USPS to use video recordings of carriers in upcoming NALC contract talks and possibly interest arbitration
In a letter dated April 8, 2011 from USPS Labor Relations to NALC President Fred Rolando:
This is notification that the Postal Service will conduct a review of city letter carrier office activities beginning April 25. The review will involve data collection and analysis of all office activities on selected routes for one day, with the route serviced by the regular carrier or carrier technician. It is anticipated that this assessment will take approximately nine weeks and involve 400 city letter carrier routes.
A stratified sampling plan was used to randomly select delivery units within each Area. To qualify, delivery units must contain at least ten city letter carrier routes. Four routes from each selected delivery unit will be randomly chosen for review.
During the review, mail volume will be recorded and cameras will be used to record time spent on office tasks. This information will be used to identify the start and stop point of each activity and determine the actual time used.
The data is being collected in preparation for upcoming collective bargaining.
Last year USPS notified NRLCA that it would be placing video cameras in some LLV’s and POV’s on rural routes in order to collect information/data for use in negotiations and possible interest arbitration.
so where does it say in the letter to rolondo they are putting cameras in the vehicles? as far as , “randomly selected”, i’m sure that the routes and/offices selected are a bunch of kiss asses or the runners. whatever.. if you do the job the way your supposed to do it….. it takes a LONG time. There are an inordinate amount of rules that we have to follow when a manager is watching us, (street AND office). If ALL carriers delivered “by the book”, ALL the time, and gave great service to the customer, instead if kissing management’s asses, everything would be fine
Fran there are many possibilities as to the use of this data. If every employee is following their flow chart and working in a safely the data might show that we actually need more fixed office time. They could also use the data from the video and compare it to other days with”similar volume” and try to brow beat you about any discrepencies. Bottom line is to simply do your job the same way every day and you will be alright. Also this article does not state whether our Union has filed any grievances on this issue.
Since I have been notified about this I have wondered why management would do this. My opinion is that they are trying to reduce fixed office time saying we don’t need the time we are currently alloted. The postmaster in my office thinks they are going to use this to try to negotiate evaluated routes. I hope this is not the case if I wanted to be a rural carrier i would have been. Any other thoughts on what they could use this for?
Hey your lunch is mine.
I’ll guarantee you when all is said and done you will finally learn that 99% of carriers do their job everyday and management was the one doctoring clock rings. If your a boss you know what I mean! Then we’ll come back to this site and talk about it. You may be back in the craft by then!
Anon – LOL! Things get tougher when they have to stop talking and start writing!
THE WHAT OF WHAT IS HERE? Where did you learn to spell and speak English?
This is beautiful.
Finally !!! All the big mouths that blame mgmt. for everything will now have to play by the rules.
Your MSP scans are going to be all out of wack, now all of a sudden you will be getting to a point 1/2 hour earlier because you’ve been manipulating your “scams”
Ha!!! get ready for more route addtions. THE DARY OF RECOGNING IS HERE!!!!
Good idea. Let’s give up collective bargaining completely.
If the union can’t get the USPS management to also be video recorded, I think ALL members need to cancel their union membership immediately!
I spend half my work day down the street at the bar!
Isn’t this the same thing (Memorandum of Understanding) that has been posted on safety bulletin boards as a violation of the rights and postal practices, regarding no audio or video can be used in a facility?
Do you feel a Royal Oaks coming on? I hope we are safe. Then again Managers don’t show for work and get paid so there safe as should be the rest of the employees.
Like a fire head down and roll.
I remember when I worked between two facilities, USPS and UPS in Oakland. I had to make a u-turn to get into my office. If I didn’t arrive well before 8:00am I would have to wait a long time to make that u-turn, as a very long stream of loaded, washed and ready UPS trucks rolled out.
On the other hand, around 9:45 I could look over the fence at the USPS facility as postal employees were standing around trucks drinking coffee, etc.
They should do the videos when no one is looking.
They should get a camera on me while I lay into that feedbag I wear to work everyday!
Bad news for the carrier spending 2 hours at their home everyday. But great news for mostly all the other carriers who keep proving they are doing a good job everyday. Real bad news for postal management. Give us GPS’s, watch us on video then what’s management going to do? Someone in delivery management better start trying to justify the need for their existance in the postal service.
Bad news for the carrier on my street. Spends 2 hours at home everyday!
What, the daily record-keeping, report filing, MSP scans, office scans, vehicle scans, time-clock punches and route adjustment data (with carrier duties observed for a whole day-on street included) is not enough? What a bunch of effing clowns.
Can the Carriers have a camera to film management over the same period of time. It would even the playing field in Arbitration. What’s good for the goose is good for the gander. Ii doubt it. We can’t be trusted with a camera.
It’ll add at least an hour to my office time when I give the camera the finger after each letter and flat that I case.
How about cameras recording all the activities of superviors, starting with the area v.p.’s….down….
Now they will see the wasted time….and wannabe pmg’s justifying their existence….
Try it…..
P.S., There will be camera’s in the Restrooms as well!