Letter: Mail story was wrong

This letter is written in direct response to the recent article, “Mail Route Shuffle,” published in the Thursday, Aug. 2, Arlington Advocate. It contained some incorrect information that needs to be addressed.

The National Association of Letter Carriers has an ongoing dispute with the postal service in regards to their actions.

The letter carrier mail routes in Arlington did not need a major restructuring despite the claim of being long overdue.

The first class letter may have somewhat declined but bulk business mail has increased steadily and is reflected in the letter carriers’ daily workload.

Letter carriers in Arlington demonstrated during both the 2004 and 2007 route inspections that their 36 routes were basically in adjustment (eight-hour positions) and major changes were not warranted.

What the postal service failed to mention was the following:

· Letter carriers carry a scanning device on a daily basis. They scan points at specified locations along their route while performing their duties. The location and time is recorded daily and reviewed by both local and upper management.

· If discrepancies existed local management would address them immediately and correct them. Street observation would also ensue. The letter carrier would not be allowed to maintain a less than eight-hour workday.

· Postal upper management receives bonuses for abolishing letter carrier positions while increasing the deliveries on the remaining positions. This is quite an influential factor.

· The postal service has recently devised a computer program that arbitrarily eliminates time

demonstrated by the letter carrier during his or her periodic route inspection and automatically decreases the positions in a town such as Arlington.

Management may control the data inputted and the end result but not the actual delivery of the mail. After all, it’s the letter carrier who is faced with the task of providing service to our local patrons.

The dismantled Arlington letter carrier route’s delivery time has now been disbursed amongst the remaining Arlington routes. Those in postal management responsible for this smoke and mirrors facade may look like heroes on paper but it’s the overburdened carrier routes and customers that pay the ultimate price.

Management’s bonuses should be paid out as penalties to those adversely impacted by this charade of supposed necessary changes.