On January 13, 2025, the NRLCA filed a Step 4 grievance regarding the Postal Service’s failure to timely adjust overburdened routes.
The text of the Step 4 appears below:
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Pursuant to Article 15, Section 4(D) of the parties’ National Agreement, the NRLCA submits this National-level grievance.
In dispute is the Postal Service’s continued violation of Article 9.2.C.8.b which states:
“Permanent relief will be arranged as soon as practicable for overburdened routes. Auxiliary assistance may be provided as a temporary means of providing relief for those routes as defined in 8.a.(1). Assistance is provided, equivalent to the lesser of the following:
(1) The regular rural carrier’s actual weekly work hours that are in excess of 48 hours (K classification); or
(2) The standard hours for the route that are in excess of 57:36.”
The NRLCA received the USPS letter dated January 7, 2025 in response to the Union’s Request for Information dated December 19, 2024 regarding route adjustments. The response states “The Postal Service is not planning to adjust or consolidate any routes between 01/01/2025 and 03/31/2025.”
In March 2024, the parties agreed to an adjustment process/tool to adjust rural routes. Applying that process/tool, the Postal Service adjusted thousands of routes from May 2024 through August 2024. From October 2024 through November 2024, the Postal Service adjusted hundreds of additional routes.
The NRLCA and the USPS subsequently entered into a MOU dated 11/18/2024 that eliminated the fluctuation of post adjustment evaluations by locking in those evaluations for a minimum of 52 weeks and should have addressed any concerns regarding adjustment fluctuations.
Failure by management to timely adjust overburdened routes is a violation of the established language and is causing harm to Rural Carriers. A rural carrier is incentivized through the evaluated system and compensated up to 57:36 standard hours (K48). Management’s violation results in mail being delivered at the expense of the carrier. This violation is causing carriers to perform work without being properly compensated. Failing to timely adjust routes potentially causes additional harm by not creating career positions resulting from newly created regular routes. It also impacts the number of PTFs required within an office in accordance with Article 30.2.A.3.
The Association’s remedial request includes but is not limited to (1) immediately adjust all overburdened routes (2) retro the career effective date as appropriate, for any leave replacement negatively impacted by management’s failure to timely adjust routes (3) compensate regular rural carriers for all standard hours greater than 57:36 at 150% of their hourly rate, and (4) interest at the Federal Judgment Rate for all impacted carriers.
Please contact Director of Labor Relations John Adams at your earliest convenience to discuss this important issue.
Sincerely,
Donald L. Maston
President
National Rural Letter Carriers’ Association
What does this even mean? Things go to “step4” all the time and you never hear anything else about it.
As long as you are working over evaluation and USPS doesn’t have to pay you, the routes will never be adjusted. It’s free labor for USPS thanks to your wonderful union NRLCA. My Christmas bonus was the largest it’s ever been, looking forward to spending March in Hawaii this year.