PostalReporter.com - Postal Workers, Postal News, Postal Information News

   

Updated: Monday | June 04 , 2012  

Follow me on Twitter

 

Site Features

Official USPS, APWU 2010-2015 Contract Now Available  -2-9-12
Postal news blog
Postal Photos
Postal News

Employee Resources
Know Your Rights
Editorials
Postal Attendance
Postal Links
Postal Rates
Flat Sequencing System (FSS) Strategy
Postal Retirement
Postal Handbooks
Postal legal cases
How to Read Paystub
Veteran Rights
About

Postal Topics

Postal Employees Retreat Rights FAQS - This document contains frequently asked questions (FAQs) regarding the process and activities related to employee retreat rights. |   


USPS Statement on Market Survey Research Filed with the PRC  |

 

USPS, Postal Supervisors Fail To Reach Pay Agreement  |

MSPB Issues Decision In Postal Employees NRP Cases  |

 

USPS paid out nearly $1 Billion In Overtime During FY 2012 First Quarter

Senators Announce USPS Agreement To Delay Postal Facility Closures For 5 Months

 

OIG Audit Finds Problems with application of criteria used by USPS To Select Post Office Closures - |

 

Edmond Walker vs USPS EEO Class Survey  |

OPM Announce Changes in Life Insurance Premium for 2012 |

 

New Website Lists USPS Properties for Sale   |

 

Senators Introduce 21st Century Postal Service Act  - A bipartisan group of senators announce plans to reform and bring savings to the USPS |

Postal Workers Allowed To Campaign Against Mail Changes

 

USPS Warning to Postal Employees About Campaigning Against Mail changes   |  

 

USPS Wants to Offer Eligible Postal Workers Early Retirement?

 I’m amazed anyone would retire right now without waiting to see what comes out of Congress by November 18th, the new deadline for USPS to make its $5.5 billion payment. |

 

USPS to Implement Nationwide Clerk Excessing In November - Info indicates there will be a nationwide excessing move date of Nov. 19, 2011. USPS, APWU MOU On Non Traditional Full-Time Duty Assignments |

 

 LATEST POSTAL NEWS  

APWU, USPS Hold Informal Discussions on Early-Outs, Incentives

The APWU has engaged in informal conversations with the Postal Service about financial incentives for retirements and separations, (06/04/12) |   

PRC to Review USPS Second Proposal to Cut Post Office Costs and Operations

On May 31, the Postal Regulatory Commission issued Order No. 1361 establishing Docket N2012-2 to provide a public hearing and issue an advisory opinion on the U.S. Postal Service’s Post Office Structure Plan (POStPlan). The primary focus of the proposal is to reduce costs by changing operating hours at approximately 17,700 of the 32,000 postal retail locations nationwide. The Service’s previous plan, the Retail Access Optimization Initiative, to close 3,700 post offices has been put on hold. (06/04/12) |   

POStPlan: Estimating post office revenues

Save The Post Office - The Postal Service does not give out much information about the revenues post offices bring in, but it has provided enough data to make it possible to calculate estimates.  So we've done a little figuring and made a table with estimated revenues for FY 2011 for all 17,700 post offices on the POStPlan list.   (06/04/12) |   

House must deliver on postal reform

by Lieberman, Collins, Carper & Brown - The Senate bill represents a now rare occurrence in Washington: bipartisan compromise. No one got everything he or she wanted — but our bill puts the Postal Service on a path toward financial stability in a way that is economically responsible. Postal Reform Goes Quiet   (06/04/12) |   

USPS OIG Seeks Help From Postal Employees To “Pick Out the Bad Apples”

The Office of Inspector General (OIG) is distributing a new fraud awareness poster. Poster 204 encourages employees to help the OIG “pick out the bad apples” by reporting postal crimes or misconduct. (06/04/12) |   

Overnight Single-Piece First Class Mail Ends July 1; Could be a Problem for Billers and Consumers -Courier Express and Postal Observer - The Postal Service’s new service standards for First Class mail that start July 1, 2012 restricts overnight delivery to intra-SCF (intra-sectional center facility) First Class Mail that is entered at the designated SCF that meets all of the preparation requirements for Presort mail. This definition excludes all single piece mail and any presort mail not entered at the SCF.The rule also makes changes in 2 day service standards that reduce the geographic scope of First Class mail that is delivered in two days.  (06/04/12) |   

USPS: Automated Retreat Rights on eJob Bidding

USPS has improved the methods eligible craft employees use to exercise their retreat rights. Involuntarily reassigned employees are entitled to “retreat” to their previous installations when job opportunities become available. Now, employees can use an efficient and reliable new automated method to enter, track and manage their retreat rights on eJob Bidding at LiteBlue.   (06/04/12) |   

APWU: PSEs to Be Eligible for Health Insurance Soon

PSEs may sign-up for federal employees’ health benefits after they complete one full year (365 calendar days) of continuous employment with no breaks in service of more than five days. To be eligible, they must maintain sufficient earnings each pay period so that premiums can be withheld from their pay after mandatory deductions for Social Security, Medicare and federal tax are made.  (06/04/12) |   

Why Does the Postal Service Cling to a Money-Losing Monopoly?

The U.S. Postal Service and American publishers are locked in a lose-lose relationship. Maybe they should consider a divorce. For every dollar it spends on delivering newspapers and magazines, USPS claims it only receives 75 cents in postage. Meanwhile, notes the Columbia Journalism Review (in Postage due: The USPS is running out of money. Where does that leave magazines?), magazine publishers are growing worried about the increase in customer complaints regarding lost, damaged, and late issue. They fear coming changes will only make matters worse. . (06/03/12) |   

POStPlan: How to save $500 million without really trying

When the Postal Service gave the Postal Regulatory Commission its request for an Advisory Opinion on POStPlan — the plan to reduce hours at 13,000 post offices — it provided no cost-savings analysis.  In his testimony, USPS witness Jeffrey Day says only that "the Postal Service anticipates that the POStPlan will provide significant labor cost savings due to lower salary and benefit costs and a reduction in overall retail window hours."   While putting a number on the savings can cause problems with the PRC, publicly the Postal Service has been more forthcoming, and there's a press release on the USPS website saying that the plan would save a half billion dollars annually.  The press release provides no details, but the following analysis illustrates how that might happen. (06/02/12) |   

SEC Said to Select Postal Inspector General for Watchdog Probe

The U.S. Postal Service’s inspector general has been asked by the Securities and Exchange Commission to oversee a probe of possible misconduct in the SEC’s watchdog office, according to two people briefed on the matter. David Williams, who has been at the Postal Service since 2003, will use his investigators to review allegations against former SEC inspector general H. David Kotz, said the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the decision hasn’t been announced.   (06/02/12) |   

USPS Form 8-K filing with PRC regarding Final Rule on Service Standard Changes - The Postal Service expects that its network consolidations will result in significant annual cost savings and will lead to workforce reductions of up to 28,000 employees.  (05/31/12) |   

APWU: Revised FMLA Forms

The union has posted revised FMLA forms for use by healthcare providers to certify serious illnesses of APWU members and their family members.    (05/31/12) |   

NALC Branch treasurer says gambling habit forced him to steal $80K in union funds- The treasurer of the Honolulu branch of the letter carriers union pleaded guilty Thursday afternoon to embezzling more than $80,000 from the union to feed his gambling habit. David M. Ing has been the treasurer of branch 860 of the National Association of Letter Carriers for about 14 years. He works as a mailman out of a Sand Island postal facility. He appeared in federal court Thursday afternoon to plead guilty to stealing $83,293 in union funds.   (05/31/12) |   

Postal Workers, Community Allies Increase Pressure as USPS Cuts Loom

As Congress dallies, postal workers and community activists are turning to civil disobedience to combat the sweeping cuts planned for the Postal Service. Ten postal worker and community activists in Portland, Oregon, were arrested May 24 when they occupied the city’s University Station post office, refusing to leave and blocking the closure of the office’s retail desk.   (05/31/12) |   

Video: A day on the city’s toughest postal route

Mail carriers contend with many obstacles in the course of a day. And every day, no matter what time of the year, these obstacles can push carriers to their physical and mental limits.Few people understand this better than Jeromy Shafer, a Charleston mail carrier who has one of the toughest routes in Charleston, West Virginia. .    (05/31/12) |   

OPM contractor accidentally exposes retirees' Social Security numbers

An Office of Personnel Management contractor last October accidentally mailed postcards to about 3,000 federal retirees on which their Social Security numbers were printed, according to an inspector general report released Wednesday.   (05/31/12) |   

Contract Post Offices No Longer Accept International Packages

Most contract stations were already refusing international packages due to the complicated regulations.  Now there is a nationwide ban as of May 21, 2012 (see article ).  Finding an open retail service counter at a real Post Office is going to be more difficult after implementation of the POStPlan.   (05/31/12) |   

Congress muddies waters around postal service

The problems stem from multiple sources. But despite the known problems of First-Class diversion to email and electronic bill paying, a stubborn recession since 2008, high payroll costs and generous benefits, and a no-layoff policy in union contracts, there is at least one other problem not often mentioned. That would be the U.S. Congress, known abusers of the postal service by those who work with postal issues on a daily basis. Congress regularly takes money from USPS, and then beats them up for being poor. And so it goes for S 1789, a bill the Senate passed recently to help USPS.(05/30/12) |

Comparison of USPS Separation Incentives offered Postmasters and Mail Handlers -Courier Express and Postal Observer - The following chart illustrates some basic information comparing separation information for Postmasters and Mail Handlers.  As the chart shows the primary difference is the size of the incentive.  Right now Postmasters that have been offered incentives have a clearer understanding than mail handlers about both the risks they face if they decide to stay and the benefits and risks of leaving.   (05/30/12) |   

Hunger Strike to Save the Postal Service

A group of postal patrons and postal workers will declare a hunger strike the week of June 25th in Washington DC. We will shame Congress and denounce the Postmaster General. We will engage in dramatic actions in the halls of Congress and at USPS Headquarters to raise public awareness and turn up the heat on decision makers.   (05/29/12) |   

APWU Tells Members: Get Ready for a Busy Summer

Despite stiff opposition to the House bill (H.R. 2309), according to published reports, Republican leaders plan to try to win support for the measure in the coming weeks. The bill would gut collective bargaining – prohibiting postal unions and the USPS from negotiating protection against layoffs and allowing an appointed board to reject labor contracts it considers too costly. The legislation also calls for $3 billion in cuts to mail processing facilities and post offices in two years.   (05/29/12) |   

USPS Pacific Area Network Optimization Timeline

USPS Pacific Area Network Optimization Timeline as of 5-17-12 from August 2012 through January 2014. The Timeline includes Employee Impacts by District, Craft and Operations.   (05/28/12) |   

 Calendar/ Postal Holidays:

USPS 2012 Calendar (PDF)  

 

2012 Pay Periods and Holidays

What's New/Updates

 

 

 

 

«more postal news archives»

 

06/04/12

How legislation would rein in workers’ compensation

 

06/03/12

Minnesota: Contract carrier gets probation for stealing holiday card money

 

06/02/12

Embattled US Postal Service gets help from rural America

Police: Pot mailed to postal worker

USPS Issues Forever Stamps Featuring Disney Pixar characters

 

06/01/12

Need mail service in the town of Sugar Hill? You've got 30 minutes

Waiting on the mail: WV businesses try to find ways to adapt as postal closures loom

Skip's smile will be missed at the Post Office

 

 

05/31/12

Joe DiMaggio, Larry Doby, Willie Stargell and Ted Williams to be honored on Individual Forever Stamp Sheets July 21

 

Driver who killed postal worker faces year in jail

Postal processing center in Rochester to close in February 2013

 

05/30/12

USPS Launches ‘Picture Permit’ Website for Marketers

New Hampshire: Sugar Hill  post office cut to half-hour each day

TSP offers free credit monitoring after cyber breach

Ottawa: Foot, hand discovered in mail

 

05/29/12

USPS: More Village Post Offices Open For Business

Residents caught off guard as California post office is closed for fumigation

 

05/28/12

U.S. Post Office struggles with alternative fuel delivery

Kingsford postal workers face reassignment

 

05/27/12

The Postal Service Under Siege

You can’t blame the average citizen if they believe that the Postal Service is on its last legs. It is not just Fox News that is spreading the hysteria. In the May 18, 2012 edition of the New York Times, Ron Dixon wrote a column on the Postal Service’s desire to close 48 mail-processing centers beginning in July, but neglected to mention that the Postal Service’s problems were directly related to Congressional mandates that had turned the Postal Service into a cash cow.  |   

 

 

USPS Misrepresentations Lead to Barrage of Criticism

The Postal Service’s top management, including Postmaster General Donahoe, has been drawing fire from all sides in recent months, after a series of disturbing and embarrassing revelations.   |

 

05/26/12

Details emerge in attack on postal worker
Man who defrauded Post Office to serve 2 years, pay back funds

 

05/25/12

123,000 Thrift Savings Plan accounts hacked

Social security numbers and other personal data for 123,000 Thrift Savings Plan account holders were stolen from a contractor’s computer last year, a TSP spokeswoman said Friday. Names, addresses, and financial account and routing numbers of some accounts were also compromised. Kim Weaver, spokeswoman for the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board, which manages the TSP program, said the hacking incident targeted a computer operated by contractor Serco Inc., which provides record-keeping services for 4.5 million federal employees, service members and beneficiaries with TSP accounts. Federal employees TSP information exposed . |   

 

USPS Reports Net Loss Of $1.6 Billion For Month Of April –YTD Retirement Pre-Funding Expense Reaches $7.1 Billion - USPS is also reporting a year-to-date fiscal year loss of $8.1 billion ($8.056). The same period last year (SPLY) USPS reported a net operating loss of $3.304 billion..  |

  

 

How Phantom Accounting Is Destroying The Post Office
Huffington Post - The solution to the post office financial deficit is simple. Give it back the money, Congress, as a result of pressure from the CBO, has stolen from it over the past years. Then make future payments into the health fund for retirees actuarially based. But before any of this will happen we need to 'fess up. The postal crisis is contrived. Let's stop scaring ourselves silly with make believe deficit monsters and unshackle this national asset. .|   

 

USPS submits a Request for an Advisory Opinion on POStPlan: How changing the rules changed everything - Save The Post Office - The basic outline of the plan is as follows: Approximately 17,728 post offices — more than half the country’s 32,000 post offices — will be reviewed under the plan. approximately 4,561 will be upgraded (to EAS Level 18 or above). About 3,907 of these will be designated as an Administrative Post Office (APO). The remaining 13,167 post offices will either proceed to a full discontinuance study or have their hours cut. That decision will be based largely on customer input, so the Postal Service expects that in most cases, the community will prefer to see the hours reduced rather than having the post office close completely. |   

 

House GOP 'working' to bring postal bill to floor

Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.), in a memo sent to GOP lawmakers on Friday, suggested the plan was to bring a Republican postal reform bill to the floor between Independence Day and the August recess. .NAPUS: House to Tackle Postal Bill After July Fourth  |   

 

APWU and USPS Agreement Will Protect Maintenance Staffing

The agreement prohibits the Postal Service from deducting square footage of floor space, including under mail processing equipment, in developing a Building Inventory. |   

 

NALC: New ‘Guide to Route Inspections’ now available

The 2012 NALC Guide to Route Inspections was created to assist shop stewards and branch officers in identifying contractual violations that take place during management’s unilateral six-day route counts and inspections / adjustments, and with filing successful grievances on those violations. . |   

 

Video: 12 arrested in Occupy Portland, OR protest to support post office

About 80 people gathered at the post office. They sounded off about a large-scale layoff announced by the postal service in February. Press Release: Ten Arrested  in Occupy Portland action at University Station Post Office  |   

 

Senators Feinstein and Boxer decline to help save La Jolla, CA post office

Though members of the Save the La Jolla Post Office Task Force have received letters of support from a handfull of public officials, including, most recently, state Sen. Christine Kehoe (D), the group wasn’t quite as auspicious in engaging Democratic U.S. Senators Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein. At its May 18 meeting, Task Force Chair Leslie Davis said Boxer’s office sent what she considers “a negative response” to the office of Dist. 1 City Councilwoman Sherri Lightner, stating Boxer’s preference not to get involved. |   

 

JFK mail contractor employee accused of stealing troop mail
Should Postal Service return to mailing children?

USPS policy change may make it harder to send international mail

Postal worker robbed of mail in Stockton

Postal Work er After Dog Attack: I Never Want To Deliver Mail Again

 

05/24/12

USPS Offers $15,000 Early Out Incentive To Mail Handlers

USPS is offering a VER to opportunity to employees represented by the National Postal Mail Handlers Union. The total incentive amount for full-time NPMHU bargaining unit employees is $15,000.  

NPMHU: Mail Handlers To Be Offered Retirement Incentive |  USPS extends Postmaster Retirement incentive decision deadline  |   

 

Postal Employees Retreat Rights FAQS

This document contains frequently asked questions (FAQs) regarding the process and activities related to employee retreat rights. |   

 

New York Postmaster Admits to Stealing Over $21,000

WOOLSCHLAGER admitted that while working at the Natural Bridge Post Office, she cashed 105 money orders, totaling $14,372.42, without purchasing or processing any of the money orders. . |   

 

Dog attacks up 34 percent; postal workers not surprised

Editorial: Mail cuts will be fact of life
Creating a 21st century Postal Service
A vital institution, Postal Service should be valued

USPS Retail Database Needs More Frequent Updates
Justice Department Honors Postal Worker For Efforts To Find Missing Child In Oakville, Mo. Community

Mail carrier reports threat; couple arrested

 

postal news

Advertisements  

“Glenn L. Smith is a former-postal attorney specializing in representing postal employees before the MSPB & EEOC nationwide.”  Visit http://www.uspostallawyer.com

Robert R. McGill, Esquire.- Representing Postal and Federal Workers for FERS & CSRS Disability Retirement

California Federal And Postal Attorneys, MSPB, EEOC

The OWCP Attorney
Melville Johnson, PC, Aggressive Advocacy for Postal Employees
postal uniforms
FedDoctor.com

Send Info

click here - to send news, suggestions or press releases

Quick Clicks

* Website Displays Postal Employees Names, Salaries, Position, Date Hired And Work Facility

* 'LiteBlue' Extranet

* Class Action Lawsuits

* eReassign-Transfer
*
Light Duty Request

* PTF Assignment

* Job duties to assist physicians

Support PostalReporter

Amazon Shopping

Discounts

Postal News Links

* Courier, Express & Postal Observer

 

* Dead Tree Edition

* Federal Times

* PostCom
* DMNews
* Postal Bulletin
* USPS News
* Save The Post Office

USPS Info

* PS Form 3982

* Wash-Up Policy

* FMLA
*
50-mile radius rule
* Sick Leave
*
Annual Leave

* Life Insurance

* Health Benefits
*
USPS Forms
*
PS 3971
* Thrift Savings Plan

* History of a 204-b


Postal Union Resources

* APWU

* NALC

* Mail Handlers

* Rural Carriers


Postal Forums

 * Automation

* Bulk Mail Center

* City Carriers

* Clerk Craft

* Consolidations

* EEO Issues

* Injured on Duty
* Mail Handlers
* Maintenance
* Motor Vehicle

* Part-Time Reg.

* PT/FT Flexibles
* Postmasters
* Postal News
* Rural Carriers

* Supervisors
*
Veterans
*
Window Clerks

 

 Postal Reporter.com - Copyright © 2001-present -All Rights Reserved

PostalReporter.com is not affiliated with the U.S. Postal Service or any other organization. Opinions expressed in articles linked to and from this page are those of the authors. Feature are those of the authors and not PostalReporter.com. Postal Reporter provides postal news, postal resources and other postal information for Postal Workers, Postal Employees and other Postal related communities.