USPS Sorting and Delivery Centers (S&DCs)

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Hello, brothers, sisters and friends, and

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welcome to the you are the
current resident podcast.

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This is the official podcast of the

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National Association of Letter Carriers,
the union that represents 280,000 active

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and retired city letter carriers employed
by the United States Poastal Service.

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I'm Ed Morgan and sitting next to me, as

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always, is our national
President, Brian Renfroe.

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Hey, Brian.
How are you?

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Eddie?
Doing great.

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Good to be back with you
for another episode.

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We've got an exciting topic today, but

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before we get into that, are the Phillies
still ten and a half games back?

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They'll be ten and a
half the whole season.

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We'll stick with that.
I like it.

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As long as we make the
playoffs, we're good.

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All right, so today we're going to be

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talking about the United States Postal
Services delivering for America plan.

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That's a great name.
Wonder where they stole that from.

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And S and DCs.

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I sat down earlier this week and came up

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with some questions that our members might
have had if I didn't ask your question.

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You can always reach out through
our Ask The Mailbag segment.

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Submit your questions to us by email at
social@nalc.org. So can you talk us

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through the overall USPS
delivering for America plan?

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Yeah, and you're right.
They got the name right.

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That's a phrase that we've used for

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several years now and actually had a
campaign back in 2020 when there was a lot

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of COVID relief legislation on the table
that we called Delivering for America.

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But anyway, back to the plan.

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Let me start with a little bit of history

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and where this plan comes from, and then
we'll get into every detail of it, but

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we'll get into the details that are
relevant to what we do every day and the

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things that we're seeing
around the country.

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So back in 2020, when the current
Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, took

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office, he began working with
the Board of Governors.

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And at that time, the chair of the Board

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of Governors was a governor, a good friend
of ours, a guy by the name of Ron Bloom.

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His term has since ended, so
he's no longer a governor.

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But they worked together to develop a plan

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that would play out over
the next ten years or so.

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And the purpose of that plan was to put

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the Postal Service on a sustainable
financial path to protect service and even

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expand, in a lot of cases, the service
that we provide to our customers.

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So
we are not in a place where I'm going to

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say that we have agreed with
100% of every bit of that plan.

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But it was refreshing in a general sense

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compared to what we had seen really for
the last decade plus, where that was

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leadership at the Postal Service that
really wanted to try to cut their way into

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sustainability by reducing service and
further slowing down the mail and all

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sorts of things that just
never made any sense.

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So the plan was a work in progress
for a while but then was released.

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They call it the Delivering for America

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plan and there are pieces of the
plan that have already happened.

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One piece, maybe most notably is a

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legislative piece where
we working with the Postal Service as well

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as the other stakeholders were able to
work with members of Congress and the

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White House to pass really monumental
legislation that reformed the Postal

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Service called the Postal
Reform Act of 2021.

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That bill was signed into law in
2022 and it did three main things.

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Number one, it repealed a mandate that had

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been in place since 2006 for the Postal
Service to pre fund future retiree health

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benefits that was costing them anywhere
from five to $6 billion a year.

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And it's an obligation that no other
company in America, public or private had.

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It also, at a higher rate, integrated

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Medicare with retiree,
healthcare for postal retirees.

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If you go back a few episodes ago, we

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talked about that Medicare
integration in detail.

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So you can listen to that if
you're curious about that.

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It also made six day delivery a permanent

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part of the law and those key components
of that legislation are part of this plan.

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So that was a really good way to start it.

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As far as what I think we'll really dive

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into today are what the portions
of the plan that we are seeing.

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And that has to do with realigning and
modifying and modernizing, hopefully the

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Postal Services processing
and delivery network.

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And I'll start kind of in a general sense

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and then, Eddie, I'm sure as we go
forward, we'll get into more details.

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But basically
there's a recognition that our model of

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processing and delivering mail
was created in a time where the vast, vast

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majority of the mail that we handled
and delivered were letters and flats.

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And over time the mix of mail has changed.

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I mean, all letter carriers know we
deliver way more parcels than we used to.

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We handle fewer letters and flats,
particularly in the office.

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For us on office time we don't case that
much mail anymore compared to years past.

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So you have a network that was built to

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handle letters and flats when we're
now handling far, far more parcels.

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So from a processing perspective, it is

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modernizing to meet the demands of the
mail mix that we see now and then as we'll

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get into in depth here in a few minutes on
the delivery side, trying to ensure that

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we can be in a place where, from a
delivery perspective, we're able to get

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mail to carriers early and be able to
provide the service that we need to

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provide out there with
the modern mix of mail.

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So that's the piece that
I think we'll focus on.

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There were other pieces of the plan that
have already happened one of which I'll

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point out that's notable that we did not
support and that was a modification to

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service standards in
certain geographic areas.

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So in the past we had a two to three day
standard on first class mail going coast

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to coast that was modified,
I guess almost two years ago now, to be

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increased from three to four
days as opposed to two to three.

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And the postal service's reasoning for

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doing that was that they simply were
unable to make the two to three day

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standard if we go back to
COVID looking in 2020.

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During that peak season, we had a lot of
difficulty with delays in the mail and

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some of that was due to
capacity on airlines.

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So the reason for this change was that
they were able to take all first class

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mail off of planes and move
it to ground transportation.

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So even a letter going from the Northeast

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to Southern California now travels by
ground transportation and their reasoning

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behind it was, look, we have a two to
three day standard we can't make because

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we're trying to put this mail on
planes that don't have the capacity.

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So we'll move it to the ground and as
opposed to having a two to three day

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standard at taking a week to get there,
we'll have a three to four day standard

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and it will actually make
it in three to four days.

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And I have to say that

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in retrospect, while we have never and
will never support slowing the mail down

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from the standard, they have made
that standard since it's been made.

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They changed it to a three
to four day standard.

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So the performance there has been much
better since that change went into play.

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So that's one of the early
changes that we did not support.

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Really what we'll get into today is what

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they're doing on the
delivery side of the house.

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What affects us some movement of carriers.

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That it's not really a matter of
whether we support it or not.

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It's more a matter of how we're able to
enforce our collective bargaining

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agreement and ensure that as they take
these type actions that we make it the

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best we possibly can for the letter
carriers that are impacted by it and

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obviously, ultimately, the service
that we provide to our customers.

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So I'm sure we'll get a little more in

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depth on the S and DC side
of the house here shortly.

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Were we consulted with this plan?

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Yeah, we were involved from a very
early stage in conversations.

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In fact, there's a lot of pieces of the

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plan that at some point or another were in
let's call it draft form or even maybe

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conceptual that we
thought were a bad idea.

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We voiced that and those things
ultimately did not make it into the plan.

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So yes, we've been very involved
in this from the beginning.

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It's something that I give them a lot of
credit for their communication with us.

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There were things that were in some ways

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left over from previous leadership at the
Postal Service that were just bad ideas.

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And that mostly included service cuts and
stuff like that, reducing retail locations

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and closing post offices
and things like that.

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I think through that communication we

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expressed the real problems with a lot of
those things and ultimately we're able to

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keep those things from
becoming a part of the plan.

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When I say keep them from becoming a part

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of the plan, it's just more about
communication and the understanding that

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the folks over in leadership at the Postal
Service gain, through conversations with

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us that not do things in a plan that
would end up harming.

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If indeed the goal was what they stated,
to modernize and provide that service.

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Anything that would negatively impact our

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ability to do that, we were able to talk
through and get a lot of that removed.

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So the plan itself in its current
state is there was no surprises to us.

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There are things that we had communicated
about all along and been preparing for.

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So yeah, we were definitely involved and

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I have to give them
a good deal of credit compared to maybe

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what we've seen over at LaFonte Plaza in
years past, that there was very open lines

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of communication and the same is
continued as we see this implemented.

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Can you explain what an S and DC is?
Yeah.

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So this is the piece of the plan that we

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are seeing and dealing with more
than anything else on a daily basis.

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So S and DC stands for
Sorting and delivery centers.

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And the concept
just to explain in a general sense, and

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then we'll get into a
little bit more detail.

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If you take a city the way the Postal

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Services processing and delivery network
is set up, you will have multiple mail

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processing facilities and then
dozens, if not more delivery units.

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And in each of those delivery units you

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would have from each processing location,
you have these truck routes.

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In some cases, those are
postal employees running trucks.

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In a lot of cases, they're
contractors that are transporting mail

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from processing locations
to delivery units.

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They may stop at a number of delivery

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units along the way, and then also in the
evening and at night, they're bringing

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mail back from the delivery units
to the processing locations.

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In general, what they are doing is
reducing the number of processing

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locations but expanding
the capacity to process.

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So let's say, for example, you have in a

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particular metropolitan area
seven mail processing locations.

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They may reduce that to two or three
locations, but actually increase the

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capacity to process because
they're in much larger locations.

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On the delivery side of things, they have

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identified places to create these sorting
and Delivery centers, or S and DCs.

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And what they do with an S and DC is move
a number of different delivery units.

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And there's certain criteria
that they get into.

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And I'm sure we'll get into
that a little more in a minute.

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But they move certain delivery
units into these S and DCS.

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So you've got a whole bunch
of carriers in one location.

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And what that does is reduce the amount of
transportation of mail, be it by postal

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employees or contractors, in a lot of
cases, between the mail processing

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facilities or locations
and delivery units.

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Now you've just got a whole bunch of mail
going to one place in an S and DC, and

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then the transportation is essentially
transferred from whatever the

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transportation route was
onto the carrier's route.

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So in most cases, once a delivery unit

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moves to an S and DC, a carrier is going
to leave there and have to travel some

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distance to get out to
begin their first delivery.

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By reducing that transportation and moving
it on to carrier routes,

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combined with increasing the capacity to
process mail,

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the vision here is to create a more stable
network with a larger capacity that

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has fewer variables in terms of the
things that affect us every day.

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So we all know we've been at work in the
morning, in the office and a truck's late

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or one little thing gets out of kilter and
all of a sudden we're waiting on our mail

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and everything's behind and we
all know how that cycle goes.

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And the idea here is to grow that
capacity, but then also to decrease

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the possibility for that happening to have
more consistent processing and

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transportation which ultimately, hopefully
results in more consistent delivery.

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So a sorting and delivery center is a
location where they have moved multiple

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delivery units into a single location
where mail will be transported from the

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processing facility and
distributed to the carriers.

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How are they deciding where
these things are going to go?

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Yeah, there's a lot of different factors.

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They try to one, for example, is they try
to keep them within a

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30 minutes transportation from
where the routes originally were.

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If you look at a big map

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in pretty much every metropolitan area in
the country, they've identified locations

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where they can
within 30 minutes maximize the number of

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delivery units they can
get into one S and DC.

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And there's other things that we look at.

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Some of the services we want to expand in

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the future, such as same day delivery and
some of the local connect and some of the

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other services that we
really want to see grow.

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There's some market analysis that they use

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in terms of where potential revenue
and mail volume could come from.

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That's all a piece of it too, but for the
most part it's kind of plotting on a map

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00:15:52,370 --> 00:15:59,140
with criteria based on obviously where the
mail processing locations are as well.

226
00:15:59,170 --> 00:16:05,180
So some of it's due to availability of
facilities and sometimes that's existing

227
00:16:05,210 --> 00:16:11,900
postal facilities, in some cases they
go lease or buy other facilities.

228
00:16:11,930 --> 00:16:15,040
So there's a number of different
factors that play into it.

229
00:16:15,070 --> 00:16:19,340
But there's been a lot of communication
about how they make those decisions here

230
00:16:19,370 --> 00:16:24,300
over the last really, I guess
year and a half or so now.

231
00:16:24,330 --> 00:16:27,340
How many are they going to do?

232
00:16:27,370 --> 00:16:31,920
There's a little bit of an evolution that
takes place here, but right now over the

233
00:16:31,950 --> 00:16:37,460
course of this ten year plan, which has, I
guess a little over eight years

234
00:16:37,490 --> 00:16:43,540
left, they are looking at somewhere in the
neighborhood of 400 of these S and DCs.

235
00:16:43,570 --> 00:16:47,460
We are not close to having 400 of them.

236
00:16:47,490 --> 00:16:51,940
We're just with I think a couple
of dozen or so out there now.

237
00:16:51,970 --> 00:16:57,280
But we've definitely every few months
we've got several more that are scheduled

238
00:16:57,310 --> 00:17:02,960
to come online and later on today we'll
get more in detail about what we do as far

239
00:17:02,990 --> 00:17:08,530
as NALC internally to try to prepare and
gain information and anticipate issues

240
00:17:08,560 --> 00:17:12,860
that may come up
and address those ahead of time.

241
00:17:12,890 --> 00:17:15,860
Are they contractually
allowed to move us like this?

242
00:17:15,890 --> 00:17:20,090
Yeah.
So there is no contractual prohibition

243
00:17:20,120 --> 00:17:24,570
really on the Postal Service
moving anybody anywhere.

244
00:17:24,600 --> 00:17:30,120
When it comes to things, we have to
remember is they own these facilities and

245
00:17:30,150 --> 00:17:36,180
the Postal Service has their route
and have over time

246
00:17:36,210 --> 00:17:41,220
relocated work locations and move
routes and things like that.

247
00:17:41,250 --> 00:17:45,770
I think where the contractual piece comes
in this is very important for us is based

248
00:17:45,800 --> 00:17:51,010
on the nature or the fact
circumstances of a particular move.

249
00:17:51,040 --> 00:17:54,010
We have contractual provisions that apply.

250
00:17:54,040 --> 00:17:56,380
The majority of that is going to be found

251
00:17:56,410 --> 00:18:01,000
in Article Twelve of our
collective bargaining agreement.

252
00:18:02,000 --> 00:18:04,380
In Article Twelve,

253
00:18:04,410 --> 00:18:09,400
section One C, one, Two and three, there's
a number of different scenarios that are

254
00:18:09,430 --> 00:18:15,140
covered there that if that is a scenario
that they choose to move

255
00:18:15,170 --> 00:18:19,290
a location that fits into one of those
scenarios, there's lots of provisions

256
00:18:19,320 --> 00:18:24,250
there that do things like protect
seniority and stuff like that.

257
00:18:24,280 --> 00:18:26,660
This particular case,

258
00:18:26,690 --> 00:18:31,770
these S and DCs are a little different and
they're similar to something we've dealt

259
00:18:31,800 --> 00:18:37,050
with for over a decade now called Delivery
Unit Optimization where they are moving

260
00:18:37,080 --> 00:18:42,320
all the carriers from one location to
another, but the post office where they

261
00:18:42,350 --> 00:18:47,140
move them from, what we call the
losing installation remains open.

262
00:18:47,170 --> 00:18:49,660
So that's not something that is clearly

263
00:18:49,690 --> 00:18:51,810
covered by Article
Twelve of our agreement.

264
00:18:51,840 --> 00:18:57,220
So we negotiated back, signed back in
January of this year, a couple of

265
00:18:57,250 --> 00:19:00,530
different memorandums of
understanding that cover that.

266
00:19:00,560 --> 00:19:02,280
I think those M numbers, if you want to

267
00:19:02,310 --> 00:19:08,620
look in our materials reference system
on the website are M 1990 and M 1991.

268
00:19:08,650 --> 00:19:11,740
That covers some specifics that the postal

269
00:19:11,770 --> 00:19:16,810
Service has to follow whenever they
move folks into these locations.

270
00:19:16,840 --> 00:19:19,700
I read the Postal Record
article about the plan.

271
00:19:19,730 --> 00:19:23,740
Can you explain the gaining and
losing installation language?

272
00:19:23,770 --> 00:19:31,180
Yeah, so the losing installation is where
the assignments are being moved from and

273
00:19:31,210 --> 00:19:35,330
the gaining installation will be
that sorting and Delivery center.

274
00:19:35,360 --> 00:19:40,840
So in M 1990, which is an MoU that we
negotiated and signed back in January of

275
00:19:40,870 --> 00:19:45,420
this year, there's a lot of different
rules that are laid out there.

276
00:19:45,450 --> 00:19:48,200
In fact, there's 13 different items in

277
00:19:48,230 --> 00:19:52,810
that agreement that talks
about what will happen.

278
00:19:52,840 --> 00:19:58,500
It talks about how seniority and bid
assignments, how we deal with those.

279
00:19:58,530 --> 00:20:04,570
It gets into what happens to hold downs
and temporary higher level assignments

280
00:20:04,600 --> 00:20:09,860
under Article 25, section Four, it gets
into what happens with annual leave

281
00:20:09,890 --> 00:20:13,050
request and what happens
with route adjustments.

282
00:20:13,080 --> 00:20:14,840
Obviously, when you move routes, you're

283
00:20:14,870 --> 00:20:19,180
moving them to a place, and in a lot of
cases we're adding travel time to them.

284
00:20:19,210 --> 00:20:23,530
So these agreements cover
how we deal with that in the short term

285
00:20:23,560 --> 00:20:26,570
and then eventually how we
evaluate and adjust those routes.

286
00:20:26,600 --> 00:20:31,940
So there's a lot of different if you read
that Postal Record article, we covered a

287
00:20:31,970 --> 00:20:36,290
number of these things and we'll get into
it a little more in depth of how we deal

288
00:20:36,320 --> 00:20:39,770
with each specific location
differently a little bit later on.

289
00:20:39,800 --> 00:20:42,810
But
the gaining is going to be the

290
00:20:42,840 --> 00:20:47,770
installation that's created
where the S and DC is typically that's

291
00:20:47,800 --> 00:20:52,180
going to be moved into an existing
installation, and then the losing

292
00:20:52,210 --> 00:20:55,940
installation will be where
the routes move from.

293
00:20:55,970 --> 00:21:01,740
And throughout that agreement in M 1990,
you'll see those two terms used a lot that

294
00:21:01,770 --> 00:21:04,810
reference both installations
that are involved.

295
00:21:04,840 --> 00:21:06,010
I love my Stewart.

296
00:21:06,040 --> 00:21:07,770
Are they going to come with me?
Yeah.

297
00:21:07,800 --> 00:21:10,700
Part of moving into these S and DCs, and

298
00:21:10,730 --> 00:21:14,900
part of the agreement I just talked
about is that all carriers move.

299
00:21:14,930 --> 00:21:16,620
So all routes move.

300
00:21:16,650 --> 00:21:19,940
There's no moving some and not others.

301
00:21:19,970 --> 00:21:23,740
So that makes this different than

302
00:21:23,770 --> 00:21:28,420
some movement we see pursuant to Article
Twelve, in some cases we see movement

303
00:21:28,450 --> 00:21:33,940
that's not necessitated by the Postal
Service wanting to move people.

304
00:21:33,970 --> 00:21:38,250
Sometimes it can be necessitated by having

305
00:21:38,280 --> 00:21:42,330
too many people in one location,
what we call an excess of employees.

306
00:21:42,360 --> 00:21:45,180
And in that case it's seniority based and

307
00:21:45,200 --> 00:21:47,770
there is something for stewards
called super seniority.

308
00:21:47,800 --> 00:21:51,940
But in the case of movement with
an S and DC, all the carriers go.

309
00:21:51,970 --> 00:21:56,700
So everybody that's there with you and all
those routes will move to the S and DC.

310
00:21:56,730 --> 00:21:58,460
If you're involved.

311
00:21:58,490 --> 00:22:01,740
What happens to my seniority
list and my seniority?

312
00:22:01,770 --> 00:22:05,740
Everybody maintains their
seniority when you are moved.

313
00:22:05,770 --> 00:22:08,260
That's one of the specific things that we

314
00:22:08,290 --> 00:22:13,660
covered in the agreement that we
negotiated is everybody retains their

315
00:22:13,690 --> 00:22:17,380
craft installation seniority
and their bid assignment.

316
00:22:17,410 --> 00:22:22,760
So you stay on your route
and for the purposes of the way you accrue

317
00:22:22,790 --> 00:22:29,140
seniority, this is covered, I believe, in
Article 41, section Two, B seven,

318
00:22:29,170 --> 00:22:33,380
you're considered to have gained all that
seniority in the gaining instllation.

319
00:22:33,410 --> 00:22:37,460
So where you are in the S and DC.

320
00:22:37,490 --> 00:22:40,260
What happens with the
overtime Equitability list?

321
00:22:40,290 --> 00:22:44,380
Is it just for the people I came
over with or the whole new building?

322
00:22:44,410 --> 00:22:47,330
The short answer is that depends.

323
00:22:47,360 --> 00:22:49,840
It can be the entire building that's going

324
00:22:49,870 --> 00:22:54,860
to be subject to
whether your local Memorandum of

325
00:22:54,890 --> 00:23:00,120
understanding divides that
installation by section.

326
00:23:02,080 --> 00:23:07,220
When you move into a location, many times
you'll have multiple local memorandums of

327
00:23:07,240 --> 00:23:09,640
understanding from each of the
places that are moving in.

328
00:23:09,670 --> 00:23:16,660
And there's a process that's laid out in
that Moum 1991 that talks about that.

329
00:23:16,690 --> 00:23:24,260
So it depends on what those Lmous say
and ultimately depends on what language.

330
00:23:24,290 --> 00:23:26,800
Once we reconcile those Lmous through a

331
00:23:26,830 --> 00:23:31,290
process that we have and we'll get into
that a little bit more in a little while.

332
00:23:31,320 --> 00:23:36,000
Do I have to work overtime in an
unfamiliar zip code or route?

333
00:23:36,160 --> 00:23:39,740
Question is kind of similar to
the question about overtime.

334
00:23:39,770 --> 00:23:42,540
Equitability.
The answer is maybe.

335
00:23:42,570 --> 00:23:44,540
So these are combined into one

336
00:23:44,570 --> 00:23:47,540
installation once we
move into an S and DC.

337
00:23:47,570 --> 00:23:54,180
So absent language, otherwise in an Lmou,
if you're on the overtime desired list,

338
00:23:54,210 --> 00:23:58,980
then you would be considered available
for all the routes there.

339
00:23:59,010 --> 00:24:01,160
But again, that's subject to what the

340
00:24:01,190 --> 00:24:09,620
Lmou, how it divides, if it divides in
item 18, that installation by section.

341
00:24:09,650 --> 00:24:11,570
How is this good for my route?

342
00:24:11,600 --> 00:24:14,660
Well, what we've found in the ones that we

343
00:24:14,690 --> 00:24:20,420
have had implemented so far,
know, most routes gain travel time.

344
00:24:20,450 --> 00:24:26,290
So you're gaining travel time from the new
S and DC to your first delivery and then

345
00:24:26,320 --> 00:24:28,900
from your last delivery
back to the S and DC.

346
00:24:28,930 --> 00:24:33,330
And then once we evaluate the routes and
get them adjusted, for the most part we're

347
00:24:33,360 --> 00:24:37,940
trading delivery, know, for
just simple travel time.

348
00:24:37,970 --> 00:24:40,460
And for most folks that is a positive

349
00:24:40,490 --> 00:24:46,020
thing that we're just riding in a vehicle
for a few and it ranges from anywhere to

350
00:24:46,050 --> 00:24:52,740
it could be just a few minutes, up to 2030
minutes or so a day in each direction.

351
00:24:52,770 --> 00:24:56,540
It just depends on the geographics
of a particular location.

352
00:24:56,570 --> 00:25:01,460
So
the feedback and the response from most

353
00:25:01,490 --> 00:25:06,700
folks has been positive in that regard
that trading off some delivery time for

354
00:25:06,730 --> 00:25:11,540
travel time is definitely a little
easier and better for the carrier.

355
00:25:11,570 --> 00:25:14,700
What happens with my branches Lmou?

356
00:25:14,730 --> 00:25:21,660
Yeah, so the agreement I mentioned in the
Mrs, it's M 1991, it includes a process

357
00:25:21,690 --> 00:25:27,570
where if you have multiple installations
that are involved,

358
00:25:27,600 --> 00:25:35,740
basically the parties get together and try
to resolve any differences in the Lmou.

359
00:25:35,770 --> 00:25:39,280
So if you have multiple Lmous from the

360
00:25:39,310 --> 00:25:44,330
losing installations that are combined and
there are differences there,

361
00:25:44,360 --> 00:25:49,290
I think it's important to note this is
separate and apart from normal Article 30

362
00:25:49,320 --> 00:25:55,050
local implementation that we have after we
get a new collective bargaining agreement,

363
00:25:55,080 --> 00:26:01,540
those issues are talked about by the
representatives at the local level.

364
00:26:01,570 --> 00:26:03,900
Those would be obviously the branch

365
00:26:03,930 --> 00:26:06,940
presidents that are involved
in the installation head.

366
00:26:06,970 --> 00:26:11,260
And then there's a resolution process
for any issues that are not resolved.

367
00:26:11,290 --> 00:26:16,460
They go up to
the national business agent and they also

368
00:26:16,490 --> 00:26:20,260
go up to the postal services,
field labor relations folks.

369
00:26:20,280 --> 00:26:21,900
And then if they can't resolve something,

370
00:26:21,930 --> 00:26:26,540
it'll come here to the
national level for resolution.

371
00:26:26,570 --> 00:26:29,400
One thing to note, and I don't foresee

372
00:26:29,430 --> 00:26:34,260
this happening anytime soon, but
anything's possible in the event once this

373
00:26:34,290 --> 00:26:39,460
process is done in the event, at some
point in the future, these

374
00:26:39,490 --> 00:26:44,500
locations in an S and DC are
returned to their original location.

375
00:26:44,530 --> 00:26:46,980
Then the original

376
00:26:47,010 --> 00:26:52,020
Know is basically reinstated as if
it had never been changed.

377
00:26:52,050 --> 00:26:55,860
So
that's the process,

378
00:26:55,890 --> 00:27:00,620
and it's just to resolve any
differences that may conflict.

379
00:27:00,650 --> 00:27:03,040
If we're not in an S and DC yet, are we

380
00:27:03,040 --> 00:27:06,020
going to have to change some
language when our Lmou opens up?

381
00:27:06,050 --> 00:27:09,800
No, there'd be no requirement for that.

382
00:27:09,920 --> 00:27:17,940
If you are not currently
if you have not been moved to an S and DC,

383
00:27:17,970 --> 00:27:23,050
then there's nothing that would
require you to open your Lmou.

384
00:27:23,080 --> 00:27:24,940
I mean, obviously, through the normal

385
00:27:24,970 --> 00:27:28,900
Article 30 local implementation
process, you could do that.

386
00:27:28,930 --> 00:27:31,620
And I'm sure at whatever point local

387
00:27:31,650 --> 00:27:36,420
implementation happens, which will be here
in the next few months, at some point,

388
00:27:36,450 --> 00:27:40,780
those locations that we know were
scheduled to move into an S and DC.

389
00:27:40,810 --> 00:27:45,200
We'll definitely keep that in mind, and
we'll get into a little more detail in a

390
00:27:45,230 --> 00:27:49,500
few minutes about what our internal
process is and the things that we look at.

391
00:27:49,530 --> 00:27:53,810
So I guess it's possible that we may,
during that local implementation period,

392
00:27:53,840 --> 00:27:58,380
if we know we have things that are
inevitable where we're going to move and

393
00:27:58,410 --> 00:28:01,570
we're able to resolve some
things, then we may do that.

394
00:28:01,600 --> 00:28:05,570
But there's nothing that will require you

395
00:28:05,600 --> 00:28:11,140
to make any changes unless you
are involved in an S and DC.

396
00:28:11,170 --> 00:28:15,140
And there are differences in the Lmous of

397
00:28:15,170 --> 00:28:20,680
the routes from the Losing installations,
Lmous that are moved into the S and DCs.

398
00:28:20,710 --> 00:28:23,700
If there are differences, yes,
you have to resolve that.

399
00:28:23,730 --> 00:28:27,460
But
there's no requirement that anything else

400
00:28:27,490 --> 00:28:30,940
be changed during normal
local implementation.

401
00:28:30,970 --> 00:28:34,260
So the last few questions were
talking a little bit know branch.

402
00:28:34,290 --> 00:28:37,500
So here's, let's get back to
their rank and file carrier.

403
00:28:37,530 --> 00:28:41,620
Where do my customers pick up their mail
or parcel when I have to leave a notice?

404
00:28:41,640 --> 00:28:45,020
Yeah.
So what happens in the S and DCs?

405
00:28:45,050 --> 00:28:47,740
Remember that when the carriers move

406
00:28:47,770 --> 00:28:53,900
the location, you move from the losing
installation, that Post Office stays open.

407
00:28:53,930 --> 00:28:57,980
So if there's a window
there, it's still open.

408
00:28:58,010 --> 00:29:00,540
So what we do is, at the end of the day,

409
00:29:00,570 --> 00:29:04,660
whatever you would bring back, be that a
piece of mail, something you left notice

410
00:29:04,690 --> 00:29:07,860
for and accountable, whatever
the case may be a parcel.

411
00:29:07,890 --> 00:29:10,740
You bring it back to the S and DC,

412
00:29:10,770 --> 00:29:15,090
and then the following morning,
one of the carriers.

413
00:29:15,120 --> 00:29:19,860
And sometimes it's the carrier who's
the post office is on their route.

414
00:29:19,890 --> 00:29:22,460
Sometimes it may be another carrier.

415
00:29:22,490 --> 00:29:28,500
That stuff will be given to that
carrier to drop off at the Post Office.

416
00:29:28,530 --> 00:29:32,420
So it doesn't change where a
customer has to go get their mail.

417
00:29:32,450 --> 00:29:36,640
So if you have an accountable piece
of mail, you leave a notice for it.

418
00:29:36,640 --> 00:29:39,900
That customer is going to go to the
same place that they've always gone to.

419
00:29:39,930 --> 00:29:43,020
So that was one of the big pieces of this,

420
00:29:43,050 --> 00:29:48,620
that while moving us, these S and DCs we
definitely didn't want to inconvenience

421
00:29:48,650 --> 00:29:53,860
customers by having them
travel further to get their stuff.

422
00:29:53,890 --> 00:30:00,660
So from their perspective, it'll all be at
that same location where it's always been.

423
00:30:00,690 --> 00:30:03,740
How does that notified
mail piece get there?

424
00:30:03,770 --> 00:30:07,290
Yeah, one of the carriers the next morning

425
00:30:07,320 --> 00:30:11,760
will take everything for that particular
station or finance unit is really what it

426
00:30:11,790 --> 00:30:15,460
is at that point,
and bring it out and drop it off.

427
00:30:15,490 --> 00:30:19,760
So anything that was noticed
was left for the day before.

428
00:30:19,920 --> 00:30:24,460
Then that customer will be able
to go there and pick it up.

429
00:30:24,480 --> 00:30:26,140
All right, well, we have a special guest

430
00:30:26,170 --> 00:30:28,940
going to come in and Brad, do
you want to introduce him?

431
00:30:28,970 --> 00:30:33,320
So we've been talking about S and DCS
today, and I'd like for us to spend a

432
00:30:33,350 --> 00:30:39,380
little bit of time to
let you all know what we NALC here at the

433
00:30:39,400 --> 00:30:42,800
national level and we'll get into also
what we do at the regional level and the

434
00:30:42,830 --> 00:30:47,900
branch level doing preparation
for each of these S and DCS.

435
00:30:47,930 --> 00:30:52,000
And here to help me with that, who does a

436
00:30:52,030 --> 00:30:56,180
lot of work in that regard, is one
of our letter carrier staffers.

437
00:30:56,210 --> 00:31:01,020
He is special assistant to
the president, Doug Lape.

438
00:31:01,050 --> 00:31:03,460
So, Doug, welcome.
Thank you, Brian.

439
00:31:03,490 --> 00:31:04,500
Appreciate it.

440
00:31:04,520 --> 00:31:08,290
Before we get into this stuff, why don't
you just tell us briefly a little bit

441
00:31:08,320 --> 00:31:11,460
about yourself and where you're
from and all that stuff.

442
00:31:11,480 --> 00:31:13,810
I know, but I think they'd
be interested to know.

443
00:31:13,840 --> 00:31:14,260
Sure.

444
00:31:14,290 --> 00:31:18,460
So I'm a letter carrier out of
Branch 43 in Cincinnati, Ohio.

445
00:31:18,490 --> 00:31:21,740
I've been with the Postal
Service since 1996.

446
00:31:21,770 --> 00:31:26,380
Started as a clerk, decided I didn't want
to be inside all day when it was 95

447
00:31:26,410 --> 00:31:29,570
degrees or 2ft of snow on
the ground in Cincinnati.

448
00:31:29,600 --> 00:31:32,660
So in 1998, I switched over to carrying.

449
00:31:32,690 --> 00:31:34,330
Coming up on my 25th year.

450
00:31:34,360 --> 00:31:37,860
So October 10 of this
year will be 25 years.

451
00:31:37,890 --> 00:31:41,740
Worked as a union activist in
Branch 43 for a long time.

452
00:31:41,770 --> 00:31:44,140
Became Vice President
of my branch in 2011.

453
00:31:44,170 --> 00:31:47,980
And then in 2017, I came up here to

454
00:31:48,010 --> 00:31:51,980
headquarters as an assistant to the
President working in City Delivery.

455
00:31:52,000 --> 00:31:54,940
Yeah.
And Doug's done a great job and he worked

456
00:31:54,970 --> 00:32:01,220
in City Delivery for a few years and for
the last, I guess about a year now, he's

457
00:32:01,250 --> 00:32:07,500
worked a lot with me and a couple others
there on a number of different projects.

458
00:32:07,530 --> 00:32:12,330
And one of Doug's main things is dealing
with the sorting and delivery centers.

459
00:32:12,360 --> 00:32:15,700
So we get notice from the Postal Service

460
00:32:15,730 --> 00:32:21,860
and communication that know, hey, in such
and such month we intend to move these

461
00:32:21,890 --> 00:32:25,220
places into this newly
established S and DC.

462
00:32:25,250 --> 00:32:27,880
And from that point forward, we start a

463
00:32:27,910 --> 00:32:32,980
process of communication with the branch
and through the regional offices

464
00:32:33,010 --> 00:32:37,380
to really just try to gather all the
information we can possibly gather.

465
00:32:37,410 --> 00:32:43,180
And once we gather all that information,
we try to anticipate any issues that may

466
00:32:43,210 --> 00:32:47,940
be specific to that location
and try to resolve those issues.

467
00:32:47,970 --> 00:32:49,660
But Doug.
Why don't we start there?

468
00:32:49,690 --> 00:32:54,940
And once we get that notification and we
know that these places are going to move

469
00:32:54,970 --> 00:32:59,660
to this new s and DC, why don't you just
talk us through a little bit of what you

470
00:32:59,690 --> 00:33:04,460
do, working with each of the NBA offices
and reaching out to the branches in terms

471
00:33:04,490 --> 00:33:09,900
of gathering that information and trying
to identify issues that we may have.

472
00:33:09,930 --> 00:33:10,700
Absolutely.

473
00:33:10,730 --> 00:33:15,980
So we meet with the Postal Service every
other week on the S and DC initiative.

474
00:33:16,010 --> 00:33:18,500
We get the list of the potential sites

475
00:33:18,530 --> 00:33:22,780
that are going to be implemented, and we
have three implementation dates per year

476
00:33:22,810 --> 00:33:26,500
one in February, 1 in June,
and one in September.

477
00:33:26,530 --> 00:33:30,180
After we get that list, we then take these

478
00:33:30,210 --> 00:33:34,740
losing installations and determine
if there's an impact to our craft.

479
00:33:34,770 --> 00:33:38,740
To do that, we look and see how many city
carriers and how many routes actually

480
00:33:38,770 --> 00:33:43,330
exist in the S and DC and
in the losing installation.

481
00:33:43,360 --> 00:33:46,980
Some of these offices
have no impact to us.

482
00:33:47,010 --> 00:33:50,940
For example, our first office, the Athens

483
00:33:50,970 --> 00:33:56,020
S and DC, there were city carriers already
working in the building, and all of the

484
00:33:56,040 --> 00:33:59,420
city carriers that were there before
implementation still worked there.

485
00:33:59,440 --> 00:34:00,900
No city carriers were moved in.

486
00:34:00,930 --> 00:34:02,290
It was all rural.

487
00:34:02,320 --> 00:34:06,120
So after we've determined that there is
going to be an impact, meaning there are

488
00:34:06,150 --> 00:34:11,300
going to be city carriers moved into an
S and DC, what we do is we reach out to

489
00:34:11,330 --> 00:34:14,500
each NBA and we start
asking for information.

490
00:34:14,530 --> 00:34:18,540
We want to verify that what we've been
told by the Postal Service is correct.

491
00:34:18,570 --> 00:34:23,060
We want to know the number of routes
that exist in the losing office.

492
00:34:23,090 --> 00:34:27,520
We want to know the number of routes that
exist in the S and DC, and we want to know

493
00:34:27,550 --> 00:34:31,020
the branches that represent each one,
because we like to have as much

494
00:34:31,050 --> 00:34:36,540
communication as possible with both the
business agents offices and the branches.

495
00:34:36,570 --> 00:34:38,720
So what that means is, once we've gathered

496
00:34:38,750 --> 00:34:42,940
all of that information, determined how
many offices are going to be moved into

497
00:34:42,970 --> 00:34:48,100
the S and DC, how many city carrier routes
are going to move, we set up meetings with

498
00:34:48,130 --> 00:34:52,620
the business agents offices and the
regions or the regions and the branches,

499
00:34:52,650 --> 00:34:55,900
so we can sit down and explain
to them what's going on.

500
00:34:55,930 --> 00:35:00,340
There are right now three
models in the S and DC.

501
00:35:00,370 --> 00:35:02,580
There is a model where all of the routes

502
00:35:02,610 --> 00:35:08,020
in an installation are moved from the
losing installation into the S and DC.

503
00:35:08,050 --> 00:35:10,820
That is the process that's covered under M

504
00:35:10,850 --> 00:35:14,940
1990 and M 1991, which I think
you talked about earlier.

505
00:35:14,970 --> 00:35:21,020
The second process is where they move
delivery units within an installation.

506
00:35:21,050 --> 00:35:24,000
For example, in Topeka, Kansas, in June of

507
00:35:24,030 --> 00:35:29,580
this year, they implemented an S and DC,
and the only offices that were moved were

508
00:35:29,610 --> 00:35:32,620
delivery units within
the Topeka installation.

509
00:35:32,640 --> 00:35:35,580
That's something which is not really
covered by the National Agreement.

510
00:35:35,600 --> 00:35:37,380
The Postal Service has the right to move

511
00:35:37,410 --> 00:35:39,580
their delivery units
within an installation.

512
00:35:39,610 --> 00:35:42,210
There's no impact to
seniority bid assignments.

513
00:35:42,240 --> 00:35:47,420
Lmous, because they all work in the same
installation before and after the

514
00:35:47,450 --> 00:35:52,020
establishment of the S and DC, there's
really nothing that needs to be done other

515
00:35:52,050 --> 00:35:55,780
than explaining to the carriers
what's going to happen.

516
00:35:55,810 --> 00:35:57,860
The third situation is a little bit more

517
00:35:57,890 --> 00:36:02,900
unique, and that's where they take one
delivery unit from an installation and

518
00:36:02,930 --> 00:36:06,860
move it into the
jurisdiction of an S and DC.

519
00:36:06,890 --> 00:36:09,540
For example, back in June of this year,

520
00:36:09,570 --> 00:36:15,300
the Hanover Park, Illinois S and DC was
established, and one delivery unit from

521
00:36:15,330 --> 00:36:21,820
the Elgin, Illinois installation was
moved out of Elgin into Hanover Park.

522
00:36:21,850 --> 00:36:24,860
So once we've determined the S and DC

523
00:36:24,890 --> 00:36:31,000
locations, the losing installations, and
whether there's an impact of the craft, we

524
00:36:31,030 --> 00:36:33,540
determine how those
carriers are being moved.

525
00:36:33,570 --> 00:36:37,780
So we want to sit down and talk to the
branches and explain to them this is the

526
00:36:37,810 --> 00:36:43,020
process that covers this movement, just to
make sure they understand all the rules.

527
00:36:43,050 --> 00:36:48,380
Whether it's under M 1990 and 1991,
whether it's under Article Twelve, which

528
00:36:48,410 --> 00:36:52,560
is the circumstance like in Hanover Park,
Illinois, or whether it's just the

529
00:36:52,590 --> 00:36:55,650
movement of delivery units
within installation.

530
00:36:55,680 --> 00:36:57,170
Yeah.

531
00:36:57,200 --> 00:37:01,440
As you might imagine, just based on
everything Doug just talked about when

532
00:37:01,470 --> 00:37:06,460
you've got now we're up to,
what are we, 20 something?

533
00:37:06,480 --> 00:37:10,160
We're at twelve right now, but we have
more offices coming online the beginning.

534
00:37:10,190 --> 00:37:13,460
Of September that we know
are sort of in process.

535
00:37:13,490 --> 00:37:19,340
And then in each of those you have
anywhere from it may just be two or three

536
00:37:19,370 --> 00:37:25,060
installations that are moving in, or
you may have up to an unlimited number.

537
00:37:25,090 --> 00:37:29,460
So there's quite a bit of work
that goes in there.

538
00:37:29,490 --> 00:37:34,650
So we try to do that, and then Doug
communicates with the postal service.

539
00:37:34,680 --> 00:37:39,580
As far as issues that we see, Doug, I want
to touch on a couple of other things that

540
00:37:39,610 --> 00:37:44,690
we have to deal with, and that is
sometimes we only have like, a single

541
00:37:44,720 --> 00:37:49,040
branch involved here where places
from one single branch move in.

542
00:37:49,070 --> 00:37:50,940
And in that case,

543
00:37:50,960 --> 00:37:53,940
it's pretty straightforward as
far as the representation piece.

544
00:37:53,960 --> 00:37:55,690
But then other times we have multiple

545
00:37:55,720 --> 00:38:00,380
branches and part of the
information that we gather.

546
00:38:00,410 --> 00:38:02,650
And then when that's the case, ultimately

547
00:38:02,680 --> 00:38:09,420
I have to make a decision as to what the
representation there will look like.

548
00:38:09,450 --> 00:38:12,920
And that's something, I think, early on in

549
00:38:12,950 --> 00:38:15,860
this process, that we start
to gather information.

550
00:38:15,880 --> 00:38:17,500
I know you have a lot of communication

551
00:38:17,520 --> 00:38:21,240
with the branches that are potentially
involved, and we try to figure out the

552
00:38:21,270 --> 00:38:25,300
best thing to do when it
comes to representation too

553
00:38:25,330 --> 00:38:27,380
Right, So as I said earlier, we sit down

554
00:38:27,410 --> 00:38:30,340
and talk to the branches
with the regional offices.

555
00:38:30,360 --> 00:38:33,820
It's a little bit easier when we're
talking about one branch that represents

556
00:38:33,850 --> 00:38:38,690
all of the carriers that are moving into
the S and DC, as well as the S and DC.

557
00:38:38,720 --> 00:38:42,170
It gets a little more complicated
when we have multiple branches.

558
00:38:42,200 --> 00:38:45,340
The example I gave about
Hanover Park, Illinois.

559
00:38:45,370 --> 00:38:49,600
There were two branches involved one that
represented the carriers in the delivery

560
00:38:49,630 --> 00:38:54,650
unit from Elgin and one that represented
the carriers in Hanover Park.

561
00:38:54,680 --> 00:38:56,940
We've had other circumstances, such as in

562
00:38:56,970 --> 00:39:01,540
Bryan, Texas, where there's been multiple
branches, utica, New York, which has had

563
00:39:01,570 --> 00:39:05,940
three branches now that
coexist within the S and DC.

564
00:39:05,970 --> 00:39:08,020
So we have to explain

565
00:39:08,050 --> 00:39:12,620
all of this to every branch so they
understand how this is going to work.

566
00:39:12,650 --> 00:39:14,860
They understand the Lmou issues that they

567
00:39:14,890 --> 00:39:18,620
need to discuss,
which involves more than just one person,

568
00:39:18,650 --> 00:39:23,020
one branch president talking to
the postmaster of the S and DC.

569
00:39:23,050 --> 00:39:27,340
We need to make sure they understand
everything that's going to happen and how

570
00:39:27,370 --> 00:39:30,130
their branch is going to be
impacted by this change.

571
00:39:30,160 --> 00:39:30,650
Yeah.

572
00:39:30,680 --> 00:39:34,880
And it kind of goes back to the whole
principle that we've used since the

573
00:39:34,910 --> 00:39:39,460
beginning of this, is there are things
that each of these have in common, but

574
00:39:39,490 --> 00:39:44,620
they all are also unique based on a
number of different circumstances.

575
00:39:44,650 --> 00:39:45,620
It can be anything.

576
00:39:45,650 --> 00:39:50,840
Sometimes it's geography,
where we have locations that move, and you

577
00:39:50,870 --> 00:39:55,380
have challenges created
by the amount of travel that they have

578
00:39:55,410 --> 00:40:00,540
from the new S and DC or
the routes that are available to them as

579
00:40:00,570 --> 00:40:03,620
far as traveling to and
from their first delivery.

580
00:40:03,650 --> 00:40:10,000
Another piece I wanted to hit on that
definitely everyone that's moved into one

581
00:40:10,030 --> 00:40:17,100
of these S and DCs will be impacted by,
and that is the process in M 1990 for

582
00:40:17,130 --> 00:40:21,580
evaluating and adjusting the
routes because they're impacted.

583
00:40:21,610 --> 00:40:24,460
And there's kind of a little interim thing

584
00:40:24,490 --> 00:40:29,340
that we do initially and then ultimately
there's a route adjustment piece that

585
00:40:29,370 --> 00:40:32,740
happens post actual
movement into the location.

586
00:40:32,770 --> 00:40:35,860
So why don't you describe kind of what

587
00:40:35,890 --> 00:40:40,900
that process looks like, both initially
what we do in advance and then what

588
00:40:40,930 --> 00:40:45,130
happens a few weeks after we
move into those locations.

589
00:40:45,160 --> 00:40:47,940
Right.
So one of the big things that we discussed

590
00:40:47,970 --> 00:40:54,060
both internally and with the Postal
Service is how do we make any sort of

591
00:40:54,090 --> 00:40:58,650
arrangements for the fact that these
carriers are going to have potentially

592
00:40:58,680 --> 00:41:02,420
more travel time when they
move into the S and DC.

593
00:41:02,450 --> 00:41:06,860
And what we're talking about is when
you're at your original delivery unit, you

594
00:41:06,890 --> 00:41:11,100
may have had a certain amount of time to
get from your office to your first

595
00:41:11,130 --> 00:41:14,820
delivery point and then from
your last delivery point back.

596
00:41:14,850 --> 00:41:20,100
Once that route moves to the S and DC,
there could be an additional travel time.

597
00:41:20,120 --> 00:41:21,940
So you're going to have more time to get

598
00:41:21,970 --> 00:41:25,460
from the S and DC to your first
delivery and more time to drive back.

599
00:41:25,480 --> 00:41:29,620
At the end of the day, what we tried to do
is come up with a way, and I think we did

600
00:41:29,650 --> 00:41:34,740
it in M 1990 is for the national parties
who are involved in the joint route

601
00:41:34,770 --> 00:41:39,940
adjustment process to sit down and
estimate the time that it's going to take

602
00:41:39,970 --> 00:41:42,170
that carrier to get to
their first delivery.

603
00:41:42,200 --> 00:41:45,380
And then back once they've
finished their route.

604
00:41:45,410 --> 00:41:47,420
Keep in mind, this is only an estimate.

605
00:41:47,450 --> 00:41:49,130
It is not an exact.

606
00:41:49,160 --> 00:41:51,380
There's no way to get the exact numbers

607
00:41:51,410 --> 00:41:54,740
until somebody actually
drives it on a regular basis.

608
00:41:54,770 --> 00:41:59,340
But we wanted to make it clear to both
local management and the letter carrier

609
00:41:59,370 --> 00:42:04,650
serving the route that we all acknowledge
that there's been an impact to your route.

610
00:42:04,680 --> 00:42:08,340
We know there's more travel
time on a daily basis.

611
00:42:08,370 --> 00:42:12,940
So that route, which may have been 8 hours
before it moved, could potentially be

612
00:42:12,970 --> 00:42:16,380
eight and a half, 845,
whatever that number is.

613
00:42:16,410 --> 00:42:21,020
So that was the first part of it that we
did before the movement of the S and DC.

614
00:42:21,050 --> 00:42:24,650
So before about 30 days before

615
00:42:24,680 --> 00:42:29,130
the routes actually move, the postmaster
and the branch president or their

616
00:42:29,160 --> 00:42:34,690
designees will sit down and explain to
every carrier on their route, this is what

617
00:42:34,720 --> 00:42:39,580
the national parties have agreed, this is
the new estimated time for your route.

618
00:42:39,600 --> 00:42:43,100
Yeah.
And the idea is just simply to

619
00:42:43,130 --> 00:42:48,780
there's a fine line, I guess, between sort
of projecting what it'll look like, but in

620
00:42:48,810 --> 00:42:54,060
this case, we're not really projecting
well, we're not projecting delivery time.

621
00:42:54,090 --> 00:42:56,720
We can come reasonably close to figuring

622
00:42:56,750 --> 00:42:59,940
out how long it takes to travel
from one point to another.

623
00:42:59,970 --> 00:43:04,980
So the idea is that there be a recognition

624
00:43:05,010 --> 00:43:09,980
among everybody, local management as well
as the carriers, of what that change is.

625
00:43:10,010 --> 00:43:13,100
And then we use our joint route adjustment

626
00:43:13,130 --> 00:43:18,740
process, once they're implemented,
to evaluate and adjust them.

627
00:43:18,770 --> 00:43:21,940
So if you're in one of
these new S and DCs.

628
00:43:21,970 --> 00:43:24,420
Chances are you probably have seen Doug,

629
00:43:24,450 --> 00:43:28,170
because I think he's visited
all of them as we go forward.

630
00:43:28,200 --> 00:43:30,460
He'll continue to do that, know a number

631
00:43:30,490 --> 00:43:37,210
of our other staff here at headquarters,
as well as several of the officers, and

632
00:43:37,240 --> 00:43:41,620
know folks from your national business
agents office will be out there.

633
00:43:41,650 --> 00:43:48,140
The important thing for us is just to do
everything we can to ensure that we have

634
00:43:48,170 --> 00:43:54,460
the right amount of communication, that we
gain the information that we need to do

635
00:43:54,490 --> 00:43:57,060
what's best for each one
of these individual sites.

636
00:43:57,090 --> 00:43:59,160
And ultimately, when it comes to the

637
00:43:59,190 --> 00:44:04,580
representation side, any decision that we
make here, and I'm speaking for myself

638
00:44:04,610 --> 00:44:10,140
here, we're going to make the decision
that's in the best interest of the members

639
00:44:10,170 --> 00:44:15,000
that are impacted there
and their representation.

640
00:44:15,080 --> 00:44:17,140
Doug, is there anything else related to

641
00:44:17,170 --> 00:44:22,660
S and DCS that you think would be
useful for the listeners to think?

642
00:44:22,690 --> 00:44:26,980
You know, as Brian mentioned, I do get
out and I travel to all these S and DCS.

643
00:44:27,010 --> 00:44:29,740
There's a lot of construction going on in

644
00:44:29,770 --> 00:44:33,920
these facilities because once they're
done, they all look the same, they have

645
00:44:33,950 --> 00:44:38,660
the same color scheme, they all have
new cases, which is a blue case.

646
00:44:38,690 --> 00:44:43,340
And I'll tell you, as I said, I've
been in the Postal Service since 1996.

647
00:44:43,360 --> 00:44:45,300
November of last year was the first time

648
00:44:45,330 --> 00:44:48,460
I'd ever seen a case that
was less than 30 years old.

649
00:44:48,490 --> 00:44:52,180
So they are doing some
things that are nice.

650
00:44:52,210 --> 00:44:58,860
They are remodeling all of the bathrooms,
new fixtures they're putting in, new water

651
00:44:58,890 --> 00:45:03,060
fountains that have water
bottle fillers and filters.

652
00:45:03,090 --> 00:45:07,820
Every office is getting an ice machine,
not just the offices that may work in the

653
00:45:07,850 --> 00:45:14,540
more hot and humid or those places that
have a little bit hotter temperatures.

654
00:45:14,570 --> 00:45:19,900
So I think we need to be cognizant of
the fact that nobody likes the change.

655
00:45:19,930 --> 00:45:21,940
People like to stay where they're at.

656
00:45:21,970 --> 00:45:25,420
But at the end of the day, these
facilities do look a lot nicer.

657
00:45:25,440 --> 00:45:26,880
Some of them are being cleaned for the

658
00:45:26,910 --> 00:45:31,100
first time in years,
which is always a positive.

659
00:45:31,120 --> 00:45:34,980
And I think the reason we really want to
get out and see these offices is, as I

660
00:45:35,000 --> 00:45:38,140
mentioned at the very beginning, that we
do meet with the postal service every two

661
00:45:38,170 --> 00:45:41,780
weeks, and they tell us the
status of these offices.

662
00:45:41,810 --> 00:45:45,880
And brian, from the very beginning, has
made the decision that we're going to get

663
00:45:45,910 --> 00:45:50,180
out there, and we're going to see if
what we're being told is accurate.

664
00:45:50,210 --> 00:45:52,360
And it really does open your eyes when you

665
00:45:52,390 --> 00:45:56,720
get into these offices, instead of just
looking at a single picture in a

666
00:45:56,750 --> 00:46:01,540
PowerPoint presentation to see what the
issues are so that we can address those

667
00:46:01,570 --> 00:46:05,340
with the postal service and get
them fixed as quickly as possible.

668
00:46:05,370 --> 00:46:08,300
Yeah, I know this will shock everyone

669
00:46:08,330 --> 00:46:13,040
that's listening, but early on in
particular, we found a lot of places where

670
00:46:13,070 --> 00:46:18,580
they'd show us some beautiful picture, and
we'd go out there, and the bathrooms

671
00:46:18,600 --> 00:46:20,700
weren't working or
whatever the case may be.

672
00:46:20,730 --> 00:46:23,260
And hopefully that's gotten

673
00:46:23,280 --> 00:46:26,840
I think that's probably gotten a little
bit better, but that just kind of

674
00:46:26,840 --> 00:46:28,860
highlights the importance
of the communication.

675
00:46:28,890 --> 00:46:32,660
When we've had this communication, and

676
00:46:32,690 --> 00:46:38,420
those issues have been raised by our folks
locally or at the regional level,

677
00:46:38,450 --> 00:46:43,620
we have had very good success in terms of
getting those things addressed up here.

678
00:46:43,650 --> 00:46:48,060
So the s and DCs, as Doug
mentioned, any movement?

679
00:46:48,090 --> 00:46:50,940
We are kind of creatures of habit, and we

680
00:46:50,970 --> 00:46:54,860
don't like change, but there are
positives, and he mentioned several of

681
00:46:54,890 --> 00:46:58,260
them that come along
with this in terms of the amenities.

682
00:46:58,290 --> 00:47:00,140
And it just

683
00:47:00,160 --> 00:47:03,860
may take, in a lot of cases, a little
bit longer to get there for some people.

684
00:47:03,890 --> 00:47:08,340
But usually when it comes to the building
itself, once all the construction and that

685
00:47:08,370 --> 00:47:12,460
stuff's completed, they are
definitely better places to work.

686
00:47:12,490 --> 00:47:14,740
Well, Doug, thanks so much for joining us.

687
00:47:14,770 --> 00:47:18,540
We appreciate all the work you're
doing out there on the S and DCs.

688
00:47:18,570 --> 00:47:22,060
And for those of you that
are involved in S and DCs.

689
00:47:22,090 --> 00:47:25,820
In the near future, there's a good
chance that you'll get to meet them.

690
00:47:25,840 --> 00:47:26,940
So thanks for joining us.

691
00:47:26,970 --> 00:47:28,200
All right, thank you.