Another phase of route adjustments is upon us. This one, signed by the National parties, is called the Joint Alternate Route Adjustment Process or “JARAP”. The principles of the “JARAP” method of adjusting routes are similar to those from the last go around of route adjustments (the “MIARAP” or Modified Interim Alternate Route Adjustment Process) which concluded in February 2010 for most of the stations in our branch. There are some differences in the two processes.

Off the top of my head, some of these changes are as follows:
1) The information used to evaluate the routes will be data from two months (instead of the previous one month from the MIARAP) in 2010 – either March & April, or April & May. This data will include but not be limited to the route’s base data, the carriers’ clock rings, the work-hour/work-load report, volume reports, PS Forms 3996s and 1571s submitted, a current 3999 (or full day walk on a route), PS Form 1838‑Cs (a full day physical piece count on a route), “COR” (Carrier Optimal Routing) which is the latest computer program used to map & move territory around for route adjustments, the initial carrier consultation meeting, a proposed adjustment consultation where the proposed adjustments to a route are shared with the regular carrier to solicit feedback, and then a final adjustments meeting to share the results. All meetings and data reviewed are with the regular carrier on the route.
2) No adjustment will be finalized until after the carrier consultations have taken place.
3) If the regular carrier has no feedback during the consultation meetings, the Local Office Contacts (LOC), who are the union and management team from the station, will provide comment for that route.
4) The District union and management parties called the District Evaluating & Adjustment Team or “DEAT” will now take turns selecting stations and/or individual routes that each party believes needs adjustment.
5) The “DEAT” also selects the months which will be used for the data reviews.
6) The regular carrier, upon request, is entitled to a copy of the PS Form 3999 that will be used for territory adjustments.

When requested by the steward, we have been conducting meetings throughout the branch to go over the route adjustment process and explain the importance of completing the PS Form 3996 & 1571 (curtailment slip) properly, and the importance of doing your clock rings correctly. Our presentation also teaches how to define and determine the Fixed Office Time (FOT) for a route, and how to determine office time from how much caseable mail volume the route has. Most importantly we explain the importance of delivering the route such that the street time is consistent day after day, week after week. If the aforementioned items are followed, the route gains official documentation which can be used to validate any concurring feedback the regular carrier may offer during consultations. This documentation should ensure that the carrier and the route get a fair adjustment.

Absent this documentation, the carrier’s feedback may be considered but not applied to the adjustment. This is one of the reasons why it is important to insist on completing a PS Form 3996 and PS Form 1571, when needed, and to always insist on getting copies of them. It is also important to request a copy of the 3999 and the 1838-C on the day it is completed. A grievance should be filed if copies of any of these documents are not provided to you before the end of the day you requested them. I commend those of you who are doing what you can to ensure you get a decent route adjustment by following what the union has advised in documenting what goes on daily on your route. For those of you who haven’t yet started, I ask that you try it. If anything just to see whether or not your documentation will make a difference from one route adjustment to the next. After all, it is never too late to start, especially since as the trend of declining mail volume continues, these route adjustments will continue to happen, I suspect, every three to six months. And you have nothing to lose and everything to gain by documenting.