USPS has historically been staffed by long-serving employees, but currently 103,000-plus employees -- one of every six active postal workers -- has been with the agency less than a year. That's triple the newbie rate of just four years ago.
In those same four years, despite cost-of-living adjustments and other pay raises for most employees, average base pay for the Postal Service has actually declined 4%.
Eat your young
The lower average pay rate was made possible by what some have called “eat your young” labor contracts – where current union members are well taken care of in exchange for concessions regarding future hires.
For example, USPS has more than 37,000 city carrier assistants, a non-career position that emerged from a 2013 labor contract. Their duties are similar to those of career letter carriers – but without most of the benefits and at barely half the pay.
“We hired over 80,000 non-career employees in FY2014 including PSEs [Postal Support Employees], CCAs [City Carriers Assistants] and MHAs [Mail Handler Assistants],” says the Postal Service's Annual Report to Congress. “In addition to trying to hire up to our contractual limits of non-careers, we also experienced a high turnover rate (in excess of 40 percent) for CCAs.”
With savings come new costs
“The non-career employees are generating significant rate savings, but are costing additional hours in hiring and training them, as well as in developing needed delivery experience.”
A major reason the Flats Sequencing System’s productivity dropped during FY2014, according to a recent USPS filing, was high turnover among supervisors and front-line employees. USPS recently responded with stepped-up training for supervisors in FSS operations.
Across the agency last year, other new training programs were rolled out, and the amount of time employees spent in e-learning programs nearly doubled. Now the Postal Service is scaling up its new-employee orientation program, with plans to “engage employees before their first day of work.”
A 12% increase in work-related injuries last year is causing USPS to “increase focus on at-risk employees and those who are new to the organization and less familiar with safe work practices,” says the Report to Congress.
The report also cites “the hiring, training and replacement (due to turnover) of many new employees” as a major reason it has missed its service (day-of-delivery) targets for First-Class Mail several years in a row.
In general, recent USPS communications indicate the agency was caught off guard by, but is now trying to come to grips with, the challenges of relying more heavily on non-career employees.
Related articles:
- New Postal Hires Mean More 'Return To Sender' Mail
- Lower Pay Rates Are Boosting USPS's Finances
- Postal Workforce Is Both Shrinking and Growing
- 8 Reasons USPS Productivity Is Declining: The Employees Speak Out
70 comments:
didn't your dad ever tell you that you get what you pay for??
Mgmt. screws up big time. Again.
Of course, as usual, no one will be held accountable for this, their latest, fiasco.
On the contrary; rest assured, huge bonuses were handed out to those who came up with the idea.
I must take exception with one aspect of your article. You report the "eat your young" contracts and portray it as current workers selling out future workers. What you leave out is the fact that as PSEs, MHAs and CCAs these employee do get some benefits (leave, health) AND earn higher wages than they would if they were casuals. It is important to note that PSEs and CCAs replaced casuals who had low wages and no benefits. When you include casuals, it looks like the unions have improved conditions for non-career workers. Is it right that they are not career? That they do not earn as much as career? We can argue that point, but the fact is PSEs, MHAs and CCAs are better off than they would be if they were casuals
As a retired letter carrier who had seen this coming many years ago, postal management has been thinking quantity (as in less employees) over quality (as in career employees). It was written when they decided that everyone had to be the same -- same walk rate, same drive rate, same sort rate, without thinking of variables such as weather, dogs, even human conditions. Postal management wanted all employees to be robots. Well, to that I say, "That does not compute." All of their thinking was for pay for performance, something of Jack Welsh's idea, that has denegrated employees over all job categories, across the country, to being a number, and not a person.
You get what you pay for.
It would not matter what the new and younger people were hired as. They do not have the same work ethic. They are on their phone most of the time and management does nothing.
I Strongly Agree With Anonymous On Most Of What Was Said. I'm A Retired Clerk For 131/2 Yrs. I Feel Blessed I Was Able To Retire After 35 Yrs. + 5 Yrs. Military Service. I Reckon I Got Out While The GETTING WAS GOOD. I Could See The Writing On The Wall That Things Were Gonna Change Drastically, & They Have.!! It Is An Injustice To Hire New Folks With No Hope Of A Career. Like All Employment Folks Deserve The Right To A Secure Job If They Live Up To POSTAL STANDARDS!! Like ANONYMOUS Said "YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR"!! How Does Management Expect GOOD PERFORMANCE From Folks Who Know Their Prospects For A FULL-TIME JOB Is Slim??? Jim
In my office, a P&DC, they've made all the mha's 204B's!
Yes, Yes, Yes, the CCA's replaced TE's earning $21.83 per hour, NOT CASUALS, go ahead and refer to a 1900's position the CCA's replaced and say how, "Good the CCA's have it."
Anonymous is an idiot!!!
Just Sayin'..
" It is important to note that PSEs and CCAs replaced casuals who had low wages and no benefits."
CCAs replaced PTFs who received much better pay and benefits and did the exact same job. There were no "Casuals" in the carrier craft only "TE" carriers who also received better pay.
From a pse -
I'm a pse, on the job for 18 months in automation. There is no training program, it's a sink or swim environment. There is no safety training or safety program that I've seen. You can't throw people into the mail flow process and expect to have good results.
If your ultimate agenda (Congress) is to run the US Postal Service into the toilet with increasingly poor service so that it can more easily be Privatized down the road.....it makes PERFECT sense
I've said it time and time again. The worst supervisors were the worst craft workers and now they are in charge, and you ask why the turnover is so high. It should be a requirement that every supervisor carry mail at least once a week. These supervisors were the most inept craft workers and now the worst of the worst supervisors.
As a rural carrier I see it also in our craft. Turnover rates for new hire RCAs is in excess of 60%. They get minimal training, mostly from carriers who don't have a clue how to train, and then management immediately expects them meet the same times as a carrier of twenty years. No learning curve is allowed. Do it right to standards on your first day or be pressured into quitting.
In my office of 70 routes we have gone through many CCA's. Many are just not cut out for the job and yes,the younger ones are always on their phones,which leads to many misdeliveries.Fact is the regulars are getting more OT because we always have to go out and "help the help" as we say. No Doubt..youi get what you pay for.
"...recent USPS communications indicate the agency was caught off guard..."
In my 40 year career at the USPS, I've found that it is always "caught Off guard" by its shortsightedness. It is the most "reactive" business I've ever seen. Never proactive.
Worse than that, it will never admit that it made a mistake and abandon its plan. It will just keep throwing money at the problem and point a blaming finger somewhere else.
Just my 2¢
Quit making half the force 2o4B's, and quit treating your workers like robots. Humans will not give you what you want for a million dollars, if you hurting and abusing them. And as for training... I havent seen a trained mh or inhouse clerk in nearly 18 yrs. Id pay to see a real training session, and not someone talkn on a tv screen about things our building dont even do. And instead of drawing pictures and sitting in an office putting ideas on paper, ask someone whos actually working the floor and knows about the mail flow in thier office
so basically what every employee said when our illustrious leadership (who is overpaid and under worked) said would happen DID happen, what a surprise. Next they will tell us that the 9 board of governors who make 250,000 each are useless!
The article states that the "New CCA"s" are making "barely half the pay" of what a career employee makes is wrong. A new career carrier would be getting paid about $17.50 to start, compared to the CCA getting paid $15.00. Not that far out of whack. And where else can you find a job that will pay you that much without any type of education!
To Bob Disher: A recent USPS report showed average base hourly pay of $27.55 for full-time City Delivery Carriers and $15.82 for CCAs. But as you note, the gap between starting salaries is much smaller.
To Bob Disher: A recent USPS report showed average base hourly pay of $27.55 for full-time City Delivery Carriers and $15.82 for CCAs. But as you note, the gap between starting salaries is much smaller.
D.Edward: That is not the average base hourly pay for a full time city carrier. That is the "top step pay" meaning the highest a city carrier can be paid, one with rough 15 or more years on the job. The last contract came out with a two tier wage system, which makes the starting pay for new hires much less than what their senior colleagues started at.
I must clarify your "eat your young" contract comments. In regard to CCA (City Carrier Assistants) the letter carrier union (NALC) vehemently objected to this salary/pay structure that established a new, lower tier workforce. CCA's were created when contract negotiations broke down and advanced to arbitration. There, Arbitrator Das and his panel established this new category of employee (CCA) and eliminated both the TE (Transitional Employee) and PTF (Part-time Flexible) positions which had offered better pay, and in the case of PTF's, career benefits from the start. I am an OJI (On the Job Instructor) for all the new CCA's in my office, and it is clear that, at the low wage being offered, and the often seven-day-a-week schedule many CCA's are burdened with, turnover is incredible high. And, believe me, it's hard to convince a CCA to stay the course in a very physical job when an opportunity to make the same money doing half the work with a livable schedule arises.
Why does Dead Tree believe anything management says. There are no training programs. These people have no clue.
Our regular window clerks have no clue on how to price mail,. So many get it wrong. It's shaped based pricing folks. A envelope with a shaped object in it is NOT a letter. And their is no such thing as a thickness surcharge. So 2007.
Even thought you train new hires, it really takes several years to get this job under your belt until it becomes second nature. Management has failed to take this into account and thinks CCAs can learn the job instantly!
The real reason for the turnover is management. They lie to the CCA's and tell them thier giving them 4 hours of work and really giving them 5 or 6 hours. And when they get back, they are yelled at and told if they don't get it done they will be fired. They are scared and either quit or get hurt, then management attempts to fire them for working unsafely. There in a no win situation.
So true!!!
A simple solution to save money is to just eliminate regular Saturday mail deliveries? Americans could easily get by without it. The work force reduction could be accomplished through attrition and nobody gets hurt.
I am glad that two facts were pointed out. First that an arbitrator decided this contract with the two tier pay scale. The union was totally against it. Second how management mistreats the new hard working cca's. Example.. mgt tells me to give 2 hours to a cca and when the cca arrives to deliver it mgt tells them it is one hour. 2 cca's quit because of that. All that wasted training. The 3rd one that was hired I "suggested" to mgt they don't do that againg unless they want to waste even more money training the next one
Our office, too, has seen a high turnover rate among PSEs. They want to become career, but after 5 yrs as PSE, they see no future.
Remember, Pat Donahoe said, "Young workers do not want to have a single employer over their career" (so says the man who worked for one employer)
I think the post office needs to train there supervision properly in how to treat there in employees. Just maybe the injury rate wouldn't be so High but that will never happen because they do nothing wrong.
the problem is, in my office, most of the regular carriers don't think they should have to do their own work. With new hires these regulars call in sick every 5 minutes, leave flyers for someone else, stretch their office times to warrant road assistance. My town is also notorious for horrible delivery points. So new hires don't have a chance. Rather than learn routes at a reasonable pace, their given full routes of screwed up deliveries plus an added piece from an entitled regular who dictates how and where their piece should be handled. So the reduced pay is not worth the bullshit that new hires have to put up with. If all the regulars did their own work, there would not be this issue
well if they had given the PMR's who have worked in offices some as many as 30 years the offer to take the test required this problem would not be happening.
and Pat Donahoe will get his $4 million gold parachute. And Megan Brennan will get to wear the crown. Their rewards for demolishing the greatest customer service organization in the world. Their elimination of mail processing centers, their reduction of service standards and reducing customer service hours in well over 10,000 post offices will enable them to go down in history as the worst Postmaster Generals in the history of the Postal Service. Where is the OIG? They like doing compliance audits and reports. How about doing one on how much money they really saved under postplan? The class dunces are running the school.
Like we couldn't see this coming!
So sad and so many comments are from people who know the job! The United States Postal SERVICE is the MOST TRUSTED institution with the American Public! Management lost site of the fact that we are a SERVICE DECADES ago! AND management is the entity out to DESTROY our service! They are the dog chasing his own tail!
A bigger issue is the way they hire new employees. A lot of the non career employees are people that are almost unemployable so they accept lower wages and bad working conditions from the USPS. Postal employees used to be hired from a larger pool of people. The general public would compete via exam for the jobs and were hired based on score. Now the people who apply to be PSE's or CCA's are given a hiring advantage by being given the opportunity to take the Postal Exam when the general public isn't and placed on a roster based on their seniority as a temp rather than their test score. As a result, we are getting people in the Post Office who score low on the tests and have qualities that other employers wouldn't want. The rule of three no longer applies. The Post Office just hires based on time as a PSE and just passing the exam.
As a 12 year employee first as a PMR then a PSE and now a PTF I have seen many different changes in the postal service. This prefunding CRAP is ridiculous! We are hiring people who have no clue what they are doing, have no intention of doing the job and could care less if it ever gets done. We have CCAs and RCAs who cannot figure out the smallest route and then get thrown onto the larger ones and are completely lost. One thing I can say in my district is that all mail must be taken out of the office and delivered including packages which is totally different from what it used to be! I remember when PMs would get a PFP bonus when in fact the PMRs were doing most of the work! I have helped many PMs with their jobs because they have no clue what they are doing. I have subbed on routes to help carriers take vacations, I have worked in numerous other offices and driven long distances with no compensation to help out. I really feel as if I earn my pay unlike so many who do not! I am thankful to finally be eligible for insurance! I am thankful to have a job period! But I do get very disappointed when I see someone get an office who has never worked for the USPS. I feel I deserve an office yet I am working my backside off and wearing out my car because I am willing to work hard for what I get! :( I cannot afford to quit even if I want to but you would think after the dedication I have shown I would be rewarded in some way!
I am a PSE for a small post office in Illinois, after a three month hiring process, I thought that I may have finally landed a stable career with a government agency. I am also a combat veteran with 11 years of service serving in operation Iraqi freedom. I also just turned 40 in January so I have been looking into getting settled into a career, however I am quickly learning that the Post office is showing that they have no intention of turning non career employees into career employees, so I may have to just get some experience in running a small post office, where I do the same duties as a PMR or career postmaster would be doing if in this office and find an employer who will give me a career opportunity with some benefits and days off---- oh by the way I am also educated with an associate's of science degree, in regards to previous posts above that the post office does not hire educated, hard working employees--- such simple minded words from some of these posters are not helping the new hires of the post office have a decent attitude to work for the company-- people don't really want to work hard for someone who doesn't intend to invest back into their time and hard work. just my two cents
I am a mailhandler in mass. I have been there 17 years. It's true there's not the training there should be for new hires. And I hope to see that change but I'm not holding my breath. It seems there is a difference with the people they hire as PSE's , MHA 's. The older people seem to have different work ethics. They work! The younger employees, some, not all just want to be on there phones all the time! Texting, checking u tube, looking at Facebook. It seems the don't want to be bothered with doing the job the were hired for. And yes, the are putting MHA'S as 204b's when the don't have any experience . They should work the job, working the mail before they start acting as a supervisor . But the way I see it, the MHA'S were hired to be MAILHANDLER ASSISTANTS. NOT OUR BOSSES! It's very sad to see how much the postal service has changed and I don't see it getting any better any time soon. Whether you are a career employee or not you should do the job you were hired to do and get off your damn phones!
The only thing I have to say is "When you treat these poor kids like crap instead of human beings, your going to get a lot of turnover."I always tell them to keep looking for that career job outside the USPS. Just use us as a stepping stone to move up.
The 44240 Kent Post Office in Ohio is the worst. They wait until the 88th or 89th day of a CCA's hire date them fire them before they are covered by union protections from firings.
They routinely under pay employees who are doing higher level work. Most carriers delivery until 8 PM!
I am a CCA in Indiana and let me tell you guys this....I'm so tired of reading some of these comments about how the CCA 's are always on their phones, lazy, and stupid.... well I have a BA in education and I was really wanting to just better my family and work for a good company. That's why I started working for the USPS. I started in November of 2014 and really honestly love the job once I get out of the office. Management is always yelling and treating us like shit. I have been told several times to take an hour pie off of a regular carrier and it turns out to bee 2 or even 3 hours worth. Just like today, I was given a route that would take a regular 6 hours to complete, and I was given an 1.5 hours off another route cause the regular was not going to make their 8 hours...funny thing was management told me to have it done by 4:30 now that would have been fine and such but didn't get to leave the office until 11. Now I did get done by 6 but still was getting hurried because management wanted to make the deadlines. As for working, well most of the CCA 's in my office have been working for over 20 straight days with out a day off while I hear the regulars always saying how tired they are. Funny isn't. Maybe CCA's and regulars should work together so everyone can go home by 4 or 430 and not 6 or 7 like most CCA's..... just some food for thought. By the way I make most regulars look bad because I can do their routes in less time then they can, so whoever said that all CCA's were lazy well I think you should just stop talking now.
I am new to the usps as a cca. I past my 120 days and on Feb 14, 2015, I slipped on covered ice (customers property) and messed up my shoulder. I've been out of work since waiting for workers comp to approve my shoulder surgery. If i have surgery done in July, with rehab being 6-8 week min, it will put me close to the end of my 360 days. What's the chance I get the thumbs up to come back knowing there is no career position available anytime soon.
I was hired in Nov 2014 as a CCA. I took the 2 week usps training and passed the driving part before I started the job.I received absolutely NO TRAING on the job and quit on day 4. My supervisor assigned me a carrier who let me watch her case then I sat in the back of the mail truck handing her the mail for 3 days straight. On day 4 when I was supposed to have a walking route with another regular I was handed keys to a huge cargo van (no key just a cylinder to start truck).The regular was told to leave without me. I was told toload the van with packages(NEVER SHOWN HOW TO DO THEJOB BUT TOLD TO PERFORMIT ALONE). I WAS TOLD TO LEAVE SOME PACKAGES BEHIND(WHICH I DID)I WAS TOLD TO GO DELIVER THEM(NO GPS JUST A SHEET WITH BAD DIRECTIONS).ONE STREET HAD NO SIGN.I got lost in another town drove back and resigned. Whats sad is I really needed this job but COME ON FOLKS.....THE POSTMASTER CARED MORE ABOUT GETTING HIS BREAKFAST THAN MAKING SURE I WAS LEARNING ANYTHING. I WISHED I HAD BEEN assigned a post office that cared enough to show me the ropes because I am hard working and dedicated and left feeling like I didn't receive the training I should have before being given certain tasks......
There's reasons why some of the new hires are on their phones. It can be their source of music. It's really an assumption that their on social media unless if you asked them, or stopped to see what they were doing. I've also witnessed regulars claiming to be hard working, but would stand around and wait for the mhas and pses to pick up their slack. Another issue could be that these new hires witness how a lot (not all) of regulars get away with doing little to no work, extended breaks, and bad mouthing 204bs. These new hires don't pick up these habits which you claim out the blue. And yes. .. mail handler assistants were hired to assist... not to complete majority of the work. Even upper management's noticed the increase in numbers due to mhas and casuals. Some regulars even have the quoted saying of, "take your time. Don't kill yourself. As long as you have a piece of mail in your hand, you're working". So don't solely point your fingers at most of the new hires. Point your fingers at the peers that's around your seniority or higher... cause no mha or pses are going to want to kill themselves for 14 dollars an hour when they're people with the highest regular step standing around chit chatting doing no work, or showing up intoxicated to their positions.
I am a new CCA and finished my "training" last Monday. I was told to come back Tuesday. Tuesday morning I was called and told not to come in until Thursday. I went in on Thursday and was told to go home and come in the next day. The next day I was called and told they would call me for the next day. I am told there are no vehicles available to use.
I put training in quotations because I was really not given any real training. I was assigned to what they called a "utility" person to train me for 3 days. I was not even spoken to for the first 3 hours on day one. I watched him intently and tried to glean what I could from observation. I figured maybe this was his style for the first day. I tried to keep my questions to a minimum as this guy was really too busy to provide any training along with delivering his mail. At the end of day one I kind of had an idea as to what would be expected of me on the route and was looking forward to the next day and hopeful that this guy would be able to give me some proper training.
No such luck. This guy was a nightmare. Frantically driving, yelling, slamming mail in the boxes, slamming the door shut and slamming on the brakes with me in the jump seat. AND, he brought a radio which was turned on way too loud. I guessed it was to drown out my questions. Again on day two, I was not given any instruction. I was not told a thing. My questions were met with snide, incomprehensible double-talk. This guy had no interest in my success as a carrier. Further, I am convinced the guy was trying to make me quit! Now I am in trouble. I was told by the supervisor that on day 3 I would be delivering the mail and he would be watching me.
Day three and I am nervous. I think I have delivering the mail down but still don't know where to pick up the various trays of mail or how to load the truck or where to look for anything or who to ask for anything. But when I get there the truck is almost loaded and I guessed I didn't have to worry about that other stuff. I deliver the mail with this guy sitting behind me and am ignored most of the day. I ask what questions I think I can without getting yelled at, but am never given any straight answers and mostly just snide retorts and sighs of boredom from the guy. At one point he throws mail at me then slams it into my hand and am told to hold the mail this way. Well, at least he taught me that, I thought.
We finish the delivery and I think I did pretty well. We finished early and are given another assignment while out on the road. When I get back to the station I looked through my paperwork to find a check list of what CCA training was supposed to be. What a joke. This guy did nothing on that list and how much was he making to do that?
I haven't worked a day since then. I think maybe the trainer gave me a bad report and they're not going to use me and there's nothing I can do about it. He certainly didn't seem to like me much. I hope I can go to work soon. Thanks for reading.
PSEs only get benifits after a year, and that's saying if they are able to get a call to return the next year, because there is no guarantee even if they were a good worker. That means a lot of PSEs are putting time in, getting injured with no health benefits at all for their first year and possibly won't work a second year, now they have to find another job and work there for 6 months to a year to get any sort of benifits. That's two years of hoping your health doesnt go south in any way, hoping you will still have a job, and being on-call and having no guarantee of hours at all. It's no way to live.
I just got hired as a clerk assistant I love the job the problem is they tricked me INTO signing the contract saying I would work in the same area but they sent me three hours away from my house and I DONT HAVE A CAR.TRANSPORTATION SUCKS AND I'VE BEEN CALLING ALL OVER TO FIND OUT IF THEY CAN PUT ME SOME WHERE CLOSE BECAUSE I DONT HAVE A CAR.IT TAKES Abut 6 HOURS FOR ME TO TRAVEL TO WORK AND GO BACK HOME THAT is RIDICULOUS.ITS SEEM AS THOUGH NO ONE CAres to RESPOND MY SUPERvisor JUST WANT ME BE THERE ON TIME WHICH SHE DRIVES ONLY 20 MINUTES FROM HER HOUSE.
Reading all of this is discouraging for someone who just received an offer as a PSE in a PO about 45 minutes from my home. I am a bit hesitant on accepting now...ugh. I was on the fence a bit after the interview when I was told about working 6 days a week and split shifts. Split shifts when you live 45 minutes away doesn't sound good.....but I was looking on the positive side that it is at least a foot in the door. I lost my job due to a bank buyout almost 2 years ago and have been struggling to find an office environment job making what I was at my age of 49. I figured this would be a great job to do until ready to retire. Please.....someone give me some positive feedback :-)
Yes, you get what you pay for, and the work ethic of many young people is not what it used to be. Aside from this, for those who get hired, they find that training is sub-minimal. I was a clerk customer services trainer for 15 years, and was suddenly told by a hot shot postmaster that I could not be spared to train clerks, anymore. As such, in our entire district, there are no more dedicated trainers, and new PSEs are to do as much training as they are allowed on a computer, and then put right on the front line, NOT a good thing. As such, many quit after just a few days. The same thing is happening to our CCAs, they are put on a route, with very minimal training, and held to the same standards as experienced workers. No surprise here that many quit, also. What does the Post Office do to fix this? First, they send out notices to postal retirees, asking them to come and help them out for 6 weeks of hell, during the Christmas rush, at PSE/CCA wages. Not many takers there, I would assume. Secondly, they hire more managers to micromanage those who are working, to harass them, and that is detrimental to production, as any real business person could tell them.
I want one of them career jobs. they walk around and pick up empty boxes while the non career employees do all the dirty work at much lower wages...
oh, and racism has unveiled itself in two ways: first, reverse discrimination is definitely reared its ugly face, and on the other hand, race relations has also shown improvements. the latter is nice to see. the former may qualify for reparations in the future
I worked as an RCA in Minooka, Illinois for about 4 years (In 2008-$19.00 hr). Small location but my manager was very helpful and fair.I moved to Arizona and was able to continue employment in Sun City. I lasted a little over a year, heat was too much and the chances of full time was very slim. Needed health insurance badly and 20 hrs a week was just not cutting it anymore. In 2014 I moved to Florida and was hired at the Riverview USPS location. I was amazed at how much the system has changed! You don't interview with your location supervisor anymore, starting pay dropped to $15/hr, communication between the facility and the hiring team was horrible. I would be in a group of 15 other applicants and everyone would be offered a job. I was dressed for success while others where there in shorts and sandals. Training was a week and driving was another week. After that I went to my location and they didn't even know I was hired or starting in their facility! The supervisor was the most unprofessional person I ever met. Yelling at employees like children and fowl language constantly. Morale was horrible in this location and the rest of the supervisors had no idea how to run the facility.I would case my route and just before breaking down, the Regular carrier would come in to finish my route (he was called in). So I case the whole route and he comes in, delivers in 3.5hrs and gets paid for 9.5....In the meantime I get thrown on another route (never trained on ANY routes) to case and deliver at 11:30 am.....then be told I have to be back by 5pm! This happened at least once a month...I finally had enough and gave my two weeks notice. USPS has gone down hill quickly, when I first started delivery was PRIORITY, 0 MISTAKES/MIS-DELIVERIES was communicated constantly....Now the attitude is "WHATEVER".....I don't use USPS because I just don't trust their delivery service,the people who are being hired now just don't give a damn and I blame USPS for letting it get to this point. I was a great RCA and all my regulars I worked for begged me to stay, I loved the job and people but my experience in Florida just forced me to give up on USPS....Just wanted to share my experiences....
My honest recommendation is find work elsewhere. Any position in USPS is not permanent and you will be wasting valuable time that can be used working somewhere else. I would work at Walmart before going back to USPS. This is coming from someone who has worked as an RCA in three different states and experienced the organization change between 2005 to 2015 (has gotten worse)....it's a bad career move. Trust me on this one.
I live in spring hill florida.I finished my training for CCA on 12/4/2015,and I call my office(downtown Brooksville),and they told me they have enough cca now,told me to call the other city spring hill. So I did what he say. Then the Spring Hill Office told me they have few cca to train now tell me to wait.so I understanded that was busy time. So I wait and wait. A week later I went to the office asked what's going on because I didn't get any phone call.This time he told me still busy but try to put me in for training next week. Then next day the Brooksville postmaster called me, asked me does it ok to send me to other office whiches Tampa,Zephyhills or Tarpon? If has any position coming up she will bring me back to the closest office.(wht can I say? Do I have a choice? Enen an hour away from my house? No choice) so I said ok. And then said she will give me a call this week or next week. So wait again. Last week was the week she surpost to call me but didn't. I called the Brooksville office and leave a massage. Today Juan. 4, 2016, I maked few phone call again. 1.Brooksvile.The postmaster is on her vacation and nobody know when she will be back.2.Spring Hill. He said he will call me back later.3.the union NALC. Tell me to call the branch I belong and give me a void number,I called back of course nobody answer twice.
Does anyone have ideal what should I do? I quited my job a month ago for the dame post office. Now stuck at home for nothing. And why they have no work for the employeebut still hiring?
Some PSEs are told that they will only work 20 hours per week, but then are scheduled up to 56 hours per week, and work 6-7 days per week. Then, the schedule can change daily, or even more often. Some people have other obligations and only want a part-time position, so they accept the job even though they do not have medical benefits. Imagine their surprise when they end up working 6 days per week and 55 hours per week. Honesty goes a long way in employee retention.
Sad...I had the same run around when I left RCA position in Riverview to a City Carrier in Tampa. They had me go through the driving training AGAIN before starting. After passing I was told to call the facility, the facility tells me to call when the supervisor is in. I call numerous times and never can get in touch with the supervisor. I leave my number and no call back. I drive over there and on my third attempt I finally catch a supervisor. She tells me to call her after I go to the carrier academy...what? I was carrying for years and just went through an academy 6 months ago?!?! Either way I had to email the hiring "people" and find out when I will be scheduled for training. "They will email me" I'm told. I just gave up and thank God I found a county job. Month's later I receive a letter stating if I still wanted the CA position...are you kidding me!! I sent an email to some head of the Tampa district and shared my story. He calls me asking if I still want to work for USPS or not.....I laughed and told him NEVER again and wished him a blessed holiday. What a joke the way things are being run out here in Florida.
I am a pmr in Illinois. I started covering saturdays for my pm, and after a month started OIC offices. I have been a defacto pm for the last ten years. When postplan occured I assumed we pmrs would just be converted. no, we had to test to keep our jobs. post plan is a disaster, it has destroyed the rural postal service. too bad, i really wanted a career but i am not even bothering to test for post office jobs. the postal service is a joke now. turnover is huge. not worth it.
I've just been offered a CCA position for the Denver area but I'm a little hesitant after reading comments here and elsewhere. I never applied with the notion that it would be an easy position but a lot of what I've read is seriously making me re-think my interest in this position. Not to mention that when I showed up for my "interview" the hiring manager told us all (room of about 14) that they're too many people to interview and to just fill out the paperwork as they need a lot of people. Doesn't seem to me this is a very efficient and cost effective way to hire workers. I could absolutely see why not only is there a lot of turnover but a practice like this only makes me skeptical about the training and beyond. Seems as if all they want is bodies and they'll just keep chucking as many as they can into the system to try and keep it afloat rather than take the time to recruit, hire and train quality employees. I don't want to accept a position (especially in such a large area and where they stated they're hiring so many employees) just to be thrown into the mix with no thought and no shot to succeed. Before applying I had thought that the USPS was a great place to start a career but the more I read... it seems the ship has sailed.
My honest opinion, don't waste your time. You will quit in less than a month. USPS is not what it used to be.
Just had orientation today.... I was told that you can become a regular or "career" in a year or two. I am doubting this after reading so many reviews.. I was looking for a career and I am guessing the usps isn't it.
I have been working as a CCA going on 6 months now. Initially, I only looked into a part time position with the USPS, as I had recently retired after 26 years in the Army. I have picked up the duties quite quickly, because I use the same battle drills I did in the military to get my duties done. What I have seen however, is the misuse of the CCA asset, at least in the areas I have worked. The CCA was intended as a force multiplier for the career carriers, however, what I am seeing is that career carriers using the CCA as a way to get out of work. On a daily basis, I am completing a full route in less time that the assigned "regular", then I get the call that one of the regulars can't finish his route so I need to go take up to 1-4 hours worth of work from them. Note they are still getting paid for the 8 hours because they drag it out as long as they can before they ask for assistance (and this is a daily happening for 3 out of the 4 regulars in the office). Now tell me how this is the intended use of the CCA. I understand not all CCA's will make it or even give a full effort, but what incentive are we giving CCA's to work hard? Other than a sense of duty. But if the only reward for working your ass off to get done in a timely manner, is more work? How is that a motivating factor at $16 an hour? It isn't motivation at all, in fact it is just the opposite. Managers need to counsel regulars who are abusing the use of CCA hours. If you want this program to succeed at all, it has to be managed correctly, which includes discipline for carriers who are doing substandard work or working slow because they know a CCA is cheaper and the supervisor will have to have them do the work to save on overtime. Many of the CCA's that are hard workers will be worn out, because they are working like this 6 and 7 days a week up to 10-12 hours a day. Just like the tires on your LLV, eventually they will wear out to a point where you have no choice but to get new tires. Someone needs to be doing a little oversight on the use of CCA's if they are really serious about taking care of carriers as a whole. Motivated workers with a purpose and direction will get the job done, and done right!
from what I've read so far their is a lot of lazy people that take advantage of the usps and A lot of people in positions they are not qualified for. I do not work for the post office but I am trying to get on with them. Only because i have been laid off from the oilfield, and I THOUGHT this would be A secure career to jump into. I know about hard work but not for free. There has to be A prize at the end of the day for your effort. I've seen the exam that is required to be passed to be a mail carrier, Not hard at all, my 16 year old passed it. If you want good hard working employees it takes more than reading fast and memorizing addresses. Good old hard work and pride go A long way. I'm sure I will pass the test and eventually get hired on with this turnover that's been going on with the usps. I would like to make a career out of this, And from what I hear so far only the strong survive. Been in the oilfield for 20 years so hard work don't scare me. I'm ready to rise to the top, See y'all their
Just for the record I'm not one of the lazy ones. I worked my ass off for USPS and nothing in return. Good luck thinking you will get full time. Keep other options open, not much of a career here! Just giving people an honest warning because they will tell you what you want to hear and not deliver!
Mister Think Twice,
The real problem with NEW hire RCA's is lack of training and the new hire WORKS the Hardest days of the week.
You are a fill in for the Full Timer. So during a 45hr work week. The part timer on his one day of work, supposed to work 8hrs but ends up working 11hrs and the full timers on his 5 days of work works 34hrs. That comes to less than 7hrs a day.
Nice to be fulltime. Work 34hrs and get paid for 40. And with experience and volume of mail you will be able to do your route under 34hrs and you still get paid for 40.
All the stress is put on the new hires. You work one day a week. On call rest of week. And after 5-7 yrs you might become full time. Now that's a recipe for high turnover.
I just got my conditional offer last week. Ill be a CCA. Im prepared for the hard work. But im defiantly looking to becoming a career employee in the future. Should I be expecting to be thrown in the lions den?
Yes. You will be thrown in after training on the route for 3 days. Then you will be thrown on other routes with no training. As for full time, don't expect it any time soon. There are people there over 5 years waiting for full time. Good luck. Keep your options open for other career opportunities.
Yessss. I was a casual for 4 years. $10 hr and no benefits. I have no sympathy but i do understand how the non career employees feel.
"A 12% increase in work-related injuries last year"
Because the old timers know not to report accidents!
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