For years, the officers and stewards of branch 246 have been preaching about certain things we
feel letter carriers must know; things like breaks, lunches, 3996’s, 1571’s, MSP’s, DOIS, etc. Well,
for the stewards in Kalamazoo, we hope those ‘lessons’ we have preached have been taken
seriously because you will likely be tested soon, if not already. Don’t bother scrambling around
looking for all those newsletter articles to catch up on this stuff; I have provided a refresher course
right here.
What prompted this letter? Our new postmaster has gone out of her way to ensure our supervisors
and managers are accountable . . . something that has not happened during my career with the
Postal Service. On the surface, many of you are probably thinking, good, it is about time! As the
Union agrees this has been a long time coming, the Union also recognizes the manner in which Ms.
Kim Quayle is throwing around her weight and we realize . . . things will get worse before they get
better.
Corrective action is a hot topic these days. Discipline for attendance is at the forefront and our new
postmaster has made it clear to her supervisors that something must be done to us, or something
will be done to them; it is their choice. Well, our supervisors must have decided it would be ‘us’
getting the discipline, as one sick call after a job discussion got one carrier a threat of a letter of
warning. In essence, our postmaster has made the naïve assumption that if we receive a job
discussion for attendance, we seemingly cannot call in sick; which is a violation.
Breaks & Lunches
These are entitlements that have been negotiated for us that we not only deserve, we are required
to take; contractually.
Article 41.3.J states the following in relation to rest breaks:
National Arbitrator Britton ruled that the Postal Service
must ensure that all employees stop working during an office break.
Contractual breaks must be observed and cannot be waived by employees.
(H4N-3D-C 9419, December 22, 1988, C-08555)
Please do not skip or shorten these entitlements. I will explain more as to why we only hurt
ourselves when we skip them when I cover DOIS, later in this memo.
3996/1571
If you believe your route will take more than eight hours to case and deliver all the mail at your
case, you must fill out a PS Form 3996 to notify your supervisor as soon as you discover and
believe you will require more than eight hours (verbal communication of this fact is sufficient, but
you are still required to fill out the form). This allows our supervisor the opportunity to make a
decision. If the instructions you receive are to curtail mail, be sure to fill out a PS Form 1571 (cut
slip) and remember, just because it is bulk rate does not necessarily mean it is not preferential
mail. For instance, if standard mail is received at Miller Road on Monday, it must be delivered by
Wednesday; otherwise, it is delayed preferential mail. Also, if mail is curtailed from the tubs, it is
considered preferential.
Section 458.2 of the Postal Operations Manual states:
b. If Standard Mail is mixed with a higher class of mail (e.g., First-Class
Mail) in such a manner as it loses its identity, the Standard Mail must be
considered upgraded and treated as the higher class of mail.
If our supervisors instruct us to curtail mail, it is very important to ensure we report it correctly and
under the heading ‘Remarks,’ write, “Per supervisor instructions.” The Union has always
encouraged letter carriers to ask for a completed copy of both the 3996 and the 1571. Our
supervisors are only required to provide us copies of these forms upon our request. It is up to you
what you do, but these items can be what may very well protect your job one day; just ask the
carriers in Battle Creek if these forms are important.
MSP
In a National Arbitration settlement, it explains MSP as follows:
The Managed Service Points (MSP) initiative is a national program
intended to facilitate management's ability to assess and monitor city
delivery route structure and consistency of delivery service. The following
reflects the parties' understanding of MSP:
MSP does not set performance standards, either in the office or on the
street . . .” It goes on to state, “MSP data may not constitute the sole basis
for disciplinary action. However, it may be used by the parties in
conjunction with other records to support or refute disciplinary action
issued pursuant to Article 16 of the National Agreement”
D.O.I.S.
Where do I begin? DOIS does not determine your day! Never has and it never will . . . unless you
decide to let it.
Our supervisors are being instructed to nag and scrutinize letter carriers daily. Not sure that is
exactly how the message is being delivered to them, but undoubtedly, our new OIC has added an
emphasis to DOIS unlike anybody we have dealt with in Kalamazoo. That being said, you need to
know that your stewards will work tirelessly to ensure your rights are protected, but we need your
help. We need you to do the following:
Take your breaks and lunch, fill out the 3996 and 1571, and make your scans . . . when you get
there. Do not get hung up on your times, just do the best you can and scan it when you get there.
Our feeling in branch 246 is if you give a good effort and do the things you are supposed to do, the
time you get there is the right time.
Some words of caution:
As I noted above regarding MSP, its purpose is to facilitate management's ability to assess and
monitor city delivery route structure and consistency. Whether we believe this is their actual
purpose for MSP scans or not does not matter; it is what our National officers agreed to. If your
scan times are consistent throughout the day and suddenly there is a 1 hour spike in your scan
time, our supervisors will ask why. We are required to give them an answer. This is where it gets
tricky. They may not like our answer. An answer like, “I don’t know” will probably not make them
happy because . . . well, what are they going to tell their boss? They will likely be directed to watch
trends of spikes in our times and then drive to a location on our route at the time they believe we
should get there and wait. Not sure exactly what this will accomplish but it may be documentation
they will use in a case if they feel we are not giving an honest effort. MSP scans have become a
very important topic for our craft . . . a built-in babysitter that we must not ignore.
As you have probably realized, the “white boards” are no longer being utilized in Kalamazoo. Dan
Shannon filed a grievance and made a phone call for us on one day and the next day they were
gone. Think the guy knows magic or something.
Back to DOIS – we must remember that DOIS is only a tool, as evidenced in a signed agreement on
July 30, 2007 which states:
“The Delivery Operations Information System (DOIS) is a management tool
for estimating a carrier’s daily workload. The use of DOIS does not
change the letter carrier’s reporting requirements outlined in section 131.4
of Handbook M-41, the supervisors scheduling responsibilities outlined in
section 122 of Handbook M-39, or the letter carrier’s and supervisors
responsibilities contained in Section 28 of Handbook M-41. DOIS
projections are not the sole determinant of a carriers leaving or return
time, or daily workload. As such, the projections cannot be used as the
sole basis for corrective action . . .”
Keep in mind, they cannot assume time is being wasted; they must discuss any alleged time-
wasting practices with us and they should be respectful when they do it; as should we be with
them. For them to assume letter carriers are intentionally not making their DOIS numbers is
improper. Accusations that you did not “make the numbers” need to be reported to a union
steward as soon after it occurs as possible. This trend has picked up as of late and I expect it will
continue, at least until we have enough DOIS grievances to get outside attention. This is a violation
and your claim will be investigated as a potential grievance. We ask that you provide us with what
was said during your discussion, as branch 246 intends to stop this confrontational management
approach before it gets out of hand. If you are unable to come to agreement on your leave or
return time, you have the right to ask for a steward; we strongly encourage you utilize this
right.
Article 17.4 of the Joint Contract Administration Manual (JCAM) states:
An employee must be given reasonable time to consult with his or her
steward, and such reasonable time may not be measured by a
predetermined factor. (Step 4, H1C-3W-C 44345, May 9, 1985, M-00303)
If you feel any discussion may result in discipline, you have the right to ask for a steward to be
present. Branch 246 advises not to answer any questions until the steward has been provided.
They do not have to tell you your rights however; they must allow you to exercise yours if you
inform them of your desire to do so.
How does this all come together you ask?
Well, if we are not properly filling out our forms, it is hard to prove our routes are too long; this
documentation is important. If we ever skip working our N-mail on a day because we are going to
be over or casing on another route, it is hard to justify when they want to add to our route. If we
skip our breaks or lunch the numbers used while adjusting our routes will not reflect, forcing us to
continue skipping them to be done within the time we have proven we can, prompting further
aggravating scrutiny.
Letter carriers can talk, so long as they are working and not being disruptive. One of those rules
we have never been made to stringently adhere to. Apparently our new postmaster believes we
have potential to be more productive and is mandating our supervisors to do the “little things,” like
question everything we do, to include casual conversation.
Sick leave
I hope you noticed the link on the web-site regarding a new program soon to be implemented that
will aid our supervisors while tracking sick leave usage. It is difficult, if not impossible, to make them
understand that when they work us to death, we get sick. Doing our job is a difficult task 5 and 6
days a week, but unfortunately, hiring new employees is not on their ‘to do list.’ Here is my
suggestion:
When you clock in, focus on your job, but not on their numbers. Make an honest effort every day
and do not skip those entitlements we continue to point out. When you clock out at the end of your
day, you should be no more exhausted than when you clocked in. What does that mean? Do your
best, but nothing more. If you have not discovered already, the harder you work, the more work
you will receive. If we allow them to work us to death, they will. Being understaffed is not our
problem unless we make it our problem, which many of us have. If we continue to prove we can get
all the vacant routes completed with the staff we have, we will continue to deplete our staff through
injuries and the rest of us will be forced to pick up the slack.
Mandatory overtime will undoubtedly occur this summer as vacations hit, and at times, mandatory
overtime is the proper way for our supervisors to manage. However, if mandatory overtime in your
office becomes an everyday occurrence, staffing grievances will be filed, but your Union will need to
be informed if this is happening. I have no doubt that many of us will be incredible discouraged this
summer so please let us know when the mandatory overtime is issued.
As always, branch 246 suggests that letter carriers give their best effort every day, with the
understanding that every day is different, sometimes a lot different. Letter carriers that are putting
forth effort are very easily defended when our supervisors begin trying to change what they
perceive as poor work habits through discipline. Keep in mind that our supervisors cannot
legitimately issue discipline to a letter carrier because they did not make the numbers, unless they
can prove the carrier(s) is not giving an honest effort. As mentioned above, this cannot be
assumed or perceived; it must be observed and an attempt to correct the alleged time-wasting
practice must occur for it to ‘stick.’ If you receive any form of discipline for anything, let a steward
know immediately upon receipt of said discipline.
feel letter carriers must know; things like breaks, lunches, 3996’s, 1571’s, MSP’s, DOIS, etc. Well,
for the stewards in Kalamazoo, we hope those ‘lessons’ we have preached have been taken
seriously because you will likely be tested soon, if not already. Don’t bother scrambling around
looking for all those newsletter articles to catch up on this stuff; I have provided a refresher course
right here.
What prompted this letter? Our new postmaster has gone out of her way to ensure our supervisors
and managers are accountable . . . something that has not happened during my career with the
Postal Service. On the surface, many of you are probably thinking, good, it is about time! As the
Union agrees this has been a long time coming, the Union also recognizes the manner in which Ms.
Kim Quayle is throwing around her weight and we realize . . . things will get worse before they get
better.
Corrective action is a hot topic these days. Discipline for attendance is at the forefront and our new
postmaster has made it clear to her supervisors that something must be done to us, or something
will be done to them; it is their choice. Well, our supervisors must have decided it would be ‘us’
getting the discipline, as one sick call after a job discussion got one carrier a threat of a letter of
warning. In essence, our postmaster has made the naïve assumption that if we receive a job
discussion for attendance, we seemingly cannot call in sick; which is a violation.
Breaks & Lunches
These are entitlements that have been negotiated for us that we not only deserve, we are required
to take; contractually.
Article 41.3.J states the following in relation to rest breaks:
National Arbitrator Britton ruled that the Postal Service
must ensure that all employees stop working during an office break.
Contractual breaks must be observed and cannot be waived by employees.
(H4N-3D-C 9419, December 22, 1988, C-08555)
Please do not skip or shorten these entitlements. I will explain more as to why we only hurt
ourselves when we skip them when I cover DOIS, later in this memo.
3996/1571
If you believe your route will take more than eight hours to case and deliver all the mail at your
case, you must fill out a PS Form 3996 to notify your supervisor as soon as you discover and
believe you will require more than eight hours (verbal communication of this fact is sufficient, but
you are still required to fill out the form). This allows our supervisor the opportunity to make a
decision. If the instructions you receive are to curtail mail, be sure to fill out a PS Form 1571 (cut
slip) and remember, just because it is bulk rate does not necessarily mean it is not preferential
mail. For instance, if standard mail is received at Miller Road on Monday, it must be delivered by
Wednesday; otherwise, it is delayed preferential mail. Also, if mail is curtailed from the tubs, it is
considered preferential.
Section 458.2 of the Postal Operations Manual states:
b. If Standard Mail is mixed with a higher class of mail (e.g., First-Class
Mail) in such a manner as it loses its identity, the Standard Mail must be
considered upgraded and treated as the higher class of mail.
If our supervisors instruct us to curtail mail, it is very important to ensure we report it correctly and
under the heading ‘Remarks,’ write, “Per supervisor instructions.” The Union has always
encouraged letter carriers to ask for a completed copy of both the 3996 and the 1571. Our
supervisors are only required to provide us copies of these forms upon our request. It is up to you
what you do, but these items can be what may very well protect your job one day; just ask the
carriers in Battle Creek if these forms are important.
MSP
In a National Arbitration settlement, it explains MSP as follows:
The Managed Service Points (MSP) initiative is a national program
intended to facilitate management's ability to assess and monitor city
delivery route structure and consistency of delivery service. The following
reflects the parties' understanding of MSP:
MSP does not set performance standards, either in the office or on the
street . . .” It goes on to state, “MSP data may not constitute the sole basis
for disciplinary action. However, it may be used by the parties in
conjunction with other records to support or refute disciplinary action
issued pursuant to Article 16 of the National Agreement”
D.O.I.S.
Where do I begin? DOIS does not determine your day! Never has and it never will . . . unless you
decide to let it.
Our supervisors are being instructed to nag and scrutinize letter carriers daily. Not sure that is
exactly how the message is being delivered to them, but undoubtedly, our new OIC has added an
emphasis to DOIS unlike anybody we have dealt with in Kalamazoo. That being said, you need to
know that your stewards will work tirelessly to ensure your rights are protected, but we need your
help. We need you to do the following:
Take your breaks and lunch, fill out the 3996 and 1571, and make your scans . . . when you get
there. Do not get hung up on your times, just do the best you can and scan it when you get there.
Our feeling in branch 246 is if you give a good effort and do the things you are supposed to do, the
time you get there is the right time.
Some words of caution:
As I noted above regarding MSP, its purpose is to facilitate management's ability to assess and
monitor city delivery route structure and consistency. Whether we believe this is their actual
purpose for MSP scans or not does not matter; it is what our National officers agreed to. If your
scan times are consistent throughout the day and suddenly there is a 1 hour spike in your scan
time, our supervisors will ask why. We are required to give them an answer. This is where it gets
tricky. They may not like our answer. An answer like, “I don’t know” will probably not make them
happy because . . . well, what are they going to tell their boss? They will likely be directed to watch
trends of spikes in our times and then drive to a location on our route at the time they believe we
should get there and wait. Not sure exactly what this will accomplish but it may be documentation
they will use in a case if they feel we are not giving an honest effort. MSP scans have become a
very important topic for our craft . . . a built-in babysitter that we must not ignore.
As you have probably realized, the “white boards” are no longer being utilized in Kalamazoo. Dan
Shannon filed a grievance and made a phone call for us on one day and the next day they were
gone. Think the guy knows magic or something.
Back to DOIS – we must remember that DOIS is only a tool, as evidenced in a signed agreement on
July 30, 2007 which states:
“The Delivery Operations Information System (DOIS) is a management tool
for estimating a carrier’s daily workload. The use of DOIS does not
change the letter carrier’s reporting requirements outlined in section 131.4
of Handbook M-41, the supervisors scheduling responsibilities outlined in
section 122 of Handbook M-39, or the letter carrier’s and supervisors
responsibilities contained in Section 28 of Handbook M-41. DOIS
projections are not the sole determinant of a carriers leaving or return
time, or daily workload. As such, the projections cannot be used as the
sole basis for corrective action . . .”
Keep in mind, they cannot assume time is being wasted; they must discuss any alleged time-
wasting practices with us and they should be respectful when they do it; as should we be with
them. For them to assume letter carriers are intentionally not making their DOIS numbers is
improper. Accusations that you did not “make the numbers” need to be reported to a union
steward as soon after it occurs as possible. This trend has picked up as of late and I expect it will
continue, at least until we have enough DOIS grievances to get outside attention. This is a violation
and your claim will be investigated as a potential grievance. We ask that you provide us with what
was said during your discussion, as branch 246 intends to stop this confrontational management
approach before it gets out of hand. If you are unable to come to agreement on your leave or
return time, you have the right to ask for a steward; we strongly encourage you utilize this
right.
Article 17.4 of the Joint Contract Administration Manual (JCAM) states:
An employee must be given reasonable time to consult with his or her
steward, and such reasonable time may not be measured by a
predetermined factor. (Step 4, H1C-3W-C 44345, May 9, 1985, M-00303)
If you feel any discussion may result in discipline, you have the right to ask for a steward to be
present. Branch 246 advises not to answer any questions until the steward has been provided.
They do not have to tell you your rights however; they must allow you to exercise yours if you
inform them of your desire to do so.
How does this all come together you ask?
Well, if we are not properly filling out our forms, it is hard to prove our routes are too long; this
documentation is important. If we ever skip working our N-mail on a day because we are going to
be over or casing on another route, it is hard to justify when they want to add to our route. If we
skip our breaks or lunch the numbers used while adjusting our routes will not reflect, forcing us to
continue skipping them to be done within the time we have proven we can, prompting further
aggravating scrutiny.
Letter carriers can talk, so long as they are working and not being disruptive. One of those rules
we have never been made to stringently adhere to. Apparently our new postmaster believes we
have potential to be more productive and is mandating our supervisors to do the “little things,” like
question everything we do, to include casual conversation.
Sick leave
I hope you noticed the link on the web-site regarding a new program soon to be implemented that
will aid our supervisors while tracking sick leave usage. It is difficult, if not impossible, to make them
understand that when they work us to death, we get sick. Doing our job is a difficult task 5 and 6
days a week, but unfortunately, hiring new employees is not on their ‘to do list.’ Here is my
suggestion:
When you clock in, focus on your job, but not on their numbers. Make an honest effort every day
and do not skip those entitlements we continue to point out. When you clock out at the end of your
day, you should be no more exhausted than when you clocked in. What does that mean? Do your
best, but nothing more. If you have not discovered already, the harder you work, the more work
you will receive. If we allow them to work us to death, they will. Being understaffed is not our
problem unless we make it our problem, which many of us have. If we continue to prove we can get
all the vacant routes completed with the staff we have, we will continue to deplete our staff through
injuries and the rest of us will be forced to pick up the slack.
Mandatory overtime will undoubtedly occur this summer as vacations hit, and at times, mandatory
overtime is the proper way for our supervisors to manage. However, if mandatory overtime in your
office becomes an everyday occurrence, staffing grievances will be filed, but your Union will need to
be informed if this is happening. I have no doubt that many of us will be incredible discouraged this
summer so please let us know when the mandatory overtime is issued.
As always, branch 246 suggests that letter carriers give their best effort every day, with the
understanding that every day is different, sometimes a lot different. Letter carriers that are putting
forth effort are very easily defended when our supervisors begin trying to change what they
perceive as poor work habits through discipline. Keep in mind that our supervisors cannot
legitimately issue discipline to a letter carrier because they did not make the numbers, unless they
can prove the carrier(s) is not giving an honest effort. As mentioned above, this cannot be
assumed or perceived; it must be observed and an attempt to correct the alleged time-wasting
practice must occur for it to ‘stick.’ If you receive any form of discipline for anything, let a steward
know immediately upon receipt of said discipline.
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