Route Inspections
Many Letter Carriers throughout the Long Island District and Nationwide over the course of the last year have gone through Route Inspection of Carrier Assignments. Unlike many of the Route Inspections that were done previously in the few years preceding 2017 the current Route Inspections are unilaterally conducted by Management. This means unlike some of the past Joint Ventures to adjust Letter Carrier assignments (MIRAP, JRAP and etc.) where management and the Union worked together to review data and adjust routes, management is now conducting letter carrier routes with no union involvement in the actually inspections of Letter Carrier assignments. Instead the Postal Service has a team of Route Inspectors that are made up of Supervisor’s, Postmasters and district personnel that are tasked in evaluating Letter Carrier Assignments. The Route Inspection Teams as they are known are supposed to adjust routes in accordance with Handbook M-39, Management of Delivery Services. Unfortunately, because of the unilateral approach in conducting Route Inspection of Carrier Assignments there are many disagreements and challengers (Grievances) in the adjustments that are being implemented by the Postal Service. In addition, it should be stressed that in almost all situations where the Postal Service in the Long Island District has conducted Route Inspections, delivery time and assignments are being lost in Post Offices across the district. Some of the lost delivery and or assignments are being lost due to the drop of letter and flat volume. However, it seems as if the increase in Parcels, Scanning, Third Bundles etc. are not always being evaluated properly, and transfer of territory when necessary are causing disagreements and challenges to the adjustments when made.
Fortunately, there are some tools, reminders and advice that letter carriers can use and start looking at prior to their office and assignments being evaluated. Below is a “sampling” of things that letter carriers can do and should follow to help insure proper Route Adjustments.
1) ATTEND THE BRANCH’S ROUTE INSPECTION TRAINING PRIOR TO YOUR OFFICE BEING INSPECTED. The Branch conducts several Route Inspections class that are available to all letter carriers getting adjustments in their post offices, so that they may protect their assignments and help insure a fair evaluation of assignments. The Inspection Training provided thoroughly goes over the necessary paperwork that must be filled out by carriers during the week of inspections. The Inspection Training also provides handouts and advice and reminders on what is expected of the Letter Carrier during the week of Route Count and Inspection, How the process is supposed to work when evaluating assignments, including information to help ensure the letter carrier receives a proper consultation of their routes and or adjustments proposed or made by management. The training also discusses the role and behavior of the Route Examiners, so each letter carrier will know if an examiner is acting outside what he or she is supposed to be doing as they observe you. Incidentally, the branch has had to file grievances on the conduct of some examiners in the past with successful outcomes. The importance of attending a Route Inspection Training prior to your office being inspected cannot be understated. The Shop Steward and Full Time Officer will have the information on Route Inspection training available for letter carriers prior to your offices Route Count and Inspection.
2) ALWAYS TAKE YOUR LUNCH BREAKS AND STREET BREAKS. This includes prior to and after the weeks of route count and inspection. Sounds like a no brainer but on too many occasions during the consultations carriers will mention that they did not always do this. This could adversely affect the time of an envaulted assignment. This is especially true because on many occasions management will evaluate a carrier’s street time using a computation of an 8 week analysis of the Regular Letter Carrier that is assigned to a route. If the breaks are not taken or fully taken by a letter carrier the time will not be averaged in. Need I say more. All Carriers are responsibly to ensure they take their breaks. If one is told otherwise by a Supervisor or Manager see your Shop Steward immediately.
3) START ENSURING THAT YOU MANAGE YOUR OFFICE TIME. This ensures but not limited to doing a vehicle inspection if your route has a vehicle, taking any office breaks you may be entitled to, going to wash up for what every time you may be entitled too, NOT WORKING OFF THE CLOCK, etc. Once again this should be a no brainer. By doing these functions and others that you will be reminded about or learning about at the Route Inspection Training they will become second nature to you and help insure that your office time is credited properly during the Week of Route Count and Inspection.
4) WHEN AND IF PIVIOTING OR DOING WORK ON ANOTHER ASSIGNMENT IDENITFY TO THOSE ASSIGNMENTS BY SWIPPING YOUR BADGE AND MOVING TO THOSE ASSIGNMENTS FOR THE TIME SPENT ON THEM. This of course insures the integrity of any historical data that may be used in the Evaluation process of the Rote Inspection is accurate. Do not leave it up to your supervisor to make these swipes for you. They do not always enter accurate information.
The list above is just a small “sampling” of things that letter carriers can do to help insure that each letter carrier’s assignment is done so that each assignment is adjusted to as near to 8 hours as possible. Remember, The Postal Service is not interested in helping you, and is not interested in getting the route adjusted in a manner that ensures integrity. If the Postal service truly were, they would have agreed to do it jointly as was the case during the Joint MIRAP and JRAP with the NALC. In most cases they are relying on the Letter Carriers unfamiliarity as to how the process works and to push carriers by having them give more than a “Fair’s Day Work” In general they care little about the fact that a letter carriers job is one that calls for Carriers to perform their duties in a manner that is professional, allows them get home so quality time can be spent with family after work, or that a carrier should be able to work till retirement age without having to retire earlier because of the physical toll it takes on their bodies or to be able to make it to retirement but unable to do anything because of the physical toll the job incurs. In generally they could care less if you’re route is evaluated with the principle of a “Fair’s Day Work for a Fair’s Day Pay.” By the way if the Postal Service was so interested in having carriers be evaluated to 8 hours assignment they would provide the resources in all the offices for the Supervisor’s/ Postmasters to get the mail up on time to help the carrier do so. It’s always interesting to see that once the week of Route Count and Inspections are completed in offices, the mail (All the Mail!) continues to not get up on time on a recurring basis. But that’s another Story!
Lastly I would like to mention that the NALC’s web site NALC.ORG has published a 2018 NALC Guide to Route Inspections that is an excellent publication for those letter carriers that wish read up on the process of Route Inspections. This writer would highly recommend that all letter carriers view this publication.
