|
December 31, 2005
Postal Service
Debt-free, But Still Raising Rates?
Carolyn Mack is Decatur's first woman
postal carrier to retire
Sioux City: District Manager says postal
workers' claims are speculation
Postage is in for a small change
e-NAPUS Newsletter: 2005 - Progress, Patience
and Persistence (PDF)
Royal Mail faces battle as postal market is opened
up
December 30, 2005
-
Letter Carrier Charged with 18 Counts
of Unemployment Fraud
(Massachusetts Attorney General) -
In May 2004, Michael J. Boutchie applied for unemployment benefits
from the DUA after being terminated from his position as a letter
carrier for USPS. In order to receive his unemployment benefits,
Boutchie reported to the DUA each week that he was unemployed. Shortly
after applying for unemployment, Boutchie began working for a roofing
company, and continued to work there while receiving weekly unemployment
benefits. Boutchie collected more than $8,000 in benefits while
earning a salary of more than $12,000 with the roofing company.
Boutchie was eventually reinstated as a letter carrier and subsequently
attempted to collect back wages by submitting a form to the U.S.
Postal Service falsely certifying that during his termination he
did not have outside earnings from other employment
|
December 30, 2005
Letter Carrier Loses
Daughter, Grandmother in House Fire
Post office may move Bloomington processing to Indianapolis
Man Nabbed After
Snatching Money From Post Office
December 30, 2005
-
Postal
workers want dust from floor tested for asbestos
- A powdery substance at
the Valley Junction post office in West Des Moines will be tested
to alleviate fears of a handful of employees who think the dust
is floating asbestos, a cancer-causing substance, said a U.S. Postal
Service safety official. Some employees who work at the post office
have said portions of the flooring in the back room, which contains
asbestos, is flaking off in chunks the size of nickels and dimes.
|
December 30, 2005 -
House Panel to Hold
Oversight Hearing on USPS
According to Business Mailers Review
via
Postcom.org, "Look for Rep. Tom Davis, R-VA., to hold an oversight
hearing on the Postal Service in the winter or early spring in the
House Government Reform Committee. This oversight hearing is likely
to look more closely at other issues, such as facility consolidation
activities that are moving ahead quickly across the country or the
issue of service standards, measurements of standards and communication
of those measurements for various mail products."
|
December 30, 2005 -
The
USERRA Notification Poster which must be posted in all Postal facilities
(pdf)
|
December 30, 2005 -
Town Hall Meeting
in Las Cruces (NM) with USPS Officials Canceled -
City officials
met with Postal Service representatives two weeks ago to discuss
numerous public complaints about slow mail delivery service.
Postal workers have also raised concerns about inadequate staffing
to process mail at post offices throughout the United States.
From the meeting with Postal Service representatives, there was
consensus that a town hall meeting was needed to allow the public
to talk about problems and learn more about changes within the post
office.
December 30, 2005
USPS Board of Governors to Meet January 10,2006
Can Of Deodorant Makes Car Crash Into Post Office
Postal workers will
host awareness meeting about Sioux City postmark
OIC answers critics
before leaving local postal position
Internet Sales Show
Big Gains Over Holidays
UK Mail Market Opens
Fully Jan. 1
Final Delivery
NY Congresswoman urges
Postal Service to preserve Purple Heart stamp
Letter:
Thanks for postal Santa Claus
Postal Service career ending after 36 years for Supervisor
December 29, 2005 -
Postal Employees Adopt a Giving Spirit
-Most
people identify the U.S. Postal Service as the outfit that delivers
mail and packages to their homes and businesses, but the U.S. Postal
Service in Memphis has been doing more than just delivering mail
for many years. One way they give back throughout the year and especially
during this joyous season is through the Memphis City Schools Adopt-A-School
program.
Individual post offices around Memphis
have special programs to help less-fortunate people in their communities
but the entire Memphis Postal Service adopted Manor Lake Elementary
School in Southwest Memphis several years ago.
|
December 29, 2005 -
Letter: Postal Service criticism unfair
"The United States Postal Service
is the greatest in the world! Why does this comic strip badmouth
it in the name of being "conservative?"
December 29, 2005
Semis smash on icy highway, mail scattered
Cargo handler steals gift cards from mail at airport
Mugged by the mail
Crowbar mail smash and grab caught on tape
December 28, 2005 -
USPS Ends 2005 With Remarkable Results
The results are in -- the U.S. Postal
Service ended 2005 with a record sixth consecutive year of growth
in productivity, wiped out its debt and delivered fifty percent
more mail to 32 million more homes and businesses than it did 20
years ago while doing it at 1985 staffing levels. These results
are highlighted in the just released
2005 Annual Report of the U.S. Postal Service.
|
USPS releases November 2005 Financial & Operating Statement
(pdf) -"Total Mail Volume for November, FY 2006 was
111 million pieces or 0.6% over Same Period Last Year (SPLY). First-Class
Mail volume was 323 million pieces or 3.8% under SPLY, while Standard
Mail volumes at 455 million pieces or 5.0% over SPLY, continue to
be positive primarily because of the increasing strength of direct
marketing channels. Year-to-date, Total Mail Volume is 1.5% or 571
million pieces under SPLY. YTD, First-Class Mail volume is 3.7%
less than SPLY generating $252 million or 4.1% less revenue than
SPLY."
|
December 28, 2005 -
'Consumer-directed'
health plans attracting healthier feds- The Government Accountability
Office's report
(GAO-06-143)
looked at the first consumer-directed plan offered among the 279
options in the Federal Employees Health Benefits program. That plan,
provided through APWU, had about 9,500 enrollees in 2005.
December 28, 2005 -
Bronx (NY) P&DC added to consolidation
study list
As it
stands now
over 44 facilities will be
subject to consolidation,
or subject of AMP (Area Mail Processing) studies.)
- "USPS notified APWU of its intent to conduct an AMP survey
for the feasibility of consolidating certain mail processing operations."
|
December 28, 2005 -
Postal ghosts of Christmases past -
Before modern Christmas cards became fashionable, friends and relatives
could send holiday greetings to anyone in the country for a few
pennies, via postcard
|
|
December
27, 2005 -
Letter Carrier Among Airboaters
Group Still Waiting for Katrina pay -
After Hurricane Katrina struck, Jim Osborne used his airboat to save survivors
stranded by the storm in the New Orleans area. The 47-year-old Port St. Lucie
letter carrier navigated through debris to get to a church where he found an
elderly woman who had waited days for help to arrive. He said he also burst
into the attic of a water-ravaged house to find a family of six dead. But now
Osborne finds himself part of a group of 30 airboaters who were promised pay
for their rescue efforts by Tennessee-based Cat 5 Disaster Services, but haven't
seen a dime. Osborne shelled out thousands of dollars to make the 1,600-mile
round-trip journey. "I need to get some
financial help from this," he said. Collectively, they are owed $600,000.
|
-
Letter carrier ditches route for rescuer's role
December
27, 2005 -
Hundreds
Respond to USPS' Request for Hours of Service Exemption
-
USPS submitted an
application to DOT's Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration for exemption
from the hours-of-service (HOS) requirements
. The request is on behalf of motor carriers that transport mail under contract
for USPS. Majority of the 800 comments submitted
to FMCSA
oppose granting USPS' exemption request. The comments in favor of granting USPS'
request were from employers of contract drivers.
Public Citizen submitted comments stating, "The
USPS application for exemption contains a serious flaw, which renders it procedurally
defective." Michael Foster, Assistant Director, APWU Motor Vehicle Service,
also submitted some strong comments against granting the USPS' request
The Ohio State Highway Patrol, Teamsters and others also voiced their concerns
|
December
27, 2005 -
Editorial: Monopoly Blues
"In my little community in Silverado, CA, there
is a tiny post office where we pick up our mail each weekday. There is no delivery—and,
of course, no alternative for first class mail. The two or three people who
work there are, unfortunately, quite often absent. I have no idea whether illness
or something else keeps reducing their number but more often than not, recently
the mail doesn’t get distributed until late in the afternoon. The USPS tells
me they have to have the mail out at least by 5 PM but until about six months
ago it used to be in our boxes by 10:30 AM or even earlier."
|
 December
26, 2005 -
Mail problems can be resolved: Postal officials
need residents' input
-"A
Christmas "miracle" came early last week for Russell Robbins. His mail was delivered
at 5 p.m. Mr. Robbins, president of the Cheney Place Homeowners Association
in northeast Paradise Valley, said last Thursday was one of the few times in
more than a year that mail was delivered to his subdivision before 6 p.m. "We
received our mail once at 3 p.m. and I asked the carrier if he was ill. He said
he was doing the route in a different order, and that's why we received it early."
|
-
Carriers contest forced overtime
December
26, 2005 -
Maryland Truck Driver Hauling Mail Killed In I-80 Accident
- A postal truck driver from the Baltimore area
was killed yesterday when his tractor-trailer jackknifed on Route 80 in Warren
County during a surprise ice storm that left many of New Jersey's highways like
a giant hockey rink. Kewal S. Soos, 54, of Dundalk, Md., who was not wearing
a seat belt, was ejected from his rig after the truck struck a guide rail on
westbound Route 80 in Frelinghuysen Township, near Blairstown, State Police
at Hope said. Soos, who was carrying a cargo of U.S. mail, lost control of the
truck on the unsalted, ice-covered roadway just after 3:15 a.m., police said.
The cargo was apparently undamaged, police said.
December
26, 2005
Profile: Louisiana
Postmaster elected new president of NAPUS
Postal clerk
puts his stamp on the town
Blue Grass
postmaster ends 36-year career
Old-time post office facing retirement
Postal workers make Christmas a priority
Jewish Santa Made A Few Special Deliveries
Commentary - Postal Consumers: Be Wary of New 'Transformation
Plan'
Mail carriers deliver Christmas wishes
Woman charged with using retired postal worker's identity
Card gets delivered, without
any address
Disabled Postal Worker says
public ignorant of her feline commitment
Santa's Special Delivery
December
24, 2005 -
NAPUS Met
with USPS Officials on Hiring Issues
This week NAPUS leaders met
with USPS officials to discuss hiring issues facing Postmasters in many areas
of the nation. In previous meetings between the two groups, USPS representatives
said that Postal Headquarters had not directed a hiring freeze. NAPUS leaders
said that the inability to fill vacant positions forced many Postmasters to
perform craft duties in addition to the already increased workload of their
normal duties. NAPUS also expressed concerns that the inconsistent hiring requirements
in certain Areas and Districts caused an additional strain on the safety and
health of employees, as well as negatively impacting customer service and the
financial performance of the USPS.
|
December 24,
2005 -
A Little Praise For Postal Workers -
The term "disgruntled postal
worker" is a part of the American lexicon. While it might once have been true,
we couldn't help but notice that some of our friendliest, most gracious encounters
this Christmas season have come at the post office and with our mail carriers.
Postal workers deserve a special salute for doing the heavy lifting this holiday
season - with good cheer. Or the clerks at the 24-hour post office at Tampa
International Airport, who cheerfully kept the line moving last Sunday night
when they surely were dead tired from working so many long days.
|
December 24, 2005
Postal workers won't slow down
A day in the life of postmaster Charlie Laffy
Postal worker keeps chuggin' with love of model trains
December
23, 2005 -Dallas
Postal Worker Pleads Guilty in $580,0000 Embezzlement -
A postal worker who serviced
stamp vending machines has pleaded guilty in a $580,000 embezzlement investigation,
prosecutors announced Friday. Joseph Charles Urso, pleaded guilty Thursday before
U.S. District Judge to misappropriation of postal funds. The now-suspended postal
worker faces a maximum 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Court records
indicate Urso had been a service technician responsible for vending machines
at certain post offices in Dallas since 1992.Prosecutors believe Urso for years
embezzled by stealing funds collected from machines, instead of depositing all
of the money. Urso also allegedly used postal forms to under-report the funds.
|
 December
23, 2005 -
A day in the life of the
Blair Post Office
December 23,
2005 -
Postal Worker's
Failed Attempt to Collect $1 Million from Supervisor
-
Conflict
began when Supervisor sent
letter warning of disciplinary
action
to Worker - A postal worker has been indicted
for bankruptcy fraud after he claimed his boss owed him $1 million for violating
his rights as a "self-ruling sovereign nation." After Gregory I. Armstrong's
supervisor sent him a letter warning disciplinary
action if Armstrong did not improve his attendance at work,
Armstrong argued that he was a self-ruling sovereign whose "power to contract
is unlimited." He then initiated involuntary bankruptcy proceedings against
his supervisor, alleging that he had agreed to pay Armstrong $1 million for
the unauthorized use of his name — which Armstrong had copyrighted. ." It was
sort of nightmarish," said Odell Johnson, Armstrong's supervisor at the Postal
Service center in Capitol Heights. "They were threatening to foreclose my home."
Johnson said the bankruptcy proceedings were closed after it became clear that
Armstrong is not his own country.
|
December
23, 2005 -
Amid variety of electronic communications, mailbox matter
matters -"Young
buyers view physical mail differently than their parents. They've grown up with
computers, e-mail, cell phones and text messaging and hardly ever use mail to
write personal letters or other correspondence. As a result, nearly all of the
mail they receive has a commercial purpose. They look forward to receiving it
and rely on it as a source of new products, services and other opportunities
they might be interested in."
|
December
23, 2005 -
UPS Packages Destroyed -
"Earlier this week, we told
you about a UPS truck that caught fire between Pocatello and Salt Lake City.
Representatives say they're working individually with the customers whose packages
were destroyed in the fire. Reporter Adam Rodriguez spoke with some customers
who say that's not the case." Brown can't do anything for us anymore." Some
customers said they sent the package through the United States Postal Service,
with better results.
December
23, 2005-
Judge tosses suit claiming unfair tactics citing Postal Reorganization
Act
A federal judge has dismissed a class action lawsuit that alleged Rodale Inc.
used illegal marketing tactics. The suit alleged that the Emmaus publisher had
a practice of sending unordered books to customers, then billing them, violating
consumer protection laws. But U.S. District Judge Paul Diamond of Philadelphia
dismissed the case this week on procedural grounds. Diamond ruled that the section
of the Postal Reorganization Act cited in the suit does not give private individuals
the right to sue. The Postal Reorganization Act sets conditions for sending
unsolicited merchandise to consumers. The Federal Trade Commission would be
the appropriate party to file such a suit, the Diamond concluded
December
23, 2005
NAPUS: White House Drops Lump of Coal in Postal Stocking
(PDF)
APWU: Holiday-Timed Relief for 'Katrina' Families
Tribunal Hears UPS Complaint
Against Canada
Stolen Balthasar
recovered by mailman
Wal-Mart Stuck With $172M Lunch Tab
Stop the Presses: USPS Kills Favorable
Story About Facility Targeted for Consolidation -
Why would the Postal Service decide against publishing
an internally prepared story about one of its most productive facilities?
|
 December
22, 2005 -
Pushing the envelope: Holiday season keeps postal
employees going full-tilt
-
The postman doesn't have time to ring twice these days because he is too busy
delivering packages from those last-minute Christmas mailers. Wednesday and
today are considered the busiest delivery days before Christmas for U.S. Postal
Service letter carriers across the country. Monday was considered the busiest
mailing day .
|
-
Processing
center shifts into high gear during annual postal crush
-
A
most hectic postal day |
Wednesday is busiest delivery day
December
22, 2005-
Post office
jobs will stay empty
Most of the manual sorting of third-class, bulk-rate business mail at the Main
Post Office will be transferred to an automated facility in Akron, U.S. Postal
Service officials announced Wednesday. The change will not lead to any job loss
here, said Victor Dubina, a spokesman for the Postal Service. But there is virtually
no chance now of filling vacant positions at the main post office. The main
post office has 24 full-time positions that are not filled. Karen J. See, president
of the Mansfield Area Local American Postal Workers Union, said workers were
not pleased. "I'm disappointed because Mansfield has lost about 24 full-time
jobs and up to 15 part-time jobs through attrition," she said. "That's got to
have an impact on our community. These are good union jobs.
December
22, 200 -
Running
mailman has energy to burn -You
may have seen him on his postal route, but then again, if you blinked, you may
not have. Edward “Eddie” Loring runs his mail route most days. He said he has
a lot of energy to dispel and uses his job as a letter carrier for the United
States Post Office to do it. At various times of the year, Loring can been seen
on just about any street on Nantucket pushing his mail cart by running behind
it.
|
December
22, 2005-
Mailman delivers
peace
Last week, a group of students at the Haggerty School decided to reward mail
carrier Steve Johnson for his attitude by picking him to be the recipient of
the school's annual Peace Prize. "You can think of peacemaking on a big scale,
but you can also think of it as what you do everyday, the little things," said
parent Ben Mardell, who nominated Johnson for the award. "Little things [Johnson
does] like saying, 'Hi' or 'I've got good mail for you today' that's what makes
a change in the neighborhood." Seven years ago, the postal service tried to
change his route. Outraged, neighbors began a petition which reached U.S. Sen.
John Kerry's office. "The plan was to take Steve away from us," said Mardell.
"So we mobilized."
December
22, 2005-
Marshall Islands : Mail delivery falls from plane
- THE Marshall Islands have been literally bombarded with air mail when a cargo
door popped open on a Boeing 727 as it was taking off from the central Pacific
state. Hundreds of kilos of letters and packages spilled from the Asia Pacific
Airlines plane on Wednesday into people's backyards and a lagoon near Majuro
International Airport. The airline carries mail on contract with the US Postal
Service through Hawaii, Guam, Marshall Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia
December
22, 2005
Mail Carrier
Saves Woman's Life
Disappearing
TSP Dividends
Postal Bulletin 12/22/05 Issue
Postal client's honesty cancels out $5,550 stamp mix-up
2 men arrested in Arizona
mailbox thefts
Statue Of Stolen Black Wise Man Found by Mailman
Retired mailman
delivered poetry, too
Family tradition works out well for new postmaster
Bethlehem
post office continues holiday tradition
December 21,
2005-
Dozens affected by gas leak at Remote Encoding Center-
At the U.S. Postal Service's
Wichita (Kansas) Remote Encoding facility ,27 people today suffered minor irritation
apparently because of a gas leak, officials said. Emergency dispatchers initially
said that there were more than 50 possible patients, though none was seriously
affected. The leak apparently came from a gas leak about two miles away; the
facility's ventilation system brought the odors into the building, officials
said. Employees complained of headaches, nausea and light-headedness, but a
check of the building found no serious level of carbon monoxide, officials said.
Of the 27 people treated for the symptoms, seven went to Wesley Medical Center
to be further evaluated, but none was in serious condition, said Dean Crowley,
an acting captain with Sedgwick County Emergency Medical Services.|
27 sickened by gas leak
December 21,
2005 -Postal
Service Withholds Tumwater Article
Manager worried of effect
on transfer - A story praising the productivity
of a Tumwater mail processing plant has been withheld from publication because
it could have undermined the U.S. Postal Service efforts to transfer mail cancellation
services to Tacoma.
Clint Burelson, president of the American Postal Workers Union’s Olympia local,
said the Postal Service had planned to run a story in an employee publication
in December on productivity levels at the Tumwater plant, according to a hard
copy of an e-mail
Burelson received
during the weekend.
|
-
Local APWU: Postal Service Suppresses Article Praising
Olympia Workers
December
21, 2005-
Gaylord mail processing operations survey under way
-
"An Area Mail Processing (AMP) Survey reviewing all operations was launched
Tuesday at the Gaylord Post Office, which employs more than 100 people. “The
survey is to look at improving efficiency throughout the postal service,” said
Jim Mruk, manager of Public Affairs & Communications for the Great Lakes Area
of the United States Postal Service (USPS). Mruk noted that five other AMP surveys
are being conducted within the Great Lakes Area including one in Wisconsin,
three in Illinois, and one in Indiana. Mruk also added that the USPS is doing
similar studies across the country. The Gaylord AMP is the only survey conducted
in the state of Michigan."
In a
letter dated Dec. 19, 2005, the USPS notified
the APWU of its intent to conduct an AMP survey for the feasibility of consolidating
certain mail processing operations at the following facilities:
Gaylord (MI) Main Post Office into Traverse City (MI) P&DC
.|
December 21,
2005 -
Postal Worker
dies in Kanner Highway crash
Shreds of black metal, twisted tires and a blizzard of mail rained down on Kanner
Highway Tuesday afternoon when a full-size black Cadillac was slammed by two
tractor-trailers, killing the female postal worker behind the wheel of the car
and traumatizing witnesses.
|
December
21, 2005 -
APWU: Updated Joint Contract
Interpretation Manual (JCIM) Available
The newly updated Joint Contract Interpretation Manual (JCIM) is now available.
The 2005 JCIM update was agreed to by the parties on Nov. 30, 2005. The JCIM
is intended to be a resource for the local administration of the National Agreement.
Jointly prepared by the APWU and the USPS, the JCIM provides a mutually agreed
to explanation of how to apply the contract to the issues addressed
December 21,
2005 -
Mail Mastery at St. Paul Postal Distribution Center
-
The 1,220 people
who work in the St. Paul postal distribution center aim to make holiday mail
something you don't think about
 December
21, 2005 -
Postal workers picket to keep Sioux City's postmark -
Members of the American Postal Workers Union Local 186 picketed in front of
the Main Post Office in an effort to preserve Sioux City's postmark.
Study Threatens Sioux City Postal Plant
December 21,
2005 -Postal
Worker Charged with allowing bulk mail to pass for free released
- An Anchorage postal worker, charged with theft and once accused of threatening
his co-workers, has been released from jail and can spend Christmas with his
parents as he awaits trial. Michael Sargent's attorney successfully argued he
was not a danger to the community and should be released to his parents' custody.
He is 47. They are both elderly. According to charging documents from the U.S.
attorney's office, the 29-year postal employee didn't charge customers for about
$400,000 in bulk mail shipments -- made of items such as business mailings and
brochures -- because he said he wanted to bankrupt the United States Postal
Service, in part because of a missed promotion.
December 21,
2005 -
Postmaster
receives probation in postal theft case
The former postmaster of the Riverton post office has been sentenced to two
years probation on charges he stole thousands of dollars while on the job. Norman
F. Burns, 41, of North Canton, was sentenced Tuesday for misappropriating U.S.
Postal Service funds. He had pleaded guilty to the charge on September 27. Prosecutors
said although Burns was postmaster at the Riverton office, he periodically substituted
for postmasters from the Collinsville, Canton Center, Salisbury, West Simsbury
and West Suffield Post Offices. Between January 2002 and June 17, 2003, he stole
$4,548 in funds that he had collected from customers for box rents at those
offices, according to court documents.
December 21,
2005
Morganville post office back in operation after
auto accident |
Car hits post office
Post office
renovates despite plans to move
Companies Update Software to Support '06 Postal Rate Increase
New Preparation Requirements for Bundles of Mail on Pallets
Franklin, Maine Retired Postal Worker Answers What Claus Cannot
December 20,
2005-
Patriotic Postal Carrier Decides To Resume Military Career
It is the busiest week of the year for the U.S. Postal service. But one longtime
letter carrier has more than that on his mind. Bryan Martin has just re-enlisted
in the military and heads off for training in January. We first met Bryan Martin
last February. While he was on his mail route, he saved two people from a burning
house. His wife says being a hero just comes naturally to him, now he wants
to put those skills to work in the Army.|
December 20,
2005 -
Local APWU: Postal Service Suppresses Article Praising Olympia
Workers
The Postal Service suppressed an article scheduled to appear in a Postal Service
publication that praised the Olympia Processing & Distribution Facility for
its ranking as the most productive plant in the entire nation for a plant of
its size. The article was pulled at Postal Headquarters because a story praising
the productivity of the workers at the Olympia Plant could potentially harm
the Postal Service's efforts to transfer mail operations from Olympia to Tacoma.
Currently, local, state, and congressional representatives, citizens and the
unions are working together to oppose the transfer of the Olympia mail to Tacoma."
Postal Service withholds Tumwater article
|
December 20,
2005
Florida
Mail-Haul Workers Join APWU
|
USPS Unveils 2006 Definitive Stamps
Hutch postal worker carries the weight of Christmas
A day of mailing mania at the main post office
Postal
worker may have stolen checks
Busiest
day no sweat for USPS
For many, e-mail not better than real mail
To Mr. Postman: Deliver da letter
Postal carrier suffers 'nasty bite' from pit bull
Wal-Mart is
target of criminal probe over waste
December
19, 2005 -
Postal
Service Won't Get Medicare Drug Subsidy -
A request by the U.S. Postal
Service for a Medicare prescription drug subsidy, projected to save postal customers
at least $250 million annually, has been denied by the Bush administration.
Officials decided that the Postal Service will not be allowed to receive a subsidy
because it participates in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, which
is not taking the subsidy
December 19,
2005 -
Last-minute
postal patrons hang tough in lengthy lines
 December
18, 2005-
Late mail deliveries have become common problem
countywide
-
It was 9:45 p.m. when Dave
Acosta stepped out of the darkness onto the front porch of a North Park house
and began stuffing letters through a slot in the front door. His footsteps startled
the man inside, who burst from the house with a gun, thinking an intruder was
trying to break in. A terrified Acosta explained that he was just the mailman
trying to get his job done, according to a federal labor report of the incident
obtained by The San Diego Union-Tribune."
Three years after Acosta's close
call, nothing has changed
|
December 18,
2005
Benefit fund
set up for postal worker killed in accident
Union officials worry postal
business will move to Columbus
Letter carrier
lauded for bringing joy to the blind
Mail flies
through Santa Clarita facility
Postal thieves at work in Searcy
Monday predicted to be busy day for mailing
Oklahoma DA clears Lufkin postmaster
Postal Inspectors probe AmeriDebt Founder
December
17, 2005-
"Don't Tip The Mailman" says USPS
"Don't tip the mailman,"
said Joseph Breckenridge, a spokesman for the USPS. "He's got a good job, makes
a good living." If one neighbor gives the mailman money, and another doesn't,
it creates the appearance that the tipper will receive favorable treatment,
Breckenridge said. "Being government, we can't afford that kind of thing," he
said. Still, it's not against the rules. Mail carriers aren't allowed to solicit
holiday extras, but they're allowed to accept them. Small gifts - such as fruit
preserves or candy - are appropriate, according to Breckenridge.
|
-
NALC: Blockbuster Apologizes for Running anti-tipping ad against carriers
December
17, 2005-
New Postmaster Probably Like Old
"Brenda Holmes is
back as Michigan City's postmaster. It's too early to tell if this is a new
and improved Brenda Holmes after six months of temporary assignments at post
offices around northwest Indiana, or if we're being saddled with the old model
that was responsible for late night mail delivery and running employee morale
into the ground"
|
December 17,
2005-Ship
Till You Drop -As
online shopping goes gangbusters, so do the delivery companies charged with
shipping the orders. Americans are expected to spend $18 billion on online purchases
this year -- a 25 percent increase over last year -- meaning more and more shipping
orders, especially around the holidays. And with Christmas just over a week
away, places like FedEx and the U.S. Postal Service have all hands on deck to
handle millions of letters and packages
|
December
17, 2005
Police investigating gun mailed
to military PO box from Iraq
Post office demolished after the roof caves in
Dude, where's my postmark? Feds may pull Rockford's sorting
site
Thieves cash in on mailboxes
Post office confiscates phony money orders
December
16, 2005 -
Mailman by day, award-winning pimp by night
"For
a decade, he has worked for the U.S. Postal Service, delivering mail and collecting
paychecks as Matthew Thompkins. But on the streets, he was known as Knowledge.
That's where authorities say Thompkins really made his name -- and his money
-- running a stable of dozens of prostitutes, some as young as 13, whom he shuttled
between Atlantic City, Las Vegas and New York to keep clients satisfied and
the cops at bay."
|
December
16, 2005 -
Mail Carrier
Killed in Snowy Crash On the Job
A Wisconsin part-time postal
carrier and mother of three died Wednesday afternoon in a two-vehicle crash
on her route. Patricia Ward was driving her car from the passenger side when
the accident occurred, said Jim Stanley, a USPS spokesman for the Northland
District. The Dodge Neon that Ward drove was not modified for driving from the
passenger area. She had to lean over from where she sat to operate the car.
Passenger-side driving is not illegal for mail carriers, and state statute exempts
them from having to wear seat belts.
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WI postal carrier killed in crash
December 16,
2005 -
Former Letter Carrier indicted on Charges of Stealing
More Than $100,000
-A former letter
carrier has been indicted on charges of stealing more than $100,000 worth of
checks from the mail she delivered, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced Thursday.
The indictment alleges that Kristen Nowack stole at least 50 checks from June
to Aug. 19 while working for USPS.
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December 16,
2005
GAO criticizes
USPS ombudsman role
More charges
for road rage suspect for killing USPS special agent
UPS employees in Minneapolis shootout
Mt. Ephraim
Post Office Roof Collapses
December 15, 2005 -
APWU: Ten More Facilities added to Cons |
