August 30, 2006 - New Web site will be one-stop shop for Postal Service HR info

Federal Times discusses PostalPEOPLE, the new USPS HR services in Greensboro, NC, with Deborah Giannoni-Jackson, Postal Service vice president for employee resource management, whose office oversees the Shared Services Center in Greensboro. When fully in place at the end of this month, only 450 employees will be on hand — down from 1,300 — to answer telephone inquiries from the entire Postal Service work force. Those 450 employees will in large part concern themselves with such pressing matters as retirement, separation from service, job benefits, promotions and applications for job transfers. All of the 450 workers at the center are nonunionized and are part of the Executive and Administrative Schedule (EAS) work force. |

August 30, 2006 - Less Postal Workers Will Lead to Lower Newspaper Costs ??

"Postmaster General Jack Potter was speaking to a group of 50 state press association executive directors and presidents at a postal summit called by National Newspaper Association President Jerry Reppert Aug. 11 in Washington, D. C. Potter told us it is labor driving up costs for the U. S. Postal Service. And labor accounts for 76 percent of USPS costs. “ We lose money on every piece, ” he said, and the USPS has no choice but to pass on those costs to their customers. Potter said sample studies show it takes 8 1 / 2 seconds on average for a postal clerk to put a newspaper into a mail slot, and the average postal worker is paid 1 cent every second. That 1 cent per second wage — which calculates to $ 36 an hour or about $ 75, 000 a year — just isn’t high enough." Someday, Potter told us, it will be a machine placing our newspaper in the slot |

August 30, 2006 - Postal Worker Accused Of Tossing, Damaging Customer's Boxes

A local businessman is accusing a U.S. Postal Service employee of tossing 20 cases of his company's juice out of the back of a delivery truck.  |

August 30, 2006 - Praying postal carrier helps save a woman's life

As Jacksonville mail carrier Synetta Drayton-Haggary slipped the letters into the mailbox, she heard a plea for help. Up on the porch, an elderly woman was begging for prayer. Drayton-Haggary left her vehicle and walked up to the woman to pray with her, not knowing what she needed. They bowed their heads. When it was over, the sobbing woman pulled out a handgun and gave it to Drayton-Haggary. |

August 29, 2006 - APWU: National Contract Negotiations Begin

APWU Seeks 'Fair and Rewarding' Agreement - Negotiations for a new national agreement between the Postal Service and the APWU are an opportunity “to restore some semblance of stability and predictability” to the lives of union members, APWU President William Burrus said during the first day of contract talks with the Postal Service [ opening statement [PDF],. Both sides said they hoped to have a signed agreement by Nov. 20, the expiration date of the 2000-2006 agreement “These negotiations are our opportunity,”  The Postal Service has eliminated debt, which had reached a high of $10.3 billion in Fiscal Year 2002,” Burrus noted.  PMG John E. Potter echoed the APWU president’s sentiments on a number of issues. “We respect the contributions that have been made by the APWU and its membership across the board these past five years,” he said. “We really want to work out a negotiated agreement.” |

August 28, 2006 -  NALC Seeks ‘Fair’ Wage Increase in Contract Negotiations
Young Expresses Optimism for Reaching Negotiated Settlement -The head of the National Association of Letter Carriers urged USPS today at the opening of contract negotiations to build on an improved labor relations climate and reward letter carriers with a “fair” wage increase and continued benefits for helping it become a profitable and productive government agency. NALC President William H. Young noted that the Postal Service has eliminated the debt of $11.3 billion it had in 2001 when the current contract began. The Postal Service has turned a $8.4 billion profit over the past three years, he added. “Letter carriers expect to be rewarded for their contributions to the success of the Postal Service,” Young said. Video of the event  |

August 29, 2006 - Mail Handler Contract Update:

This is the second Contract Update distributed by the NPMHU during the course of 2006 negotiations. He [Mail Handler President John Hegarty] went on to say that he was optimistic that the NPMHU and the USPS could come to an agreement, if both sides made and accepted reasonable proposals. Postmaster General Potter agreed, adding that the “worst possible outcome” for the Postal Service was to allow the terms of the next contract to be decided by an interest arbitrator. He expressed the Postal Service’s desire for a reasoned agreement with the representative of its employees. At the same time, the PMG emphasized the challenges that the Postal Service is currently facing. In particular, he described how the Postal Service’s financial situation is impacted by the increasing use of electronic means to transmit messages and conduct business. He also discussed the enormous impact on the Postal Service of rising health care costs, especially legacy costs for Postal Service retirees.  |

August 29, 2006 - Former postal employee wins $162,500 Settlement
"A former Roanoke postal employee who claimed he was racially harassed by fellow workers has reached a $162,500 settlement with the U.S. Postal Service. Tony P. Welch [a Mail Handler] who worked at the main branch  from 1996 until 2002, said he "wouldn't call it a slam-dunk victory," but he was satisfied with the outcome. Welch, who is black, claimed in his federal lawsuit that five white male co-workers who had been accused in an earlier lawsuit of harassing a female employee frequently made racially derogatory comments toward him beginning in 1998.".  |

August 29, 2006 - Junk Mail Weighs on Their Minds - "The Direct Marketing Association says that far from harming the environment, catalogues help it, by reducing the number of cars headed to shopping malls. Direct mail, they say, accounts for only about 2 percent of the country's total municipal solid waste. Then there's the argument that junk mail keeps the Postal Service afloat. "We certainly wouldn't want to see a drastic and expensive and unnecessary government program created that would probably do more harm than good," said the association's Pat Kachura. I think it's inevitable that catalogues will diminish over time, do-not-mail list or not. As more and more people look online for product information, catalogues won't be needed. I don't know if the UPS truck driving to my house is better than me driving to the mall."

August 28, 2006 - Postal Worker Displaced by Katrina Unable to Find Job -  "When Ryan Aubert packed his overnight bag on Aug. 28, 2005, he never thought that one year later, he would still be away from home. Now the Louisiana native and his family are focused on building a future in McKinney (Texas) . Aubert and his family also drained their savings. He worked for the U.S. Postal Service at St. Tammany for 10 years. He's trying to find work at a post office in this area, but was told there are no positions available in McKinney. He's also been told if he doesn't find another postal position before September, he will lose his tenure."  |

August 27, 2006 - APWU President Burrus Responds to Postcom Gene Del Polito (PDF) -In a recent article, "What's Up with APWU", Gene Del Polito asserts: "Here is an organization that is supposed to represent the long-term best interests of a key sector of the Postal Service's employees in a manner that best insures continued employment. Yet, nary a week goes by without seeing something in the electronic or print media that reflects a union that is hell-bent on ensuring its members' extinction." Burrus responds in part by writing:. "I attribute your failure to understand the objectives of the American Postal Workers Union to my communication skills - or lack thereof - and take full responsibility. It is not the intent of the American Postal Workers Union to ensure our own extinction. In fact, if there is any doubt, our union plans to be a viable organization far into the future. In we have failed to deliver a clear message identifying our objectives, I offer the following .  |

August 27, 2006 - How to Fire An Employee

First, the postal supervisor didn't start out with the intent to fire the employee; he started with the intent not to fire her. Jake's [not his real name] first step was to sit down with the employee when it became clear that a problem was brewing. He discussed with her the situation they were in, the behavior she had shown that created the situation, and the impact that her behavior was having on the organization. He laid out clear expectations for job performance, and provided her with training, mentoring and other opportunities for success. He worked with the human resources department and the union to ensure that they had every chance to give input and participate in correcting the problem. Unfortunately, it became clear to Jake and the team that even though she was treated fairly and was given every opportunity to respond in a positive way she didn't make use of those opportunities.  |

August 27, 2006- Snakes in a Mailbox - Mail carrier's hand bitten multiple times - Two snakes bit a letter carrier four times on the hand Saturday when the she reached into the mailbox, township police said.  The bit woman, in her 20s, reported tingling in her fingers. She bled slightly but exhibited no swelling or discoloration, police said.  |

August 26, 2006  - USPS OIG Audit Report (PDF)

Management of Retail Workhours in Relation to Workload -  From January through May 2005, retail managers could not justify approximately 46% of their retail associates' window service workhours in the NY Triboro District. Local postal managers said they did not consider retail counter activities a primary focus and directed their work efforts to the delivery side of operations. The Postal Service is in the process of developing reporting tools to generate exception reports that will rank opportunities to reduce retail workhours, based on actual performance versus earned workhours.  |

August 26, 2006 - Postal Contractor Charged with Mail Theft
Contractor sold stolen mail on eBay - Mark David Hoggay was vice president in charge of human resources for New Breed Leasing, of Bolingbrook, a private company contracted by the U.S. Postal Service to clean and maintain mail transportation devices used at sorting centers, such as wheeled canvas carts and hampers. It was from that connection that Hoggay had access to more than 10,000 pieces of mail that were involved in the incident, said Sheriff Ken Ramsey. "This involved a lot of jewelry to all kinds of collectibles, such as baseball cards," Ramsey said. "Because of Netflix (an online movie rental business), he had a lot of DVDs. It was well into the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Video  |

August 26, 2006 - Mail Stolen From Seattle Post Office - The U.S. Postal Service said it will investigate security at a post office on Capitol Hill following a KIRO 7 Eyewitness News report that transients stole mail from unattended bins on a loading dock. Postal employees said thieves backed up trucks to the loading dock area, hauling away bags of packages. A trash bin outside the loading dock contained credit card applications, mileage plan statements and other letters. Postal employees said it was undeliverable mail that was discarded.  |

August 26, 2006 - Man pleads guilty to assault on postal worker as a hate crime -  A 57-year-old Yonkers man Friday pleaded to assault in the third degree as a hate crime. On November 7, 2005, at approximately 6:30 p.m., John DeGuista overheard José Rodriguez, a U.S. Postal Service worker, speaking Spanish to an employee at a Dunkin Donuts in Yonkers. DeGuista told the victim to stop speaking Spanish because he was in America.

August 26, 2006 - Postmark Katrina - U.S. Postal Inspection Service has teamed with The Weather Channel to produce an extraordinary story. Postmark Katrina pays tribute to the heroic struggles of Postal Inspection Service and Postal Service employees to restore mail service to residents of the Gulf Coast in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Airing August 27 at 8 p.m. ET/PT, with an encore performance on August 28, this episode of Storm Stories follows Postal Inspectors, Postal Police Officers, and other Postal Service employees, many of whom were themselves homeless, as they overcame overwhelming obstacles to safeguard mail from devastated areas and deliver it to the needy victims of this unprecedented natural disaster.

August 25, 2006 - Postal Carrier Wounded in Drive-By Shooting
"A female letter carrier was hospitalized Friday after being shot twice in a drive-by attack at a South Los Angeles postal facility, police said. The shooting in the 8500 block of South Broadway occurred shortly after 7 p.m. Thursday, said Los Angeles police Officer Jason Lee. The victim, a 27-year-old woman who had been on the job for about three months, had just finished her shift, NBC4 reported. The postal employee went to her car and noticed it had a flat, Channel 4 reported. The woman called her boyfriend for help, then a car with two men inside rolled up and gunfire erupted, the station reported. The victim was shot at least twice." |

August 25, 2006 - Postal Service to close Fayetteville, Tampa Bay RECs in 2007

The U.S. Postal Service is closing one of its Fayetteville facilities, costing nearly 190 people their jobs. The postal service announced the closing of its remote encoding center to its employees on Thursday, said Tony McKinnon Sr. McKinnon is president of Local No. 984 of the American Postal Workers Union. The center’s last day will be March 2. The Postal service also announced that it will close the Tampa Bay, Fla REC. The move should save the postal service $3.2 million in the first year after the closings. The Tampa Bay center has 456 temporary employees and 121 traditional ones.   |

August 25, 2006

Diverse Stamps Planned For 2007
Mailings contained cornstarch

August 24, 2006 - Postal Carrier Allegedly Failed to Ring Twice Before Entering Customer's Home - Michigan: Resident Lori Powers told Scottville city commissioners Monday a postal carrier recently entered her house without knocking.He walked in the house and left a package about eight feet inside her door, rather than leaving it on the porch or just inside the door without walking in, Powers said.  |

August 24, 2006 - Mail delivery key taken in letter carrier holdup - Chicago police and U.S. postal inspectors put out an alert on Wednesday for a man and a woman who robbed a mail carrier on the city's West Side. The incident happened at about 1:15 p.m. Monday , authorities said. The suspects approached the mail carrier on the street and placed an unknown object against the victim's back. One of the assailants used a bolt cutter to cut a chain from the carrier's belt, and took a U.S. Postal Service key used to deliver mail, officials said

August 24, 2006  - Devon post office to reduce hours - The Devon branch of the Milford post office will cut back its hours next month to save money, a U.S. postal official said Tuesday, citing a lack of business at the Naugatuck Avenue facility.

August 23, 2006 - Couple says carrier withheld delivery on purpose -"When Pete and Donna Varga asked their mail carrier to please use the sidewalk and not cut a path in their Jackson lawn, regular deliveries stopped for four months. The Vargas said they got mail only on Wednesdays all summer.  "We called it Mail Day." Last week, the carrier was suspended without pay, and inspectors requested charges of conduct unbecoming a postal employee and felony delay of mail. A postal inspector said he had not seen such behavior by a letter carrier in 19 years of investigating." Postal supervisors in Jackson worked with the couple but couldn't force the carrier to make daily deliveries, Mills said.  |

August 23, 2006 - Former Postal Worker Sentenced to Five Years for Mail Theft and OWCP Fraud - "Debra Lynn Sheffield, a former employee of the U.S. Postal Service, was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Fort Worth, Texas, to 63 months imprisonment and ordered to pay nearly $30,000.00 in restitution. Sheffield, age 40, pled guilty in March to a felony information which charged her with one count of Theft of Mail Matter and one count of making False Statements to Obtain Federal Employees' Compensation."  |

August 23, 2006 - NPMHU: 2006 Contract Negotiations Begin

Opening Statement by President John Hegarty - Mail Handlers have played an important role in the success of the Postal Service, including its financial success, and Mail Handlers expect and deserve to share in that success. The Postal Service has essentially eliminated all of its debt; it has enjoyed constant improvements in employee productivity, and it continues to rate highly in any measure of consumer and customer satisfaction. A large part of this success must be attributed to the dedicated work of career Mail Handlers, who are working harder, and working smarter, than ever before. National negotiations provide the Postal Service with an opportunity to acknowledge the contribution of its employees, and a key measure will be whether the Postal Service is ready to provide fair wage increases over the entire term of the next National Agreement. $812 COLA Increase to be added to wages  |

- Negotiations Begin Aug. 28 on New Contract for 224,000 Letter Carriers
- Collective Bargaining Set to Begin Aug. 29 for APWU

August 23, 2006 - Former USPS Pacific Area VP Al Iniguez to Retire

Postmaster General Jack Potter announced yesterday that Al Iniguez, recently named Executive Director, Energy Initiatives , will be retiring in October.  |

August 22, 2006 - Take-A-Number System ends at post offices

Starting today, at all Tucson area post offices, customers coming to the service counter must stand and wait in line, instead of taking a number that will later get called. Postal officials say the change will speed up service. "Experience in other parts of the country have shown that when you take out the numbers and use the old-fashioned queue system, lines go faster," said Rob Soler, customer relations coordinator with the U.S. Postal Service. But some customers say the old Take-a-Number system was better. This new system is being phased in at all post offices in Arizona. Many other states have already begun using the queue method instead of the number ticket system.  |

August 21, 2006 - Letter Carrier saves mail from truck fire
Postal Carrier Vincent Lombardi saved almost all of the mail he was delivering when his truck caught on fire Tuesday. While waiting for a replacement vehicle to arrive, Lombardi continued to deliver the mail on foot. Within minutes, however, Lombardi noticed smoke coming from the engine compartment and flames coming from underneath the motor. Lombardi called the office and, with the assistance of two bystanders, attempted to extinguish the fire. Lombardi lost some personal property in the fire, but he was able to remove almost all of the mail he was transporting, Kemprowski said.  |

August 21, 2006  - The Case of the Pilfered Pallets - The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) is running low on pallets. An unprecedented shortage of plastic pallets used by bulk mailers has led Paul Vogel, v.p., network operations management, to find new ways to resolve this ongoing challenge. User awareness of the problem is one way Vogel plans to get the government's pallets back. Threat of arrest and conviction is another. Most of his tactics fall someplace between these two extremes.

August 20, 2006 - Post office worker robbed Saturday

August 19, 2006 - Powder Response at Postal Facility Target of Inquiry

An investigation is being conducted into whether supervisors at the San Bernardino P & DC (Calif.)  failed to properly respond to a letter containing white powder and an ominous note. Employees claim a top supervisor at the facility responded to the Aug. 3 incident by testing the powder with her bare fingers before concluding it was flour and ordering employees back to work. One of those exposed to the powder said she was discouraged from seeking medical treatment immediately after the incident and was told she would have to go to a doctor at her own expense.  |

August 19, 2006 - Wisconsin: Postal service considers distribution center in Racine County - USPS plans to build a new regional distribution center that will handle all mail for Southeastern Wisconsin. Landing the postal distribution center would be a coup because it would employ 300 to 500 people, Trick said. Apparently these would all be new jobs — not transplanted from elsewhere.

August 19, 2006 - NC: 'Rural courtesy service’ lacks many of the regular postal offerings
The service is open one hour a day from noon to 1 p.m. and manned by a carrier from the Horse Shoe Post Office once she finishes her daily route.

August 19, 2006 - Woman seeks reimbursement from USPS

August 18, 2006 -  Postal Protest in Philadelphia

Hundreds of angry postal workers are making a special delivery to their bosses in the government in the form of a protest at this hour.  They are rallying over what they call "serious problems" with mail service in the past few months. They blame equipment changes and personnel cuts made since operations moved to the new Southwest Philadelphia postal center. They say the new technology is unreliable and workers are complaining about frequent equipment breakdowns at the new center." Delegates Protest Consolidation: "Following Thursday's spirited rally at a Philadelphia post office, delegates approved a measure calling for a nationwide demonstration against consolidation. Delegates approved that "the National Executive Board support and direct the membership to participate in a national day of informational picketing at post offices nationwide." The coordinated rallies are to be held on a date no later than mid-October 2006. "   |

August 18, 2006 - 20 Years Ago, Patrick Sherrill Killed 14 People in the Edmond Post Office - "Twenty years ago this month, Patrick Sherrill killed 14 people in the Edmond Post Office, emblazoning into nightmare a new term: "Going Postal." But a redacted report shows someone almost stopped him." Post office killings led to changes "Time changes things, but in the 20 years since the Edmond post office massacre, almost everything about the U.S. Postal Service is different, officials said. Larry Flener, Oklahoma district consumer affairs manager, said from the way mail is brought in and processed to the relationships between management and employees, almost nothing is the same as it was in 1986. Since the Edmond shootings, the postal service has been driven by the idea of preventing violence in the workplace, he said. A threat assessment team was developed and members of every level of employment are represented, he said. Education is also key, and the postal service hired experts to train supervisors to identify troubled employees or those who might be struggling with their jobs, Flener said.  |

August 17, 2006 - Postal Service to Begin Contract Negotiations With Its Four Largest Unions -The U.S. Postal Service is about to begin contract negotiations with its four largest unions. Current contracts with NALC, APWU, NRLCA) and NPMHU all expire at Midnight Nov. 20, 2006. This is the first time the Postal Service has separately negotiated new contracts with all these unions at the same time.  PR Note: Postmasters and Supervisors also begin Pay Talks within the next few months.  |

August 17, 2006 - APWU Delegates Pass Resolution Seeking Merger with Mail Handlers Union - "After fervent debate on the 18th Biennial Convention’s third day, APWU delegates adopted a resolution to study “efforts and procedures and processes” that would help bring the National Postal Mail Handlers Union into the APWU as a new department. Eastern Region Clerk Craft NBA Mike Gallagher, who was in favor of the resolution, said that although it had “taken on a life of its own,” the resolution was “fairly innocuous.” This may not be the right time to bring the Mail Handlers into the APWU, he said. “But we will always have jurisdictional disputes if the Postal Service has a convenient workforce to work for less.” Bulletin #3: Delegates Address Frustration Over Craft Jurisdictional Issues (PDF)  |

August 17, 2006  - Threatening To Go Postal, Retired Postal Worker Arrested

 "A former United States Postal Employee is behind bars charged with threatening to kill fellow postal employees. 58 year old Alexia Moreno was arrested at her home in Rita Ranch Monday morning. Authorities say the retired postal worker from Wichita, Kansas threatened a disability specialist over the phone. Moreno reportedly had an ongoing dispute with the Postal Service over worker's compensation. "She said she knows how to use a gun and she's willing to do so," says U.S. Postal Inspector Stephen Elia. "And she would go in and shoot postal employees if she wasn't happy with the settlement she was getting." |

August 17, 2006 - Record-Setting Convention Re-elects President Young (PDF)
William H. Young was re-elected as President of the National Association of Letter Carriers by acclamation Wednesday at the 65th Biennial NALC Convention, the largest gathering in the union's 117-year history, which also elected or re-elected 26 other national officers. The nomination and election of Young and other officers was one highlight of the third day of the convention, held at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Only one National Business Agent position among all the 28 Executive Council positions will be contested later this year. Another dramatic moment came when President Young made a ringing declaration of NALC's relentless opposition to contracting out postal jobs, vowing to the visiting president of the Mail Handlers, "We will stand with you to stop any attempt to privatize the Mail Handler craft, the Letter Carrier craft, or any other postal craft." Postal Letter Carriers COLA $790 Annually | Young Warns That Contracting Out Mail Delivery Could Weaken Nation's Defense Against Terrorism| NALC Daily Convention Updates  |

August 17, 2006 - PostCom Gene DePolito on APWU: 'I WANT IT MYYYYYY WAYYYY' -You know, there are days when you've just got wonder: What's up with the APWU? Here is an organization that is supposed to represent the long-term best interests of a key sector of the Postal Service's employees in a manner that best insures continued employment. Yet, nary a week goes by without seeing something in the electronic or print media that reflects a union that is hell-bent on ensuring its members' extinction.   |

August 16, 2006 -  Mail stolen from three postal trucks in San Diego

 Three U.S. Postal Service trucks have been broken into since mid-July in southeastern San Diego, and several pieces of mail have been stolen, authorities announced yesterday. Thieves smashed the passenger-side windows of the trucks, which all were parked and locked at the time, said U.S. Postal Inspector Hilary A. Smith. The thefts occurred during regular business hours as the carriers delivered mail, Smith said. One flat of mail was taken from each truck but no parcels or packages were taken, Smith said. While the motives for the thefts are unknown, they may have been for identity theft – to use the documents for fraud. Video: Crooks Hitting Mail Trucks   |

August 16, 2006 - Philadelphians experience mail delivery woes -Some residents have complained about receiving their mail when the sun goes down, and others have received mail that wasn’t intended for their household. “He had showed up with a flashlight on his head. Nine o’clock at night,” said Monalisa Brown of Southwest Philly.  |

August 16, 2006 - Merced: Postmaster leaves after only 1 year

August 16, 2006 - Teen is charged in crash Postman's injuries lead to felony rap - Police have arrested a 17-year-old Greenwich boy and charged him with felony assault and drunken driving in connection with a head-on collision that seriously injured a postal worker on July 19. The injured postman, Dioscoro Nolos of Stamford, underwent surgery on his right eye, according to Jocelin Domond, a supervisor at the Cos Cob Post Office, and is recovering well.

August 15, 2006 - APWU 18th Biennial Convention News Bulletin
"The APWU president said that he was especially pleased with the removal of all Transitional Employees from mail processing facilities. "The APWU has purged the terrible decision of Arbitrator Mittenthall, which imposed tens of thousands of non-career employees upon our bargaining unit." With some issues that previously dominated our discussions having been resolved, Burrus said, it was time to focus on "current challenges no less daunting than those of the past." Among the challenges that "fill our members with a feeling of uncertainty and doubt" are: the loss of jobs to automation; worsening service and the dislocation of workers due to network consolidation; the lingering threat that postal reform could undermine our collective bargaining rights; the transfer of our work through jurisdictional determinations; employee complements at new facilities set so low that service falls apart; and additional subcontracting." Finally, Polo Shirts...."window clerks will be able to wear starting on Nov. 18.  APWU Convention Delegates to Protest Decline in Service   |

August 15, 2006

Letter carriers sense trouble
Historic Beverly Hills Post Office Set for Arts Venue Transformation
Postal worker delivers more than mail
Google Teams With Valpak

Canada Post responds to rural mail dilemma

USPS to Showcase Black Alabama Quilters in New Stamp Series

August 14, 2006 - Philly postal workers to rally over distribution center troubles
Postal workers plan to protest forced transfers and delivery problems that resulted when the U.S. Postal Service moved its regional mail-sorting center from downtown to a more automated facility. Since the move to Southwest Philadelphia began in November, 600 clerks have had to transfer, while outside workers have been brought in to help with the transition. Meanwhile, there have been problems with mail that has been delivered late or not at all. The American Postal Workers Union is planning a protest Thursday at the historic 30th Street post office, saying the move has simultaneously hurt service and trampled on the rights of mail-sorters and other workers.  |

August 13, 2006 - Letter Carriers Unhappy with New Procedures
New U.S. Postal Service procedures have had an effect on letter delivery throughout the city, slowing mail delivery and stretching resources, the head of the local letter carriers’ union said. James Servideo, president of Branch 12 of the National Association of Letter Carriers, said his union has filed several grievances against the postal service, alleging that the new procedures violate labor regulations and that the procedures are based on a faulty review system. The new procedures became public after downtown businesses owners and government agencies complained that changes in policy delay delivery of their mail, disrupting the day’s work flow. Postal inspectors used technology called Carrier Optimal Routing to look at the routes, and Mr. Servideo said the system was flawed.  |

August 13, 2006 - Letter Carrier's Friends Plan For Recovery - Trust Fund Set-Up -- Maureen Buscher Deprince, who lost both legs after being run down July 24 by a hit-run driver in Ventnor, remains in critical condition, but her friends and family are still trying to plan for when she can come home. Rumaker said the Maureen Deprince Trust Fund has been set up at the Atlantic City Firemen's Credit Union, 1701 Pacific Ave., Atlantic City, NJ 08401. She said checks can actually be made payable to Maureen Deprince. "This is all going to go toward costs not covered by insurance," Rumaker said.  |

August 13, 2006 - San Bernardino Mail center helps millions go postal - For Rhona Barton, customer-relations coordinator for the San Bernardino Processing and Distribution Center, going postal is positive in every way."The postal service is huge and when something happens in one of our facilities, it's news," said Barton, adding that it's good to put a face to a huge organization that touches everyone's life."We deliver millions of pieces of mail every day throughout the U.S., Guam and Puerto Rico. To us, going postal is positive."Barton said employees are positive about the postal service and where it's going.The volume of mail is humongous - and growing.

August 12, 2006 - APWU, USPS Reach Agreement on Transfer Opportunities
APWU-represented employees at installations where excessing is occurring will have an opportunity to be placed on a preferred listing and will receive other accommodations to minimize the impact of reassignments under an agreement signed recently by the union and postal management. The agreement outlines provisions for the implementation of the Sept. 12, 2005, Memorandum of Understanding, “Transfer Opportunities to Minimize Excessing. " The agreement also modifies the National Agreement’s “Transfer Memorandum of Understanding”   |

August 11, 2006 - National Mail Handlers President Warns Membership on APWU "Raid"  Activities -"It has come to our attention that a memo to the field from three high-ranking APWU officials is being circulated in many facilities to advise APWU Local Unions that a "survey" should be conducted for the purposes of gauging interest in an APWU "raid" on the NPMHU membership. It appears that this action was precipitated by LIUNA's (and therefore the NPMHU's recent withdrawal from the AFL-CIO. We have previously notified you that we are engaged in discussions in an effort to have the NPMHU affiliated in some fashion with AFL-CIO, and those talks continue. If those talks should break down rest assured that we will be prepared to rally our troops and to battle the APWU--tooth and nail--to preserve and defend the hard-fought independence and quality representation of our great Union. " |

August 11, 2006 - EEOC Brief: Reasonable Accommodation

Postal Worker alleged that USPS discriminated against her on the basis of her disability when it forced her to work outside her medical restrictions. The EEOC found that the employee requested a reasonable accommodation when she informed the Postal Service that she suffered a severe allergic reaction when her co-workers popped popcorn at the facility. The EEO concluded that the Postal Service discriminated against the employee by failing to provide the employee with a reasonable accommodation when it did not require her co-workers to refrain from popping popcorn. Habluetzel v. Potter   |

August 11, 2006

August 10, 2006 - Appeals Court Rules Postal Inspector's Search was Illegal

The court ruled that the Postal Inspector violated the Fourth Amendment by frisking a postal worker for weapons without a reasonable belief that he was armed and dangerous. Judges unanimously reversed a criminal conviction on the basis of an illegal search.  |

August 10, 2006 - Postal Service June Financial Results
Net deficiency of $594.5 million posted after escrow allocation - USPS revenues for June were $27 million, or 0.4% under plan and 5.6% more than June 2005. Expenses for the month were $39 million, or 0.7% under plan and 4.4% more than June 2005. The result is a net loss of $11.9 million before the escrow allocation. The net deficiency after escrow allocation is $261.9 million. Year-to-date (YTD) revenue through June is 3.9% higher than the same period last year (SPLY) and is $386 million above plan. YTD expenses are 4.2% higher than SPLY and $222 million over plan. YTD total mail volume is 0.9% above SPLY. YTD, net income before escrow allocation is $1.66 billion. However, our net deficiency after the escrow allocation is $594.5 million). Postal Quarter III FY 2006 (PDF)  |

August 10, 2006 - Former NJ  Postal Worker Employee Alleges EEOC Retaliation - James Coe, a Vietnam Veteran, who had a pending EECO case against his manager claims there was a connection between his protected EEOC grievance and his August 2005 insubordination termination from the Postal Service Processing & Distribution Center in Edison NJ. Mr. Coe was initially disqualified for unemployment benefits by the New Jersey Department of Labor for employment misconduct. September 2005 the New Jersey Department of Labor Appeals Tribunal issued a written opinion supporting Mr. Coe, “No disqualification arose under N.J.S.A. 43:21-5(b) as Mr. Coe was not discharged for misconduct connected with his work.” Mr. Coe claiming to be a victim of employment discrimination faces an uphill battle before his hearing date to save his career and pension. Mr. Coe hopes most Americans would agree government agencies like the Postal Service should legally show just cause before firing Veterans.  |

August 10, 2006

Charity lost in the mail

Rural postal carrier receives award for quick thinking

New Mexico lawyer appointed to Postal Service board

August 09, 2006 - New Postal Procedure Frustrating in Worcester (MASS.)

Downtown businesses and government agencies are getting their mail later under a new U.S. Postal Service procedure, at times jeopardizing the processing of time-sensitive mail, some said. The past policy allowed office workers to retrieve mail in bulk from one of several downtown Postal Service substations, but the new procedure has letter carriers sort mail at the main branch , while office workers wait for deliveries and, in some cases, postpone work on sensitive documents. They are using new equipment that sorts 80 percent of the mail for them, making the casing process quicker and allowing them to deliver mail faster... “It reduces the amount of time they have to spend in the office,” Mr. Boisselle said. |

August 08, 2006 - Waxman Wants to Know Why Snail Mail's So Slow - Congressional hearings on postal service issues, initially scheduled for February, were postponed at least twice by Republican leadership. Waxman's office said he has had no luck getting them rescheduled. Many customers and postal employees have contended that the closing last year of a Jefferson Boulevard processing facility near Marina del Rey accounted for many of the delivery woes. Postal officials disputed that, saying the closing was part of a consolidation designed to improve efficiency. But the service acknowledged at the time that deliveries were being slowed because of insufficient staffing. Waxman's office said it appears that staffing continues to be a problem. LA Mail Delayed for Six Days, Says Report |  Mail Condition Report (PDF)  | Waxman Letter to USPS IG (PDF) |

August 08, 2006 - Postal Workers Informational Picket A Success (PDF) - The San Antonio Alamo Area Local conducted an informational picket in front of the General Mail Facility on August 3, 2006. There were estimates of over 200 picketers yelling and chanting slogans to improve customer service, supporting postal workers and working people. The picket was a success and a message was sent to postal management that postal workers are against customers experiencing long lines, waiting in line for more than 5 minutes, and a general disregard for customer service.  |

August 08, 2006 - Mailman's delivery leads to his arrest - A random inspection of a package mailed from the Philippines to New Jersey led authorities to a veteran Teaneck mailman they say was importing methamphetamine and might have been selling it from his postal vehicle. Agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration and Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested the mailman, Arturo Concepcion, at the Teaneck postal facility Friday, authorities said yesterday. In his back pocket, Concepcion was carrying a 25 mm semi-automatic handgun, according to a criminal complaint filed in federal district court in Newark

August 07, 2006  - A Tale of Two Post Offices

Mike Causey: So, I've got two good offices, one in the burbs, one in the city, and one not-so-good office. Friday morning I had to stop (at the not-so-good office) to buy three mailers. I wanted to send two books to Richmond, Virginia and one to Lewes, Delaware. Then I ask him/her if s/he could weigh the books and each packet so I will have an idea of what it will cost to mail same. He/she says "what's the ZIP code?" And he/she insisted the pricing couldn't be done until I found the precise ZIP code. |

August 05, 2006 - NALC: Postal Service Tests Flat Sequencing System (PDF)

In June, the Postal Service completed a two month test of a prototype Flat Sequencing System (FSS) at the Mail Processing Annex in Indianapolis. During the trial period, the NALC had the opportunity to observe the machine’s operation as well as visit with letter carriers who were testing the delivery of FSS-sorted mail in nearby Carmel, Indiana on both curbline and park-and-loop routes. The goal of FSS is to automatically sort flat mail into delivery point sequence with an aim to significantly cut back on the amount of time a letter carrier needs to spend in the office casing mail. But despite management’s dreams of immediate time savings, it’s almost guaranteed there will instead be increases in street time when FSS is first implemented. Letter carriers need only consider the rocky track record of the decade old DPS system for letter mail to get a sense for just how much total time they might realistically be expected to save with FSS. |

August 04, 2006  - Postal workers rally to keep Bloomington jobs - Postal workers in Bloomington rallied Thursday to oppose a U.S. Postal Service proposal to move local mail processing to Indianapolis. Signs and leaflets said, “Don’t let our mail service fall apart,” and “Save our postmark.” A dozen jobs could be moved to Indianapolis, which processes mail from 474 zip codes within 1,500 square miles.

August 03, 2006  - With Early Intervention, Postal Workers Discrimination Complaints Drop - "USPS employees’ complaints of discrimination continued to decline in 2005 — a trend postal leaders attribute to improved communications and the success of efforts to resolve disputes early on. Formal complaints postal workers filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission dropped from more than 14,000 in 1998 to fewer than 7,000 last year.  The Postal Service’s ADR program “is functioning terribly,” said William Burrus, APWU president. But NALC president William Young cites successes with ADR. "In 1998, we had 29,000 grievances pending and awaiting arbitration,” Young said. “Today it is less than 200. The union’s success with ADR is the result of its having gotten together with management early on. “It built some trust,” Young said. By comparison, there are more than 25,000 grievances pending at APWU, 18,850 of which are awaiting arbitration, according to the APWU.Yet, for all the Postal Service’s success with ADR, it still, with 29 percent of the federal work force, receives 38 percent of all EEO complaints of discrimination. |

August 03, 2006 - USPS Names New Chief Financial Officer

Postmaster General Jack Potter today announced the selection of Harold Glen Walker as Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President. Walker brings more than 30 years of domestic and international financial experience to the position, having served most recently as Vice President of Finance and Chief Financial Officer for Invensys Controls. He also was Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for a significant portion of Whirlpool Corporation’s international operations, encompassing 35 nations in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. While at Whirlpool, Walker organized and located a shared services center in Dublin, Ireland that has served as a model for many major multi-national companies. |

August 03, 2006  - Postal Workers Managing

Letter Carriers use caution while delivering mail in stifling heat "In a single day, Jeff Cansler has 647 possible deliveries along his postal route. That amounts to about 500 houses and businesses and miles of sun-baked sidewalks that lead him to each mailbox. "It hasn't felt this hot for a long time," Cansler said Wednesday morning, as he walked down the street with his mailbag slung over one shoulder and a towel on the other to keep mail and his brow dry of sweat. The humidity feels like "sticking your head inside an oven," Cansler said as he delivered mail in a neighborhood west of downtown. He and other local postal carriers have been baking inside that oven every day of the heat wave currently blanketing most of the country, doing their jobs during the peak times when experts advise remaining indoors."  |

August 03, 2006  - Postal Workers Revive Colleague - "Doctors say three postal workers in Nashua (New Hampshire) saved a colleague's life with C-P-R and a jolt from a defibrillator. Postal Manager Jim Adams says clerk Peter Lescarbeau collapsed in a locker room after feeling ill. A clerk and two letter carriers revived him. Lescarbeau's wife, Deborah, said doctors told her the quick treatment made the difference between life and death for her husband." Video: Co-Workers Had Special Training |

August 02, 2006 - Postal Service Finds a Friend in the Internet- "At a recent conference that attracted 15,000 eBay fanatics to Las Vegas, the main sponsor was a big advocate of online shopping: none other than the United States Postal Service. As people send e-mail and e-cards instead of handwritten letters and greetings, as they pay more bills online and file tax returns electronically, the Postal Service has started to seem like a drab and tired reminder of the old way of doing things. Yet the Internet is actually injecting new life - and a sorely needed source of revenue - into the Postal Service. EBay shippers, said Mr. Potter in a recent interview, have accounted for more than $1 billion worth of postage since the Postal Service started working with the company in 2004."  Internet spurs surge in mailed packages |

August 02, 2006 - Postal Workers to Hold Informational Picket on August 3rd

(Press Release) San Antonio Alamo Area Local will hold an Informational Picket on August 3rd from  2:30 – 4:30 P. M . The purpose of the picket is to make the public aware of the decline of customer service at the San Antonio Area post offices. According to SAAL Local APWU President Alex Aleman, "retail units are experiencing, long customer lines, wait time of more than 5 minutes, staffing is being dictated by a computer program, not meeting customer needs, not maximizing clerk staff,  and creating a tense and stressful work environment. Approximately 150 delegates attending the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA) Convention here in San Antonio will participate and support the SAAAL in its efforts." |

August 01, 2006 - FedEx, Postal Service Renew Delivery Deal

USPS and FedEx Express, a subsidiary of FedEx Corp. have agreed to a new contract for domestic air transportation of postal express shipments. The new agreement continues through September 2013, and supercedes the current contract which was set to expire in August of 2008. The contract, expected to generate about $8 billion in revenue over its seven-year life span. FedEx Express will fly about 4 million pounds of U.S. mail every business day. The 2001 retail agreement, giving FedEx the opportunity to place FedEx self-service collection boxes on postal property, is not affected by today's announcement. That portion of the contract expires in 2009. |

- USPS, FedEx Sign New  7-yr, $8 Billion Air Transportation Deal