The Lion’s Den Episode 11: Dealing with PET Part One of our Mini-Series

In this episode of “The Lion’s Den,” Corey returns after traveling to Seattle and immediately dives into the topic of route protection, specifically addressing the use of the Performance Evaluation Tool (PET) and its misuse by management. He begins by describing an audio recording he possesses of a district manager berating a station manager for not adhering to PET projections, even when the station manager cited mail volume and carrier restrictions. Corey highlights how upper management’s insistence on PET, which he argues is flawed and doesn’t account for real-world conditions like office time, parcel counts, or weather, creates a toxic work environment. He plans to play a snippet of this audio in future episodes, provided it doesn’t compromise the source.

Corey then thoroughly explains PET, its purpose, and its limitations, emphasizing that it consistently assigns the same street time regardless of mail volume and fails to account for essential office tasks. He details how PET projections are used to create an unfavorable “office time” metric, automatically putting carriers at a disadvantage. He also explains how management uses PET and other tools like DOS (Delivery Operations System) to justify disciplinary actions, despite national-level settlements like M-1769 and M-1664 that state these projections are not the sole determinant of a carrier’s workload or return time.

Corey provides extensive grievance advice for situations involving PET, including proper issue statements, facts to document, and relevant contractual provisions and settlements. He stresses the importance of carriers verbally informing management if they cannot complete their routes in eight hours, requesting a PS Form 3996 (Carrier Auxiliary Control), filling it out completely with detailed reasons, and keeping a copy. He advises carriers not to argue with management but to politely ask for instructions and to call back to the office for clarification if needed, always documenting these interactions. He also touches upon the misuse of PS Form 1571 (Undelivered Mail Report) when management instructs carriers to curtail mail, and the denial of 3996 requests based on PET projections, particularly in the context of “auto-pivot” plans.

He criticizes the union’s current leadership for not adequately addressing these issues and for the perceived inadequacy of DRT (Dispute Resolution Team) decisions, which often seem to favor management. Corey expresses his deep frustration with the “establishment” within the union, accusing some of prioritizing their positions over the well-being of city letter carriers. He vows that if elected EVP, he will lead a militant union that actively confronts management and addresses these issues, prioritizing the carriers and creating a safe and harmonious work environment. He draws an analogy to the movie “300,” emphasizing the need for the union to take the fight to postal management rather than waiting for problems to arise.

Corey reiterates his commitment to the city letter carrier and his determination to bring about change, encouraging carriers to prepare for upcoming route inspections and to stand up for their rights. He ends by expressing his love for the city letter carriers and assuring them that better days are coming when the CLC ticket, with James Henry as president, takes over. He also announces his upcoming appearances on other podcasts and his continued dedication to addressing heat safety and route protection issues.