Postal Worker? (Phoenix, Buckeye: transfer to, neighborhood, contractors)

[WICKED LESTER]

Hey there, are there any postal workers reading this? I'm looking to transfer to the Phoenix area and was wondering what the buzz is on hiring out there at the West Valley location or any other plant?

[North Phoenix Blogger]

Things are not looking good for carriers out here. See the attached articles for more details:
Post office offering early out, cutting managers
http://www.kold.com/global/story.asp?S=10125208

[WICKED LESTER]

So it's a REC center that's closing. How many workers are there? Have they done the route adjustments yet? How many carriers are going to be displaced? What do you know about the new FSS's coming in and how many personel and where are they going to get them? I'm a mailhandler now looking to transfer into anything available, clerk, mailhandler, even carrier if I had to. It's my understanding starting next month 5 FSS machines are going in at the West Valley plant and 800-1000 additional people are needed for that.

WL

[Ponderosa]

I don't know the acronyms but they were shutting down the center that processes handwritten addresses that could not be read by scanners. Apparently technology has improved to the point that the volume of unreadable addresses is small.

If they are going to put something new here and hire, that would be good news. The paper doesn't headline the good news, so you may know more about it than we here do.

[Master Shake]

Additionally, many of the newer areas are hiring temporary contract workers to deliver mail. I used to believe only true postal workers were allowed to handle mail, but now it appears anyone with a valid DL can deliver the mail!

http://www.postalworkersonline.com/u...l-delivery.htm

[caryberry]

Our mail carrier told us in conversation yesterday that three processing centers in Phoenix were closing by 2010 and that nearly all the contractors were being phased out. She said rumors of early retirement packages in preparation of 5 day delivery are in the works.

I noticed today at the neighborhood post office that they will not be staying open past 5PM on April 15th. According to signs posted everywhere - the only post office that will be open past 5PM on April 15th will be the main PO operation center. Post mark for 4/15/09 will be the last regular pick-up. In past years many branches were open until midnight.

[WICKED LESTER]

Early retirement is happening, they are in the 3rd or 4th round of trying to get all postal workers who are close to eligble to retire without any penalty for early retirement. No cash incentives, not many takers.

Most PO's except main ones weren't collection on tax day past regular times and we haven't done that for a few years, actually. Non-postal contract stations would stay open till midnight to collect and date them if they chose.

REC plants are the ones who have the data entry people who read the addresses the machines can't, as someone thought. They were supposedly temporary until the software got better, which is has, so it might be coincidence they are closing many around the country in hard times. The USPS doesn't do anything quickly, so this has been in the works for a couple years.

The unions are fighting outside contracting at all levels, especially delivery, and I hear some success. There are contracts and when a contract is violated, management pays and they hardly win since it's so black and white.

If anyone else hears anything else Phoenix specific from a carrier or anyone, please post! I'm still looking for a transfer so I can enjoy the weather!

peace,
WL

[lyzzard]

My husband works in the plant being closed. I told him about my response to your other post and he said it was pretty accurate (on the basics anyhow, maybe not the machine part =P ). There haven't been any rumors of hiring though, especially since they laid off all the casuals. Perhaps you can find a person/person transfer as that might be the easiest.

[WICKED LESTER]

Which plant is being closed? They laid off all the casuals here, too, in January. I had read and heard they were doing that all over the country though. In Indianapolis, they are such a huge part of the work force they said they'd cut their pay to min. wage or they can quit. Most quit.

[lyzzard]

Ouch, talk about harsh. Is that where you're at? Indianapolis?

My husband said they might be moving 3-4 (FSS ones?) machines over to the west valley(I asked earlier today), but he doesn't know anymore than that. He's being moved back to the downtown Processing plant on Van Buren around the end of this month, that's where he was before he transferred over. Kind of silly eh? The one he's at now is on Buckeye Ave and around 16th St. and will take a year or so to completely close down. They've already moved some of the machines from there over to the downtown plant.

The casuals were let go at the end of March here. I don't think they were given a choice for a change of pay, but if they rehire, they should go through them first. That's why I said a person/person transfer might work best, if you can find someone who wants to move out. Or talk to HR, you never know. October would be an ideal month to move out here.

Oh, and I hear that most carriers out here would rather be a mail handler lol, it's wicked hot out in the summer for those guys.