USPS has notified a Local California APWU President of its intent ( it appears that the assignment has already been posted) to post a “combined full-time assignment” , consisting of six (6) hours of carrier duties and two (2) hours of clerk duties. The Postal Service has proposed to post this job as a City Carrier Craft assignment under the jurisdiction of NALC.
Here is a breakdown of the duties:
Manual Distribution, Breakout and Spreading: 1:59,
Office Time 1:16 and
Street Time: 4:45.
The Full-Time assignment also has a “scheme” attached along with qualifications necessary to be awarded the job.
Excerpts of the letter from USPS to the Local California President:
This is to inform you of my intent to utilize the provisions of Art 7.2A of the National Agreement to create a full-time assignment by combining duties from different crafts. The reason for establishing the combination assignment is to provide maximum full-time employment and provide necessary flexibility.
Attached you will find a copy of the combination assignment to be posted. This bid job will be designated to the NALC represented craft.
I have been here and done this and been re-injured because of it!
Well well well, now they want to OFFICIALLY COMBINE THE TWO. When all along it’s been done for decades!
Quote: “These employees need to understand that -as a part of the whole USPS operation- we are ALL IN THIS TOGETHER,”
I’ll remember that when I’m out in the snow/rain/heat working my ass off while the clerks hide out in the corner of our GMF for 6 of their 8 hours doing nothing but reading the mail and shooting the breeze.
Do the USPS Union leaders see that they need to dispose of craft lines? Do they see how it would benefit all postal workers? Craft wars need to end. The time has come to stop the fight over whos work is whos and fight for wages, hours and working conditions. This should be done as one Postal Union.
Why is it when a carrier gets injured their light/limited duty assignment is: clerk work ?
Gray the delineation between craft functions, in fact eventually eliminate them altogether. All crafts should just be postal employees, covered by one union. It would do away with the bickering, grievances, and nonsense payouts. Heck, it might just reduce the amount of managers. Let’s get this done. Under such a system, we can thrive and survive. C’mon people. Drop the greed and pettiness for the good of the whole.
I’ve worked with many carriers who feel that “clerk work” is beneath them -even one or two who were clerks before they moved to the street. When our new in-office sorts were introduced a couple of years ago, they agitated like 1930’s dockworkers and fought the change tooth-and-nail complaining, “I’m NOT a mailhandler!” This type of atittude was/is not only childish but also foolhardy.
These employees need to understand that -as a part of the whole USPS operation- we are ALL IN THIS TOGETHER, and if we’re going to thrive as an agency we’d better start to pull together on one rope instead of unravelling the end that’s handed to us. And: beyond that: consider how difficult it would be to find another job in today’s market that pays our bills as well as the ones we have.
Why not combine craft and manager duties. Then get rid of the managers.
Bullshit its mh work
Its the right thing to do in todays environment, especially in the small offices. What is ludicrious is having multiple Postal unions…time to abolish the “crafts” and allow cross-craft assignments, cross-craft bidding, etc.
Merge the unions & have one big Postal union represent all craft employees & end the territorial bickering already
It just keeps getting better! What will they think of next?