January 26, 2006 - Postal Service Goes on Offensive in Fight With Senators Over System to Set Mail Rates - USPS headquarters launched a media blitz yesterday to block a Senate bill, contending that the legislation, in combination with White House demands, could trigger a 20 percent increase in stamp prices in the near future" The bill's sponsors, Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Thomas R. Carper (D-Del.), said they were "outraged that the Postal Service would mislead senators." In a statement, they said, "Nothing in the bill would lead to rate increases." According to Postcom.org: U.S. Senator Jeff Sessions (R- Al.) has placed a hold on S. 662, ostensibly over concerns expressed by the Postal Service Board of Governors.  Postal overhaul bill held up in Senate  |

- USPS summary of all the news links below

- USPS Board Opposes Changes to Postal Reform Bill | USPS Letter to Sen. Collins 

- Burrus: Positions Change as Postal "Reform" Evolves

- Postal Service Lobbies Against Reform Bill |

- Mailer Groups Pleased at Reported Senate Postal Bill Action

- Postal Reform Legislation Could Dramatically Boost Stamp Prices

- USPS “Officially” Opposes Senate Reform Bill--but Does That Matter?

January 26, 2006 - Postal Service Goes on Offensive in Fight With Senators Over System to Set Mail Rates - "The bill's sponsors, Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Thomas R. Carper (D-Del.), said they were "outraged that the Postal Service would mislead senators." In a statement, they said, "Nothing in the bill would lead to rate increases." According to Postcom.org: U.S. Senator Jeff Sessions (R- Alabama) has placed a hold on S. 662, ostensibly over concerns expressed by the Postal Service Board of Governors" |

- USPS has provided a summary of all the news links below

- Postal Service Lobbies Against Reform Bill | Postal Service Goes on Offensive

- Mailer Groups Pleased at Reported Senate Postal Bill Action

January 26, 2006

Reasons for New Mexico Postal Service Changes Disputed  |

Postal Clerk: Blame Congress, not workers, for increase in postal rates

2-cent increase for stamps not the solution; deliver mail 3 days

Paying for mail a sore subject in Mackinaw

January 25, 2006- USPS Board Opposes Changes to Postal Reform Bill

"The Board of Governors of the U.S. Postal Service sent a letter to Sen. Susan Collins, R-ME, yesterday opposing a Senate bill and new amendments to reform the USPS. Collins and other senators are rumored to have worked out a compromise that would allow the bill to be considered by the full Senate. The amendments are being circulated through the Senate, and the intent is to move the bill for unanimous consent, which could happen as early as today. The USPS, however, is hoping that at least one Senator will not agree to unanimous consent.   |

- USPS Letter to Sen. Collins |  Burrus: Positions Change as Postal "Reform" Evolves

- Postal Reform Legislation Could Dramatically Boost Stamp Prices

- USPS “Officially” Opposes Senate Reform Bill--but Does That Matter?

APWU: USPS ‘Network Realignment’ Update
Public Supports Workers’ Efforts To Preserve Service, Postmarks, Jobs

"From Waterbury to Waco, from western Pennsylvania to Pacific Palisades, public officials, consumers, and local businesses are expressing alarm at wide-ranging plans to consolidate “some operations” at postal facilities around the country." |

January 25, 2006 - National League of Postmasters President Speaks Out  on Service Issues -

From Postcom.org - "Here at LEAGUE Headquarters frustrated Postmasters are flooding me with calls from all around the country. These are good Postmasters but they are upset for several reasons. The number one reason is not being able to fill authorized positions due to lack of hiring. We are working our employees six days a week, 10-12 hours a day. That can only go on for so long. We are encountering not only poor morale but also increased sick leave and safety issues."  |

"Another issue is Postmasters are being micromanaged to death. The Areas blame the Districts, the Districts blame the Areas, and Postmasters are left with the work and aggravation. We are aware that many Postmasters are not being treated with dignity and respect. The same dignity and respect that we are expected to give our employees.

"Service is also taking a beating in a number of areas throughout the country because of hiring issues. Box sections are not up on time and there are long lines at the windows. Many carriers are out until 9:00 p.m. or even past 10:00 p.m. delivering mail and in many areas of the country Postmasters are being required to be present to open their office as well as be present when the last carrier returns."

January 25, 2006

First African American Oscar Winner Featured on New Stamp

PRC Broadens Authority to Approve Services

Woman follows postal workers, steals mail

Larger cities have more postal service problems
Federal workers should worry less, be thankful

Postal Worker delivers for troubled youths

McCausland fights for its post office

FTC: Post Office Job Offers From Classified Ads Bogus

Stumpy Point losing post office
Henderson to keep Acxiom position after accepting Netflix post
Ex-postal workers face theft charges

January 24, 2006 - Letter Carriers Given 6 p.m. Delivery Deadline - After a barrage of complaints about late mail delivery, Southern California postal officials issued a directive Friday telling carriers and post office managers that mail must be delivered no later than 6 p.m. A story in The San Diego Union-Tribune last month disclosed that many of the approximately 3,000 full-time and 100 temporary carriers in San Diego County routinely work past 5 p.m. Union officials have filed grievances on behalf of haggard letter carriers forced to work overtime shifts. One grievance involved a letter carrier who was confronted by a homeowner with a gun. He was delivering mail at nearly 10 p.m. when his footsteps startled the homeowner, who burst from the house and pointed a gun at the letter carrier's head.

January 24, 2006 - Postal Inspector's car stolen, used in crimes - An official government jacket, hat and stolen car decked with flashing blue lights became the tools of a group of robbers Monday. The unmarked U.S. Postal Inspection Service car was reported stolen near Charlotte/Douglas International Airport in western Charlotte, police said. The car later appeared in northern, then eastern Charlotte as the thieves tried to wield their newfound symbols of authority around town.  |

January 24, 2006  - New Links: Bloomington, Indiana APWU Local fighting to Save Postmark.   "... The Postal Service is studying whether or not to move the canceling and sorting of collection mail out of Bloomington. This plan if enacted, will effectively eliminate the Bloomington postmark. ...".

APWU High Desert Area Local: The 'move' of Mojave's mail processing operations is now on hold.

January 24, 2006

Postal cutbacks in Miami

Post Office back to normal after bomb scare
Stamps.com Applauds Bush and Congress for Postal Law Change

January 23, 2006 -OPM Ousts Postmasters Benefit Plan From Health Insurance Program -The Postmasters Benefit Plan has been dropped from the federal employee health insurance program, the Office of Personnel Management announced yesterday. Last month, OPM launched an inquiry into the Postmasters plan because of concerns about its solvency and its handling of insurance claims. OPM said steps are underway to move Postmasters enrollees into Blue Cross and Blue Shield's standard option. OPM inspector general, in a report last month, contended that the league's contract with Medicure had not been approved by OPM. As a result, the federal benefits program was inappropriately charged about $6.4 million for the contract from 2000 to 2003. |

January 23, 2006 - Postal Service Complement Committee Guidelines for Handling Staffing, Hiring Issues (PDF) -(NAPUS) "The PC Complement Committee will be responsible for providing guidance and recommendations to Senior Management in all matters related to the use of employees within the PC. These responsibilities include: Filling Vacancies: The accession (new hires) of career employees to satisfy complement needs must be a last resort consideration. The present outlook for the Postal Service indicates that workload will continue to decrease for the immediate future. Therefore, we have to plan for this decrease by utilizing casual and transitional employees to the maximum extent we can contractually."  |

- NAPUS Executive Committee Discusses Staffing Issues

January 23, 2006- Mail Troubles Prompt New Promotions- In response to statewide complaints about poor service, the U.S. Postal Service has promoted two managers from the Albuquerque office. Paul Nistler was transferred to the East Coast and replaced as plant manager by George Lasica two weeks ago, and Steve Harden was transferred to the Great Lakes area and replaced as customer-service manager by Daniel Reyes, Margaret Romero, Postal Service spokeswoman in Albuquerque, said Friday. When asked why the Postal Service promoted the men after receiving complaints about the state's mail service, Romero said, "I can't answer that question right now."  |

- Malibu experiences late mail deliveries 

- Marina del Rey  P & DC closure center of mail delivery firestorm

January 23, 2006

Ten-Year-Old Arrested for shooting Letter Carrier with BB gun  |

Postal plan could result in job losses for Aberdeen

Letter: USPS Still a First-Class Service

January 23, 2006 - Senate May Act on Postal Reform This Week

Senators may have worked out a compromise on postal reform legislation stuck in limbo for the past six months, DM News has learned. Sources said the bill may reach the Senate floor for a vote as early as this week.  |

- Editorial: Our two cents' worth on Postal Reform

January 23, 2006 - Commission struggles to define 'postal service'
Members of the Postal Rate Commission said they hoped that their new ruling on the definition of the term "postal service" would make it easier for the commission to settle complaints that the U.S. Postal Service competes unfairly when offering new services. But the commission's final rule might not be the last word. USPS may appeal the commission's final rule to the federal district court to protest the commission's authority. However, postal officials would not comment.  |

January 23, 2006

Report: USPS Top other Federal Agencies in  Hiring Veterans

Congressman working to keep postal center in Rockford

Senator goes to bat for New Fowlerville Post Office

Post Office being evicted from property

Postal truck robbed, suspect on the loose

Darrington enforces mail rules

Japan sets up company for postal privatization

January 21, 2006

APWU, Serco Open Talks Over Detroit MTESC Agreement
APWU purchases home for Southern Region - other new offices planned  |

Postal worker bids farewell to job
Dead man's ride: Postal worker sat hours on subway
Federal health plans overcharged government, audit says
U.S. will issue 39 cent Purple Heart stamp

Postal official: Better service coming to NM

Postal News Brief: "Gary Sawtelle, spokesman for the U.S. Postal Service's Suncoast District (Florida) , said 465 proposed new post offices across the country are being put on hold. Sawtelle said post office officials are reviewing the different projects because new package sorting technology on the verge of being launched may minimize the amount of space needed for each building. "For right now, we're in a holding pattern because of potential new size requirements," Sawtelle said."

January 20, 2006 - USPS: New Team Tackles New Mexico Mail Woes -"The U.S. Postal Service has replaced New Mexico's management team in an effort to improve the state's mail-delivery service. Potter told Sen. Pete Domenici he was aware of the problems and recently had replaced the state's management team at the Postal Service's southwest-area operations center in Texas. It was unclear if the Postal Service had fired New Mexico's management team or reassigned them." |

- Letter carriers trying to keep up with demand

- Albuquerque APWU President: Staffing levels are at the root of the problem.

- Postal worker pins hopes on new hires, long-term changes

- Rio Rancho (NM): No Money for new PO, Contract postal facility planned

January 20, 2006 - Postal Worker Honored For Saving Kids From Burning Home - Wayne Swisher was delivering mail Jan. 4 when he saw smoke coming from a house at 1024 Vinal St. Mr. Swisher coaxed two boys, ages 8 and 13, out of the home and made sure no one else was inside before firefighters arrived.

January 20, 2006

Co-workers celebrate postman’s return to work after being shot

New postal rates won't be used for increased operational costs
Nashville to close all-night window; APCs will replace clerks

Retiring postal workers are recognized for service

USPS Wants Label Moved on Flats Mail
Suspect in mail carrier robbery gets 7 years
USPS Seeks to Extend Repositionable Note Test

January 19, 2006 - NAPUS Executive Committee Discusses Staffing Issues

NAPUS National Vice Presidents and other committee members participated in the teleconference to discuss the current complement review process, which they described as being too cumbersome and inefficient to handle current hiring needs. Committee members said “unofficial” hiring freezes and other delays in the complement process have contributed to the delivery of mail late into the evening, as well as long lines in retail lobbies and high overtime rates  |

January 19, 2006 - Mail Handler Found Dead on NY Subway

January 19, 2006- Council Eyes Postal Woes, Adopts Guiding Principles

"There is no functioning management that I can identify," said Community Council chairman Kurt Toppel last Thursday night as he described his ongoing frustrations dealing with the U.S. Postal Service here and in downtown Los Angeles. These problems started last summer with the closure of the Marina del Rey processing facility, which served some 12 postal areas. Since that time we have had three different postmasters or managers in charge, the latest of whom started Monday (January 9)." (Rep. Henry) Waxman has started an official inquiry into the matter in Washington."  |

January 19, 2006 - Oregon Postmaster faces DUI case after wreck
Corvallis Postmaster John Herrington has been charged with reckless driving and driving under the influence of alcohol after he flipped his car on a rural road early Sunday morning. Doug Batchelor, the human resources manager for the Portland district of the U.S. Postal Service, said he was not familiar with Herrington’s case. But, he said, the charges probably won’t jeopardize Herrington’s position. “We would not necessarily terminate someone’s livelihood because of something like this,” Batchelor said. Rather, he said, officials will “try to work with this individual ... to get control of whatever it is that led up to this.” |

January 19, 2006- Frontrunner in Race to replace Rep. DeLay allegedly has 'done favors for UPS' - The front-runner now in the race to replace DeLay is Republican congressman Roy Blunt of Missouri. Blunt has done favors for UPS, another of his son's clients, by sticking a proviso into the Iraq emergency appropriations bill to require that military cargo be carried by majority-owned U.S. firms. That was meant to block foreign competitors of UPS and FedEx from getting a toehold in the profitable wartime postal business. UPS and FedEx together have contributed more than $125,000 to Blunt since 2001.

January 19, 2006- Rural Letter Carrier detained by Border Patrol- Arizona Rural Letter Carrier Rick Encinas wants an apology after being pulled over by Border Patrol agents last month while delivering mail. Encinas told the Range News that he has a sign on the dashboard of his Nissan Pathfinder that says "U.S. Mail." |

January 19, 2006

Some mailboxes in Detroit to be removed around Super Bowl

Retiring mail carrier is nothing short of...First Class

Cleveland postal worker admits to identity theft

Masked Man Robs Kansas City Post Office

Rural community takes on USPS

Rogersville Post Office gets the lead out

Duo charged with post office holdup

The Best Value in 2006
Iowa Senate backs keeping mail processing in Sioux City
USPS Sets Meeting Date to Address Las Cruces (NM) Mail,  Staffing Problems -Senator to ask review of consolidation plans

January 18, 2006 -Ask Burrus: Can APWU Sue USPS Over Consolidations?
Question: Why was the national APWU caught off guard by the USPS consolidation plans? The only time I know of that the APWU protested management’s refusal to provide the consolidation plan was during the first year of the contract extension. Answer (in part): We are continuing to review the options for filing a lawsuit, and are reaching out to appropriate congressional representatives and requesting their assistance. |

January 18, 2006 - Burrus: Postal workers' pay did not cause stamp rate increase -

APWU President Burrus responds to Sam Ryan's op-ed in the Christian Science Monitor. "In his Jan. 6 Opinion piece, "Instead of raising stamp rates, the USPS should cut costs," Sam Ryan claims that postal workers earn "substantially more than their private sector counterparts..,"  Though many postal clerks, truck drivers, mechanics, and computer and electronic technicians are highly skilled, on average they earn far less than the $65,000 Mr. Ryan implied. Editor: PostCom has posted a different version of this letter (doc)  - "Sam Ryan of the Lexington Institute, a conservative "think tank," claimed the Postal Service should cut postal workers' pay and benefits instead of increasing postage rates, and "outsource" more of its operations to corporate mailers. Ryan is entitled to his views, but his byline should have disclosed that he runs a PR firm, Keybridge Communications, that ghostwrites and places op-ed pieces for right-wing, anti-labor organizations.. |

January 18, 2006- USPS Delivers High-Tech Communications Alternative for Deaf and Hard- of Hearing Postal Employees-  Two types of video interpreting services are being installed at postal facilities across the country, allowing approximately 4,000 postal employees who are deaf or hard-of-hearing to communicate with supervisors, co-workers and others in real-time without having to bring in on-site interpreters or rely on text-based telephone systems. The new services use two forms of web-based sign language interpreting technology: Sorenson Video Remote Interpreting® (VRI) -- for communication when participants are in the same location and Sorenson Video Relay Service® (VRS) -- for communication when participants are in different locations.

USPS launched pilot programs of VRS/VRI Sign Language Services last year (1/15)

January 18, 2006 - Netflix Names Former PMG William J. Henderson as Chief Operations Officer -

William J. Henderson was chief operating officer of USPS from 1994-98 and postmaster general and USPS CEO from 1998 until his retirement in 2001. Bill Henderson is about the only person on the planet who looks at our volume of mail as a trickle," said Mr. Hastings. "We'll look for him to extend our current competitive advantages in this area, particularly as our mail volume increases with our forecasted growth to at least 5.65 million subscribers this year and 20 million by 2010-2012."  |

January 18, 2006 - Study Could Result in Waco Mail Centers Moving - Waco, TX's city leaders expressed surprise after learning about a U.S. Postal Service study that could lead to relocating the city's mail processing and distribution facilities to Austin and Fort Worth.  Postal service officials are conducting a mail processing survey on the efficiency of the distribution centers in Waco.  The feasibility study analyzes whether postal service officials will keep the center open or split processing and distribution tasks between Austin and Fort Worth centers.  Approximately 250 people are employed in distribution centers on State Highway 6 in Waco and in Woodway, postal officials said.  Postal officials are looking at Waco's distribution centers, which process approximately 326,000 pieces of mail per day, to see whether the current method of handling Waco's mail is the most efficient and cost-effective plan available, U.S. Postal Service communications program specialist Jim Coultress said.

January 18, 2006 - Management Assures NALC Of Supervisors’ Restrictions In Making Changes to DOIS -Postal management, in a recent meeting with NALC officials at USPS Headquarters, asserted that they had restricted the ability of local supervisors to access the Delivery Operations Information System (DOIS) and alter the base times that had been entered. Only DOIS administrators now possess the capability of making such changes and NALC received repeated assurances that, absent a new PS Form 1840 from a new route count and inspection, no such changes would be made.|

January 18, 2006

Post Office to close due to shortage of qualified people to replace postmaster

Postmaster delivers top quality

Pistol found in mailbox

Future in doubt for UPS workers dislocated by Katrina
Royal Mail to raise stamp prices by 2p

January 17, 2006 - Postal Workers Work Overtime to Prepare for Top USPS Official's Visit - "Santa Fe postal workers said they had to work overtime Sunday and Monday in preparation for a top postal official's visit, which they expected this week. The workers, who declined to be identified, said the visit is the result of numerous complaints about Santa Fe's postal system in recent weeks. They said they had to work overtime Sunday and Monday to clear up a backlog of mail for the visit." |

January 17, 2006- USPS Cancels Bid to Award Contract For  'Generation 3' Carrier Route Vehicles - "Due, in part, to recent inflationary pressures driven by higher fuel costs and higher cost-of-living-adjustments (COLA) linked to the change in the Consumer Price Index paid to our over 600,000 bargaining employees, our projected financial situation is deteriorating. In addition, recent operational technology enhancements, such as the upcoming Flat Sequencing System (FSS), may significantly change future carrier route vehicle requirements.  |

January 17, 2006- Additional Window Clerk Assigned to Berkeley Post Office - Less than a week after a Daily Planet story appeared concerning long lines and inadequate staffing at the Adeline Street Post Office in Berkeley, a post office spokesperson called to say that the problem has been solved." We have made adjustments to the situation at the South Berkeley Post Office,” Berkeley U.S. Postal Service Customer Service Coordinator Mercer W. Jones said in a telephone message. “We have assigned another employee to cover lunches and breaks as well as for some additional time. Hopefully you’ll have a more pleasant experience if you go there again."  |

January 17, 2006 - After cancer forces her to Retire, Postal Worker uses her talent to make cards - After cancer forces her out of promising career, Connie Russ uses her talent to make cards. When a doctor told Connie Russ she had to leave the high-pressure job that had her traveling the country for the United Postal Service, she was devastated. She was forced to leave the job that had found her rising from the ranks of loading a postal truck to writing speeches for the postmaster general of the United States

January 17, 2006- Company wins $35 million contract for mail trays - Minnesota Diversified Industries Inc, The St. Paul-based nonprofit said Monday it has won new contracts to produce 6 million bulk-mail trays and 4 million letter-mail trays for the Postal Service's mail-handling operations. The contracts are valued at more than $35 million, a 40 percent increase over the previous year's pact

January 17, 2006- Fowlerville PO expansion on hold — Funds Diverted to Hurricane facilities- In an interview last week, Senator Debbie Stabenow said Fowlerville was at or near the top of the list until the postal service put a moratorium on construction due to budget constraints. When the moratorium was lifted, she said, Fowlerville had been dropped off the list. The explanation she received, she said, was because of all the post offices in the Gulf Coast region that have to be rebuilt after the hurricanes last year. Space is so tight that a custodial closet was converted to a postmaster's office, and officials have estimated they need four times the current space to adequately serve the community

January 17, 2006- Letter: Routing mail to Rochester has hurt service - On Dec. 29, Elmira postmaster Bernard Czechowski wrote of a postal utopia in Elmira. In his dreams. Since our sectional center was moved to Rochester, we have had one big mess. I have had more lost mail and received someone else's mail every time the same substitute has been on for the past 24-plus months. If I reiterated every problem this household has had since the mail has gone "to the highly automated Rochester Processing and Distribution Center," this letter would fill this page. It may have saved the United States Postal Service a few dollars, but the cost to the people that depend on this service far outweigh any savings to the Postal Service. Give us back our local service.

January 17, 2006 - Legislation Aims to Reduce Junk Mail  - Legislation being proposed in the Illinois House would create the equivalent of a do-not-call list for junk mail in Illinois. Exceptions in the proposed legislation include a company’s existing customers, not-for-profit groups, real estate and insurance companies and customers who agree to receive promotions.

January 17, 2006

Federal Register: PRC Final Rule on 'Definition of Postal Service'

Editorial: Just two cents

Mail-sorting operation shifted temporarily

Updated: Law Lets Businesses Add Images to Stamps

USPS to Issue Benjamin Franklin Educational Stamps This Spring

Advocates want sickle cell stamp revived- Local and national advocates for increased awareness of sickle cell anemia want the U.S. Postal Service to extend circulation of a stamp that promotes early testing for the debilitating disease

January 16, 2006 - Fired Iowa Postal Worker Gets Job Back

Thomas Myers was fired in October from the Denison office. He was fired after he drove a postal truck into a parked car and then finished his mail-delivery route without calling the police or his employer. Earlier that same day, Myers had been given a reprimand for sleeping on the job. Court records indicate Myers has three prior arrests for theft, all of which were later dismissed, and a felony conviction for domestic-abuse assault. |

January 16, 2006 - Question: Where's Wichita Falls, Texas on AMP Study List?

My name is Mike Coss. I am a officer and steward at the Wichita Falls APWU Local 754. Our facility in Wichita Falls Texas received an AMP study letter on November 21, 2005, but our facility is not appearing on any of the lists of your web-site or any other sites. Our employees are concerned as to why the USPS has not revealed this study to the public. Do you have any information as to why our facility is being withheld from the lists? Any information you have would help us understand what is going on with our facility  |

January 16, 2006 - Postal Worker charged with cheating USPS out of more than $120,000 - A former New Hope area postal worker doctored mileage reimbursement forms, cheating USPS out of more than $120,000. As a contract carrier for the post office, Lawrence used his own vehicle. The reimbursement was to pay him for miles traveled in addition to his normal route.  |

January 16, 2006

There's no rain or snow, so what's the problem?  |
Electrician turned postal service job into lasting impact

OSHA: Employers Must Post Injury/Illness Summaries by Feb 1st

Delivery dilemma

New postmaster handles crisis during first week

Noise at Corte Madera Post Office has some considering lawsuit

January 15, 2006 - Bill McAllister: Get used to rising stamp prices
If you haven't looked lately, there has been a profound change in what's in your mailbox. It probably means those new 39-cent stamps you just bought won't have a very long life, maybe a year at best. What happened was that for the first time the number of advertising letters carried by USPS outnumbered first-class mail. That's why postal officials already are at work on their next rate increase, one likely to be filed with PRC this spring and become effective early next year. What's likely to happen is a 10-month battle before the rate commission as mailers fight over which class of mail will have to pick up the tab that first-class letters no longer can bear. |

January 15, 2006- Saving the Post Office
As Mail Usage Drops, USPS Faces a Whirlwind of Change - There are, in many ways, two U.S. Postal Services. There is the one that people love to hate. Then there is the Postal Service that has made huge strides in on-time delivery, runs one of the most impressively automated operations in the world and, for now, is bringing in a huge profit. The first Postal Service is the one that executives are trying to fix.. the one with the bad rap, the one that delivers mail late, the one that drives people crazy with its long lines and sold-out 2-cent stamps. The other Postal Service is the one they are trying to save. At its most basic level, the Postal Service needs to keep as many customers as it can, and a good place to start is by tackling its legendary customer-service problems. Later this year, the agency will also begin renegotiating contracts with four major unions in hope of winning concessions on some high-cost benefits such as health care. Union leaders are ready for a fierce fight.  |

January 15, 2006- USPS to announce deployment of new technologies for Hearing-Impaired  Postal Employees - According to news reports, USPS will hold a news conference on January 18th at 10 a.m to announce the deployment of new technologies to allow its hearing-impaired employees to better communicate. The participants will be I. King Jordan, president of Galludet University; Anthony Vegliante, chief human resources office and executive vice president; and Susan LaChance, vice president of employee development and diversity for the USPS.

USPS launched pilot programs of VRS/VRI Sign Language Services last year

January 15, 2006-

Remembering Rosa Parks: Postal Worker pays tribute to her famous aunt

eNapus Newsletter : Lobby Reform and Postal Advocacy {PDF}

Postmaster ends 42-year career

January 14, 2006 - LA: Postal Officials Say They'll Sort Out Delivery Problems-

By many accounts, the region's delivery delays and glitches became widely apparent after the postal service closed a large processing center near Marina del Rey last summer, forcing most of the mail from the region's western portions to be sorted through the main Los Angeles P & DC in South Los Angeles. From there it must be trucked back through often busy traffic to outlying communities. The Postal Service has also suggested that staffing shortages and even the effects of Hurricane Katrina are to blame. Whatever the reasons, top postal authorities have now promised to adjust staffing and move up starting times for some carriers so they can hit the streets earlier.  Many must work well past dark to complete their deliveries.  Stephen Breen, a Santa Monica carrier, plans to return to work Tuesday after two months of stress leave after his supervisor ordered him to deliver mail after dark. |

- Connecticut Postal Service needs no-excuses policy for late deliveries

- Late deliveries drive locals batty |  Rep. Waxman (D-CA) to initiate investigation

January 14, 2006-

Postal worker having a letter-perfect life

Readers Chime In With Berkeley Post Office Woes  |

January 13, 2006- NALC to Closely Scrutinize Bush’s FY 2007 budget due Feb. 6 - After years of ignoring growing budget deficits resulting from tax cuts and increased spending for the war in Iraq and the efforts to combat terrorism, Congress and the White House now appear ready to focus on deficit reduction. In the past, with both Republican and Democratic administrations and leaders in Congress, deficit reduction efforts have often targeted the Postal Service and federal employee benefits. NALC’s officers and staff and the union’s network of grass roots lobbyists will have to be vigilant as the budget debate unfolds to stop any unfair cuts aimed at letter carriers and other federal and postal employees.  |

January 13, 2006- Mail carrier attack nets probation -A San Antonio man was sentenced to five years of probation Thursday for assaulting a mail carrier. U.S. District Judge also ordered Michael Anthony Mermea to pay $530 in restitution to USPS and letter carrier Richard J. Cruz. The plea documents said the two knew each other from high school and Mermea tried to engage Cruz in conversation. Cruz told Mermea "we are not friends" tried to walk away, the documents said, and Mermea hit Cruz in the face and split his lip.  |

January 13, 2006

NALC : Joint Contract Administration Manual Updated [JCAM] (PDF)

One man's battle with junk mail

Cumberland Post Office target of consolidation

Stamp out gender bias in Postal Service commemoratives

Pueblo mail makes Denver U-turn

Postal Inspector dressed as mail carrier nabs man using Barry Bonds identity

Post Office lobby to be remodeled after burglaries

USPS poised to close McCausland facility

Warwick Post Office sells 100,000 two-cent stamps in 3 days

Stamps remain a bargain even at 39 cents

January 12, 2006- APWU: Clerk Craft Upgrades Will Have Ripple Effect
Upgrades to take place in March that affect Bulk Mail Clerks, Air Records Processors, Time and Attendance Clerks, and Ramp Clerks also may be significant to other APWU-represented workers. Because Sales and Services Associates (SSAs) and Sales, Services and Distribution Associates (SSDAs) who handle bulk mail will be performing higher-level work when they accept and verify business mailings, the union has negotiated an agreement to make sure they are compensated at a higher rate during times when they take on such duties. |