Classes of Mail

Today's episode covers items of great interest to carriers, such as the 7:01 rule, the five minute leeway rule, and the 12 hour limit. We also cover how LWOP can affect your step increases, and how you're supposed to be paid if you're temporarily on a higher level assignment (such as a carrier technician).

On today's episode, we're going to go back to the basics. If you were hired at the Post Office within the last decade or so, you had to sign off on a checklist of 102 skills that you are responsible for knowing as a new employee. I have that list (it's in the back of the On-the-Job training booklet), and we're going to go through it together to make sure we're all up to speed.

In this episode, we start digging into the ELM (Employee-Labor Relations Manual). We're going to look behind the curtain at how management operates. We'll see how managers and supervisors are selected, as well as other non-craft workers. We'll also learn about what happens if you quit, what happens if you get fired, and what happens if you quit because you were about to be fired. Finally, we'll learn what the process is when management wants to fire people during probation. It turns out, there still have to be REASONS for removal.

Turns out Section 2 of the M-39 is all about route inspections. We don't do this sort of route inspection very often because of TIAREAP, and there's talk that this entire method of route inspections will be phased out completely. Still, there is value in many of these provisions, so I'm going to read a selection of the provisions that I think is relevant.

This episode covers drive-out agreements, the acquisition of vehicles in an emergency, and payments for public transportation or car service. In the second section, we learn about management's obligation to make sure carriers are properly trained in processing undeliverable mail.

Yep. I got fired again from the Carrier Academy. And from being an on-the-job instructor. Tune in to hear the story. I'll also talk about the future of the podcast, which will look a lot like its past. Finally, I give out a few podcast recommendations.

I got to ask Brian Renfroe a question, and I got a sought-after answer! Skip to around the 33:00 mark to hear it. I also talk about the rest of my experience at my first ever NALC convention, the Region 1 Training. I'll tell you some of the things I've learned. I finish the episode by talking about my experience as a steward thus far.

Today we read more from the M-39, this time with a preamble where I talk a little bit about what's of interest to me. This will put us about 40% of the way through the M-39. The episode ends with a heartfelt thank you to my listeners. You're the best.

I've been waiting a long time to tell this story. You'll hear what led up to my being fired, what the pretextual reasons were, what the actual reasons were, and how the union handled it. It's a tale of frustration from beginning to end. I also share some thoughts on the union in general, and on my role going forward.

In this episode, we learn about collections routes and collections boxes, how management is supposed to evaluate new employees/CCAs, and management's rules and guidelines for street observations.

This section talks about scheduling, start times, and morning office duties. In this section, when it talks about morning leave times, NOWHERE does it mention a ONE HOUR OFFICE TIME! When it talks about loading your truck, NOWHERE does it mention a TWENTY MINUTE LOAD TIME! Listen in for more good stuff.

Today we will read PROOF POSITIVE that we are allowed to case our SPRs! And a bunch of other stuff, too, about the case and about casing. Reading the M-39 has been incredibly eye-opening and empowering, and we're just getting started!

It's time to turn the tables on management. We're going to read from the M-39, so we can learn all about the stuff management is supposed to be doing. I'll add commentary to what we read, talking about potential grievances, and emphasizing teachable moments. Let's hold management accountable!

We'll finish up the JCAM, and then talk about what's coming in the next seasons of Classes of Mail.

In this episode, we finally finish Article 41. We'll get to read about all the wonderful committees and task forces that are going to fix the cultural and technical problems of the USPS. Lucky us.

In this episode, we finally finish the contractual language of Article 41. However, there are SOOOO MANY memos at the end, I couldn't power through all of them. I'm going to need one more episode after this one to finally finish it off.

This is the fun section of Article 41, where we get to read a bunch of rules that cover how we deliver the mail.

Today I will read from my own LMOU. It's only effective for the Las Vegas area, but it has provisions in it that are similar to LMOU's around the country. This episode will give you an idea of the kind of things that are covered, and it may give you ideas for changes you can make in your own LMOU when the new contract is ratified.

One more section down, only a few more to go. This section talks about seniority and relative standing, and gives more details on the opt hold-down process

In this episode, we'll discuss all the things you have to do when you have your own route. I go over how to make changes in your edit book, how to manage your 3982's (pink cards) for forwards, and much more.