Here is more info about USPS To Expand National Reassessment Process With New Pilot Program??] that PostalReporter posted back in March of this year:
LIMITED DUTY CARRIERS SUFFER THE ULTIMATE HARM
By: Ray Hill, Executive Vice-President
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF LETTER CARRIERS AFL-CIO Branch 2902 (Chatsworth, CA)
I’m sure you are all at least somewhat familiar with the story of Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger III, the pilot that successfully landed US Airways Flight 1549 in the Hudson River on January 15th, saving his crew and all 155 passengers on board in the process. Ever since I heard about his heroic Hudson River landing, when the word pilot comes to my mind, I immediately think of Mr. Sullenberger. On the other hand, when USPS Management thinks about the word pilot, sadly, it isn’t Mr. Sully Sullenberger that pops into their minds.
Speaking of the word pilot, the USPS has just launched their brand, spanking new “Limited Duty Pilot Program”.No, when USPS Management thinks of the word pilot, they don’t see Sully Sullenberger III; they see visions of their injured carriers being kicked in the a** as they shove them out the door.
Thanks to this particular pilot, many of the Sierra-Coastal District’s already injured Letter Carriers are now suffering from new injuries that are being inflicted upon them by USPS Management. The good news is that this disastrous “Pilot Program” is only being tested in 4 USPS Districts in the entire country. The bad news is that the Sierra-Coastal District is one of them. The worst news is that USPS Management will probably embrace the havoc wreaked by the Pilot Program and eventually implement it across the nation.
Apparently the National Reassessment Process (NRP) was not proceeding fast enough for their liking, so the USPS came up with this Pilot Program to hasten the harm to those Letter Carriers that have sustained on-the-job injuries and have been working modified assignments for several years.
In Branch 2902 the Pilot Program crash-landed in the Reseda and Woodland Hills Post Offices on Friday, April 3, 2009 as Management Teams went into those offices and met with the limited duty carriers.
On Monday, April 6, 2009 the Pilot Program crashed into the North Hollywood and Sylmar offices. Throughout the weeks of April 6th and April 13th, the Management Teams have continued the meetings in Post Offices throughout the Branch.
Most of the limited duty carriers that I have spoken to say that they requested Union representation in their meeting with Management and that their requests were denied.Branch 2902 will be filing grievances in any and all offices where carriers requested Union representation and their requests were denied.
Some of our injured carriers were offered no work at all and sent home with a Form CA-7, while other carriers were offered varying amounts of work totaling less than 8 hours per day.
Regarding the offers of less than 8 hour’s work per day that were given to the carriers, it is really a mixed bag. For example, one carrier was offered 1 hour of work per day, another carrier was offered 2 hours of work per day while yet another carrier was offered 6 hours of work per day.
Injured carriers that have been carrying routes have, for the most part, been offered 8 hours of work per day.
In my correct opinion, it is really a slap in the face to offer someone 1, 2 or 3 hours of work per day. I take that back. It is more of a kick in the ass than a slap in the face.
Some of the injured carriers that were given these insulting job offers commute from long distances (i.e. Palmdale, Lancaster, Rancho Cucamonga, Inglewood, etc.) and their commutes will take them longer than they will be working. That, Brothers and Sisters, is just plain, unadulterated, Grade-A B.S.
We are advising all the limited duty carriers being adversely affected by the pilot program to contact the steward in their office to file a grievance immediately when they are given offers of anything less than 8 hours of work within their medical restrictions per day.
We are also advising these carriers to provide their stewards with a detailed statement explaining what work they have been doing since they suffered their injuries.
The work that the limited duty carriers have been doing all these years did not magically disappear when Management kicked them out the door. Someone has to be doing that work. The question is: Who is now doing the work that our injured carriers have been doing for years?
I carried mail in North Hollywood, where Management has a long history of doing craft work when they think they can get away with it. Supervisors have been known to case routes, pull down routes, deliver mail, deliver Express Mail, spread mail, pull the hot case for carriers, etc. When we find out about the violations, we file grievances and are successful getting letter carriers paid for craft work that was performed by Management.
I find it criminal that Management has the gall to kick injured carriers out the door because they allegedly have no work for them and then sneak around doing the work that the injured carrier used to do. Help us with this, Brothers and Sisters! Let us know if and when you observe any violations of Management doing the craft work that our injured carriers used to do and should still be doing! Remember, “There but for the grace of God walketh I”.