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Postal News - February 2004

- APWU BURRUS Testimony to Special Panel on Postal Reform Feb 5, 2004

- Testimony of League of Postmasters President Steve Lenoir,  Feb 5th

- NAPUS President Wally Olihovik

 Sen. Collins Takes Hard Look at USPS Prior to Introducing Reform Legislation-Collins will work with Sen. Tom Carper  to introduce legislation to assist the Postal Service with its reform efforts

From the Senate Hearings on Feb 4th

- NAPUS Calls for Postal Reform and Relief at Hearings
- Testimony of Steve D. Lenoir, President of the League of Postmasters
- Statement of Ted Keating, NAPS VP
- Statement of John Calhoun Wells, Private Consultant

- Testimony of Dr. James L. Medoff, Professor of Labor and Industry

- Testimony of Michael L. Wachter

- NAPUS Calls for Postal Reform and Relief-President Olihovik declared, “Extraordinary financial and operational challenges will continue to defy efforts to safeguard an affordable and universal postal service.”

Substance found in Connecticut not ricin

- Suspicious Powder Tests Negative (USPS Press Release)
- Angry & frightened Conn. postal workers await test results on powder  -John Dirzius, APWU Local president said he agreed with the decision not to close center
- Officials investigating suspicious powder at Wallingford Postal facility (2/3)

USPS Posts Net Income of $1.8 billion in 1ST QTR Despite Mail Decline nearly a half billion less compared to a similar period last year. During the same period, expenses increased only 1.7 percent, despite the rising costs of health benefits, fuel and the expanding delivery network. The number of employees continues to decline through attrition as employees choose regular or voluntary early retirement. In Quarter 1 an additional 8,462 left the work force bringing career employee complement to 719,850 |

His pain defeated the Postal Service-He became a champion for fellow postal employees-An employee who says he was denied promotions because of his injury filed what became known as Glover/Albrecht vs Potter" class action lawsuit. Dean Albrecht's victory could be worth up to $625-million to postal employees nationwide. . He has another class-action lawsuit against the Postal Service in the works. It involves the hostile environment created for injured employees. (St Petersburg Times) |

Update on Glover/Albrecht Class Action Settlement-"The Notice of Resolution summarizing the Settlement Agreement was mailed to class members by  USPS on February 2, 2004.  GloverClass.com for more info.The document contains important information about your rights, including your right to object to the Settlement Agreement. CLAIM FORMS will be mailed by the USPS after the EEOC administrative judge rules on any objections and gives final approval of the settlement agreement. This will likely occur in late APRIL or early MAY 2004. "

Attorneys Drop FMLA class action lawsuit  (in part)- Attorneys decided not to go forward with class action involving  an eligible employee so that he or she may care a family member with a serious health condition. Attorneys are moving forward on cases where  the Postal Service employee is an individual with a disability as defined by the Rehabilitation Act.  |

APWU National Business Agent Sentenced to prison in protest against government -Greg Poferl was sentenced last month for trespassing at Fort Benning, Ga., last Nov. in an annual protest against the Army's school for Latin American soldiers|

USPS can keep Hallmark contract details a secret | Appeal
Wickwire- Gavin submitted a FOIA request seeking a copy of USPS’s contract with Hallmark and other documents related to the sales and revenue generated under the contract. USPS, Hallmark join forces |

Tennessee TV Station Monitors Postal Employees' Breaks with Hidden Camera -WATE 6 TV station in Knoxville Tenn. used a hidden camera to monitor the number of  smoking breaks taken by postal employees and other government workers (investigation includes video)|

  Union: Postal Service violated procedure in discovery of powder in Bridgeport
The head APWU local in Connecticut on Wednesday lashed out at USPS management for not following through on an agreement to include the union in meetings with all employees after it was determined that the powder leaking from an envelope Monday was wood ash

Postal bonuses: Paid on delivery-USPS ties incentives to service standards, cost cutting-A salary plan that links pay to job performance may not be enough to turn around an organization such as the U.S. Postal Service, which is struggling financially. But USPS officials say they are determined to reinvigorate the organization's managers by giving raises to only those who help the service meet high service standards and difficult cost-cutting goals|

District Court Grants (in part) Judicial Watch's Request for Brentwood Anthrax Information- Judicial Watch contested USPS's use of US Exemption Code to redact 15 pages and withhold 399 pages. USPS Must Produce some documents related to discovery of anthrax at Brentwood facility (pdf)

Potter: Good Chance for Postal Reform- The article  highlights a DMNews conversation with PMG Jack Potter: Potter on the issue of  Postal Reform  responded by saying,   "Perfect postal reform would start with the elimination of the escrow account. And it would deal with some of the basics we have around labor, workers compensation. I personally believe that we shouldn't change benefits for current employees or retirees, but certainly going forward we should be looking at putting everything on the collective bargaining table so that we can respond as other businesses can respond to changes in society."

Mail carriers are to walk straight line-Mail carriers are required to use the “most efficient line of travel” to make deliveries. Sometimes that means cutting across lawns — especially if mailboxes are on the house|

-GAO: Postal Reform Is 'Urgently Needed-'The General Accounting Office agrees with Senate Governmental Affairs Committee chairwoman Sen. Susan Collins, R-ME, that sweeping postal reform is needed, the GAO said in a letter to Collins yesterday.

GAO Letter |

Postal Reform Bill Could Follow March Hearing -A spokeswoman for Senate Governmental Affairs Committee chairwoman Susan Collins, R-ME, said last week that a joint House/Senate postal oversight hearing is scheduled for March 23. Witnesses have not been selected yet, and a location is still to be announced. The hearing will focus on postal reform issues. Bob McLean, executive director of the Mailers Council, said that this would be the last hearing before postal reform legislation is introduced, which he expected to happen in April.

USPS: Letter Carriers could deliver medicine-Under a plan presently being developed, Postal Service letter carriers could be called upon to deliver antibiotics to residential addresses in the event of a catastrophic incident involving a biological agent for which antibiotic use is appropriate. Participation would be voluntary.

Letter Carriers to Deliver Antibiotics to American Homes in Bioterrorist Attack

Postal Reform May Be One Step Closer-Congress has started the process that could lead to the most significant postal reform since 1971. But one thing became clear during hearings in January and February. While several witnesses agreed that change is needed, many lambasted the suggestion by the President's Commission on the Postal Service that the Board of Governors be replaced by a board of directors.

48 Postal Sites on OSHA Highest Injury/Illness List-Forty-Eight Postal Service facilities were among more than 13,000 workplaces nationwide that the Occupational Safety & Health Administration recently identified as having high occupational injury and illness rates. see list of USPS sites - Interesting tidbits:. Last Year OSHA identified 91 postal facilities out of 14, 202 with the highest injury/illness rates--|

- APWU Condemns Failure to Share Information on Ricin Tainted Mail- APWU today condemned the Bush Administration and USPS for their failure to notify the American public and the union about a package containing the deadly poison ricin that was mailed to President Bush in November 2003. press release

- related links:

- Secret Service investigated ricin quietly

- Feds didn't report ricin for five days

- Bush asks Congress to cut decontamination research

Letter: What can be done about OWCP claim examiners? "It is becoming a nightmare dealing with this federal agency."

APWU North Carolina Local seeks more safety protections - APWU Fayetteville NC Local President Tony D. McKinnon, Sr. wants additional safety precautions when post office buildings are investigated for hazardous materials. In recent weeks, hazardous materials teams have been called at least three times to the downtown post office to inspect suspicious powders.

Future of Mail Processing plant in Jackson Miss. uncertain- Move to economize could doom Evers facility-"Anthony Puckett APWU Local President hopes Congress doesn't let the postal service close the only mail processing plant in Mississippi, the one named after slain civil rights activist Medgar Evers. The plant, which employs 400 to 500 in the Jackson area, has been on a hit list before.

Secret Service investigated ricin quietly-Federal officials say that's why there was no disclosure for three months after a letter containing a small amount of low-grade ricin, a poison, turned up at a screening center for White House mail on Nov. 6. (Related story: Feds didn't report ricin for five days) The mail-processing center is at an undisclosed location several miles from the White House.

Anger management field exploding-In the last couple of years, more and more business and governmental organizations have enlisted anger management services not only to treat hotheaded employees but also to stave off problems before they emerge. Postal workers, state prison guards and business leaders - who can pay more than $2,500 for one-on-one "coaching" - have taken workshops and seminars for anger management. Some medical schools, such as the University of Miami's, are putting medical students through special training to help them better cope with their own - and their patients' - anger. In November 2003, a postal worker was ordered  by a judge to take anger management classes for slamming a customer against a stamp machine at a California post office.

 No crying in letter-carrying: "Honchos from District 2 of the National Association of Letter Carriers out of Washington state have been at the main Provo Post Office investigating the disciplinary actions taken against two longtime postal workers.  Their crime: Taking time off to plan and attend the funerals of a father and a son.    About 70 co-workers, outraged that the two were given "official" verbal warnings about their "unscheduled leave," met Friday with a union official, who will be on hand again this week when postal officials from the district office in Salt Lake City go to Provo to conduct their own probe." -end-(Salt Lake Tribune) (note: this story was omitted from February 4th news on this page. But it is posted on the Labor News page with a little more information added.

Postal center’s closing will kill hundreds of jobs-The U.S. Postal Service will shut down the Bowling Green Remote Encoding Center on March 6. The facility has seen various levels of employment since opening in 1997. More than 500 people worked there in 1999 during the holiday season, when mail traffic is generally heaviest, said Beth Barnett, spokesperson for USPS. Employment was reduced to 300 last year, and 40 employees remain for the final week. Bowling Green facility is one of four across the country being closed in the latest downsizing for the service. |

Disabled Veterans – Appeal Rights: Former Mail Handler challenges USPS' action of terminating her during 90- day  probationary period. The employee stated that she was a disabled veteran and alleged that USPS violated a veteran's preference provision in connection with a personnel action. The Administrative Judge dismissed the appeal. MSPB found, based on her status as a disabled veteran, that the employee’s allegations regarding her termination from employment, disparate treatment, and veteran's status could be reasonably viewed as raising a USERRA claim and that her allegations should have been considered as a USERRA appeal. The MSPB also found that the employee also raised a VEOA claim because she established that she was a disabled veteran. The MSPB remanded the case and instructed the AJ to provide the employee with explicit notice regarding how to establish MSPB jurisdiction over her USERRA and VEOA claims. Henderson v. U.S. Postal Service (2004)

Jury Weighs Letter Carrier's  'Year of Fear'-Letter Carrier sued hospital after it took a year to prove that he had not been exposed to the AIDS virus when he underwent arthroscopic surgery with an nonsterilized instrument.

- Alliance of Nonprofit Mailers testimony (PDF)
- Postcom's Essential Eight Principles of Postal Reform (PDF)
- Gene A. Del Polito's letter to every Congress Member (PDF)

Potter: Standard, First-Class Rule Reinterpretation an 'Ethical' Issue-"Basically, the reinterpretation means that any household-specific offer -- including home equity lines of credit, pre-approved loans, pre-approved credit cards or anything that recognizes the household's credit status or other accounts in the household -- must mail at First-Class rates. This includes Skip-A-Payment notices and convenience checks." |

Comparison of Retirement Benefits to Workers’ Compensation Benefits for Employees on the Periodic Roll-OIG: USPS Can Save $19 million if Totally Disabled Employees were required to Retire-OIG has released a report which says, "there is a need to reform the act (FECA) to require eligible totally disabled employees to retire on disability or voluntary retirement under their applicable system. Legislative reform would help reduce the current number of employees on the periodic roll and assist the Postal Service in reducing future workers' compensation costs .....the report makes a compelling case for changes to the Federal Employees Compensation Act."

 Testimony Submitted to Postal Commission Re: Workers’ Compensation Claims and the Federal Employees’ Compensation Act

NALC Probes Provo Utah Worker Complaints-It was a time of tragedy for two Provo postal employees -- one lost a father, the other a son.  (This is an update of the 2/4/04 story) When those workers received what the union views as a disciplinary action, other postal employees complained to the regional office of the business agent of the National Association of Letter Carriers. Those yielded an investigation into work conditions at the Provo post office, where some employees perceived going to work was "hell."

Postal Service signs contract with Anger Management Firm-USPS recently decided to train its in-house facilitators and disperse them to facilities nationwide. An official with the Postal Service's National Center for Employee Development in Norman, Okla., confirmed that a contract had been signed with Anderson & Anderson, a California based firm,  but would not comment on the record, saying that the program was in its trial phase.  Once an initial batch of facilitators had been trained, the Postal Service would evaluate the program's effectiveness, the official said. He noted there was no specific push for the implementation of the course, saying only that like any large corporation, the Postal Service has many employees who deal with stressful situations.

GAO: Postal Reform Is 'Urgently Needed-'The General Accounting Office agrees with Senate Governmental Affairs Committee chairwoman Sen. Susan Collins, R-ME, that sweeping postal reform is needed, the GAO said in a letter to Collins yesterday.

GAO Letter |

-Potter Presses House Members for Funding

Burrus Backs D.C. Postal Workers in questioning withholding of ricin info -Workers "will not be treated like a canary in the mining industry," |

Supreme Court Shields Postal Service from lawsuits- The Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that the Postal Service, as a part of the federal government, cannot be taken to court for alleged anticompetitive practices. Court decision  "The Postal Service is not subject to antitrust liability. In both form and function, it is not a separate antitrust person from the United States but is part of the Government, and so is not controlled by the antitrust laws."|

USPS Answer to Complaint filed by Magazine Publishers "As discussed in more detail below, the Postal Service believes that, regardless of any potential merit in the abstract, the concerns raised by the Complaint (TWetalComplaint.pdf)  do not require any substantive response by the Commission at this time. From the outset, the Postal Service wishes to be clear that it does not oppose improved efficiency in Periodicals rate design. As will be discussed later, the Postal Service believes that more can be done to promote efficiency in Periodicals rate design, and is, indeed, exploring, at least in some form, many of the structural changes proposed by the Complainants. Again, as will be discussed later, part of the efforts underway will look to see if the underlying structure can be changed in a way that promotes the improvements in efficiency sought by the complainants, in a manner that achieves consensus within the Periodicals mailing community. The Complaint, however, seeks to initiate now a Commission proceeding leading to the recommendation of new Periodicals rates and classifications. That attempt should be rejected, and the Commission should summarily dispose of the matter without hearings." USPS Responds to Filing by Large Mailers (DMNews)

Postal Service eyes moving St. Paul office to Eagan; maybe Minneapolis, too St. Paul Minnesota's downtown post office and its 1,450 employees might be moving to Eagan.  Jim Ahlgren, a local postal spokesman, said up to four sites are part of consolidation talks: the downtown post offices in both St. Paul and Minneapolis, a postal hub  and the Eagan center. But McCollum aide Bill Harper said the St. Paul-Eagan merger appears closest to completion

Commentary: Postal Insurance- The Cleverest Mail Scam of All? In an effort to protect consumers, the U.S. Postal Service has just released a list of the top five mail fraud scams: work-at-home dream jobs, foreign lottery tickets, get-rich-quick investments, pyramid wealth schemes and free-prize offers. These five are responsible for conning Americans out of billions of dollars every year. Not surprisingly, however, the Postal Service’s scam-awareness list doesn’t include what may be the cleverest swindle of all – Postal Insurance – that routinely dupes even the savviest consumers.

Postal center’s closing will kill hundreds of jobs -The U.S. Postal Service will shut down the Bowling Green Remote Encoding Center on March 6. The facility has seen various levels of employment since opening in 1997. More than 500 people worked there in 1999 during the holiday season, when mail traffic is generally heaviest, said Beth Barnett, spokesperson for USPS. Employment was reduced to 300 last year, and 40 employees remain for the final week. Bowling Green facility is one of four across the country being closed in the latest downsizing for the service. |

2005 Federal Budget Lacks USPS Emergency Funding-Postal insiders say money for improvements to the security of the nation's mail system may still come even though President Bush's 2005 fiscal year budget plan unveiled Feb. 3 lacked any funding
From 2/10/04- President's Budget Proposes only $37 million for USPS biodefense----and not  the $779 million as requested

Beyond the Dark of Night, Today's Postal Service Fights Extinction With Ratepayer Cash –A policy perspective by Kerri Houston, Vice President of the Frontiers of Freedom Institute. Houston talks about a variety of issues surrounding USPS, APWU and NALC. "The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) is a State Owned Enterprise or “SOE,” a government-run monopoly allowed to impose rate increases to fund its ill-fated xtra-Constitutional commercial activities. As an SOE, it also can dip into the well of taxpayer dollars with wild abandon while referring to itself as “privatized.” delivering mail, it has ventured into numerous non-core business projects over the last several years, and seems to be hunting for more. The largest postal workers union, the APWU, made over half a million dollars in political contributions to candidates in the 2001-2002 election cycle, of which nearly 99%—or $531,000—went to Democrats.14.6.8815 Of the nearly $747,000 in political donations made the National Rural Letter Carriers Association during the same period, 70% went to Democrats.16 The federal PAC for the National Association of Letter Carriers gave 88% of its donations to Democrats."
- Nonprofit Mailers: Postal Reform Crucial for Survival

 Portland NALC wins 'casual in lieu' grievances--settlement may reach $500,000-"Portland-area (Oregon) Letter Carriers won big on Jan. 19 (2004) when an arbitrator ruled that local managers’ decision to make widespread use of temporary casual employees instead of full-time and part-time career employees was a violation of the national contract. To make sure the Postal Service doesn’t benefit from its violation, arbitrator Jonathan Monat ordered monetary damages that could go over a half-million dollars. The amount is based on the difference between the total wages paid to the temps and the total cost of wages and benefits that would have been paid to the career employees, who are union members.

Letter Carrier Charged with 91 counts of  mail theft-Mail Carrier was first arrested Aug. 15 last year but charges were dismissed. The mail carrier was also issued a notice of removal from the postal service, but union arbitrators helped get his job back. The postal service then had him back on the same route delivering mail, so the sheriff's office charged him with 91 counts of larceny because they had him right back out there delivering mail to the same people he’d stole mail from|

Supreme Court Shields Postal Service from lawsuits The Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that the Postal Service, as a part of the federal government, cannot be taken to court for alleged anticompetitive practices. Court decision  "The Postal Service is not subject to antitrust liability. In both form and function, it is not a separate antitrust person from the United States but is part of the Government, and so is not controlled by the antitrust laws."|

Postal Reform May Be One Step Closer-Congress has started the process that could lead to the most significant postal reform since 1971. But one thing became clear during hearings in January and February. While several witnesses agreed that change is needed, many lambasted the suggestion by the President's Commission on the Postal Service that the Board of Governors be replaced by a board of directors.

Senate Hearing on Workforce Issues February 24th-  The February 3 hearing  "Preserving a Strong United States Postal Service: Workforce Issues." that was cancelled due to the ricin scare has been rescheduled for Tuesday, February 24, at 10am. Witnesses: Dan G. Blair , Deputy Director , OPM; William Young , President , NALC; Dale Holton , President , NRLCA; William Burrus , President , APWU; John Hegarty , President , Mail Handlers

Household Mail Preference Study-Regular Mail vs. Electronic Mail-is the third mail preference survey commissioned by Pitney Bowes completed by International Communications Research. Overview: Consumers can be inundated by unsolicited new product announcements, sales pitches and product offerings by e- mail, regular mail, and telemarketing calls. Regular mail continues to be the essential tool in communicating with the consumer. Regular mail’s preference may be due to mail’s unique attributes. It is universal, convenient, descriptive and perceived as secured. Although access to e- mail at home continues to grow, consumers still prefer regular mail for receiving documents of all types.

USPS Proposes Centralizing Processing of Parcel Testing Requests-In a move to encourage consistency, the U.S. Postal Service last week proposed a rule in the Federal Register that would centralize the processing of requests for parcel testing. The testing is needed to determine whether parcels can be processed on bulk mail center parcel sorters when they do not conform to general machine criteria. Under this proposal, parcel testing no longer would be performed by the BMC manager, but by the manager of BMC operations at USPS headquarters

Need an Attorney? Mr. Glen L. Smith is a former postal attorney of 13 years, now in private practice in Grand Rapids MI..; His practice is a general civil practice with an emphasis on employment law, contract and business law. He has expertise in Postal Regulations; handled Federal employment matters before the EEOC, MSPB and agencies themselves (like TSA). Mr. Smith is the author of, “A Trap for the Unwary,” (pdf) an article about mail disputes, which was published in The Michigan Bar Journal in March 2002.

-Siemens Dematic Awarded $370 million USPS Contract for OCR Enhancements for Letter Mail Automation -Siemens Dematic will provide systems & upgrades to replace its existing fleet of Multiline Optical Character Reader (MLOCR) systems.  The program scope includes delivery of 395 new Delivery Bar Code Sorter Input/Output Subsystems with Expanded Capability (DIOSS-EC), 217 Input/Output Subsystem (IOSS) modules to retrofit fielded Delivery Bar Code Systems (DBCS) & upgrades to 213 existing DIOSS & 53 Combined Input/Output Subsystems (CIOSS). To this end 395 new DBCS machines will also be installed at a number of mail sorting centers. Following a pre-defined design and test phase the systems will be installed from January 2006 to March 2007|

NLRB Rules in Favor of APWU & NALC on Failure to Provide Info- This case arises in the Houston district of the Postal Service. The vast majority of the complaints filed by APWU and NALC  allege that the Postal Service failed to provide or to provide This case was tried in Houston, Texas, on November 3, 4 and 5, 2003, pursuant to a consolidated complaint that issued on September 29, 2003.The complaint, as amended at the hearing, alleges that the USPS (Houston, Texas)  violated Section 8(a)(1) and (3) of the National Labor Relations Act by threatening an employee and changing his working conditions in retaliation for his union activity and that the USPS (Houston, Texas) violated Section 8(a)(5) of the Act by making two unilateral changes and failing and refusing to provide relevant information  in a timely manner requested relevant information at various postal facilities in that district to APWU & NALC stewards."  The National Labor Relations Board issued the following order . The complete case in PDF format can be found by clicking here

-The Scars of War-California Letter Carrier diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. Clinicians told him he developed the condition 30 years earlier, in 1969, at the age of 21 when he served in the Vietnam War|

National Center for PTSD

Update on Glover/Albrecht Class Action Settlement-"The Notice of Resolution summarizing the Settlement Agreement was mailed to class members by  USPS on February 2, 2004.  GloverClass.com for more info.The document contains important information about your rights, including your right to object to the Settlement Agreement. CLAIM FORMS will be mailed by the USPS after the EEOC administrative judge rules on any objections and gives final approval of the settlement agreement. This will likely occur in late APRIL or early MAY 2004. "

 Kiosk Information Systems awarded additional USPS contract for HR Kiosks-KIS recently completed a contract for 310 kiosks, which were placed in postal distribution centers nationwide. The new contract calls for 300 more units. Postal Service employees without computer access at work use the kiosks to perform basic human resources tasks, including keeping track of benefits and viewing paycheck stubs. A privacy filter on the monitor enables workers to securely access personal information.

nters. Following a pre-defined design and test phase the systems will be installed from January 2006 to March 2007|

- USPS E-Postmark could catch on

Ricin letter wanted rollback on truck regulations| FBI Posts Ricin Letter -Ricin letter wanted rollback on truck regulations-A ricin-tainted letter mailed to the White House in October threatened to turn the nation's capitol "into a ghost town" if new trucking regulations were not repealed, according to the FBI

-Judicial Watch Calls on USPS to Disclose Safety Measures Enacted to Protect Employees - from the threat posed by mail containing the ricin pathogen reportedly contaminating the office of Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist.

Mail Proposal Brings Worries-Letters Would Be Examined Off-Site
A controversial proposal to retool the Senate’s mail processing system to better screen for lethal toxins is being met with some skepticism by top lawmakers concerned about their constituents’ privacy. From February 9, 2004-Senate Mail Halted-Mail deliveries to the Senate have been suspended indefinitely while a bicameral mail task force reviews screening and delivery policies to Congressional offices in the wake of last week’s ricin discovery. (RollCall-subscription required)>

Postal Service proposes to revise the existing system of records -. A new routine use will be added to allow disclosure of information, as necessary, to authorized members of the President's Council on Integrity and Efficiency (PCIE) and other Inspector General Offices, which on a periodic basis will conduct a peer review of OIG investigative files and practices to assess and report on the quality of OIG investigations

Mailer Blocked Twice For Nudity ... But Not Again, USPS Says-That comes after a U.S. Postal Service spokesman confirmed that mailings, such as the two postcards rejected by a New York post office for containing drawings of nude women, should not be refused

-Postal service blues-Lately, residents and postal workers in Stratford have been suggesting that mail service has deteriorated. There are fewer routes, fewer carriers. Mail is being delivered late, or at night, or perhaps not at all. Why?

Editorial: Postal reform needed-Newspaper publishers believe that their products help pay the cost of direct mail and yet get a low priority in delivery. The newspaper industry spends more than $700 million annually on postal services. "Because the Postal Service is a monopoly provider, proper regulatory oversight is essential to protect mailers from excessive rates, cross-subsidization and unreasonable discrimination. ... The regulatory body also must have sufficient power to measure and ensure that the Postal Service is providing quality service to all its customers.

USPS to Focus on Internal Service Areas This Year-USPS will take a close look at internal service areas, such as Business Mail Entry Units, focus on delivery costs and focus on two new programs -- APPS and PARS . this year. APPS, or Automated Package Processing System, will replace more than 100 mechanized small parcel and bundle sorting machines at 70 postal facilities nationwide. The system is expected to boost productivity by reducing manual handling. (DMNews)

First article test (FAT) for APPS begins today in Minneapolis -APPS (more) combines these features with tested automation scanning favorites like an optical character reader, a barcode reader and a video coding system using up to 200 outputs, to improve productivity and sortation accuracy

VER RUMORS Starting to Fly: Secret Meeting in Washington DC on 2/12/04?? USPS is not going to honor its 12/19/03 out of court settlement with APWU by offering ALL eligible employees an Early Out opportunity??. Are these rumors true? The Early Out Saga may not be over ...Check out the "Bring on the Early Out" Discussion Forum

-USPS New Call-ln Number for Leave Request Begins -Postal Employees in various parts of the nation are being told to call in the "old way' until implementation of the new call in system. |

Players Needed for International Postal Hockey Tournament-Any Postal Employee 35 years of age or older wanting to play Ice Hockey at the International Postal Hockey Tournament in Toronto, Ontario April 9-11 2004 contact New Hampshire District Manager Rich Whelan at 603-289-1275 . This Tournament is held yearly and raises funds for various charities. Contact: Rich Whelan, APWU State Maintenance Director @ 603-289-1275 or 603-644-4085 Manchester N.H. P&DC

Working to beat winter-Outdoor jobs can require stamina, layers-Postal carrier Larry Nelson bets on his rubber boots to keep his feet dry while delivering mail in the snow. "That's the worst part -- wet feet," Nelson said. During two years as a mail carrier, Nelson has learned to dress in layers and keep his feet, hands and head warm. Despite a $328 annual clothing allowance from the U.S. Postal Service, Nelson said he always spends money of his own on things like extra gloves. When temperatures plummet, he dons a pair of coveralls under his work-issue blue bomber jacket. The coveralls make it easier to spend between 5 and 6 1/2 hours outside each day, but sometimes compromise his flexibility when he has to scale frozen porch steps and slippery sidewalks

Surveyed e-tailers switched shipping alliances from 4Q 2002 to 4Q 2003-with the USPS picking up more packages than UPS and Federal Express. Overall, 48 percent of the 100 merchants that were surveyed used USPS in 2003, an increase from 43 percent the year prior. The biggest year-over-year gain — 12 percentage points — came from USPS Ground, with 45 percent using the shipping method in 2003. USPS Priority dropped from 10 percent of e-tailers in 2002 to only 3 percent in 2003.(Internet News)

CAPS Questions Lobbying By Postal Commission Member The Consumer Alliance for Postal Services is requesting that the U.S. Office of Government Ethics evaluate whether it is appropriate for a member of the Presidential Commission on the U.S. Postal Service to lobby on Capitol Hill for a group of mailers while the Commission Report is the subject of Congressional hearings and possible legislation." (Press Release)

Former Postal Commissioner Levin to study govt. failures A few students protest appointment by Bush Postal Commission member YALE University President Richard Levin was appointed Friday by President George W. Bush '68 to an independent commission to look into intelligence failures on finding Iraqi weapons. Levin has served on government panels before. He began serving on the President's Commission on the United States Postal Service in January 2003 and was appointed to the Blue Ribbon Task Force on Baseball Economics in 2000

Machines to replace postal clerks in Israel-Automatic vending machines that will enable Postal Authority customers to dispatch and receive registered mail will soon be installed at 10 locations around the country as a pilot project. Authority director-general Yossi Shelli said that the machines, which cost NIS 45,000 each, will provide postal services seven days a week, 24 hours a day, without waiting in line. Similar machines are used in the US and are being tested in England, Germany, and France