Another C.O.P. (Committee of Presidents) meeting and yet more horror stories from around the
nation. DOIS, FMLA denials, improper OIG investigations into our medical records, mandatory
overtime, discipline for sick leave usage, etc. etc. etc. Just when you think it can’t (or won’t) get
worse, the problems from around the country begin to surface; and it is only a matter of time
before we get these headaches as well; that’s how the cycle seems to work, time and again.
Currently, it is not a doom or gloom scenario but mail volume continues to be the biggest issue
that is empowering our local “leadership” to become puppets to what ‘the man’ says to do. In this
new state of the Postal Service, if they do not follow the order, they will have severe
consequences for their inactions. They continue to blame these new pressures on a lagging
budget, yet they continue to make bad decisions, further hurting their chances of recovering.
While in New Haven, CT the weekend of April 5, 6, & 7, and hearing the same nonsense that
continues to come in new forms, I am still very concerned with how our supervisors are pushing
DOIS on us. I have been carrying my route quite a bit lately and feel I have an awareness of
what many, if not most of you are going through daily and want to clarify some DOIS related
protections that we all have; if we choose to use them.
Your Union has beaten this subject to nauseam, yet I am not convinced the advice we have given
is being completely understood, as carriers still believe when the supervisor says we have to be
back by 4 that we do not have any say. We do have a say, and I will once again explain this
postal tool that continues to be a cancer wherever a supervisor that is only concerned with
staying out of trouble works.
We have often written about the Step 4’s (arbitrations) and memos that have clearly explained
that DOIS is (or should be) used as a management tool. The Union does not have a problem
with DOIS as a tool; the Union has a serious problem when letter carriers continually place
themselves at risk by making those numbers at the expense of not only their routes, but their
health and safety.
Let me first say that in this ‘new’ post office, getting hurt, whether on the job or off is becoming a
scary proposition. The Postal Service has developed the ‘National Reassessment Program’
(NRP) and this program is making its way across the country and beginning to pick up steam.
There is no doubt that we will be affected by this program that targets employees that are on
long-term (or permanent) disabilities.
The way I understand NRP; if you are permanently injured, the goal is to find what the Postal
Service deems as suitable employment within our restrictions, and basically makes us either take
the job, or be fired and lose everything. The money will be the same if you choose to accept, as
the Postal Service will pay the difference between what the employer pays and what our normal
wage is. So basically, McDonalds pays about $7.50 per hour and the USPS will pick up the rest.
I also understand we will lose our health benefits, Thrift Savings, etc. I hope this paragraph has
gotten your attention and will inspire you to read the remainder of the letter and begin using the
tools I am about to give you because your health and wellness MUST become a priority to you or
you will likely suffer consequences that none of us are prepared to endure.
I have never been one to tell anybody to slow down and want to preface what I am about to write
by reminding every letter carrier to do the job they signed up to do. We are paid well and should
be fair to the service, but we MUST be fair with ourselves . . . I do not believe we have been fair
to ourselves because of the pressures we face on the work-room floor on a daily basis that
continues to scrutinize letter carriers; making us all feel like villains.
When the supervisor tells you to be back by 4 and you do not feel you can meet that goal while
taking your authorized lunch and breaks, it is a letter carrier’s responsibility to inform that
supervisor. We can inform our supervisor verbally, but we MUST fill out the PS Form 3996 to
ensure they have documentation of your estimated time. This time does not have to be exact but
we should try to guess as accurately as possible. Understand that each day is different and if
you deliver your route and find you will not make the time you and your supervisor agreed to,
even if you will go beyond your estimate, it is our responsibility to inform them. We MUST give
them the opportunity to manage the overtime; but not at the expense of our breaks or lunch.
Just do what you are required to do.
I know the Union has encouraged everybody to get to know the contract and realize this is not
the most riveting information; but a knowledgeable letter carrier is a letter carrier that has few
problems with his or her supervisor. I know for a fact that I am rarely questioned or accused of
not making the numbers and that is because I know more than they do. I will do my job as is
written and perform the best possible service to the customers I serve, while giving the Postal
Service what they paid for . . . but nothing more. I have written many times and it bears repeating
. . . they will push and work you as hard as you allow them to. If you desire to carry more mail,
they will happily assign it to you. As much as they really do not want you to injure yourself, they
will continue to give you as much as you can handle, even at your personal health’s expense.
If I believe I will be over 8 hours on my route, I always fill out the PS Form 3996 (immediately upon
final receipt of mail, as is required) with an estimate of what I believe the route will take that day,
not what DOIS thinks. If and when I am questioned (and I sometimes am) I tell the supervisor that
is my estimate and I encourage the supervisor to go with me . . . not in a hostile way, but in a
genuine way that is confident that my estimate is going to be reasonably close to actual. If I get
done earlier than predicted (and sometimes I do) I return to the office as I should. If between 2
and 2:30 I feel my estimate may have been too low, I will call for further instructions. If I am
unable to get a supervisor to authorize my additional time request (this has never happened to
me but would not be surprised if this were to occur) I will work up until the time I was previously
authorized and bring the rest back to the station and notify the supervisor immediately upon my
return, and ask them what they want me to do with the mail. I would like to manage my own route
but this is their job and they believe they can do a better job. I have learned to be okay with this
scenario because letter carriers work plenty hard without doing their job also.
If you call the station to get permission to deliver mail beyond what has previously been
approved, DO NOT allow yourself to get into an argument with your supervisor. They may ask
what happened that put you over and I suggest you answer this question honestly. Perhaps it
was a train, a funeral precession, getting gas, flat tire . . . you get the picture. You may have to
tell them you are not sure, “It is just not peeling off very quick today.” This conversation SHOULD
NOT become confrontational and if it does, calmly ask them, “What do you want me to do with the
mail?” If you are unable to get an answer over the phone, do as I would do; work what is
authorized, trying to get as much delivered as you can without feeling you must go faster, and
bring the rest back and inform your supervisor. If you are following their last instruction, you will
be protected. If your supervisor gives you unwarranted grief over the phone, immediately ask for
a Union steward upon your return to the station. If you are not afforded the opportunity that
afternoon because the steward may be gone for the day, expect to have a steward’s ear the next
morning. DO NOT allow the supervisor to deny your union rights.
It is really unfortunate that our work environment has become what it has lately; I do not expect
this nonsense to cease anytime soon. Remember, your union has absolutely no authority to
make them change; the grievance procedure is in place to make them adhere to the rules they
have agreed to as recently as last September when they signed the new National Agreement and
the memos your Union representatives speak of so frequently. Please be assured that your
stewards are working harder than ever to protect your rights and attempt to make this garbage
go away. It seems our supervisors have an unlimited ‘grievance kitty’ that has no effect on their
unit budgets and until they are required to be accountable for the money they are handing out
because they listen to their local boss rather than the USPS Headquarters, this will drag on.
One of the many reasons our supervisors are pushing DOIS so hard is because it makes letter
carriers feel it is their responsibility to make these ridiculous expectations. Management knows
that letter carriers are time sensitive and when we buy into these numbers and make the decision
to go faster and/or skip and shorten breaks and lunch, we are setting ourselves up for a longer
route. These are not the best of times for route adjustments with diminishing mail volumes and
the NALC in Washington D.C. is actually pushing for an agreement to make these adjustments
based on the regular route carrier’s demonstrated performance. If you continue to demonstrate
you can get your route done by violating your own rights, you will then have to explain why you
cannot make your new route time when you later decide to take these negotiated entitlements.
After all, you have demonstrated you CAN do it. If you are running and skipping entitlements,
you will likely be forced to continue to run and skip these entitlements to avoid scrutiny. The
choice is yours.
I kind of have mixed emotions because as much as I do not want to nickel and dime the Postal
Service to death, our supervisors have no right to abuse letter carriers. Your Union has rolled up
its sleeves and will continue filing grievances for their neglectfulness, and will continue to make
them pay until they stop; that is a promise. We have agreements in place that are being ignored
on a daily basis and when these violations occur to you, I suggest you let a steward know and
write a statement to support your claim. The steward will do the rest.
I do not know how else to spell this out for letter carriers. The company has done everything in
its power to make letter carriers be more efficient and although most delivery scores are at an all
time high, quarter 2 of 2008 has seen the service lose $700 million. If all goes as ‘normal,’ local
management will continue to push for more, as they are never satisfied. I do not expect the
pressures to subside on their own, but when your rights are violated, I hope you feel compelled
to stand your ground and not allow the abuses to continue.
In Unionism,
Mark Harrington
nation. DOIS, FMLA denials, improper OIG investigations into our medical records, mandatory
overtime, discipline for sick leave usage, etc. etc. etc. Just when you think it can’t (or won’t) get
worse, the problems from around the country begin to surface; and it is only a matter of time
before we get these headaches as well; that’s how the cycle seems to work, time and again.
Currently, it is not a doom or gloom scenario but mail volume continues to be the biggest issue
that is empowering our local “leadership” to become puppets to what ‘the man’ says to do. In this
new state of the Postal Service, if they do not follow the order, they will have severe
consequences for their inactions. They continue to blame these new pressures on a lagging
budget, yet they continue to make bad decisions, further hurting their chances of recovering.
While in New Haven, CT the weekend of April 5, 6, & 7, and hearing the same nonsense that
continues to come in new forms, I am still very concerned with how our supervisors are pushing
DOIS on us. I have been carrying my route quite a bit lately and feel I have an awareness of
what many, if not most of you are going through daily and want to clarify some DOIS related
protections that we all have; if we choose to use them.
Your Union has beaten this subject to nauseam, yet I am not convinced the advice we have given
is being completely understood, as carriers still believe when the supervisor says we have to be
back by 4 that we do not have any say. We do have a say, and I will once again explain this
postal tool that continues to be a cancer wherever a supervisor that is only concerned with
staying out of trouble works.
We have often written about the Step 4’s (arbitrations) and memos that have clearly explained
that DOIS is (or should be) used as a management tool. The Union does not have a problem
with DOIS as a tool; the Union has a serious problem when letter carriers continually place
themselves at risk by making those numbers at the expense of not only their routes, but their
health and safety.
Let me first say that in this ‘new’ post office, getting hurt, whether on the job or off is becoming a
scary proposition. The Postal Service has developed the ‘National Reassessment Program’
(NRP) and this program is making its way across the country and beginning to pick up steam.
There is no doubt that we will be affected by this program that targets employees that are on
long-term (or permanent) disabilities.
The way I understand NRP; if you are permanently injured, the goal is to find what the Postal
Service deems as suitable employment within our restrictions, and basically makes us either take
the job, or be fired and lose everything. The money will be the same if you choose to accept, as
the Postal Service will pay the difference between what the employer pays and what our normal
wage is. So basically, McDonalds pays about $7.50 per hour and the USPS will pick up the rest.
I also understand we will lose our health benefits, Thrift Savings, etc. I hope this paragraph has
gotten your attention and will inspire you to read the remainder of the letter and begin using the
tools I am about to give you because your health and wellness MUST become a priority to you or
you will likely suffer consequences that none of us are prepared to endure.
I have never been one to tell anybody to slow down and want to preface what I am about to write
by reminding every letter carrier to do the job they signed up to do. We are paid well and should
be fair to the service, but we MUST be fair with ourselves . . . I do not believe we have been fair
to ourselves because of the pressures we face on the work-room floor on a daily basis that
continues to scrutinize letter carriers; making us all feel like villains.
When the supervisor tells you to be back by 4 and you do not feel you can meet that goal while
taking your authorized lunch and breaks, it is a letter carrier’s responsibility to inform that
supervisor. We can inform our supervisor verbally, but we MUST fill out the PS Form 3996 to
ensure they have documentation of your estimated time. This time does not have to be exact but
we should try to guess as accurately as possible. Understand that each day is different and if
you deliver your route and find you will not make the time you and your supervisor agreed to,
even if you will go beyond your estimate, it is our responsibility to inform them. We MUST give
them the opportunity to manage the overtime; but not at the expense of our breaks or lunch.
Just do what you are required to do.
I know the Union has encouraged everybody to get to know the contract and realize this is not
the most riveting information; but a knowledgeable letter carrier is a letter carrier that has few
problems with his or her supervisor. I know for a fact that I am rarely questioned or accused of
not making the numbers and that is because I know more than they do. I will do my job as is
written and perform the best possible service to the customers I serve, while giving the Postal
Service what they paid for . . . but nothing more. I have written many times and it bears repeating
. . . they will push and work you as hard as you allow them to. If you desire to carry more mail,
they will happily assign it to you. As much as they really do not want you to injure yourself, they
will continue to give you as much as you can handle, even at your personal health’s expense.
If I believe I will be over 8 hours on my route, I always fill out the PS Form 3996 (immediately upon
final receipt of mail, as is required) with an estimate of what I believe the route will take that day,
not what DOIS thinks. If and when I am questioned (and I sometimes am) I tell the supervisor that
is my estimate and I encourage the supervisor to go with me . . . not in a hostile way, but in a
genuine way that is confident that my estimate is going to be reasonably close to actual. If I get
done earlier than predicted (and sometimes I do) I return to the office as I should. If between 2
and 2:30 I feel my estimate may have been too low, I will call for further instructions. If I am
unable to get a supervisor to authorize my additional time request (this has never happened to
me but would not be surprised if this were to occur) I will work up until the time I was previously
authorized and bring the rest back to the station and notify the supervisor immediately upon my
return, and ask them what they want me to do with the mail. I would like to manage my own route
but this is their job and they believe they can do a better job. I have learned to be okay with this
scenario because letter carriers work plenty hard without doing their job also.
If you call the station to get permission to deliver mail beyond what has previously been
approved, DO NOT allow yourself to get into an argument with your supervisor. They may ask
what happened that put you over and I suggest you answer this question honestly. Perhaps it
was a train, a funeral precession, getting gas, flat tire . . . you get the picture. You may have to
tell them you are not sure, “It is just not peeling off very quick today.” This conversation SHOULD
NOT become confrontational and if it does, calmly ask them, “What do you want me to do with the
mail?” If you are unable to get an answer over the phone, do as I would do; work what is
authorized, trying to get as much delivered as you can without feeling you must go faster, and
bring the rest back and inform your supervisor. If you are following their last instruction, you will
be protected. If your supervisor gives you unwarranted grief over the phone, immediately ask for
a Union steward upon your return to the station. If you are not afforded the opportunity that
afternoon because the steward may be gone for the day, expect to have a steward’s ear the next
morning. DO NOT allow the supervisor to deny your union rights.
It is really unfortunate that our work environment has become what it has lately; I do not expect
this nonsense to cease anytime soon. Remember, your union has absolutely no authority to
make them change; the grievance procedure is in place to make them adhere to the rules they
have agreed to as recently as last September when they signed the new National Agreement and
the memos your Union representatives speak of so frequently. Please be assured that your
stewards are working harder than ever to protect your rights and attempt to make this garbage
go away. It seems our supervisors have an unlimited ‘grievance kitty’ that has no effect on their
unit budgets and until they are required to be accountable for the money they are handing out
because they listen to their local boss rather than the USPS Headquarters, this will drag on.
One of the many reasons our supervisors are pushing DOIS so hard is because it makes letter
carriers feel it is their responsibility to make these ridiculous expectations. Management knows
that letter carriers are time sensitive and when we buy into these numbers and make the decision
to go faster and/or skip and shorten breaks and lunch, we are setting ourselves up for a longer
route. These are not the best of times for route adjustments with diminishing mail volumes and
the NALC in Washington D.C. is actually pushing for an agreement to make these adjustments
based on the regular route carrier’s demonstrated performance. If you continue to demonstrate
you can get your route done by violating your own rights, you will then have to explain why you
cannot make your new route time when you later decide to take these negotiated entitlements.
After all, you have demonstrated you CAN do it. If you are running and skipping entitlements,
you will likely be forced to continue to run and skip these entitlements to avoid scrutiny. The
choice is yours.
I kind of have mixed emotions because as much as I do not want to nickel and dime the Postal
Service to death, our supervisors have no right to abuse letter carriers. Your Union has rolled up
its sleeves and will continue filing grievances for their neglectfulness, and will continue to make
them pay until they stop; that is a promise. We have agreements in place that are being ignored
on a daily basis and when these violations occur to you, I suggest you let a steward know and
write a statement to support your claim. The steward will do the rest.
I do not know how else to spell this out for letter carriers. The company has done everything in
its power to make letter carriers be more efficient and although most delivery scores are at an all
time high, quarter 2 of 2008 has seen the service lose $700 million. If all goes as ‘normal,’ local
management will continue to push for more, as they are never satisfied. I do not expect the
pressures to subside on their own, but when your rights are violated, I hope you feel compelled
to stand your ground and not allow the abuses to continue.
In Unionism,
Mark Harrington
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