OK, bear with me. I'm with USPS as a PMR (Postmaster Relief). Seems *somewhat similar to PTPCS. I run a small rural PO where they've transferred the postmaster or offered them early retire, and they back-fill the position with PMRs. It's management, non-union, but you're essentially treated like a temp., on call, abused, etc...but they sell you on the job that you're going to be an acting postmaster. LOL. Yeah, lotsa sunshine being blown on that one. You'll be doing EVERYTHING the postmaster would do, in addition to retail counter and mail box up functions too, but being paid much less than a postmaster. The upper management is glad it's you there doing the job and not them, and they don't want to hear from you at all...and the hourly union employees will hate you, because in some respects you are expected to do their job which perhaps cuts a union job and they tell you that you're not a real postmaster...The mail workers union has a grievance out against the use of PMRs as permanent replacements for postmasters, instead of offering those available work hrs. to union employees. So, there's a danger if the union wins their arbitration, a lot of us PMRs will get walking papers. USPS isn't going to bust their ass trying to find someplace for us to go get hrs. in a time when they're in bad shape and looking to cut. There really is NO room for upward movement as a PMR unless you land an open postmaster slot, which is going to be very rare occurrence. The only way to realistically move up is to re-class and start fresh as a clerk, carrier, or support employee sorting mail. Sounds a lot like what I'm hearing about PT sups with UPS. Go there-be abused-get stuck.
Anyway, so I went and asked around the local UPS looking for possible ways to use some of the skills I already have (I accept & distribute PO mail, sort and dispatch outgoing, retail counter, stamp & money order accountability, dispatch bank deposit, do daily finance, scanner, & other PO operations related reports & close the PO). It's a moderately stressful job, but easy enough now that I know it. I almost never hear from upper management unless something goes wrong and a scan was missed or late. I was told they had two PT sup positions. PTPCS and Local Sort. They also had a PT morning sort position (union) open that paid a few bucks less an hr. I was looking at the PTPCS. Sounds good on the surface. PT hours is great with me. The Local Sort sounds like a whole lot more stress and whip cracking, although to be honest, both of them sound like they could be a nightmare and I will be constantly ridden according to numbers on a morning report, and not enough hrs in the day to do what they want done. The impression I'm getting is that they chew up a lot of these PT sups and that it's pretty dog-eat-dog atmosphere between the hourly and the management. I'm not sure whether it would be wise to make the switch, but USPS is not anymore what it used to be either. The PTPCS is offering a better shift for me (5-10pm), ability to get more hours than USPS, and it's an increase over what I'm getting with USPS. I just don't know if I'd like it or last long in that atmosphere as a UPS PT sup. Sounds like they do a lot of shuffling people around and firing people that don't work out really fast. Where I'm at now, I am the boss and it's relatively laid back as far as not having someone breathing down my neck. My immediate sup is the big city postmaster, and I almost never hear from him (which is the way I like it)...but at any time I could be cut and replaced by a union position, or my PO could be closed on the next re-asses for down-sizing, so it's a risk even staying with USPS and this could be my only chance to take a life boat.
I've just read so much negative about taking the PT sup job. Is there anyone out there who really likes the PT sup job? Specifically PTPCS? What *exactly do they do? Trying to get that answer when I was there for the interview was like nailing jello to a wall.
Anyway, so I went and asked around the local UPS looking for possible ways to use some of the skills I already have (I accept & distribute PO mail, sort and dispatch outgoing, retail counter, stamp & money order accountability, dispatch bank deposit, do daily finance, scanner, & other PO operations related reports & close the PO). It's a moderately stressful job, but easy enough now that I know it. I almost never hear from upper management unless something goes wrong and a scan was missed or late. I was told they had two PT sup positions. PTPCS and Local Sort. They also had a PT morning sort position (union) open that paid a few bucks less an hr. I was looking at the PTPCS. Sounds good on the surface. PT hours is great with me. The Local Sort sounds like a whole lot more stress and whip cracking, although to be honest, both of them sound like they could be a nightmare and I will be constantly ridden according to numbers on a morning report, and not enough hrs in the day to do what they want done. The impression I'm getting is that they chew up a lot of these PT sups and that it's pretty dog-eat-dog atmosphere between the hourly and the management. I'm not sure whether it would be wise to make the switch, but USPS is not anymore what it used to be either. The PTPCS is offering a better shift for me (5-10pm), ability to get more hours than USPS, and it's an increase over what I'm getting with USPS. I just don't know if I'd like it or last long in that atmosphere as a UPS PT sup. Sounds like they do a lot of shuffling people around and firing people that don't work out really fast. Where I'm at now, I am the boss and it's relatively laid back as far as not having someone breathing down my neck. My immediate sup is the big city postmaster, and I almost never hear from him (which is the way I like it)...but at any time I could be cut and replaced by a union position, or my PO could be closed on the next re-asses for down-sizing, so it's a risk even staying with USPS and this could be my only chance to take a life boat.
I've just read so much negative about taking the PT sup job. Is there anyone out there who really likes the PT sup job? Specifically PTPCS? What *exactly do they do? Trying to get that answer when I was there for the interview was like nailing jello to a wall.