As I was thinking about what to write for this article, I remembered a talk that I sometimes give to members at union meetings. I will try to put that “rant” into words that will not take up more than a page. I know that DOIS is management’s new “brain” and supervisors cannot evaluate routes on a daily basis without relying on the inaccurate figures and volumes that DOIS produces. Before they had DOIS, management relied on “reference volumes” to try to estimate a carrier’s workload.

In the office where I carried mail, Jenkintown, PA, the “old timers” and a few of us “kids” were successful in driving the supervisor crazy on a daily basis just by agreeing with everything the supervisor said, in a very friendly manner. Then we would fill out a 3996, when needed, to request overtime or auxiliary assistance. We would also call from the street, when we received unrealistic orders like “finish and be back in eight”. We accomplished this without arguments and we always liked to “thank” the supervisor for his unattainable expectations. I also invited the supervisor to visit me on the street at any time and I assured him that I could be found at the same place everyday, depending on the time I left the office. We also told the supervisor we would perform all our duties to the best of our ability.

The carriers and I who worked this way had a role to play in this scenario. We had to do our jobs in the proper way by properly recording our time clock rings, following all office procedures which included checking our vehicles and taking our five minute personal time everyday. On the street, we always took our two ten minute breaks and our half hour lunch. Each of us kept records of our overtime and auxiliary assistance. We always filled out a 3996 and 1571, report of undelivered mail, and kept duplicate copies of each form in case the supervisor forgot to give us a copy back or it was necessary to file a grievance for an overtime violation or improper discipline.  In today’s environment, the street duties include working and operating the vehicles in a safe manner and hitting all the MSP scans.

A daily chat with today’s supervisors could go something like this:

Supervisor: “Joe, according to DOIS, your route is 7:15 today so I am giving you a 45 minute pivot on route 10 which will make an 8 hour day”.

Joe, in response would say: “Thanks for the information. Based on the time I will be leaving the office, the pivot and travel time will probably put me into an overtime status. Here’s my 3996. I will call from the street when I am sure if overtime is needed. I will perform my duties in a proficient and safe manner. Have a nice day. Oh, by the way, I am not on the ODL so I may have to file a grievance if I am forced to work overtime. Thanks”.

I know that some of you might think this is just the ranting of a full time officer that isn’t on the work room floor or on the street everyday. But I think the daily “discussions” with supervisors could be avoided and we could make them go back to their desks shaking their heads. Try it and let me know how it works.

Work safely and don’t forget to donate to COLCPE. It would be nice to see every delegate to the National Convention from the great State of New Jersey wearing a COLCPE T-shirt on Thursday of convention week.