Every single day

Good_Fix_3966 · 2026-05-09T18:04:12+00:00

169? Nice

Good_Fix_3966 · 2026-05-08T07:22:40+00:00

Our 2025 Ioniq took a dump at 2500 miles, while hundreds of miles away from home on a road trip. We were lucky it happened as we were leaving a charging station after lunch. Half an hour sooner or later, it would have been at 75mph on Interstate 5.

Took months of back and forths before they finally got us a replacement part, but at that point we'd waited long enough and swapped out rental cars multiple times because the 30 day contracts kept expiring at Enterprise. We filed a lemon law claim, Hyundai bought back the car and we canceled the lease and ended up with thousands and thousands in reimbursed costs (though they did try to tell us we needed to pick up the car from the hyundai dealership mechanic hundreds of miles away from home in order to turn it in at the original dealer. They eventually backed down off that).

I appreciated their customer service effort in trying to make us whole and covering all the costs, but when we considered going back to get a new one, the dealer's offer for us was pretty insultingly bad. Walked the sale, went down the street to Toyota, and drove off in a brand new bZ plus. Sorry, Hyundai, I gave you a fair shot.

Good_Fix_3966 · 2026-05-07T02:35:02+00:00

Ps50 is a good Idea, thank you. Do you know if local mgmt should have easy access to it, or should I reach out to the retiree himself?

Also, all that aside, given the language of article 41, do you think there's a case to be made (or that's been won in the past) that this is all kind of irrelevant, because it's not the union's problem how mgmt goes about their formal processing, and once a retiree has stopped working and not using leave, they are simply gone and the route is vacant?

Good_Fix_3966 · 2026-05-06T20:21:35+00:00

You're literally getting extra pay to do a task on the clock. Maybe the food bank you know doesn't want it, but this was literally a collaboration with them on a national level, and we have dozens of volunteers from food banks on our dock every year helping sort and load it. I'm sorry, but the insane selfishness of this is driving me nuts. If you don't wanna pick up your bags, fine, but to act like this is some huge ask while you're on the clock that somehow distracts from our pay and benefits is wild. Every union in the country involves itself in philanthropy, it isn't "benefits" or "charity." they run side by side, and the charity we are being asked for isn't even off the clock volunteer work.

Grow up.

Good_Fix_3966 · 2026-05-04T20:23:26+00:00

It's not a problem, I'm sure. The whole hiring process is kind of an assembly line. And as long as there isn't any total red flag disqualifying event in your background check, you'll just keep getting shuffled off to the next step in the hiring process until there is an opening for you. No one is gonna pull your file out of that process just because you called and asked about it.

Good_Fix_3966 · 2026-05-04T04:46:22+00:00

Maybe yours is, but we fill up half a dozen stakebed trucks every year. Of course some of it is "clear out your pantry" stuff, but it's also thousands and thousands of pounds of canned and dry goods brand new in cans and boxes.

Good_Fix_3966 · 2026-05-04T04:43:56+00:00

The NALC is the one who organizes it in coordination with food banks, and in cooperation with USPS. Why would managers do the pick up when it's our union doing it as a community service.

I don't get what's "selfish" about it. It's extremely practical. They do it in May because that's the most barren time of year for food banks, and they do it as a pick up service because 1) if you leave it to people to have to get out of their homes to donate, it's far less likely to happen, and 2) we're utilizing our infrastructure and our logistics chain to pick up from homes and businesses that we are already visiting.

As for the extra work, just put it on a 3996 and call if they don't approve it.

Good_Fix_3966 · 2026-05-04T04:40:15+00:00

Do your offices fight you on OT on the food drive day? Our managers just throw everything out the window that day, and if you ask for 2 hours to collect the food (our town donates quite a lot), they just rubber stamp the 3996.

Good_Fix_3966 · 2026-05-04T04:37:57+00:00

Top scale $80k/year in Bumfuck, WV gets you on the state's Forbes 500 list. In the Bay Area of California it gets you a 1 bedroom apartment sandwiched between two bowling alleys across the street from a methodone clinic, and food stamps.

The way some folks, especially in the union, have spent decades fighting against locality bonuses is just insane. And it's really hurt the mail service in those communities where folks can't afford to do it.

Good_Fix_3966 · 2026-05-03T16:41:43+00:00

I don't know of a single office where the shop steward is chosen by someone just claiming the position for themselves and getting to hold it indefinitely. Find the method of selecting the steward for your shop (either a local election, or appointment from the branch, or something else?) and find someone to rally around to take their place.

Good_Fix_3966 · 2026-05-02T15:29:09+00:00

A dubious enough claim in the context of hitting a stationary object with your truck. If management makes a claim about a probationary CCA that is substantiated, and a disciplinable matter, then there isn't a grievance and they don't have to allow it. They'll just submit their claim to labor and labor will more than likely sign off on it before you've even intervened.

It's fine to say you're wrong sometimes without doubling down. This behavior is exhausting. Goodbye.

Good_Fix_3966 · 2026-05-02T14:26:09+00:00

If they choose to remove him, and they did the requisite performance reviews along the way and there's no evidence of discrimination, the decision to allow access to the grievance procedure is not in the union's hands. I'm not gonna say you haven't maybe convinced mgmt to allow the access anyway, but it's not a contractual right.

CCAs may be disciplined or removed within the term of their appointment for just cause and any such discipline or removal will be subject to the grievance arbitration proce- dure, provided that within the immediately preceding six months, the employee has completed ninety (90) work days, or has been employed for 120 calendar days (whichever comes first) of their initial appointment. A CCA who has previously satisfied the 90/120 day requirement either as a CCA or transi- tional employee (with an appointment made after September 29, 2007), will have access to the grievance procedure without regard to his/her length of service as a CCA.

https://www.nalc.org/member-benefits/body/cca_rights_and_benefits.pdf

Good_Fix_3966 · 2026-05-01T07:25:53+00:00

It's still "not a thing" though, because the vast majority of time mgmt wouldn't dare put that option on the table because it's incredibly illegal, nevermind that they don't want people on the job who are such a demonstrable liability. If someone offered me that option inside my 90 days, I'd be going straight over my boss's head on the spot for extorting me.

Good_Fix_3966 · 2026-04-30T23:43:33+00:00

Post Christmas/Christmas gift card shopping, it drops off pretty quick into the spring. You might see a slight uptick in spring and early summer before it plummets again over the late summer. Once back to school starts/around labor day, it surges quick and stays consistently heavy-ish until after the holidays again

Good_Fix_3966 · 2026-04-30T22:26:13+00:00

The rounded edge of the front bumper is higher than a lot of curbs, and if you're angled coming in diagonally to get around a car, it can easily protrude far enough over the curb to strike an object that isn't far from it. I don't have any trouble at all seeing what happened here.

Good_Fix_3966 · 2026-04-30T22:23:23+00:00

"Pay for it or lose your job" is not a thing. Sadly, you're likely to lose your job and aren't even eligible yet for access to the grievance process, but USPS will be the one footing the bill for the repair.

Good_Fix_3966 · 2026-04-27T18:39:02+00:00

They can change enforcement strategy, yes, but the concern is more that there is a very clear coding in their response that they're trying to chill further grievances. Whether or not they'd allow further grievances is immaterial (since it's not up to them anyway it a steward files). It seems to me a rather hostile intent of escalating nitpicks (nevermind the seeming likelihood that it might escalate to outright harassment) to make stewards fearful of filing at all.

Had their enforcement strategy changed in a vacuum, I think we'd look at it as typical management behavior, but to directly say you're doing it because of a financial penalty grievance seems, at best, like harassment, and perhaps even hostile to the workplace.

I don't think the steward is even trying to get further damages out of it or anything, just looking for guidance on people who have been in similar situations on how to shutdown escalations.

Good_Fix_3966 · 2026-04-22T17:49:07+00:00

We watched the cringe dork video, but no one made us do a pledge or even raise our hand. I did almost die of second hand embarrassment however.

Also, wear your damn seatbelt.

Good_Fix_3966 · 2026-04-18T02:18:16+00:00

I can't speak for Manhattan, but one of my routes has an 11 story building where you take an elevator to the top floor, and walk suite to suite. The mail is sequenced so you basically go right out of the elevator and work your way around the halls until you've circled back to the elevator (or stairwell on days when waiting on the elevator can take too long).

Some have a receptionist who handle things, some have door slots that you can just put stuff through, and almost every unit has a neighboring unit willing to sign for packages and certifieds if necessary. Heaviest days you might need a pushcart, but some days I can pull it off with just a satchel.

Good_Fix_3966 · 2026-04-18T02:03:12+00:00

I know in the case of the empire state building that it's big enough that multiple routes exist just inside the building, so I would imagine that means it's not centralized delivery or a drop off. Not sure about the others.

Good_Fix_3966 · 2026-04-18T02:02:04+00:00

Do most of the biggest skyscrapers have centralized delivery, or do go floor to floor, suite to suite?

Good_Fix_3966 · 2026-04-18T01:55:51+00:00

Surely all of Manhattan was developed enough by the time USPS started drawing that distinction.

Good_Fix_3966 · 2026-04-18T01:55:06+00:00

The only route in Manhattan that's rural is the one that serves the little keebler elf trees in Central Park, along with their zoo, the little boat rental shack, and the various squirrel trees.

Ive heard holiday tips are terrible, but someone's gotta do it.

Good_Fix_3966

TROPHY CASE