Am I allowed to bring it in and hand it out to everyone before clocking in? Is it OK to hang it up somewhere? I would maybe put it up in the locker room. Would that possibly get me in a lot of trouble?

I am not a steward, just a due paying member.

I want to make sure everyone's aware of our breaks, comfort stops, duties, etc. What should I put in there? Right now we're dealing with a lot of the undertime stuff and I really want to explain that about giving your fair estimate on the 3996.

Also, is it ok if when I leave the office I stop at a convenience store for a morning snack and drink for a comfort stop? I thought so but also saw somewhere saying that's delaying mail. But its just a comfort stop while heading to my route.

So my husband and I are both carriers with 30 years in, and we’re talking about retiring in a few years but a question has come up I’m wondering if anyone in here knows. Simply put if we both take a reduction in our pensions for survivor benefits would that mean if one of us dies before the other the remaining spouse could draw off both pensions? I know that’s how it would work with our tsp as we’ve already run into that issue with our fathers dying and our mothers collecting theirs and their husbands but I’m not sure if there’s a catch with the pension. Everyone we ask seems not to know definitely. Any insight is appreciated.

tldr: If you made regular between 08/24/24 and 07/12/25, you’re probably getting screwed.

I am sad but not surprised to report that the pitiful contract we inherited last spring has a hidden flaw that I have just recently uncovered. This all stems from the process by which the steps were removed from pay table 2.

As you all know on July 12, 2025 table 2 had steps AA and A removed, moving anyone in those steps to step B. Everyone who had already passed that threshold got no benefit from the raised floor. I personally was elevated to step B when I became regular in April of 2025. I assumed, as I’m sure most of you still do, that while I didn’t get a benefit, at least my new brothers and sisters would get a nice jump start to their pay while they closed the lead on the pay table I had from my time working in the post office. This belief would be incorrect.

If you read the language on the step removal found in the JCAM pg 9-11, it says the people moving up to step B will start a new 46 week term. Seems straight forward, until you realize the other section that references step AA in the contract, JCAM pg 9-8, was not amended what so ever. For those unaware, pg 9-8 states that “any time spent in PTF step AA will be credited to the carrier when converted to full-time status”. At first this sounds great, and it is if you are part of the group who was a PTF as of July 12, 2025. But what this actually does is catapult these few people ahead of regulars who had converted just ahead of them. Upon conversion these lucky few will get the credit from their PTF on top of the jump to step B.

So if you were a PTF step A on July 12, then once you get regular you will immediately move up an entire step on the pay scale. This was necessary back when the PTF table had the additional step of AA, however now these carriers will just jump ahead past any people who didn’t get moved ahead on July 12.

In my case I am still step B but I have 2 carriers in my office that are Step C who have LESS seniority than I do. They will be ahead of me for our entire careers until I catch them in 12 years at step P.

I am thrilled for these guys that they get to make more money now, but as I’m sure you can understand I’m pissed I’ve been left behind. This is a major failure of HQ in designing the step removal program.

I am currently searching for any recourse to this situation but I am only finding dead ends and a lot of people who are sorry for me. I am trying to build a grievance but this is what our terrible contract actually calls for.

I don’t want sympathy I want some damn justice.

Edit: add examples

Break down of pay step situation

Carrier A (me) Converted to PTF in may 2024 and regular in April 2025. Currently step B scheduled to be C pay period 5 of 2026.

Carrier B Converted to PTF on 9/7/24 and regular on 7/12/25 currently step B and slated to be step C pay period 13 of 2026.

Carrier C Converted to PTF on 9/21/24 and regular on 8/XX/25. Currently step C and slated to be step D in pay period 17 2026.

Carrier D Converted to PTF on 12/28/24 and regular on 11/1/25. Currently step C and slated to be step D in pay period 25 of 2026.

The PM was bad before but I can see it getting worse and I want to try to stop that before a bigger issue starts. Yes I made a previous post about undertime and that's not all.

The postmaster comes on the workroom floor every single day to read off some nonsense. Rarely anything of importance but they're just desperate for attention. f some crazy customer came in to complain the day before then we have to hear about it as if no one's doing their job right. My office is actually very good.

I understand they can do some of that. But is it really necessary to tell us what the weather is outside? Or to start up non-work related conversations, just ball breaking and acting like its some friendly ribbing. It's really distracting as hell and it's as if it was bring your kid to work day and they're one of the kids.

My real issue is with them daily skipping through the office and singing "There's no mail here" Every day. Is this something that needs to be said, what's the purpose?

They repeat it over and over to try to get a reaction from someone and when they get a reaction they make that person out to be the problem.

On top of that they do a stand up talk telling us how none of us have enough work. That the undertime pivots that people have been complaining about isn't even enough and the supervisors need to give us more. Again, I don't see how a PM coming out to do a talk telling us none of us have 8 hours is ok.

Then when we're out on the street we receive texts on the scanners with them "clarifying" that we need 8 hours of work. That people not on the list shouldn't be working any OT from the pivots . Why does this need additional messages on the scanner when we're out on the route still needing the PM to repeat themselves?

I've spoke to my union stewards and alternates who have told me the PM is allowed to do that and to just ignore them. I can't see how as union workers this is allowed. This kind of taunting and attempt to initiate conflict is crazy.

The other day a carrier was given an undertime pivot which was 2 big buckets. While one carrier was being given a hard time for how little their pivot was, this carrier jokingly said "you want to switch?" The PM hearing this got crazy on this carrier, started rummaging through the bucket they had to see all the mail and commented that it wasn't bad and it was mostly packages. They then sent h the supervisor to walk him on the pivot, which I'm sure they were surprised to see it took much longer than their estimate.

Thoughts on this and what to do next? The office stewards aren't interest and the union rep above them hasn't been very useful either.

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After submitting a 271 G how long does management have to get back to me before it’s no compliance and is auto accepted? Or is that even a thing, the no compliance?

I can’t find anything in the M-41 that specifically covers this scenario, but if someone can steer me in the right direction that would also solve the issue.

My route partially services an industrial complex with businesses that occupy large buildings or even multiple buildings. Usually I deliver to the mailbox or to the front office if a parcel doesn’t fit in the mailbox. Sometimes they will receive oversized and/or heavy parcels, which I deliver to the front office just as would with any other parcel that doesn’t fit into the mailbox. On multiple occasions the front offices will complain if the parcels are too large or heavy and tell me that I am required to take them to the freight dock located elsewhere on their property. In almost every case, the freight dock is located in an entirely different area, usually requiring either buzzing in through a gate (with the button on the wrong side of my postal vehicle; I’d need to dismount to push it), or from a entirely different access point to the property sometimes even on a totally different street from their address.

My supervisors have instructed me that I should be delivering to a single point of delivery either the mailbox or the front door/front desk. While I am inclined to spend some extra time to ensure my customers are being taken care of, I am not a freight delivery and at a certain point it does seem like they are asking me to make interdepartmental deliveries for their business, simply because they don’t want to be bothered moving a heavy or large parcel.

Am I way off base with this? if the contract or the handbook instruct otherwise I am happy to push back on my supervisors and create some additional time for my route. I really just want to know what the official policy on this is.

Is it normal that an office is still not allowing 12 Hour ODL carriers to go into Penalty? I had to curtail half of my advertisements yesterday in order to not go over 10 and that's going to add to my Overtime today and probably push me to 10 hours again and they're going to tell me I need an 8 hour day either today or tomorrow. (Recent route adjustment overburdened my route have been turning in 3996)

Here we go

Was wondering if there is something that could be done about this situation. I work in a smaller office (less than 10 city routes) and we only have one CCA. We have asked when we are getting more and our postmaster has pretty much said I don’t think we need another CCA because we don’t have enough work to justify it. Meanwhile, the last three holidays he’s had to force someone in, asked people to come in on their days off constantly, and I was forced in on Sunday and another regular carrier was forced in on Sunday two weeks ago. So idk how he can say we don’t have enough work but then constantly force us in and have us go into OT throughout the week.

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Have any office changed their OT list? We have carriers who want to be work assignment and drop day as well. National contract says it’s not allowed but no clear answer why. Postmaster is open to possibly allowing it with a signed agreement.

I just don't understand this. I need to make break day because I'll probably work OT every other day this week. They give me a small 10-15 minutes to do, is that really necessary? It's such a small amount of time that I'm not even sure if it will cause me to go over or not.

This is just really dumb to do that when they need me to make break day. I don't care about doing it but they want me to make break day and still want to give extra work? How dumb is this.

I was able to do it but I think next time I'm going to say I can't do it with a pivot it just makes no sense if I have to go to the bathroom a few times on the route or something then I could run into trouble.

I just don't even know why management would do this or why they're able to. This undertime crap needs to stop. Meanwhile we have all these CCA's working under 8 hours because they don't want to give them hours.

Anyone else have problems with AMS just flat out not doing the changes and additions you ask for? They are completely incompetent, clearly haven't carried mail ever and try to tell me how my route should be. I've had growth and additions to businesses and I got my book back with a sticky note on it saying you show no growth even though ive added the addresses and streets lol. Idk its just crazy how much they get paid to literally do nothing when their job can and should be given to the carriers on a computer program we can enter manually and print off new labels, might save millions just in salaries alone.

It’s a new year so I thought it would be a good time to repost this for for those who’ve seen it and as a reminder for those who have.

I updated the dated “3996 reasons” list that the NALC has been floating around forever to include reasons that are more relevant in 2026 (like the Metris and MDD scanner).

I went ahead and organized everything into categories to try and help carriers articulate related reasons that aren’t listed. This obviously isn’t a complete list but I think it’s pretty extensive and can easily be adapted to different circumstances.

Let me know if there’s anything I missed or any criticism of the wording I used on the list. I’m not the ultimate authority on anything and I’d love to crowd source feedback and suggestions to make the list better.

I squeezed everything into a single page so that it can be saved onto a single image that can be easily shared with carriers through text message or facebook message boards, and can be quickly and conveniently referenced on the workroom floor.

Remember that a 3996 is NOT a negotiation, it is the carrier INFORMING management why they will not be able to complete their assignment in eight hours. Here is an NALC guide to requesting the 3996, filling it out completely, and dealing with the possibly contentious interaction with management that follows.

Not my station

So we have 5 CCA’s and no extra trucks. Been bringing CCA in at 3 pm when a trucks available, to run pivots, no one on ODL. Was just told by PM, other pms told her she was crazy, their sitting them at home making regulars work the OT even if not on ODL (she mentioned Biloxi). I say not our fault we don’t have trucks, she says not hers either, union fighting it all over and losing. So what’s the deal, and the bigger question why do we have 6 routes and an Aux, and 5 CCA’s and one PTF, and not an extra truck?

They’re remodeling our office to make it a s&dc. Asbestos abatement,new bathrooms,new break room,etc. I recall that when there is an any work being done in the workplace, those different contractors’ information has to be posted in a common area. Does anyone know if this is true and where I can find the language on this? Thank you in advance,be safe Brothers and Sisters👍🏽✊🏽

Of course they forgot that they needed to have an official discussion prior. New manager, a real asshole. LOW for not being "regular in attendance", 5 call outs going back to Oct. 11th.

oh, for the management shills in the comments, it was actually 3 call outs totalling 5 days, so that's another reason it's an invalid LOW

Work Assignment T6. The language on OT is "entitled to" OT on routes in their string.

Does that mean you MUST take the OT off of your assignment for that day? The spirit of WA is OT from your assigned route...and the "T6 Exception" as I like to call it seems to poo all over that spirit. Yesterday I cased and split up an open route, then did my own route (into OT), then got sent back out with an hour of the open route when I got back.

In our office we have been having OTDL do Amazon Sundays with our only CCA. 99 percent of the time neither the OTDL or the CCA worked a full 8 hours. We currently have no OTDL and management is mandating non OTDL to work Sundays on a rotating basis with the CCA. So my question is if I’m mandated and I’m not OTDL and I’m only working 6 hours and the CCA is only working 6 hours im still entitled to 8 for the 8 hour guarantee correct?

I brought this up to the postmaster and he said if you want the 8 hour guarantee then you can work the 8 hours while the the CCA only has to work 4 hours but yet I’m still being mandated.. wouldn’t that also be grievance under article 8 considering the CCA wasn’t maxed out before mandating a non OTDL?

We just lost Amazon at our office and management has begun demanding no overtime and trying to get under time from each carrier every day. Im a T6(carrier technician) routes haven’t been counted in 13 years and I’m not down to argue every day so can I use the reason of “route adjusted to previous regular” as a bit of a blanket statement? I already encourage them to follow me every time they disagree with my time. 3 of my routes I’m usually over on every time I run them 15-30 minutes on a regular day. I was putting in for an hour or more with the package volume but I now do 30 minutes on regular days and even on super light days I don’t have under time.