by Nancy Wilson, NALC District Lead Team member Santa Ana District

Important Note: This article was written when the parties were jointly in the IARAP process.  The process in now called the MIARAP(Modified Interm Alternate Route Adjustment Process).  The information in this article is relevant to the MIARAP process and should be used as a tool when doing your route on a daily basis and when your are brought in for your route adjustment consultation.

The Interim Alternate Route Adjustment Process, hereafter referred to as IARAP, is the most recent challenge we have had to deal with as union representatives. Many are cursing it as a “monster” and wishing for regular route counts and inspections. I deal with it on a daily basis. My name is Nancy Wilson and I am a District Team Member for the NALC, assigned by National President Bill Young to represent NALC Locals in the Santa Ana District. I’m here to help you take the myth out of the monster and reduce it to just another not so scary ghost story. The unknown creates fear and animosity. Let’s take some of the unknown out of the IARAP.

First there is the District Team which is comprised of myself and my management partner Bob Patterson. We are the ones that fill out the worksheets then we give those worksheets to the Local Teams. The Local Teams are a Union and management team. Usually, it is the Postmaster or Station manager of that city and an NALC designee, either the Branch President or their designee. I could not do this process alone with my partner or by myself; it is these stewards and Branch Presidents that do the real work. They are the ones that go in and try to get the best adjustments for you. These are the NALC people that you have to give your input to so they can make sure that all of the time that the route needs to do all of the daily functions are included in the evaluations and reviews. I want to say “Thank You” to all of the local team members that I have been privileged to work with. I am so very proud of our people in the field saying thank you doesn’t seem to be enough.

IARAP evaluations and adjustments are based on data gathered by workhour workload reports. These reports show daily records of street and office hours and performance levels based on cased volume. Office hours compared to cased volume is factored into office performance. The regular carrier assigned (or carrier being evaluated) gets either their average office time or standard, whichever is better (lower). During a six day count, the carrier also gets the lower of either their average or standards. However, this is just where it all starts.

Here’s where your efforts become so important in the IARAP. During route consultations you must be able to explain everything that impacts your route, especially the office time. In order to do this you must understand and remain aware of those items that come into play. Here we go. You must help us account for every minute of office time. You must be aware of what else you do on office time besides casing mail. You must do office functions on office time and street functions on street time. If you pivot elsewhere you must swipe your timecard for that amount of time. You must do this, not your supervisor. You must do your own time card swipes for all moves during the day if you want a fair and accurate account of your activities.

You must be able to explain:

Office Time:
If you spend time waiting for mail, parcels or accountables, or any combination of these. Are you doing or were you doing street functions on office time?

Are you just standing around and doing absolutely nothing while you’re waiting or are you doing street functions on office time to keep yourself busy and to make it easier for you on the street? Many carriers do because it makes sense and, in some offices, the supervisors actually tell the carriers to go ahead and case the DPS or case/collate the coverages while they are waiting. Did you pull mail more often and management is not getting a count on it? What about the small parcels and spurs that you went to get out of your hampers and worked it into your mail or place in tubs, did management get a count on that? In this new IARAP process everything is data driven. We have to make sure management counts ALL of the mail and you should keep track of your own daily volume too. The office time is determined by your average letter and flat volume from a certain time frame. If you are doing street functions on office time this will shorten your street time and increase your office time. But, in the IARAP process you are only going to get the actual office time you use or the standard office time which is figured out by volume. So when you are casing your DPS and casing/collating the coverages that are suppose to be done on the street you will not get office credit for it.

If you were casing DPS or if you were “lining out the coverages.”

You that have businesses on your route probably case that DPS mail for that part of your route because it makes it easier for you on the street. Does management know and agree to let you case the DPS mail for that part of your route? If management didn’t, you won’t get the volume counted in for your office time so, once again, the evaluation for the route will not have that time put in it. If you do case the DPS and the supervisor knows about it and approves it then we have to get an average piece count for the route so we can add back in office time or have it moved back to street time if we can. What do I mean “lining out the coverages?” Do you break the bundles in the office and then bundle it out by swing? If you do then you are lining out the coverages. This is a street function not an office function. This time will not be in your office time in the evaluations and reviews.

If, consistent with the Step 4 on third bundle coverages, you were casing or collating the coverages, and for how much time and for how many days. Does the route qualify to case or collate the coverage based on the Step 4 settlement, how long does it take, how many times a week?

If on the coverage bundles the code is a WSS, like all of the penny savers, these coverages go straight to the street. You are to break the bundles on street time. If the code is anything other than a WSS, management has a right to select if the route cases or collates the coverages in. In the Santa Ana District my partner and I have agreed to a formula that will average out for the week and put some time in for collating coverages under the fixed office time or FOT. If you are casing the coverage, then we need to make sure management has put it in as a piece count so the route can get office time for it.

If the carrier has down time in the office is he/she clocking over to the other route properly? Also, does management do all of their clock rings for them?

Let me start off by saying that ALL carriers should do ALL of their own clock rings, period. If you want the right time credited to your route make sure you do your own clock rings and the route you are casing on then do your own clock rings or you can let management guess how long you were over there for.

Does the carrier go through their mark-ups when they get back in off the street so we do not get a footage count on it in the p.m. or a.m., This could be a foot or two.

Think about it, during a 6 day count you are instructed to leave the mail that you bring back on your ledge so we can piece count it the next day. Well, management is supposed to count the mail you bring back so the route gets credit for the footage. If you go through the DPS mark ups in the p.m., then you are not getting a true footage count for the route. If you have time in the p.m. to go through what you bring back at the end of the day then make sure you let management know to give you a footage credit on your route and fill out a 3996 so we have a paper trail.

When did the carrier start the route? Have all of the label and travel issues been resolved and when?

This is important because in the adjustments AMS asked the offices if they wanted to they could Autofit the labels. Something went wrong and we are still trying to get the labels fixed in many offices. If you are not carrying the route the way it is on the case, then the DPS is not going to come in right and that might be a reason why you need to case it. We need to get these fixed right away.

If getting assistance, is there a form 3996 being filled out? Are rehabs casing on routes and are they clocking in?

This is turning out to be a big issue. Are you being told to cut/curtail mail and then while you are gone out to the street somebody else is casing on your route? If you are not filling out a form 3996, then it makes it harder for us to track the assistance. We must make sure if someone is casing on your route that they are clocking on and off the route so the assistance shows up for the route and the route gets credit in office time. On the routes where they are not clocking in on the routes it shows the carriers casing way under standards so that means that will be the office time that is selected. Every carrier that curtails mail needs to fill out a form 1571, a cut slip, that gets signed by the supervisor. Once again, it is a paper trail for the union to be able to argue for time for your route. Are you being instructed to cut the coverage and bring it back then take it out the next day? Did you fill out a form 1571 or a form 3996 for it so we can track it and get the route the time? Remember, management is being instructed to lessen your office time. Carriers need to validate their mail volumes and make sure everything is being counted. All letter carriers should know how much mail they have every day and verify it with management. Don’t forget to have management add in the small parcels and spurs to your counts and the mail you bring back in the afternoon, that should also be counted. All carriers need to be filling out all of the paperwork and doing all of their own clock rings.

STREET TIME
Is the carrier clocking out to the street properly, after pulling down but before loading, clocking back in after they go through the outgoing mail?

Here is where the carriers are losing their street time and why their office time can get too big. What is considered street time? After you have finished pulling down your route, you roll over to the time clock and swipe to the street. Street time is loading and unloading your vehicle; pushing the empty hamper back to the office to its designated place; when you do get back to the office and finish unloading your vehicle, going through the outgoing mail is also on street time. If you take your lunch in the office before you go out to the street you must clock out to the street time, it is not supposed to be done on office time. Overtime carriers that hurry and come back in to make it back by 5 or 6 o’clock are losing 30 minutes of street time by clocking back off the street and taking their lunch when they get back. You need to make sure your lunch is on street time.

If the carrier is getting assistance, is a form 3996 being filled out? Are the carriers doing their own clock rings or is management? Does the carrier do all of their own street duties or are they given assistance with delivering accountable, parcels, picking up parcels, etc.?

When you are getting assistance make sure a form 3996 is being filled out period. Even if they are just taking off some parcels or accountables to help keep you to 8 hours, we can make sure that time is put back on your route if there is a form 3996. All of these minutes add up when evaluating and reviewing a route. If you pivot, it is most important that you do your own clock rings. Remember that after you finish your pivot you are now back on your own route’s street time and not “99 time”. You have to make sure that your route gets the travel time back to the office plus the unloading of the vehicle and going through the outgoing mail on your route.

Has the carrier kept up with the nonstats (vacants) and are they now filled up?

This is important and most carriers do not keep up with the nonstats/vacants. Why are they important? It is important when doing route evaluations and adjustments because they are moved for no time, no office time or no street time. It is important to keep nonstats up because you are not getting credit for that delivery. If they are not vacant anymore then you need to update your Redbooks.

Was a 3999 done on the route, when and did management speak to the carrier afterwards? Were there any deficiencies and was the carrier rewalked?

3999s - Did they speak to the carrier to find out why they want to take deductions so the carrier could have a say in it? Did the inspector sign and date the 3999? Did the inspector put in writing why they took deductions? We need to keep track of all 3999s being done and where they are having the carriers curtail mail on those days. You, the regular carrier, have a right to a copy of the 3999. In the Santa Ana District, Bob Patterson and I have an agreement that the carrier will be given a copy of the 3999, before and after deductions, and both copies will be sent to the local branch. It is real simple, if management wants to take deductions on the day they walk with you, because you took too long doing this or that, then they have to talk to you first so you may have a chance to explain. If local management decides to take deductions then they must rewalk the route to verify the time that they deducted. If it is important enough to management then they should do all of the steps that were agreed to by the District Team. Also, did you curtail mail the day they walked with you? We need to know this, too. Why, because local management is going to try to use the time it took you on that one day to justify what street time should be selected in the evaluation/review process. What day of the week was the 3999 conducted and is this the most average day of the week? Be sure when you are brought in for consultations you have all of the information together to inform the local team exactly what happened on your route the day they walked with you.

When the carrier does pivot time on another route are they doing the clockrings or is it management?

The same issue is on the street time that was on the office issues. All carriers should be doing their own clock rings. Many times your supervisor does not know how long it took you to do a 45 minute swing so they put it in for 45 minutes then put time in the 99 time for travel. Many offices just put in 15 minutes all the time for travel time. If it only took you 8 minutes to get back then you just lost 7 minutes on your own route for that day.

Is the route getting router/hand-off time every day or are you being asked to carry some or all of it?

There are some offices that were left with hand-offs and management must take the hand-off off of the route every day. If this is not happening then you need to call your local branch officer and let them know. I am sure there are more things going on out there and this article hasn’t covered. Since the writing of this article our National President has signed off on a Memorandum of Agreement titled “Modified Interim Alternate Route Adjustment Process – 2009”, M-01702, that has put a twist to some of the ways we will be doing the evaluations and adjustments but, the way we do our jobs is still the same. Keep the office time in the office and the street time on the street. Remember there are no street standards so the more you do on the street the better it will be for you. As I get the new information to the new IARAP process a new article will come.