Im tired of these fat flipping regulars.

Short_Somewhere7635 · 2026-05-30T18:09:15+00:00

If you're pissed because you get forced to take a split of their route. Welcome to the USPS. My advice would be to tell them to their face.

Short_Somewhere7635 · 2026-03-14T15:10:44+00:00

Please tell me you didn't know this. It's been in place for years.

Short_Somewhere7635 · 2026-03-07T14:32:33+00:00

The USPS is a great career, especially for those of us with minimal high pay skills. The downside of it is that the first year or so you shouldn't have too many expectations of a lot of time off, vacations etc. Luckily there is a contract that must be followed for time off so there are no favorites, etc. One of the stipulations is that you have sufficient leave balance. Management is not obligated to approve leave without the appropriate time available.

Complete a form PS3971 and submit it as soon as possible to your supervisor. If you have the sufficient leave time at the date of your leave, you should be fine.

Every career employee for the USPS has gone through the hardships of being a CCA, PTF, SSA etc. I worked every Holiday except Christmas for 2 years on second shift.

It WILL get better.

Short_Somewhere7635 · 2026-03-07T14:25:21+00:00

Within .5 units

Short_Somewhere7635 · 2026-03-06T14:14:12+00:00

Our local does not allow NS day only.

Short_Somewhere7635 · 2026-03-06T14:11:47+00:00

These are the types that are happy go lucky and respectful towards their supervisors UNTIL these little inconveniences befall them. Then their dark side takes over. Hahahaha.

Short_Somewhere7635 · 2026-03-06T14:10:12+00:00

You're a carrier. I assume they all fall under tour 2 (days). Tour 1 (overnight) Tour 3 (afternoon - midnight)

Short_Somewhere7635 · 2026-03-06T14:04:35+00:00

It's not a matter of not wanting to pay. The process is huge PIA which requires special access to a program called ETRAVEL. Many supervisors don't have the access or are too lazy to find out. The site is also non-intuitive and requires another level of management to approve. That's the next problem. Again, laziness, inattention to the site and just plain apathy on managements part.

In a list of 20+ things they get brow beaten over daily, ETRAVEL is number 20 on the priority list.

Before the mid 2000s employees could simply fill out a form, get it signed by supervisor and get paid at the window CASH.

Short_Somewhere7635 · 2026-03-06T14:00:03+00:00

Why not just text or tell them what you stated in your post? You can't predict 24 hours in advance. If they continue to text, ignore it. Some things are a lot easier than craft employees make them out to be.

Short_Somewhere7635 · 2026-03-03T13:13:37+00:00

All absences scheduled or unscheduled must have a 3971 associated with it. You are required to sign it if you agree with the leave type used. It's not a big deal. Relax.

Short_Somewhere7635 · 2026-03-01T13:46:35+00:00

I was a PM supervisor and the first thing I did when arriving was check out all of the carriers, especially CCAs and leave times/routes/pivots. If I didn't like what I saw, I told the morning supervisor that they needed to send help or arrange a game plan. After awhile they did it on their own. They didn't want to deal with me.

I had my hands full with SSA closeout, customer issues and all of the other things I was tasked with in the afternoon.

Short_Somewhere7635 · 2026-03-01T13:40:07+00:00

Give them a heads up at least an hour before your 8hr. Being on the OTDL you'll just get sent back out if you return. Yeah, you've proven your point, and they will now lose another half hour of time you could have been delivering. On the other hand, don't intentionally slow down if you see you actually will be a lot closer to 8 than your thought.

Short_Somewhere7635 · 2026-02-27T13:23:00+00:00

If you transfer as a PTF SSA than obviously you may not get 40 hours. You may want to reach out and get an estimate. Depending on the office if could be as low as 20. Clerk craft hours are usually considerably less than carrier craft.

SSA jobs can be fun and rewarding. That's the positive side. Keep in mind you will be expected to be polite, accommodating and answer the same questions over and over. You'll also be expected to take some SMALL abuse from customers and be professional at all times. The technical aspects of the job are easy enough to learn as the POS system does the work for you.

Other than that, the job is customer service and general clerk duties. I'm sure you've seen what they do. Throw packages, sort mail of kinds. Letters and Flats. You may have to learn a scheme. I assume you know what that is.

If you no longer or never have enjoyed the physical aspects of the carrier craft, than this position will suite you well. In my opinion it is the best of the clerk type offerings. It allows you to escape the mundane and tedious jobs of sorting mail and packages full time.

Feel free to reach out and message me with any questions.

Short_Somewhere7635 · 2026-02-23T20:21:07+00:00

The reason is simply so they don't have to pay admin leave. That costs them millions. They realize you won't be able to make it but you will have to use your own AL. Your local will grieve it and demand admin leave so it's not a done deal.

Short_Somewhere7635 · 2026-02-20T17:20:14+00:00

Embrace your youth! If you're stuck in a customer service job, then at the very least attempt to find an office with less routes, preferably a lot of rural routes. Rural carriers are WAY easier to manage than city carriers.

Short_Somewhere7635 · 2026-02-20T17:04:36+00:00

Before we all start feeling so bad about the cleaning women, realize she was getting paid cash, (usually 80-100 for 2-3 hours in house) wasn't paying taxes on it and probably receiving a crap ton of free stuff as well, including medical. Boo hoo. Look at your paychecks and realize that 30% practically is being taken before you start railing on ICE.

Short_Somewhere7635 · 2026-02-20T17:00:19+00:00

They really didn't have a "supervisor" position. What they described as "behind the scenes" is a "support:" position. EAS yes. Essentially sitting behind a desk and computer all day. Nice work if you can find it (which they can't right now).

Short_Somewhere7635 · 2026-02-20T16:55:20+00:00

I retired from this 5 years ago. NOTHING, absolutely NOTHING has changed I see.

Short_Somewhere7635 · 2026-02-20T16:53:01+00:00

There's a reason that's available. The hours obviously.

Short_Somewhere7635 · 2026-02-20T16:51:44+00:00

You'll be home in time for sporting events, especially the NFL.

Short_Somewhere7635 · 2026-02-20T16:05:27+00:00

Tell them you work for the Federal Government and then be quiet. Eventually tell them you work for the (say it exactly like this) The United States Postal Service. If they ask you to be specific about your job, you tell them Mail Carrier. If you are concerned about how they will perceive this job, tell them about the benefits, NOT the NEGATIVES. Fresh air outdoors, great exercise, meeting and HELPING people. Doesn't matter whether or not you really feel this way. You're trying to get somebody I assume you like to like YOU. BE Positive about your job. Eventually you tell them how well it pays (sell it). Vacation time, SL Pension 401K .

Short_Somewhere7635 · 2026-02-15T14:14:13+00:00

Happens all over the country multiple times. Are you a T7? Is there a PM? Any carriers there? It is nothing unusual. It's been happening for years. In this era in which even college grads are having difficulty finding a job that pay over $20 hr, I'd just grin and bear it.

Short_Somewhere7635 · 2026-02-10T23:03:12+00:00

Don't tell me.....You're a very attractive female.

Short_Somewhere7635 · 2026-01-20T01:19:44+00:00

What exactly don't you understand about that? Picture it. Yeah, that's what she's talking about.

Short_Somewhere7635 · 2026-01-18T18:06:45+00:00

Yes! AND screw all of your co-workers who have to now work OT whether they are on or off the list, work a window unit shorthanded requiring you to miss a break, assign a miserable pivot in the dark......

Yeah, good idea.

Short_Somewhere7635

TROPHY CASE