I carried mail for 20 years.I knew every person,business etc,that were on my route.I cased...sorted my mail not address,but by name.When I was having day off,there was a carrier called a T-6 that carried my route,and normally they knew my route very well,but if he had questions on names,he would ask me when I came back the next day.Then there were days when people called "Subs"carried my route,and now the problems started.They would make mistakes and some were worse than others.I would come back to work and pick up miss delivered mail all day long.The Post Office stresses carriers to meet standards that drawn up by number crunchers that wouldn't know a mail bag from a suitcase!Speed is pushed and pushed hard.Speed causes mistakes,and injuries.The union kept the management under control,but they were always pushing and trying to write people up.The Postal service cannot survive under the present system.They are very top heavy with management people that get big bonuses for pushing the employees hard.
I handled Express,and Priority mail like this.If I knew I could make it to the addressee before 3:P.M. I would handle it like just plain mail.If I knew I couldn't make it to their address by 3:P.M.,I would immediately go to that address and attempt to deliver that piece of mail at the beginning of my route.
A couple of years before I retired,the post office had came up with a machine that sorted the letter mail for your route called D.P.S.It didn't sort all of your mail,but a good portion of it.So that was saving time for management,which they loved.The problem was it made mistakes,and plenty of them.I would be sorting through for the next house and I seeing a letter addressed to another state!!!That scenario went on all day long.Then came D.O.I.S.,a system where a computer gave the supervisors the time the carrier should be leaving to start his route,and when he should be back to the office.I was constantly in trouble with that one as I refused to commit to any of the times,saying you got it on your clip board.They couldn't write you up,as that issue had been settled by the union.Wisconsin wants to get rid of the unions!You bet so they can hose the employees all day long.It was good to have the N.A.L.C. as are union,but with these hard economic times they haven't got a leg to stand on with the on going negotiations.
I to have noticed the weird routes Fed Ex,UPS and even the USPS use for parcels.Louisville seems to be a hub,but why fly away from where you will eventually be delivered.Seems like a waste of fuel,and money.Speaking of money I have to worry about the negotiations go,as they will go after the benefits package,to offset any meager raises the Union can get for us.
