January 2011

     Aren’t you glad you work for the USPS?  Who else besides our upper management could take a job this good and make most of us hate it?  Great job guys!  Most of today’s issues deal with office and street times and we have discussed these many times, but I still get a lot of questions.  You do not have an established leave time, you are not required to case mail at 18 and 8, or 15 minutes a foot.  You ARE required to case all mail available at your case unless otherwise instructed, and to notify management and fill out a 3996 with YOUR reasons if you do not believe that you can complete your route within 8 hours.  It is then management’s job to determine if mail is curtailed, NOT YOURS!  WHEN management will not authorize as much time as you need, ask them what to do with the rest if your estimate is correct.  They are required to give you clear instructions of what to do, carry it or bring it back.  It is management’s job to make this decision, not yours.  You do not have a set street time, period!  You have a base street time, but that is ONLY an estimate determined by adding up all the highs and lows over X number of days and dividing by the number of days.  You are not and never have been required to carry your route within the base time.  Your street time should be close to your base plus any time you requested on your 3996.  You are required to give a fair days work for a fair days pay.  Carry your route correctly, follow all the safety rules and don’t waste time.  Then you have nothing to worry about.  Let management play their little games for their little bosses, and just do your job.  Don’t let them upset you.  It’s just a job, and they can’t eat you.  All the other crap like you “committing” to a leave time, you “committing” to make your base street time, or you having to fill out some “illegal” form as to why you did not make a time you were never required to make in the first place, is just crap.  But if you happen to work in an office with no PROPER management, then please, FOLLOW ALL INSTRUCTIONS, and then ask for a steward.