally NO routes that do not have any scans to do. Mandatory 6 are RRECS scans. Split routes should have LoadTime at the very minimum which is 2 scans; start & end. If not done, time is credited as an average.

You know what I mean. I mean the extra scans...... not the holy 6 scans.

 

[ATCBigE]

RRECS was part of the arbitration agreement mid-2012. This was the same that gave us the 2-Tier Pay schedule. Engineers were chosen by both sides & those 2 chose another to mediate. The Study was completed in 2013 at which time the programming & discussions started. Read the RRECS Guide for the full story.

There are no “federal time standards” for what we do which is why multiple studies were required to gather timing of the tasks that we do.


Mail volume fluctuation has nothing to do with the credit we get for DPS mail. 43 ppm is 1/2 the time as 86 ppm. The reason we get less time is that some carriers were timed in a Study to READ the address & flip to the next one. That is all verify gives credit for. Flipping it right side up is the Inverted Credit. Putting that letter in the box is the box credit. Placing it in Forwarding is in EOS so timed daily then averaged.


Unfortunately, true everywhere. Mgmt has the right to mismanage.

Every route has some RRECS scans. The Mandatory 6 Scans are RRECS scans.
If none are done due to a split, the timed functions are averaged. Even for a split route, there should be loading time scans by each carrier serving their portion.

There are time standards to allow eyes to re focus when moving. You just can't make up BS like RRECS. There are time standards for stuff like that which pertain to what we do. So somehow we got faster over time... explain that???? We somehow now can double

Also I like you know what I meant. I mean extra scans not just no scans at all.

 

[Shannonboy]

Well, right after reading their saying that RRECS was agreed upon by both parties, nothing else they say is credible. The Author did not do their homework, obviously.

Previous of RRECS, mail counts were more BS as mgmt would hide mail for those 2 weeks and would argue every single Column R/17 credit we would try to claim. Every package or flat was argued regardless of a scan bar. I had to recount every single piece, sometimes 4 times, to get proper credit. I had to come in on my Relief Day to observe or the sub would miss things for timing or counting. I DO NOT miss those days.

Route adjustments were more of a guestimate than it is now. Now is 3 minutes per mile so at least that is better than before. There are a lot more details to the RRECS adjustments now than the old way. I used to get cut 2-3 times a year due to my route being all new territory with some older low-volume curbsides. 48k to 43k to 48k to 43k. Over & over & living paycheck to paycheck. The curbside was the 1st to go & if you gained a large pickup from a company, too bad, figure it out. If the package wasn’t a priority or 2 lbs+, you got a letter credit.

I don’t see any ratified Agreement as “paving the way” to privatization. The no-layoff clause is still there and Congress would still need to makes big changes to the laws to allow that.
Having NO Agreement at all would leave us defenseless as At-Will employees. I’ve been in the private sector before coming to the PO. Ain’t nothing like coming back from lunch just to get fired because a supervisor doesn’t like you & found a way to blame you for their own mistake. No recourse to be had; no grievance to file. Just go find another job & unemployment until then. Or come in still sick after having the Flu for 3 days to be fired on the spot because you had the audacity to be “out-of-town” when it happen. I lived “out-of-town”.

This job is nowhere near perfect but a lot of laws have changed to make worklife better. I do wish I had started this career earlier so I’d be closer to 30 than 20 years.

Wwwooowwwww....that was one of the best comments I've read lately...I couldnt have put it better myself. This is a need to read one....well said Gotstamps.