|
April 30, 2006 -
Postal delivery is no easy reach
" Mail
carrier Donna Squier once had a mailbox completely fall off its post when she
was attempting to make a delivery. It's just one mailbox malady that befalls
Auburn-area postal carriers, who can all name a few boxes on their route that
need a desperate makeover. The mailbox improvement committee has devised a decorating
contest with dozens of prizes. More than two dozen entrants will win jewelry,
food, and store gift certificates donated by 21 local businesses. Bringing low
mailboxes up to 42 inches can help carriers avoid repetitive stress injuries.
|
April 30, 2006 -
USPS Revamps Retail Training Program -Rob
Strunk, APWU Assistant Director, Clerk Division, released the following memo
on USPS’ New Retail Training Program, "The United States Postal Service has
instituted a new retail training program wherein the classroom training program
has been changed to exclude POS training, which will be solely taught by on-the-job
instructors." On the following page are some basic questions and answers about
the program. |
April 30, 2006 -
Letters: Study does not mean postal plant will close
- "I
am mystified by an article that ran in the April 25 issue of the Oshkosh Northwestern
"Oshkosh postal facility could be closed." Despite meeting with the reporter
face-to-face and emphasizing several times that we were reviewing only one aspect
of our operations at the Oshkosh Processing and Distribution Facility (P&DF),
it was inaccurately reported that we were considering closing the entire plant.
This is simply not true." Robert J. Prahl Plant Manager Oshkosh
Processing and Distribution Facility |
Previous article - April 25, 2006 -
Oshkosh postal facility could be closed -"Oshkosh's
United States Postal Service processing and distribution center is one of more
than 50 such centers around the country undergoing a study to determine if it
should be closed and consolidated with other regional operations, postal officials
said. It is the only center the Postal Service is considering closing in the
Lakeland District, which consists of two-thirds of Wisconsin and Michigan's
Upper Peninsula, said JoAnne Blackburn, of the Postal Service Public Affairs
Office in Milwaukee.
April 30, 2006 -
Great Falls (Montana) postmaster resigns after investigation -
Bruce Gruver was put on administrative
leave January 24th, but postal officials wouldn't say why and still aren't saying
whether Gruver was asked to resign or what the investigation revealed, citing
privacy concerns. Before taking the Great Falls job in December 2004, Gruver
was postmaster in Fort Dodge, Iowa. Gruver began his career with USPS in 1982.
|
April 30, 2006 -
Pennsylvania: Oil City letter carrier finishes Boston Marathon -
Luke Riley of Knox, a letter carrier for the Oil City post office, finished
in 429th place out of 22,517 participants last week in his first Boston Marathon.
Riley, who started running about four years ago in an effort to lose weight,
finished the 26.2-mile marathon in 2 hours, 50 minutes and 21 seconds.
April 30, 2006
Metroblogging New Orleans: Going Postal
April 29, 2006
Sioux City: Local, state leaders to meet with Potter
Retired postal workers hold reunion
Bag of mail lost on Heartland
highway
Letter perfect: Postal employee
delivers 40 years of faithful service
Car runs into post office
Going Postal on Main Street
Papers, magazines, ad mail back on N.O. delivery route
April 28, 2006 -
Postal
Worker Fights Off Attackers Despite Being Stabbed
- An Oviedo (Fla.) postal clerk was attacked and stabbed Friday morning.
Now police are searching for the two men who did it. "The employee was sleeping
in his truck an hour before his shift started, when the men pulled him out of
the truck. The stabbed postal service clerk drove himself to the hospital and
the men who tried to rob him have not been caught. For the past 20 years, Maurice
Boetto ( pictured at left) has always arrived at the post office in Oviedo at
least one hour before the start of his shift." Military training. I'm never
late to wherever I need to go," he said. That same military mentality he developed
in the Navy perhaps helped save his life Friday morning."
|
April 28, 2006 -
Mendham Township rallies 'round its post office
- A community defined by prosperity and a sense of history was
the unlikely setting of a protest this morning pitting residents against the
U.S. Postal Service. Chanting "no standardization" and waving signs, nearly
two dozen people stuck up for their beloved Brookside post office after an inspector
ordered the removal of pictures, notices and other personal items displayed
on walls inside the 19th Century building." It's a shame to hear this bureaucratic
nonsense coming out of Washington," said township resident Sam Fairchild, a
former Assistant U.S. Secretary of Transportation and advisor to President Reagan.
|
April 28, 2006 -
Mail carrier retires, recalls days of two-room post office
- After 32 years of delivering mail to Oakton
residents, Ron Rusnak will make one last round through the Miller Heights subdivision
this Friday and then leave his mail truck at the post office for the next mail
carrier. Then, he said, he will likely go home and begin his retirement with
a cold beverage. This April marks 36 years of service to the government for
Rusnak, including four years in the Army, and he said he had long planned to
make this month his last. "I had just had enough. It was time," he said.
April 28, 2006
Benefit Concert
To Aid Goleta Postal Victims’ Families
eNapus Bulletin:
Perfect Postal Storm Brewing
Credit Card Mail Offers
Grow 16% in 2005
Mean mutt mars mail, many mad
Postal Service's Change-of-Address Filings at Historic Levels
Group wants
cockfighting magazines declared 'nonmailable'
'Junk mail' tax break moving toward approval
Postal
Workers to Deliver Thousands of Signed Letters to Canada
Post CEO
Canada Post uses legal loophole to knock off rival
Angry over shift changes, Canadian postal workers walk off job
April 27, 2006 -
Slow Pace of Bookspan NSA Scares Mailers, USPS Says
"Business mailers
are becoming less interested in working with the U.S. Postal Service on negotiated
service agreements because a recent landmark case is taking too long to be completed,
a USPS official said last week. A Postal Rate Commission spokesman, however,
said the PRC just wants to get the deal right. Negotiated service agreements
are special service and rate arrangements between the USPS and a mailer or group
of mailers. Proponents say NSAs encourage greater volume by rewarding postal
service customers with discounts and premium services."
|
April 27, 2006-
Postal
Service Reopens New Orleans Plant
-On Friday, April 28, 2006 at 10 a.m. the U.S.
Postal Service will officially re-open its New Orleans Processing and Distribution
Center, the primary mail-processing facility for mail to and from Louisiana.
|
April 27, 2006 -
Tennessee: Gunman holds up Post Office - suspect caught - A gunman
robbed the postmistress of the Lake Cormorant Post Office Tuesday morning, but
he was caught four minutes later by a Walls police officer. Postmistress Cindy
Scott called in an alarm on the holdup at 11:40 a.m., saying she'd just been
robbed of an undetermined amount of cash and blank money orders. Mitchell said
Scott was not injured in the robbery but was threatened by the man brandishing
a pistol. "The Postal Inspectors recovered the cash and money order blanks taken
in the robbery. They also recovered the pistol," he said
April 27, 2006 -
Letter Carrier Delivers laughs in the face of danger
Johnny Pizzi of Saugus, the regular host at the Giggles Comedy Club on Route
1 for 17 years, has been on national TV (''The John Laroquette Show") and played
Las Vegas. That's heady stuff, but nothing compared to his trip this month to
Bosnia and Kosovo. The package included sleeping on cots, eating when you're
told, changing plans on short notice, and taking rides in helicopters while
men with machine guns keep watch. ''It's great to be able to do something in
a small way to help take the troops' minds off of why they're there," said Pizzi.
''This is the ultimate in show business, to be able to do something for them
while they're over there watching our backs." Pizzi, who works full time as
a letter carrier, was disappointed that the Postal Service wouldn't grant him
an administrative leave. But rather than miss the trip, he used vacation days.
''It's my vacation in Kosovo," he said.
|
April 27, 2006 -
USPS: Long Grove residents must use RFD address
Long Grove residents used to receiving mail addressed to their street address
may find troubles with delivery because the post office has switched software.
The U.S. Postal Service will no longer recognize street addresses in Long Grove.
Village officials have requested the post office use rural free delivery, or
RFD, addresses for mail delivery. New postal software is not programmed to work
for mail that uses the street address instead of the RFD address.
April 27, 2006 -
Advo Swings the Ax - "Advo shook
up its bulls last week when it cut its second-quarter earnings forecast, citing
soft results in its so-called zone product. To drive profitability in future
periods, Advo said Tuesday that it will close its Memphis production facility
and outsource its graphics and print production operations."
April 27, 2006 -
Co-workers celebrate vets' return - Gil Tatum still has to wear a uniform.
He still has to be able to carry more than 30 pounds of gear. And he is still
required to have a license to drive a government vehicle. But instead of searching
for roadside bombs on the dangerous streets of Tikrit, Iraq, which he did for
nearly a year, the former Army sergeant is doling out mail in Concord. 'I don't
have much chance of getting blown to pieces,' said Tatum, 27. 'I am glad to
be back to a normal life.' Tatum worked as a mail carrier for about five years
before he was deployed to Iraq, where he served for 11 months. The Antioch resident
returned to his job at the post office April 17 -- bringing the number of Iraqi
war vets at the Concord office to four. Co-workers marked Tatum's first day
back and the other soldiers' safe returns with a celebration. They hung a colorful
banner in the lobby with photos of the five vets, including one who served in
the Gulf War.
April 27, 2006
Postal Bulletin 4/27/06 Issue
Postal worker given probation for stealing
House leader won't join Sioux City in postal dispute
Once licked, rare stamp resurfaces
Cayman Islands: APO swamped with undeliverable mail
April 26, 2006 -
Postal
Service asked to hold off on rate increase
"House Government
Reform Chairman Tom Davis, R-Va., is asking the U.S. Postal Service to hold
off on its next rate increase until issues surrounding postal overhaul legislation
are smoothed out. In a letter this month to Postal Service Board of Governors'
Chairman James Miller, Davis wrote that "It would be prudent to delay filing
for the next rate increase" until overhaul legislation awaiting conference "is
closer to resolution." A similar letter was also sent from the chairman of the
Mailing Industry CEO Council, a nonprofit group that focuses on mailing issues."
|
April 26, 2006
Dogs are a
painful job hazard for mail carriers
Plague-infested mice, anthrax missing from N.J. labs
Reflections on the Postal Forum
Arizona:
Mail ballots returned for stamps despite USPS pact
Man gets eight
years in prison for 2004 post office robbery
April 25, 2006 -
APWU Asks District
Court to Put Network Consolidation on Hold
The APWU filed a complaint in U.S. District Court on April 21, charging that
the Postal Service violated the Postal Reorganization Act in implementing its
“network realignment” plan, known as Evolutionary Network Development (END).
The complaint seeks a judgment that management violated the 1970 law, as well
as an injunction against future violations. The court filing alleges that the
Postal Service violated Section 3661 of the Postal Reorganization Act, which
requires the USPS to seek an advisory opinion from the Postal Rate Commission
(PRC) “within a reasonable time prior to the effective date” of a proposal that
would change the nature of postal services on a “nationwide or substantially
nationwide basis.” |
-
See APWU Requests in Court Case
April
26, 2006 -
Postal
Service asked to hold off on rate increase
"House Government
Reform Chairman Tom Davis, R-Va., is asking the U.S. Postal Service to hold
off on its next rate increase until issues surrounding postal overhaul legislation
are smoothed out. In a letter this month to Postal Service Board of Governors'
Chairman James Miller, Davis wrote that "It would be prudent to delay filing
for the next rate increase" until overhaul legislation awaiting conference "is
closer to resolution." A similar letter was also sent from the chairman of the
Mailing Industry CEO Council, a nonprofit group that focuses on mailing issues."
|
April 27, 2006-
Postal
Service Reopens New Orleans Plant
-On Friday, April 28, 2006 at 10 a.m. the U.S.
Postal Service will officially re-open its New Orleans Processing and Distribution
Center, the primary mail-processing facility for mail to and from Louisiana.
|
April
27, 2006 -
Tennessee: Gunman holds up Post Office - suspect caught - A gunman
robbed the postmistress of the Lake Cormorant Post Office Tuesday morning, but
he was caught four minutes later by a Walls police officer. Postmistress Cindy
Scott called in an alarm on the holdup at 11:40 a.m., saying she'd just been
robbed of an undetermined amount of cash and blank money orders. Mitchell said
Scott was not injured in the robbery but was threatened by the man brandishing
a pistol. "The Postal Inspectors recovered the cash and money order blanks taken
in the robbery. They also recovered the pistol," he said
April
27, 2006 -
Advo Swings the Ax - "Advo shook
up its bulls last week when it cut its second-quarter earnings forecast, citing
soft results in its so-called zone product. To drive profitability in future
periods, Advo said Tuesday that it will close its Memphis production facility
and outsource its graphics and print production operations."
April
27, 2006
Postal Bulletin 4/27/06 Issue
Postal worker given probation for stealing
House leader won't join Sioux City in postal dispute
Once licked, rare stamp resurfaces
Cayman Islands: APO swamped with undeliverable mail
April 26, 2006
Dogs are a
painful job hazard for mail carriers
Plague-infested mice, anthrax missing from N.J. labs
Reflections on the Postal Forum
Arizona:
Mail ballots returned for stamps despite USPS pact
Man gets eight
years in prison for 2004 post office robbery
April 25, 2006 -
Chemical Scare Sends 23 Alabama Postal Workers
to Hospitals
(see video) A liquid leaking from a package at the Hueytown Post Office
on Tuesday sent the call out to first responders from five agencies, blocked
the area roads and caused the post office to be evacuated and closed to the
public. We expect to be open,” said Postal Inspector Frank Dyer after a package
leaked a substance first believed to be methyl chloride. However,
garlic oil and not the chemical methyl chloride is now being blamed for
the chemical scare. Federal charges could be pursued if investigators find the
substance was not contained properly in shipment.
|
Chemical in package sickens 20 postal workers in Alabama
April 25, 2006 -
Oshkosh postal facility could be closed
"Oshkosh's United
States Postal Service processing and distribution center is one of more than
50 such centers around the country undergoing a study to determine if it should
be closed and consolidated with other regional operations, postal officials
said. It is the only center the Postal Service is considering closing in the
Lakeland District, which consists of two-thirds of Wisconsin and Michigan's
Upper Peninsula, said JoAnne Blackburn, of the Postal Service Public Affairs
Office in Milwaukee. |
April 25, 2006 -
Rural Carrier fired 1st day on job after crashing into fence - Eric Larson
had an accident and was quickly fired. But he says it was caused by lack of
training and accuses the post office of not following its own training manuals.
The post office, meanwhile, says though there are hazards to being a rural mail
carrier, the agency emphasizes safety and gives drivers the training they need.
Some people will tell you, no, he should have been given another chance. It
was his first day.
|
April 25, 2006 -
Rollingstone post office customers left in the dark - Residents with mailboxes
at the Rollingstone Post Office have had to travel to Winona to pick up their
mail since Thursday due to a dispute between the post office and its landlord.
After receiving warning that the electricity was going to be turned off, Rollingstone
Postmaster Brenda Ties went to Winona’s Post Office. The Rollingstone doors
were locked. Other than a typed note on the door, residents were left in the
dark about why the post office was closed.
April 25, 2006
Former postal carrier pleads guilty to stealing $100,000 in checks
Mail carrier honored for accident-free career
Postal Service supports Breast Cancer Awareness Week
Postal workers ready to stamp out area hunger
Alaska Airlines adds Prudhoe flights to boost bypass mail
Canadian Postal Worker Killed
in Afghanistan
April 24, 2006 -
Ask President Burrus: Union's plan for Conversion
of PTFs
Q: What are the union’s plan to assist with conversion of PTFs in Associate
Offices?
...we begin contract negotiations in August, when we will submit proposals to
address the conversion of PTFs in small offices. One possible solution is contract
language requiring that bargaining unit work in small offices be assigned exclusively
to bargaining unit employees. This would make the hours presently worked by
postmasters and supervisors available to PTFs and create additional full-time
positions.
|
April 24, 2006 -
Source: No Rate Case Until May
"Regardless of when the case is filed,
many mailers anticipate a big rate increase. For one, the agency said it cannot
continue to absorb the high fuel and healthcare costs. Also, it might be the
last increase before Congress imposes a rate cap as part of a postal reform
bill awaiting action in conference committee. And others fear the increase will
be large because the postal union and management association contracts expire
in 2006, which could mean a raise in pay that will lead to higher rates."-
As fuel costs rise, so may the price of stamps (Federal Times)
|
April 24, 2006 -
Letter: 14 Days From Rockford to Kansas City
"Planet Codes will track
each piece of mail that is sent out. Ever since we started sending out the mail
with Planet Codes we've noticed mail pieces coming through our mail in our office
with mail tracking systems embedded in them as well. This seems to be a bigger
problem than is being talked about. We have noticed that it has taken anywhere
from 14 to 27 days for our Presort Standard mail to have its last scan at the
USPS. In some cases a drive of a few hours from Rockford, IL, to Kansas City,
MO, is taking 14 to 27 days. In one case, we saw it took six to nine days to
get mail to California, and mail from the same mail house that dropped the same
day took 14 days to get to St. Louis."
|
April 24, 2006 -
You Say Tomato, I Say Junk
"George Orwell would have
loved the letter I received recently from Azeezaly S. Jaffer, the U.S. Postal
Service's vice president of public affairs and communications. Azeezaly read
my recent column about how tough it's been to stop the junk mail that keeps
coming to my house for my late mother-in-law. Azeezaly wrote: "I had an agreement
with your predecessor and that was that I wouldn't call what falls out of the
center section of my Sunday Post 'junk newspaper' if he would refer to what
he found in his mailbox as advertising mail. Can you and I agree, too?" Oh,
let's agree to disagree, shall we?"-
Jaffer's
Letter to Washington Post Columnist John Kelly
|
April 24, 2006 -
PRC Notice: Classification Changes for Express Mail Second Day Service
The
PRC proposes the following clarifying changes to the current Domestic Mail Classification
Schedule
123 Next Day Service and Second Day Service
123.1 Availability of Services. Next Day and Second Day Services are available
at designated retail postal facilities to designated destination facilities
or locations for items tendered by the time or times specified by the Postal
Service. Next Day Service is available for overnight delivery. Second Day Service
is available for delivery on the second delivery day as specified by the Postal
Service.
Consumer Complaint Sparks PRC Case
April 24, 2006 -
Postal Worker honored at Workers Memorial Day service
Michael
Edwards, a postal worker,
died in an auto accident on March 8th of this year as he drove to
work in Mason City, Iowa. On Saturday (April 22, 2006), Edwards was among workers
recognized at the annual Workers Memorial Day service in Mason City.
April 24, 2006 -
Playing politics with your TSP
- Rejected by TSP, real estate lobby turns to Congress
Two years ago, the top lobbyist for the real estate investment industry met
at the downtown Washington offices of Gary Amelio, who oversees the Thrift Savings
Plan, to make a pitch. The $180 billion retirement savings plan, which covers
3.5 million civilian and military employees and retirees, should create a fund
tied to income-producing real estate such as hotels and apartment buildings,
said Steven Wechsler, president of the National Association of Real Estate Investment
Trusts. Adding such an option, called a REIT fund, would enable TSP participants
to get in on the real estate boon that was under way, Wechsler and his staff
argued. Amelio and his staff listened, and even invited the group back for a
second meeting. But they were unconvinced. TSP already included real estate
investment trusts in two of its five funds, which are linked to a broad cross-section
of investments. But unlike those funds, the proposed REIT fund would be tied
to the fortunes of a single sector, which spelled an unacceptable risk to Amelio
and other TSP officials. How could they explain any losses to TSP members if
the real estate market were to plunge, like the once-hot tech sector did some
years ago?
Special interest groups
have targeted TSP before
April 24, 2006
Bundle Prep Rules Hit April 30
Busy Post Office
The Dwindling Fortunes of NIPOST
Iran's postal services to go private
April 23, 2006
Carriers hope bills level postal playing field
GOP Rep to carriers: Push for reform will be rewarded
Post office becomes drive-in
April 22, 2006-
Idaho Congressional Delegation Concerned Over Consolidation of Twin Falls Postal
Center -"A
proposal to merge the mail distribution center in Twin Falls with the one in
Boise faces opposition from the Idaho Congressional delegation. In a letter
to the Postal Service , the delegation expressed concern over the economic impact
of the proposal, timely mail delivery and service availability for the people
who rely on the Twin Falls Center.
|
April 22, 2006 -
El Paso: Postal Worker Sheds Light On Problems - For the first
time, an El Paso post office employee talks only with KFOX about what's happening
with local mail delivery For the past few months we have been telling you about
the problems residents are having with mail that's either slow, or never delivered.
The worker we spoke with says perhaps the problem is that often your mail is
laying around and there aren't enough workers to get the job done.
|
April 22, 2006 -
Albany post office's flag shows more old than glory
Old Glory, at Zip Code 94706, is true to its first name but not its last. The
much-weathered American flag on the roof of the Albany post office dangles precariously
from its pole, attached only by one corner. In the wind, it looks more like
a star-spangled noodle than a banner. Ray Anderson, longtime Albany resident
and businessman, thinks it shows a deplorable lack of patriotism on the part
of postal authorities. Anderson said he got "the run-around" Wednesday when
he complained to postal officials about the condition of the flag. The Albany
postmaster was on vacation, he said. So Anderson made several calls to an 800
number in Washington, then to the Berkeley main post office. There, he said,
someone told him, "We can't fix it; we don't have the money," and hung up. On
Thursday, two counter clerks at the Albany post office told a reporter to contact
the Berkeley main post office. A supervisor there, Audrey Brooks, said the condition
of the Albany flag, if correctly described, was indeed "offensive." She referred
the matter to Ray Davis, the acting postmaster. Davis' secretary in turn referred
it to Postal Service spokesman Augustine Ruiz in San Jose. Thursday afternoon,
Ruiz sided with Anderson
April 22, 2006
Louisiana: More post offices to hand out mail
Sioux City: Congressional delegation demands meeting with Postmaster General
Sweet deal for post office-- pays only $13,311 a year for lease
Change of address for Yorkville Post Office
Postal Service mascot Owney travels to Utah
April 21, 2006 -
Anthrax Vials Could Be Missing from New Jersey State Lab
"An inventory of samples
stored in a state laboratory came up short a pair of two-inch test tubes containing
liquid anthrax, [New Jersey] state officials announced today. They said it’s
probably a paperwork problem. Those samples were among 19,251 samples collected
between 2001 and 2004 from a postal center in Hamilton Township, where anthrax-laced
letters were processed in October 2001." Meanwhile,
USPS VP Tom Day:
Other agencies unprepared for anthrax threat
-"Some agencies still have
not developed procedures for handling an anthrax attack, the threat of which
“remains credible,” says a frustrated Tom Day, the U.S. Postal Service senior
vice president of government relations. He offers procedures the Postal Service
has adopted as an outline for others."
|
April 21, 2006
Trenton APWU Excessing and Early Out Retirement Update
eNapus Newsletter:
It Ain’t Just Rates (PDF) - also: The
Buckeye State Primary
April 21, 2006 -
High Gas Prices Could Stamp Out Postage Prices
The U.S. Postal Service may file a
proposal for another hike in postage rates as early as this month, Postmaster
General John Potter says. Potter says the increase would pay for higher gas
prices, increases in pay and health benefit costs. Since 2002, the price of
fuel and electricity have increased by more than $2 billion a year, Potter says.
There is no word yet on how much the new stamps would cost, but the new price
could take effect in early spring 2007."
|
April 21, 2006 -
NAPUS : Pay for Performance Results
According to a statistical summary
report issued by the Postal Service, the average Pay for Performance rating
for full time Postmasters was 8.2. The FY-2005 average salary increase for Postmasters
was 4.45% and the average lump-sum payment was 1.30%.
|
April 21, 2006 -
Sioux City: USPS addresses concerns
Thursday's town hall meeting
on a Sioux City Area Mail Processing (AMP) study began with a presentation by
Doug Morrow, manager of the Hawkeye District, and Clem Felchle, manager of the
Dakotas District. They addressed concerns put to them by various entities in
advance of Thursday's meeting. Here are some of the issues they responded to
in a presentation"
Statement from Iowa Senator Tom Harkin)
|
-
Sioux City: Postal Report Shows 47 Workers 'Reassigned'
-
Postal official says changes won't affect service |
USPS AMP Proposal (PDF)
-
Postal audit isn't public in Aberdeen
April 21, 2006 -
Mailbox at each house OK again - U.S. Postal Service officials
in Alabama are backing off telling developers and builders they must begin using
cluster mailboxes in all new subdivisions instead of putting a mailbox at each
home.
April 21, 2006
Mail delivery problems
still happening in El Paso
Postal Inspector: Street Gangs Cashing In On ID Theft
New Kinston postmaster pushes for major cleanup
Postal Carrier/Guardsman returns to duty
UPS Net
Profit Rises 10 Percent
April 20, 2006 -
Karma catches hero mailman
- The off-duty postal worker helped chase
down a man who allegedly robbed the Van Go Convenience store in Somerville Journal,
MA at knife-point Saturday. Once cops corralled the alleged bad guy, the postal
worker returned to the store that had just been robbed, bought a Red Sox scratch
ticket for $5, and won a $1,000 jackpot. "The last number I scratched-it said
'homerun,'" the postal worker said. "It's kind of ironic.
April 20, 2006 -
Former Postal Inspector
Pleads Guilty to Possession of Unregistered Firearm -Richard
A. Medve, 52, a retired U.S. Postal Inspector pleaded guilty to one count of
possessing an unregistered National Firearms Act weapon, a category of firearms
that includes machine guns, silencers and other restricted guns which require
special registration in order to own and possess. Specifically, he admitted
knowingly possessing an unregistered silencer, one compatible with Uzi-type
machine guns, which was found in his home. As further conditions of his plea,
Medve agreed to surrender his federal firearms license and to forfeit all his
illegally possessed firearms, ammunition and NFA weapons.
|
April 20, 2006 -
Mailing error delays GMAC deposits - "The check's stuck in the mail"
is right up there with "The dog ate my homework" in the ranks of famed (and
shamed) excuses. It usually comes from a consumer, though - not from one of
the nation's best-known financial institutions. Yet that was the basic explanation
given yesterday by General Motors Acceptance Corp. for hundreds of uncashed
deposits that were held in limbo - some since late last month, customers say
- at Philadelphia's main post office instead of being delivered to GMAC Bank,
a subsidiary based in Horsham. GMAC says that as many as 500 deposit envelopes
that promised "prepaid postage" were held up because the postage hadn't, in
fact, been prepaid. Spokesman Stephen Dupont blamed the problem on "a third-party
processor" that mistakenly failed to keep the postage account funded
April 20, 2006 -
Mail Service Goes to the Dogs -
When Marta Schwab and scores of her neighbors failed to get mail
for two days last week because a dog bit their carrier, it was the final straw
for the Sunset Park neighborhood resident. After years of complaining about
the mail service, she decided to act. Schwab launched a grassroots campaign
printing off hundreds of letters and leaving them on the doorsteps of her friends
and neighbors throughout the Southeastern section of Santa Monica over the weekend.
April 20, 2006
The Postal Service's
Hotel Wants Your Business (PDF, via PostCom)
Friday, April 28th: Workers Memorial Day
Postal official says changes
won't affect service
Stamp auction revives Canada's
postal scandal
April 19, 2006 -
MSPB Ruling to Benefit Retirees Who Were Injured on the Job
-A recent decision by the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB)
should ensure that employees who work less than eight hours per day as the result
of job-related injuries get their full annuity they when they retire. The MSPB
decision reverses a policy enacted by the Office of Personnel Management in
2002, which declared that employees who were partially disabled due to job-related
injuries should be treated as part-time workers, and their retirement annuities
should be based only on their part-time work hours. The policy excluded hours
for which employees were paid by the Office of Workers Compensation Program
(OWCP) from calculations for retirement annuities, resulting in reduced benefits.
|
Hatch v. OPM
|
Risk in Going Part-Time Late in Career
April 19, 2006 -
USPS Southwest
Area Vice President George Lopez Retiring
-Southwest Area Vice President George Lopez will retire after 42 years
of government service. Deputy Postmaster General Pat Donahoe, who made the announcement,
said Lopez “has created a proud legacy and improved the Postal Service wherever
he has worked. In each of his assignments, including almost six years as Southwest
Area Vice President. Donahoe said Vice President of Delivery and Retail Ellis
Burgoyne will serve as Acting Vice President, Area Operations Southwest Area,
effective May 1.
|
April 19, 2006 -
Woman Threatens Colorado Postal Clerk - Parker police spokeswoman
Sara Walla said officers received a report Wednesday morning that an irate customer
had threatened a clerk. The customer told the clerk she had a weapon but did
not show one. The woman then left the post office. Witnesses did not know which
way she went.
April 19, 2006 -
Sioux City: Postal Report Shows 47 Workers 'Reassigned'
Jim Price, president of
the American Postal Workers Union Local 186 in Sioux City, said he thinks the
"USPS is making decisions to please major customers, including AOL-Time Warner,
its single largest customer. Those customers want their mail processed closer
to FedEx air hubs because FedEx has the contract for all the post office's air
service. "They get discounts if they do their own bar-coding or drop closer
to FedEx hubs," Price said. They've been putting pressure on the post office
for years to change the way they do their mailing."
USPS AMP Proposal
Summary for Sioux City (PDF)
|
April 19, 2006 -
Former Mail Carrier Arrested On Suspicion of Identity Theft
(California) " Sheriff's
deputies arrested a postal carrier for allegedly stealing the identities of
as many as a dozen people she delivered mail to in Bonny Doon. Jeri Leann Silva,
34, of Santa Cruz was arrested Tuesday and booked for investigation of felony
identity theft, grand theft and forgery, Sgt. Dan Campos said. Campos said Silva,
a substitute mail carrier, allegedly had checkbooks, credit cards and bank statements
belonging to 12 Bonny Doon residents on April 9 after she tried to buy merchandise
at the Capitola Mall using a stolen credit card. It's unclear how long Silva
worked as a substitute mail carrier in Bonny Doon, but she was removed from
her position earlier this month, Campos said. Silva has a prior record for petty
theft, according to court records.
|
April 19, 2006 -
Postal Clerk Honored for Accumulating 4,089 Sick Leave Hours
For
Don Fleming, hard work is its own reward - Fleming can retire any time he wants,
but for now, he’s content to keep working full-time. The U.S. Postal Service
recently honored him for accumulating 4,089 hours of sick leave — he hasn’t
called in sick for 27 consecutive years — and for logging 42 years of employment
without a single accident or disciplinary action.
April 19, 2006
USPS
Board of Governors to meet MAY 2-3, 2006 IN Washington, D.C.
Enid (Okla.) hosting NALC State Convention
Postal Record: Great San Francisco quake disaster pulls carriers together (PDF)
Early Closing Causes Frustration At Post Office
2006 National Postal Forum Photos
MSPB: Supervisor's Demotion to Part-Time Flexible Clerk
PostCom: Reform, FASB, and Tough Decisions
Postal Worker Awarded Ben Franklin Award
USPS address problems of bird shippers
PostCom: Waiting for Godot...And the Bookspan NSA?
USPS proposing new standards for mailing sharps and other regulated medical
waste containers.
April 18, 2006 -
Postal Rate Hikes to Hit Firms Hard -
Not one, but two, postal rate hikes
are in the works. Business mailers and consumers have been figuring they would
see just one more rate jump before an overhaul of the U.S. Postal Service (USPS)
limits annual increases. But they'll be disappointed. On Jan. 1, 2007, average
rates for business mailers will climb by about 10%, while first-class stamps
will go up 3˘, to 42˘ each. One year later, there'll be another increase. Rates
for business mailers will rise 4%-6%, and first-class stamps will cost 44˘ apiece.
There is always some opposition to postal rate hikes, but it usually fails.
This time will be no exception. The USPS wants to maximize its revenues before
Congress steps in with tight restraints on future increases. Those will come
with a long-awaited reform package, likely to be sent to President Bush for
his signature this fall. But most of the reforms won't kick in till mid-2008,
giving the Postal Service another chance to pump up revenues before new rules
limit it to once-a-year adjustments for inflation, starting in 2009.
|
April 18, 2006 -
Postal Service to audit Aberdeen - The U.S. Postal Service has
announced that it will conduct an audit of services offered by its Aberdeen
processing and distribution center. South Dakota's congressional delegation
requested the audit. According to a release, it would give people a chance to
see what impact moving some Aberdeen postal services to the Dakota Central Processing
and Distribution Center in Huron would have, if such a decision is made. Earlier
this year, the postal service conducted a study of the Aberdeen post office.
It has yet to announce whether some local mail will be sent to Huron as a result.
The audit is scheduled for next week.
|
April 18, 2006 -
House Panel, TSP Board Could Clash Over Real Estate Fund
"A House subcommittee plans to hold a second hearing on the
contentious issue of adding a real estate investment fund to the Thrift Savings
Plan and follow the hearing with a vote on whether to add the option. The hearing,
scheduled for April 26, seems likely to put the committee and the board that
oversees the TSP on a collision course “Last month, an advisory council representing
government employees (including
postal workers) adopted a resolution opposing the addition of a real estate
investment fund in the TSP."
|
April 18, 2006 -
PRC Issues Final Report on 2000-2001 Service Changes-
The Postal
Rate Commission today issued a
Final Report Complaint on First-Class Standards (filed in June 2001) with
respect to the delivery service resulting from the 2000-2001 realignment.
|
April 18, 2006
Postal Rate Commission to consider stamped stationery issues
Clerk fills in card's lost time
Postal Service fighting rash of mailbox break-ins
ADVO Discusses Southern California Joint Distribution Agreement
April 17, 2006 -
Phrase was insulting to postal workers - Bill White's April 12 column has
a statement concerning Northampton County Councilman Ron Angle's outbursts at
a council meeting that, "Angle went postal." I am a postal employee, and on
behalf of myself and the hundreds of clerks, mail handlers and letter carriers
I work with, I ask that he find some other term to describe that loudmouth,
obnoxious councilman. Postal employees provide a very valuable and necessary
service. We are courteous and respectful toward those we serve, unlike Angle.
And, we are dedicated to getting our jobs done without creating disturbances,
unlike Angle. I agree that County Council should do something to "control" Ron
Angle. May I suggest a return to public floggings?
April 17, 2006
This Time, the Postal Service Has a Right To Gripe
Garry Beaven: Postal Service, family brought him joy
Congress Criticizes USPS Consolidation
USPS Customized Packages Bolster Brands
Postal worker finds pipe bomb in Oregon mailbox
Four in Five Marketers Say E-mail Delivery's Tough: Report
Retired Postal Worker: Post office shouldn’t cater to late tax filers
Baghdad postmen pine for days of vicious dogs
UK: Millions fight for post offices
April 16, 2006 -
New Concept for Tax Day : Post Office and Coffee Cafe
- Houston's newest
Post Office will be open until midnight Monday so taxpayers can drop off taxes,
get them postmarked that night and grab some free coffee and pastries. This
is the first-ever post office to combine a full service facility with the Eagle
Coffee café, serving gourmet coffee.
-
E-filing eases Tax Day stress for post office -
"We're not expecting anything
out of the ordinary," said Greg Boog, acting postmaster at the Howell Post Office.
"Over the last couple of years there have been so many e-filers that it's not
really bad (on Tax Day)."
|
USPS Tax Day Info
April 15, 2006
Vandals Slash 52 tires at North Carolina
Post Office
|
Post Offices hosting contest on Retail Products
Officials explore old post office secrets
Canada: Junk mail decision
Ireland: Post offices may provide banking services
Secure Our Borders: Mail a Brick to Your Congressman |
Photos
Hurricane Charley victims want old mailboxes back
National Guardsman Says He's Cleared For Letter Carrier Job
|
April 14, 2006 -Tale
of Two Post Offices
Yuba City Delivery Time Cut
- Bob Harlan sent a letter to the U.S. Postal Service in
Sacramento April 3, expressing his concern on behalf of 700 Chamber members
he said were unhappy with what he called a “degradation of service” at the Yuba
City post office. In a letter to the Sacramento office's district manager, Rosemarie
Calabrese-Fernandez, Harlan asked for an explanation of the process for delivering
mail within the specified one-day service area. The Postal Service is also soliciting
bids for maintenance and repair work . The district manager wrote that
Yuba City Postmaster John Batch contracted a full-time janitor to clean and
maintain the facility.
Postal information is incomplete, legislators contend
- A one-page summary sheet doesn't cut it. On Thursday, U.S. Senators
Tom Harkin, Charles Grassley and Congressman Steve King fired off a letter to
USPS senior vice president for operations Bill Galligan, calling for the postal
service by today to fulfill the commitment to publicly release relevant data
on the proposed consolidation of the Sioux City
mail processing operations. In the balance are approximately 100 jobs that postal
union members believe could be headed to Sioux Falls.
|
April 14, 2006 -
Excessing Information - On February 8, 2006 the USPS assigned
the Mail Handler Craft jurisdiction for staffing on the Automated Flat Sorting
Machine 100 with Automated Induction and Automatic Tray Handling system enhancements.
This designation created a unique problem in the Trenton P&DC and other P&DC’s.
The problem being there is insufficient staffing of mail handlers to work these
new assignments. The Postal Service is attempting to convince clerks to down
grade to mail handlers in lieu of being excessed
April 14, 2006
Students make semi-finals in postal challenge
Midwestern
Printer Targets Direct Marketing for Growth
April 13, 2006 -
Accounting change could spur postal reform effort
A proposal requiring all private and public entities
to include pension costs in their annual financial reports “heightens the urgency
to get postal reform done,” according to a source close to the legislation lodged
in a House-Senate conference. Under the proposed FASB rule, the Postal
Service would report a projected $60 billion for retiree health benefits..
|
April 13, 2006 -
ELM Outlines Whistleblower Protections for Postal Employees
The Postal Service protects
you from retaliation for protected disclosures. These could include allegations
of violations of law, rules or regulations; gross waste of funds; gross mismanagement;
abuse of authority; or substantial and specific dangers to public health and
safety. Persons making disclosures are protected from reprisal unless they knew
that the information disclosed was false, or they acted with willful disregard
for the truth or falsity of the disclosure. You can find the details in the
Employee and Labor Relations Manual
Section 660, Conduct, subsection 666.3, “Whistleblower Protections..”
|
April 13, 2006 -
Stamp
Dispute Lands at 11th Circuit Court
A three-judge panel last week heard arguments over
a greeting-card maker's claims that it has trademarked the perforated border
around postage stamps -- and that the U.S. Postal Service has violated the company's
rights. At issue are not the stamps themselves, which the Postal Service has
copyrighted, but greeting cards showing pictures of stamps that the company,
International Stamp Art Inc., and the Postal Service each sell.
|
April 13, 2006 -
Jaffer: Wall Street Journal insults my fellow
postal employees
An open letter to all USPS employees from Azeezaly
S. Jaffer, Vice President, Public Affairs and Communications
It’s been a while since I asked for your help,
but when I saw an editorial in today’s issue of The Wall Street Journal,
I knew I had to reach out to you. The title? Going Postal. The subject? Mail
service in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. The problem? The folks at
The Wall Street Journal got it wrong, big time! Maybe they should follow
the advice of Sgt. Joe Friday from the old Dragnet TV series, “Just the facts,
ma’am.”
|
April 13, 2006 -
Act of Kindness Faces Postal Hurdle
An Omaha neighborhood showered its mail carrier
with special deliveries Tuesday in honor of his new baby. Mario Tosone was showered
with gifts from spots on his mail route Tuesday. The gifts were in honor of
his new daughter, Kayla. But a Postal Service policy may mark many of the gifts
"return to sender." Omaha Postmaster EvaJon Sperling said federal employees
can't accept any gift valued at more than $20. And, because it may be tough
to judge the value of the gifts Tosone received, it's unclear how many he can
keep for his daughter. |
April 13, 2006 -
Court Denies USPS Attempt to Overturn Arbitration Decision
Bill Lewis, Local President Trenton, NJ .On April
6, 2006, the US District Court/District of New Jersey ruled in favor of the
union. The court denied USPS motion to vacate the "Trenton Anthrax Travel" arbitration
decision and granted APWU motion to enforce the arbitrator’s decision. Since
October 18, 2001, USPS had required the Trenton P&DC employees - almost 700
in number - to travel - on their own time to Temporary Duty Stations.
|
April 13, 2006
Postal Bulletin 4/13/2006 Issue - Use of Leave While on Active Duty
Military Service
Manning rural mail carriers present safety program to schools
Iraq Vet OK'd for Postal Job
Toy Car Causes Hazmat Scare at Post Office
Man faces charges in mail scam
Postal worker attacked by dogs
Former St. Petersburg postal
worker charged with theft
Postcard sent
back to sender - with 1956 postmark
Ruptured Can Causes Scare
At Postal Facility
SFist Rants: Dear Mr. USPS
UPS Driver
Admits Stealing $1 Million In Packages
April 12, 2006 -
Burelson: Time Warner, Big
Corporate Mailers Getting Nervous About Public Resistance to Mail Consolidation
Plans -"Union
and community resistance to Postal Service
consolidation plans
are making big corporate mailers such as Time Warner nervous. Through informational
pickets, press releases, and visits to government representatives, postal workers
have been educating the public that mail consolidation plans will benefit the
big advertising mailers at the expense of citizens. For Time Warner and other
corporate media, the union contention that corporate media are not adequately
covering the story because of their corporate interests is especially troublesome."
|
April 12, 2006 -
Postmaster Saves Mail from Fire - The fire in downtown Omaha was so big,
it took more than six hours and crews from 23 departments to put out. While
they were working, so was postmaster Susan Edwards. She knows her customers
are always waiting for checks and other important stuff to arrive. Plus, it’s
tax season. Susan explains, “They’d already put their taxes in my drop box.
We got all that out. The mail was the most important thing for me to get out.”
But she did pretty well under the circumstances. Susan saved every bit of mail,
the computer, the stamps and money in a fire-proof safe. The fire ended up being
so hot, it burned the combination off.
|
April 12, 2006
Federal appeals court upholds prison sentence of postal worker
Batesville postal study put on hold
Postman Helps Police Catch Suspected Robber
Goleta Post Office Offers Help After January Shooting
The Little Post Office That Could
Bloody Mail Investigated
USPS Accepting APX Logistics Packages
The mail must go through - except to his house
USPS February 2006 Financial & Operating Statements
Canada: Rural routes uprooted
Mail carrier indicted on charges of stealing letters
The Blind Leading the Blind
April 11, 2006 -
Members of Congress Ask GAO To Address Consolidation
Concerns
- Echoing union criticisms
of the USPS network consolidation plan, four key members of Congress expressed
“concerns about the way the USPS is carrying out” the program, in a letter to
the Government Accountability Office (GAO). The March 27 letter to U.S. Comptroller
General David M. Walker was signed by Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Joe
Lieberman (D-CT), and Representatives Tom Davis (R-VA) and Henry Waxman (D-CA).
“While we recognize the USPS may need to consolidate its facilities…,” the letter
said, “… we are not convinced that USPS is following the recommendations made”
in
GAO’s 2005 report
on consolidation."
|
April 11, 2006 -
NALC President:
Looking For More Than A Change in Season (PDF)
-
change of season
won’t reverse the disastrous deterioration in working conditions facing letter
carriers -"Over
the past year, under-staffing and the ongoing realignment of mail processing
have combined to force many letter carriers to deliver mail in the dark and
many others to work overtime that they neither welcome nor desire. Everywhere
I have been in recent months - from El Paso to L.A. to Phoenix - it is the same
sad story. District managers, driven to "make the numbers," hint there is some
kind of complement freeze and refuse to hire new carriers as older ones retire."
|
April 11, 2006
SEC Proposes Paper Reduction - Drop Use of Hard Copy Mail
SUNY team helps promote post office in contest
Federal employee? Politically minded? Heed Hatch Act
Indianapolis: Mail won't wait for late tax filers
Chicago:
Post Offices Open Late for Last-Minute Tax Filing
Study: Number of Online Banking Customers Rose 27 Percent
Orangeburg mail carrier honored for perfect driving
April 10, 2006
Ask President Burrus: Maximizing PTFs
NALC :Young Emphasizes Critical Role Of New Congressional Liaisons (PDF)
April 10, 2006 -
Ex-Mail Carrier Who Pleaded Guilty for Delayed Mail Ordered to Write Public
Apology - On a judge's orders, a former Danville
(Illinois) mail carrier who failed to deliver his route in November 27th, 2004
to write a letter of apology and submit it for publication in the Danville Commercial-News.
Jason Dixon pleaded guilty and was sentenced in federal court to one count of
delay of mail. Last month Dixon was sentenced to a three-year probation term.
Postal employees are expected to deliver the delayed and weathered mail along
with a copy of Dixon's letter to each mail patron affected by his actions.
|
April 10, 2006 -
Mail Handler’s Removal for Off-Duty Conduct Upheld
On August 9, 2004, while Charles White was attending
the Mail Handler’s Union picnic in Jacksonville, Florida, he and one of his
co-workers became involved in a fight involving deadly weapons. After conducting
an investigation, the Postal Service removed White from duty. White appealed
to MSPB, which affirmed the Postal Service's decision. The administrative judge
found that, based on White’s admissions against interest that he brandished
a knife against a co-worker, the Postal Service proved its charge of improper
conduct. The Board found that the misconduct had an adverse effect on the efficiency
of the service because, although the misconduct did occur off-duty, it involved
two agency employees, occurred in the presence of many postal employees who
were attending a union-sanctioned event, troubled postal employees after
the fact, and put postal employees in harm’s way.
|
Federal Circuit Decision [PDF]
April
10, 2006 -
USPS OIG Release
Report on Cost Reduction Programs Requested by Senator Grassley - This
report presents the results of our review of the U.S. Postal Service's cost
reduction programs. We determined whether Postal Service efficiencies and cost
savings are appropriately factored into the ratemaking process and how Postal
Service managers are required to achieve planned efficiencies. Senator Charles
E. Grassley, Chairman Senate Finance Committee, requested this review. In rate
case R2005-1, the Postal Service presented 42 cost reduction programs
with an estimated cost savings of $1.3 billion in FY 2005 and $1.3 billion in
FY 2006. Attachment B lists savings for each cost of reduction program. |
April
10, 2006 -
Future Postal Rate Hikes To Be Higher Than
Expected? "Rumors are circulating
that the next postal rate increase will be higher than what postal officials
have previously suggested. Rather than an increase in the mid-single digits,
some sources are saying the increase could be in the double digits."
-
Mailers Anticipate Next Rate Case After Potter's NPF Speech
|
April 10, 2006
El Paso :Reyes meets with postal officials to address
reported delays
Post offices
unify small communities
Insurance claim paid, despite U.S. Postal Service denial
Mailers Anticipate
Next Rate Case After Potter's NRF Speech
USPS installing videophones to help deaf employees communicate
Residents want mail delivery restored
USPS to Award Scholarships on History of
American Postal System
April
09, 2006 -
Mail Mystery - Delivery in Housing Developments Under Construction
- Hundreds, if not thousands of people living
in developments still under construction around the Tampa Bay Florida area are
not receiving their mail . “The postal service is reimplementing a rule that
has been on the books since the 1970s. The rule states new housing developments
must be 50 percent complete before mail can be delivered to individual homes.
The postal service said it’s dusting off the old rule to keep mail carriers
safe when there’s a lot of construction equipment in use."
|
April
09, 2006 -
Glade Park: Neither snow, nor rain nor public controversy
.."no one can say that officials with the U.S. Postal Service
have ignored the concerns they heard last week from Glade Park residents. Rather
than install outdoor metal cluster mailboxes, which residents didn’t want, they
changed plans rapidly to come up with the mobile post office staffed by a temporary
postal clerk. ... credit the Postal Service with trying to be responsive to
the residents’ concerns. It could have reacted as an autocratic federal bureaucracy,
telling folks, “This is the way it’s going to be. Get used to it.” Instead,
it listened to local concerns and has tried to come up with a plan to address
them."
April 09, 2006
Postal services
at Arkansas State University may go to private companies
April
08, 2006 -
NAPS Members Push for Postal Reform on Capitol Hill - Hundreds
of U.S. Postal Service supervisors from around the country, including several
from Connecticut, gathered on Capitol Hill this week as Congress prepares to
finalize legislation that will overhaul the agency for the first time since
1970.Tom Rapacciuolo, secretary of the New Haven branch and a Vietnam veteran,
said it is critical that postal workers who serve in military reserve units
get their assignments back when they return from deployments. Currently, veterans
are guaranteed their jobs, but may be relocated.
|
April
08, 2006 -
White House, RNC Outreach To ... Labor Unions?
For the first time in years, the White House and the Republican
National Committee have organized high-level briefings for some nation’s biggest
labor unions, gatherings described by GOPers both as part of traditional midterm
election outreach as well as a consequence of widening differences within the
labor movement about tactics and strategy.
|
April
08, 2006 -
Postal Service facing challenge with summer camp mail
Every June, thousands of care packages and letters inundate the Tuxedo Post
Office enroute to more than 1,500 boys and girls who come to six summer camps
here. In a place where campfires and snail mail still trump computers and instant
messaging, the U.S. Postal Service is facing a challenge: How to keep the bags
of mail flowing when Tuxedo's contract post office closes May 26, days before
the summer camps open
April
08, 2006 -Ohio
Post Office restores grime-covered Depression-era art
April
07, 2006 -
Postal Workers Picket to Save Sioux City Facility
"People across the country
pay the same amount of money to mail letters and packages. So citizens in rural
America shouldn’t get slower service than residents of Boston or New York City.
That was the message of Jim Price, president of the American Postal Workers
Union Local 186, on Friday when local, regional and national union members picketed
in front of Sioux City’s downtown post office. Price has said the Postal Service’s
plan is to eliminate 250 of the 450 plants nationwide."
|
Sen. Harkin Announces Meeting on Sioux City Post Office
April
07, 2006 -
USPS featured in a new report
by the IBM Center for the Business of Government that examines
the use of the balanced scorecard, a tool for translating an organization’s
vision and strategy into action. The study says USPS dramatically improved performance
by using the balanced scorecard."
Read the full report online
(PDF) source: USPS
April
07, 2006 -
USPS Seeks Partner for Take One Credit Card Program - The USPS expects
the Take One Credit Card Program to be operated as an alliance between the USPS
and a commercial partner. We will promote the program through take one displays
at approximately 15,000 USPS retail locations nationwide, online through usps.com,
and otherwise as the USPS permits. |
April
07, 2006
e-NAPUS Legislative
Newsletter : The Circus Is In Town
Boxer Sugar
Ray Robinson Honored With Stamp
April 07, 2006 -
Time, Inc. VP to Olympia APWU President: You Got it Wrong!
"The
commentary by
Clint Burelson of the APWU regarding the Postal Service's network
consolidation plans inaccurately states Time Warner's positions and ignores
a number of the basic facts surrounding the issue. Mr. Burelson's article fails
to mention the fundamental facts regarding the declining volumes and rising
costs that are driving change within the Postal Service. And like almost every
other business in America, the Postal Service faces rising wage, retirement,
and health care costs that cannot be sustained without concomitant rises in
productivity." |
April
07, 2006 -
Merkle
Mailing Services Closes Its Doors
- Merkle has become a victim of a maturing industry, preparing and mailing marketing
materials for customers as diverse as Marriott to the Marine Corps. Merkle Mail
handled so much material that the U.S. Postal Service installed an office on-site
staffed with government employees to expedite handling. Cooper said Merkle paid
$40 million a year in postage costs annually. At the height of production, 200
million pieces were mailed in 2003 from the plant.
|
April 07, 2006 -
New Mexico: Rio Rancho adds postal help -
Customers surveys indicate
the U.S. Postal Service's local performance has improved since January, when
complaints led to high-level meetings between New Mexico senators and the postmaster
general. The problem got so bad that one union ran radio ads seeking customer
complaints to bolster its case that overworked staff led to long lines, late
delivery and disappearing mail. Since then, more letter carriers, clerks and
mail processors have been hired, although more are still needed, local union
officials say.
April
07, 2006
Postmaster faces charges in shooting
Mailman Ronald Cobb hangs up his sack
APWU:
Bulk Mail Centers: 21 and Strong
USPS Touts Four-State Barcode, OneCode Products
Sioux City: Postal workers will picket against consolidation
Historic post office entering a new
era
Garrett Park uneasy about postal changes
NYC Seeks Global Brand Delivery
April 06, 2006 -
Five Consolidation Studies Put ‘On
Hold’
The APWU has been notified that five
Area Mail Processing (AMP) feasibility studies “have been placed on hold” indefinitely.
An April 3 letter [PDF] to APWU President William Burrus indicated that
the facilities involved are two in Illinois (Carbondale and Centralia), two
in New Mexico (Las Cruces and Alamogordo), and one in Arkansas (Batesville).
“While conducting the study,” the USPS letter said, “the Postal Service determined
that there are other factors associated with these studies or the community
that need to be addressed before we can proceed with the study.”
|
April
06, 2006 -
USPS Respond to APWU Questions on Custodial Services
Request
-
In a letter sent out to its membership , Steve
Raymer, APWU Maintenance Division wrote: "It has been brought to my attention
that some offices’ have posted the USPS request for information from vendors
in their maintenance hallway and/or on bulletin boards. I also understand there
has been some speculation by others on the internet. It is imperative that our
custodial members have their concerns put to rest as quickly as possible. As
you can
see from the attached, the USPS is not attempting to broaden the scope of
custodial work that can be contracted out. The USPS specifically commits that
any custodial contracting will be covered by the square footage MOU and the
CBA."PDF
|
April 06, 2006 -
Neither birds nor community indignation will keep
Post Office from retail standardization
-..."after post office monitors visited the Memorial Post Office on Watchung
Avenue here and found a bevy of plants, along with Lucy and Ricky the parakeets,
change has come, and more is afoot.
Lucy and Ricky and their chicks, Little Lucy and Little Ricky, have found good
homes, and pictures of the Ricardos, of 1950's sitcom fame, are no longer on
display. There is talk of trimming the vines and putting everything nonpostal
in a neat corner. Neither birds nor posters nor community indignation, it seems,
will keep the government from the swift completion of its appointed retail standardization.
George Flood, a spokesman for the Postal Service in New Jersey, said a nationwide
initiative was trying to make post offices more uniform."It's akin to when you
walk into a McDonald's in New Jersey, and it has a similar look to a McDonald's
in California," he said. "It's retail standardization, that whole branding concept."
April 06, 2006 -
Rural address revamp could be to blame for postal
headaches
-
Mission’s new P.O. chief hopes to stamp out bad reputation
April 06, 2006
Washington 2006 to Present 'Postman Pat,' 'Stamp Camp
USA' and Other Activities
Postal Workers
retire
Rural address revamp could
be to blame for postal headaches
Mission’s new OIC hopes to stamp out bad reputation
Wisconsin town's Post Office began in
kitchen
Postal sleuths deliver in Massachusetts
Neither birds nor community indignation will keep Post
Office from retail standardization
April
05, 2006 -
APWU: A Stunning Reversal of USPS Dire Predictions - In
a stunning reversal from the dire warnings that "diminished rate of mail volume
growth" was certain without an overhaul of the USPS business model, Postmaster
General Potter announced to the National Postal Forum on April 3 that "the
forecast for the Postal Service and the mailing industry is very good."
In congressional hearings over the past three years, witness after witness from
the postal community has asserted that only "reform" could save the USPS from
imminent demise. David M. Walker, Comptroller General of the United States,
began each appearance with theatrical demonstrations designed to show that the
advent of cell phones and e-mail signaled the death of hard-copy communication
and that "reform" was essential for a healthy future for the Postal Service...
Albeit a bit late, the American Postal Workers welcomes Mr. Potter and the Postal
Board of Governors to the world of reason and reality."
|
April
05, 2006 -
Letter to the Editor: A Failure to Report -
Clint Burelson, President APWU
Olympia Local responds to editorial in “The Olympian” - The Olympian’s editorial
“Let the Postmark Go,” and
its articles concerning mail consolidation failed to report important information
relevant to the issue of mail consolidation in general and the Olympia consolidation
in particular. First, The Olympian failed to disclose their owners’ corporate
involvement regarding mail consolidation. The recent owners of The Olympian,
Gannett, followed briefly by Knight Ridder and currently The McClatchy Company,
are all members of the Newspaper Association of America (NAA), which represents
nearly 90% of the daily newspaper circulation in the US. The NAA submitted comments
to a Postal Reform committee of Congress on 2/11/04, which stated, “NAA supports
providing the United States Postal Service (USPS) with the operational flexibility
to close, consolidate or relocate postal distribution and processing facilities.”
Not all corporate mailers are completely happy with the plans. Netflix, bankers,
and other businesses that rely upon First-Class mail will be adversely affected
with the delay in the mail. |
April
05, 2006 -
Masked Robber Ties Up Postal Workers, Steals Truck
-SORRENTO
-- "A robber dressed all in black, with a mask on his face, tied up three workers
inside a Lake County post office and stole a huge truck loaded with mail. The
robber dumped the truck just down the road and U.S. postal inspectors said they
don't think any mail was stolen. Investigators said the masked robber had already
tied up two female workers when a male employee walked in. He, too, was tied
up. Inspectors with the U.S. Postal Service said whoever did it stole cash from
the registers and money from his victims." On his quick departure, he actually
took a large mail truck several blocks down the street," said postal inspector
Ed Moffitt. Deputies found the 36-foot long freightliner intact."
|
April 05, 2006 -
New Calif. Carrier Annex to Eliminate 3,000 Workhours
Per Year
The new carrier annex in Santa
Monica, a contemporary multi-level complex “is improving operating efficiencies,
eliminating fragmented mail processing between multiple facilities and reducing
inter-station transportation, all of which will result in the elimination of
more that 3,000 work hours per year,” said Los Angeles Postal District Manager
William Almaraz."
|
April
05, 2006 -
USPS Board Nominee Accused of “Jack Abramoff” Style Politics
Former New Mexico Legislator Earlene
Roberts: "As the former Minority Whip of the New Mexico House of Representatives,
I am well acquainted with Mr. Barnett's attributes and personal characteristics.
I can tell you in no uncertain terms that Mr. Barnett does not hold the qualifications
or the person qualities that a Postal Governor should possess. Mr. Barnett is
a paid special interest lobbyist. In his work for his private clients in New
Mexico, he has practiced the politics of personal destruction and intimidation.
This has included (but has not been limited to) threatening state legislators
with primary opponents when they do not vote for his legislation even if it
requires voting against their constituents or the Republican Party platform."
|
April
05, 2006 -
3 Florida Postal Clerks Robbed at Gunpoint
SORRENTO -- "Three
postal clerks were robbed at gunpoint early this morning at the post office
and tied up by a man wearing a ski mask who fled in a stolen mail truck, Lake
County Sheriff's officials said. The robber took cash from the post office on
State Road 46 as well as cash from the clerks, officials said. He ditched the
postal truck less than a half-mile away at Wilkinson Auction, according to the
Sheriff's Office." |
April
05, 2006
From PR Reader: Mailman
Gene Kuhlmann's route ends with going-away party (pdf)
Postmark operation in Beaumont TX might get canceled
Postal carriers seek to avoid biting episodes
For 38 years, he delivered
USPS Highlights Customer Success Stories
Mail Problems Continue in El Paso
Man pleads guilty to mailing bomb
Florida woman dies from crash with postal truck
Kingston city officials blast Post Office over mailboxes
Four Charged In ID Theft Scheme Involving Mail
USPS: 'Processing error' redirects some Social Security checks
April
04, 2006 -
Postal
Worker Kills Female Co-Worker - A postal worker shot and killed
a female co-worker outside their workplace in this small Eastern Oregon city
Tuesday afternoon, Baker County authorities said. The shooter was taken into
custody shortly after the 4:15 p.m. incident, the sheriff's office said. The
names of the gunman and the victim were withheld, pending notification of family
members. Police removed the victim's car from the parking lot. It had six visible
bullet holes — three in the windshield and three in the hood. |
April
04, 2006 -
Potter: Energy Costs Fuel Upcoming Rate Increase Filing
The U.S. Postal Service cannot continue to absorb high fuel costs, Postmaster
General John E. Potter said yesterday, and the agency plans to file its next
rate case as soon as this month. Fuel and energy-related costs are major drivers
of the Consumer Price Index, he said, but unlike most businesses, "the postal
service still has CPI-based [cost of living adjustments] in our collective bargaining
agreements, which in turn have driven our cost per work hour up 9 percent since
2002. That means this year's salaries and benefits are $4.5 billion more than
they were four years ago." Healthcare is another cost driver for the USPS. "Despite
the reduction in employees, our annual health benefits costs have grown some
$2 billion -- or 36 percent -- since 2002," Potter said. Postal
Service mulls operational rate hike
|
-
Mailers at Postal Forum Expect Rate Case Soon
April
04, 2006 -
Mail Carrier Aspires to Challenge
Lieberman for U.S. Senate
Mike
Sneideman wants to be a U.S. senator. Sneideman’s strategy is to win the Connecticut
Republican Party’s nomination to challenge three-term Democratic incumbent Sen.
Joe Lieberman in November. Sneideman is a registered Republican who works as
a mail carrier at the Newtown post office. |
2002: Judge rules against postal worker seeking House run
April
04, 2006
Mail carrier's discovery leads to Lowell drug bust
Postal Service ponders job
moves in Daytona Beach
Residents
seeth at loss of mail
Mickey Barnett May Face Uphill Battle for
USPS Board |
Mail collection
time change vexes some
Post Office
Named After Long-Time Mailman
Postal worker is paid $85,000 for dog bites
|
Miami Gardens Finally Recognized by USPS
Direct mail with a difference catches attention of recipients
New postmaster takes charge of Uniontown
office
Goodbye to Postal Meters?
April
03, 2006 -
Contractor: USPS Request for Hours of Service Change May Be Economic
-In comments submitted to DOT regarding
USPS’ request
for Hours of Service change for contract drivers,
Roger
D. Bullard wrote: “As a USPS contractor of 12 years, I am writing belatedly
to express my opinion concerning the USPS HOS exemption request. It appears
that the reason the USPS wants this exemption for its contractors, is due to
mostly economic reasons. Under the old rules, when a contractor bid a USPS mail
hauling contract as an owner/operator, he was able to bid it without adding
in the cost of an additional driver."
|
April
03, 2006 -
Mailers at Postal Forum Expect Rate Case Soon
The upcoming rate case is a leading subject on the minds of attendees at the
2006
National Postal Forum, which opened
yesterday. Several people on the trade show floor speculated that the U.S. Postal
Service would file the rate case with the Postal Rate Commission on April 17,
the day after Easter. "Standard mail is a growing area for the postal service,”
Michael Monahan, Pitney Bowes executive vice president and president, mailing
solutions and services said, "and I don't see any sign of it slowing down. Of
course, there may be more targeted mail as a result of the increase, but this
is a good news for mailers and the postal service.”
|
-
Postal Service mulls operational rate hike
(Govexec)
April
03, 2006 -
Postmaster General Forecasts Mail Growth Enabled by Technological Advances
Speaking today to more than 6,500 mailers and advertisers at the National
Postal Forum, Postmaster General John E. Potter forecasted a transformed Postal
Service that will see a growth in direct mail as well as advances in technology.
Outlining key Postal Service initiatives, Potter described new customer-focused
programs that will help small- and mid-sized organizations grow. He also discussed
advances in technology that will track Postal Service performance and reduce
costs.
|
April
03, 2006
USPS To Announce
Dates Around New Four-Stage Barcode
USPS Orders more Wireless Vehicle Management Systems
New Orleans
postmark returns for first time since Katrina
Bad Axe Post
Office service shines bright — yet again
Mailman delivered
cheer for 41 years on EL route
Mailers Take Stand on Postal Reform
April
02, 2006 -
USPS to Offer Early Out Retirement at 3 New Jersey Postal Facilities
-
According to
Bill Lewis, APWU President
of Trenton Metro Area Local #1020: “The postal service has advised me
of a voluntary early retirement (VER) only for function 1 plant employee in
the Trenton P&DC, Kilmer P&DC and Monmouth P&DC. Employees identified
as VER eligible were pulled from on-rolls data as of March 21, 2006 and will
be sent the offer package on May 8th. ”
|
See more
Trenton Metro Update, April 2, 2006
April
02, 2006
Why Postal Trucks Park in Traffic
Pit Bull Attacks Virginia Beach Postal Worker
Car Drives Into Kansas
City Post Office
Neighborhood salutes retiring mail carrier 'Mr. Ted'
New Service Lets Consumers Treat Their Postal Mail Like Email
April 01, 2006 -
Iowa
Residents Wonder: Prowler or Postal Worker?
"Millie and Noel Marks were
surprised by noises recently." It was [almost] 9 at night, and I said to my
husband, ‘There’s somebody on the porch,’” said Millie." I looked outside and
it was the mailman, walking away,” said Noel. “At 20 minutes to 9 at night?
That’s ridiculous.” Both said they’d like an answer as to why mail is being
delivered after dark. "If [my husband] hadn’t been here, I would have been scared,”
said Millie. “So much orneriness goes on at night.”
|
April 01, 2006
Grenade found at Atlanta Bulk Mail Center, 196 evacuated
e-NAPUS: Lasting NAPUS Conference Impact (PDF)
Baucus
questions shift in mail processing
Hesperia: New postmaster is sworn in
Mailman Who
Called Police Says He Was "...Just Doing His Job."
Clarksburg City Postmaster Under Investigation
New Jersey man admits to armed
robbery, theft of post offices
Sticky substance in mailboxes
prompts postal investigation
150th Anniversary of Mail Carrier on Skis
'Snowshoe' Thompson Celebrated
|
