Mail Volumes Have
Declined Faster Than The Postal Workforce, But That Might Change
- Decrease in career employees during the past fiscal
year, which ended Sept. 30 – a reduction of : 6%. Of the major categories of
career employees, the decreases ranged from 3% for those in or related to
headquarters to 9% for supervisors and managers in the field and for clerks.
Postmasters were down 6%, mail handlers and city carriers each decreased 5%, and
rural carriers and building and equipment maintenance personnel were down 2%
each. (11/20) |
The U.S.
Postal Service today updated the list of retail stations and branches that
remain under review for possible consolidation, with only 241 offices still
under review. (11/20) |
Illinois
Democratic Rep. Danny Davis, a member of the Congressional subcommittee that
oversees the Postal Service (and, until recently, its chairman), told
CBSNews.com in an interview that the agency "is between a rock and a hard
place." "It's just not generating the money that you need in order to keep
operating," he said. Davis said he was open to cutting Saturday service -
perhaps on a rolling basis, so that certain communities would lack Saturday
delivery once or twice a month - as well as loosening the health benefit
requirements. He also backed a government bailout for the embattled agency if
that's what it takes to keep it afloat. (11/19) |
APWU: Pay Raise Set for
Nov. 21 APWU-represented postal workers will receive a 1.2
percent increase in their annual salaries effective Nov. 21. The raise will be
reflected in the paychecks issued Dec. 11. NALC:
1.9%-NPMHU:1.2% -NRLCA:1.5%(11/19) |
TheU.S. Postal Service, citing security and privacy concerns of children, will no
longer forward "Dear Santa" letters to the Alaska town of North Pole, putting in
jeopardy the town's 55-year-old volunteer letter-answering effort by the town.
The concern is that names, addresses and other private information about
small children could get into the wrong hands. Postal Service officials note
that a postal worker last year in Maryland recognized a volunteer in the
agency's Operation Santa program as a registered sex offender.
USPS
stops Santa letters after sex offender responds to kids(11/19) |
Some of the Post Offices will be
closed for retail services on Wednesday, Nov. 25 & Friday, Nov. 27. Regular mail delivery will be
unaffected by this temporary change. However, in some cities and towns there
will be no outgoing mail collected from either the blue mail collection boxes or
the Post Office lobbies and access to P.O. Boxes will be unavailable.
Notification of the adjusted hours is posted at each Post Office that will be
closed or closing early,
(11/19) |
USPS OIG Audit : NY Metro Area Has Not Effectively
Implemented Financial Controls- over stamp accountabilities,
expenditures, and financial accounting and reporting. This occurred because unit
managers were either unaware of requirements or did not provide sufficient
attention to the financial controls. Further, area and district managers could
have improved oversight of local purchases and refunds. We identified similar
issues at 22 randomly selected sites conducted in the New York Metro Area over
the past 3 years in support of audits of the U.S. Postal Service’s financial
statements. As a result, New York Metro Area post offices have an increased risk
of losing cash, accountable items, and revenue without detection; and misstating
financial records. We identified more than $100,000 in monetary impact for
questioned costs and nearly $400,000 in non-monetary impact for assets and
accountable items at risk. (11/19) |
If this
forecast turns out to be right, then by 2015, single piece mail will drop from
the 20% of volume today to around 15%.The Postal Service will need to downsize
its retail network, collection efforts, and origination sortation, and
transportation from origin to destination facilities to what is needed to handle
almost a third less volume. The destination sortation network would require some
modest trimming as well, reflecting the decline in single piece mail. Finally, in
2015 the Postal Service would be delivering about the same volume of mail to
more households. With delivery density declining, the Postal Service's carriers
would likely find themselves delivering less mail over their workday. Today's
delivery optimization efforts would need to be intensified to deal with lower
density. (11/19) |
Police
arrested a mail carrier after she was found drunk inside a residence while on
the job in Marion earlier this month, authorities said Tuesday. Kristine A.
Pflughaupt, 46, of Marion, was charged with public intoxication Nov. 3 after she
was found sitting on the kitchen floor of a house at 260 Sixth Avenue, eating
leftover noodles from Marie O’Kelly’s refrigerator. (11/17) |
The U.S.
Postal Service (USPS) today filed its 2009 fiscal year-end financial results,
showing a net loss of $3.8 billion for the year — despite cost-cutting efforts
resulting in $6 billion in cost savings and a $4 billion reduction in required
payments for retiree health benefits. Cost savings reflect a reduction of 40,000
career USPS employees as well as reductions in overtime hours, transportation
and other costs. Accounting change boosts USPS bottom line(11/16) |
PMG Potter:
$734,650- Salaries for
executive level officers were frozen for calendar year 2009. The salary amounts
vary from FY09 and FY08 because USPS salaries are based on the calendar year and
not the fiscal year. Therefore, FY08 salary numbers include a portion of 2007
salary figures. In addition, the values in the above table for Mr. Walker are as
of February 27, 2009, which was the end of his tenure as CFO. Joseph Corbett
assumed the position of Chief Financial Officer as of January 31, 2009, and
therefore did not earn FY08 salary. Robert Bernstock assumed the position of
President, Shipping and Mailing Services, as of June 30, 2008. (11/16) |
"The
U.S. Postal Service's recent Summer Sale on Standard Class mail boosted catalog
volume, according to a major paper company executive. Richard D. Willett Jr.,
President and CEO of NewPage, cited the program as a significant factor in the
recently improved outlook for coated paper. “Several of our catalog customers
took advantage of discounted rates on incremental volumes and increased their
Third Quarter mailing volumes by more than 20 percent over prior budgets,” he
said in a presentation to analysts on Tuesday." |
Carriers
continue to be inaccurately informed that the service will be cut from six to
five days next year, said Dave Bellware, president of Branch 1321 of the
National Association of Letter Carriers representing those working Rocky Mount.
“You can say a lie over and over again, but it doesn’t make it so,” he said.
|
Fiction:
Postal rates drive mail volume. FACT: While postal rates are a factor in
determining mail volume, they are not decisive. Fiction: The Postal Service is a
model of equal employment opportunity. FACT: The hiring process for employment
in USPS craft assignments is transparent and is based on objective factors, such
as test scores that reflect an applicant’s knowledge and skills. |
John Potter, postmaster general and
CEO of the US Postal Service, used the open session of the
November 13 USPS Board of Governors meeting to press again for
structural reform of the agency, insisting that real reform must
reduce the number of delivery days from six to five per week.
The Postal Service reduced work hours by 115 million, the
equivalent of reducing the number of full-time employees by
65,000, Corbett said. The USPS has targeted further work-hour
reductions for next year of about 80 million to 90 million.
|
U.S. Rep. Eric Massa wants to meet
with U.S. Postmaster General John Potter to discuss unanswered
questions about moving mail-processing equipment and jobs from
Elmira to Rochester.
|
The US Postal Service says it's
taken action on a letter
carrier who lost his driver's license after a 2nd drunk driving
arrest, and was then being driven around his route by other post
office workers. Communications Programs Specialist Al DeSarro
told News First 5 that the USPS "found other productive work for
that letter carrier." The USPS contract with letter carriers does
require the postal service to make every effort to reassign a
driver who's driver's license was suspended or revoked. DeSarro
said this situation might be re-evaluated with the letter
carrier union.
Postal Service doesn’t keep track of DUI records of it’s drivers? Umm… What?
|
Postal employees in Denver
requested NIOSH to investigate the flat mail sorting machines in
Denver and NIOSH initiated an investigation in April, 2009.
Denver FSM 100 flat sorting machine workers have recently had an
extremely high rate of injuries. The machines are poorly
designed and ergonomically unsafe. There has been severe
understaffing of the machines causing stress and overwork.In the
summer, NIOSH contacted a lead representative of the workers who
had originally asked NIOSH to come to the facility. The NIOSH
investigators wanted to return to the Denver facility and bring
with them an industrial psychologist who wanted to do a job
satisfaction survey of the workers. In September NIOSH informed
the workers that the USPS Western Area Safety Manager is
“opting not to participate in the survey that we had suggested.”
|
Supreme Court reviewing former Postal Employee's Discrimination
case “When your supervisor grabs you and
tells you he’s going to blow your brains out and you get fired,
we know that in America that isn’t right,” Wills also claims
that USPS fired him based on absences that had been approved by
the Family Medical Leave Act. |
PRC Investigates Suspended Post Offices
(PDF) PRC
initiated this public inquiry to develop further information on
the status of suspended offices and the Postal Service practice
of suspending offices for extended periods without affording the
public the rights guaranteed by 39 U.S.C. 404(d).
"The
Commission is concerned that post office customers throughout
the nation do not have access to local post offices and their
services due to suspensions. It is evident that several post
offices have been suspended for a number of years, and the
Postal Service apparently has taken no effective action to
reopen or close such offices."
|
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