Step 4 Grievance Settlement on Electronic Parcel Lockers (EPL) and the Upcoming February/March 2018 Mail Count

This case involves management refusing to compensate carriers when servicing newly established Electronic Parcel Lockers (EPL). The parties agree that If it is determined that EPLs will be used for parcel delivery, actual time will be provided for time spent by the carrier to service the lockers. There may be additional credit warranted for servicing the EPL such as dismount/distance and miles.

During a mail count, the parties agree that in addition to the normal mail volume credit, EPLs served by a rural route during a mail count will receive credit as follows:

Column 17, Other Suitable Allowance, a manager will conduct a one-week survey (the first 6 consecutive delivery days) recording the actual time used daily to service the EPLs.

Specifically, actual time begins after all parcels are located at the key pad location, record the actual time when the carrier begins to sign in on the keypad and continue until the carrier signs out on the key pad. The same time will be recorded in Column 17, Other Suitable Allowance, for each respective day (i.e. Monday, Tuesday, etc.) of the entire mail count period. This means the actual time recorded on the first Saturday will be recorded on the second Saturday, the time recorded on the first Monday will be recorded on the second Monday, etc. for 6 days.

If rural carriers are required to wait to gain access to the keypad, the actual waiting time will be included as part of Column 17 – Other Suitable Allowance listed above, consistent with Handbook PO-603, Rural Carrier Duties and Responsibilities, section 535.12. This waiting time includes other carriers and delivery companies (UPS, FedEx, Amazon, Others)

Column 18, Authorized Dismounts, if additional dismount is required and,

Column 19, Authorized Dismount Distance (feet) – any additional distance required to serve the EPL.

The parties further agree where rural carriers were serving EPLs prior to the mail count, the appropriate base hour change (Columns 17, 18, and 19) will be made to the route, retroactive to the first day of the pay period the carrier began servicing the lockers. Carriers should contact their District Representative and provide the name of the office, the route number, the addresses where the Electronic Parcel Lockers are located and the date each set of lockers began being serviced by rural carriers. The parties will be reviewing each one to determine if a retro base hour change will be needed if the time would have made a change to the routes evaluation to retroactively compensate the rural carriers who served Electronic Parcel lockers on the route.

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Click here to view the Step 4 settlement letter.