The Union met with management on July 31, 2013, to review if any progress had been made with the restructure of the Depot 74 drivers. At the end of the meeting, management was forced to agree (based on what is happening with the letter carrier restructure in Depot 74) that it was too early to feel certain that all the work has been added to the MSC routes.
What was clear is that extra boxes have been added to the restructure without them ever being put on the MSC 103 sheets. Because of this, they are not official boxes to have relay deliveries to. Also if a bag goes missing, no one knows where to look for it, as it is not on the 103 sheet.
Currently, we have had an extra one hundred and sixty-four (164) lobby drops that are not on the drivers’ schedules. Along with the direct and ghost boxes, both the Union and management is in no position to evaluate the current MSC routes.
We have clean up runs which are leaving so late, that carriers are not getting their relays until after 12:00 p.m. (noon). We have multiple trips to many boxes, without the proper time credit for the trips.
What has been agreed to?
The parties have agreed that, at the present time, the “mini” bid that was done is on hold indefinitely. We assume that we will have to do another bid once the routes and problems stabilize.
We have also agreed to try and have an ‘A’ run and ‘B’ run for the relays to try and alleviate the congestion from all the bags leaving at the same time. This will give the carriers less stress, as they attempt to put their first bags out. Then while the MSC is doing the ‘A’ run (early), the carriers can put up the remainder of the relays for the walk.
Many members are following the proper procedure with the extra relays and making sure the Union Observers are informed of any extra bags, directs, or lobby drops. We are capturing this information and it will be used to create the new routes. Thank you for your co-operation on this.
We will be meeting with management on August 14, 2013, to review what has happened so far, and if any changes have occurred since July 31st. I know that this is a long process, but it is better to do it slow and right than fast and wrong.
If you have a chance, please thank your shop stewards – Susan Bakajic and Alan Dobbs – for the work they are doing on your behalf. They are working long and hard to make sure all the information is being captured.
In Solidarity,
Pat Bertrand
1st Vice President
ck/CUPE-3338