What?!? You mean subs have lives other than being at the beck and call of the post office and regular carriers? Who would have thought?
Yeah, fact is, even subs have spouses, kids who have needs and events to deal with, sick relatives, even sicknesses on their own. Shucks, some even go so far as to simply want a day off ever now an' again. maybe even a vacaton. The world sure is a funny place, huh?
On the other hand, in just about every 'fed up RCA' post I've read, at least one person will give advice that goes along the lines of, "Well, maybe you should consider some other line of work".
Well, in my life, I've worked at just about every concievable job category you can imagine, uh, with the exception of 'Mafia Contract Killer', for which I personally think I'm temperamentally unfit, and besides, I can't afford the necessary tools for that particular profession. I've had jobs that absolutely defined 'the pits', while I've had jobs where I walked around kind of chuckling to myself and saying, "And they're PAYING me to do this!".
Of them all though, I'll put rural mail carrier in first place. I've always dreamed of a job where I had a set amount of work to do, and when done, would be allowed to go home, with my pay undiminished. Jobs like that though, are far and few between. And truth is, you pretty much have to pay your dues before getting that kind of job.
So like thousands of others, I paid my dues as a sub, bullied by regular carriers, intimidated by management, given too little training (especially in respect to my 'in the office' duties) and too little information. The first six months, every time I walked into that post office, I was totally convinced I'd be fired before the day was out. I worked like a dog doing my best to have a car and a back up, and to keep the stupid things running all the time, without that eating up all my pay. In my other work (self employed), I would refuse to go on a call until after 10:00 a.m., just in case a regular called and needed me to run the route. And I don't want to even get into working after holidays, after every bloomin' holiday....
And every day I came in to work, I looked upon a whole bunch of regulars who not only looked young, but were. I could be forgiven for thinking I'd NEVER make to regular carrier. Being a praying man, it was the hardest thing I've ever done NOT to pray that certain regulars didn't get cancer and die, real quick.
But in the fulness of time, my ship came in. The last young regular retired young (if only I'd known I could get and do this job when I was in my 20's...I'd be retired now myself), and I ascended to my own route.
And that dream job? Well, I've got it now. I work less than six hours a day, oftentimes as little as five. I am home by 1:30 p.m. most days, and am paid through 4:30 p.m. I have eight weeks off per year, with pay (sick leave is counted, but I'm banking most of that). I have a dream sub who not only wants to work, but who is the most accurate and conscientious carrier I've ever known.
So my advice is, if you can, in any possible way, stick it out, you'll be glad you did. Use the union, grieve anything that you believe to be contrary to the contract, keep your head up, try to fly below the radar, and one of these days, you'll be in much better shape, financially at any rate. You might even feel better about yourself, the job, the world....just my opinion.
Julabee Jones
