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Postal News
- January 2007
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TOP POSTAL STORIES OF THE MONTH
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January 31, 2007-
Memorial Marks One-Year Anniversary of Goleta Postal Rampage
- One year after the Goleta postal murders, a community is still
struggling with the senseless killing. A solemn memorial service was
held this afternoon to honor six victims. Gathered in front of the Postal
Service building were more than 100 people, including family, friends
and coworkers of Charlotte Colton, See Fairchild, Nicola Grant, Guadalupe
Schwartz, Maleka Higgins and Dexter Shannon." No words can describe
how this tragedy has impacted us," says Postal Service District Manager
John Byars. "We can't begin to describe the pain and loss the families
and loved ones have experienced this past year."
Goleta Postal Shooting Anniversary
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North Carolina Postmaster resigns amid
federal probe
The postmaster of the
Harbinger post office has resigned amid a federal embezzlement probe.
Debbie Homer, postmaster in Harbinger since August 2005, stepped down
recently, a U.S. Postal Service spokeswoman said in a phone message.
It was not immediately clear when Homer resigned. Agapi Doulaveris,
director of communications for the Office of the Inspector General for
the U.S. Postal Service, confirmed Tuesday that Homer is being investigated
for allegations of embezzlement from the Harbinger post office.
No charges
have been filed in the case, she said. "We do not prosecute. We investigate
and provide background for the Postal Service to review," Doulaveris
said. "It is then its decision whether to prosecute."
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January 30, 2007-
NALC Contract Proposal Includes Monday
- Friday Workweek, Early Out Request (PDF)
President
Young details contract issues before record-setting Rap Session - Highlights:
All Regular
Workforce by 2011 - All carriers converted to Monday-Friday full-time
regulars, eliminate casuals, keep City Carrier Grade 2 positions with
new duties. Create Saturday bargaining unit workforce: with Retired
carriers (preference), New hires, probationary carriers; USPS request
early out for city carriers ; Sub-contracting protection and a share
of the savings (increased pay); protection against outsourcing. Maintain
health care payments as long as you belong to the NALC health plan.
If not, USPS payments shrink to 72%.
PDF
File
from
NALC Branch
38
via PostalReporter
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January 29, 2007-
OSHA: High-Visibility Uniforms Not Required for Mail Carriers Delivering
After Dark
- On November
13, 2003, at twilight, Evelyn Medeiros, a United States Postal Service
employee, was struck by a car while crossing the street at a stop sign
while delivering mail on her postal route in Fall River, Massachusetts.
At the time of the accident, Ms. Medeiros was wearing Postal Service
issued bomber jacket and rain pants. Five days after the accident, a
formal complaint was filed with OSHA on the behalf of letter carriers
in Fall River, Massachusetts alleging that the USPS required employees
to deliver mail after dark without supplying them with reflective clothing
that made them easily visible in the dark to vehicular traffic. In 2006,
OSHA dismissed the complaint ruling that there is no evidence that high-visibility
clothing would have done anything to prevent the accident.
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January 28, 2007-
Mail Delivery Complaints In Chicago's 13th
Ward
Temporary Carriers blamed
for late deliveries - Ald. Frank Olivo (13th) called local Post
Office officials and local community representatives together yesterday
(Wednesday) to discuss the growing problems of mail delivery in the
60638, 60629 and 60652 Zip codes. They heard complaints about late delivery,
carriers skipping days, letters delivered to wrong addresses, and mail
being left on steps. The West Lawn Post Office has had a management
vacancy for 14 months. The current manager is on sick leave, but the
position is still his. After the meeting, the postal officials said
they were going to go to the West Lawn Post Office not only to talk
to the employees there but to monitor those who are working to make
sure a good job is being done.
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January 23, 2007-
GAO: Medicare Subsidy Could Have Lowered
Health Premiums in 2006
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National
Active and Retired Federal Employees Association (NARFE) President Margaret
L. Baptiste said that a GAO report confirms her association’s belief
that FEHBP premiums were higher than needed because of the OMB and OPM's
decision to forego a subsidy provided under the 2003 Medicare Prescription
Drug Act. OMB, which had a role in this decision, and OPM, should explain
to federal workers, retirees and survivor annuitants, who often struggle
to pay their steadily increasing premiums, why the federal government
failed to do what a multitude of other employers have done to reduce
this burden.
USPS, petitioned Medicare
in 2005
to provide the subsidy but was rejected on the grounds that postal workers
are covered by the health benefits program. Postal officials sought
the subsidy because it would save the agency about $250 million annually
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January 21, 2007-
Bush Plan Would Cut Tax-Free
Employer-Provided Health Insurance
President George W. Bush on Saturday proposed
tax breaks to make health insurance more affordable to the nearly 47
million Americans who lack it, while removing some tax benefits for
the most expensive employer-provided health care plans. The basic concept
is that employer-provided health insurance, now treated as a fringe
benefit exempt from taxation, would no longer be entirely tax-free.
Workers could be taxed if their coverage exceeded limits set by the
government. But the government would also offer a new tax deduction
for people buying health insurance on their own.
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Thirteen Postal Union
Officers Target of DOL-OLMS Criminal Actions in 2006
Over a dozen postal
union officers were the target of DOL/OLMS criminal enforcement actions
in 2006. These were the most serious cases. A name that will be recognizable
to many is John McGovern, who ran for APWU National President in 1998,
2001 and 2004. Delegates to the 2004 APWU National Convention voted
to uphold his expulsion from the union. As a result his name was removed
from the ballot. The lesson from these enforcement actions is for union
officers to take their legal responsibilities seriously. Mistakes can
be costly.
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January 20, 2007-
Carbon monoxide levels trigger OSHA fine for Suffolk post office
The post office downtown must pay a fine for a
November incident that exposed 39 employees to high levels of carbon
monoxide. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration concluded
after a six-week investigation that the post office was responsible
for improperly placing two portable generators during an electrical
outage. Last week, post office representatives agreed to pay $5,130
in fines and to correct the violations, according to a copy of the settlement
obtained by The Virginian-Pilot. Workers at the Main Street location
began feeling ill the morning of Nov. 8, before the building opened
to the public. The generators had been running for hours due to an overnight
power outage.
OSHA fines postal service more than $5,000 for
2006 incident
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MSPB Overturns Postal Worker’s Removal for $45,000 Stamp Stock Shortage
An Acting Finance Supervisor
in New York City won mitigation of his removal from the Postal Service
for "Failure to Account for Postal Funds / Failure to Follow Proper
Procedures." Under his supervision shortages of postal stock from the
Unit Reserve and from the Retail Floor Stock occurred totaling approximately
$45,000. Management failed to consider mitigating factors such as his
"lack of intent and culpability."
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January 19, 2007-
Fired Postal Employee Sues Postmaster General
A woman who was fired from a Hamilton County
Post Office, is suing the U.S, Postmaster General. According to court
documents, Leila Mitchell's former supervisor at a local post office
has been found guilty of sexually harassing her (supervisor pled
guilty to assault by offensive touching) . He apologized to her, in
court. But, after the case was over, the man was allowed to keep his
job. Now, Mitchell has filed suit saying she ended up losing her job
because she called police about what she calls a hostile working environment.
Note: The postal employee is representing herself (pro se) in the case.
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Man killed in accident at Massachusetts
Postal Facility
A Ludlow man is dead following an accident
in South Hadley. It happened at the post office on Hadley Street a little
after midnight. Police tell abc40 that the man was killed when a forklift
fell off a flatbed truck and pinned him beneath it. His name has not
been released. The cause of the accident is still under investigation,
but Police tell us that the bed of the truck was coated in ice.
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January 18, 2007-
Postal Employee’s Whistleblower Protection Case Against
OIG Dismissed-
The Postal Employees alleged that OIG engaged in prohibited personnel
practices in violation of the Whistleblower Protection Act . The MSPB
dismissed the appeal for lack of jurisdiction because Postal Service
employees cannot appeal violations of the WPA directly to the MSPB.
The employee asserted that the OIG was not a part of the Postal Service.
The Court found that the OIG is subject to appointment and removal by
the Postal Board of Governors, which serves as the “head of department”
for the Postal Service. The Court concluded that the employee was a
Postal Service employee and that the MSPB lacked jurisdiction over his
appeal. |
January 17, 2007-
Editorial: Arbitrator's Postal Police Decision Costs Millions, Does
Nothing
"Taxpayers across the United States might have to dole out $100
million to postal police for overtime they never worked, thanks to a
decision by a federal arbitrator in Baltimore. Everything about the
case is ridiculous, including the decision. A union representative said
earlier this month the back pay for Baltimore postal police will be
about $2.6 million. As background, the Fraternal Order of Police National
Labor Council filed a grievance against the U.S. Postal Service in Baltimore
for using cheaper part-time private security guards to guard its facilities
instead of paying overtime to postal police officers. The union also
filed grievances in 11 cities across the country, including Washington
and San Francisco."
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January 04, 2007-
USPS Could Pay Up to $2.6M for Cutting Postal Police
With the deadly anthrax attacks of 2001 still fresh in many minds, the
U.S. post office in Baltimore City made a cost-cutting decision that
has proven costly. Officials replaced about 20 postal police officers
on shifts with cheaper, less-trained security guards who don’t carry
weapons. Now, the U.S. Postal Service could pay up to $2.6 million in
missed pay to its Baltimore postal police officers after an arbitrator
ruled the move violated the officers’ union contract, according to documents
obtained by The Examiner. Baltimore U.S. Postal Inspector spokesman
Frank Schissler said he believed the Baltimore case has national implications,
since other cities have been using security guards.
Postal police could win at least $100 Million from 11 similar grievances
>
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January 15, 2007-
Retired Postal Employees
to Perform Retail Services
According to APWU President
William Burrus in the Jan./Feb. 2007 issue of the “American Postal Worker”
: Perhaps the most innovative aspect of the agreement is the memorandum
committing the parties to develop rules and procedures for the employment
of retired postal employees to perform retail services. These employees
will be hired by and paid by the American Postal Workers Union, and
contracted to the Postal Service. If successful this program will present
an opportunity to expand retail services to locations where it is not
cost-effective to open a full-service facility. Of course, care must
be taken to ensure that these new retail opportunities do not distract
from official retail sites and that our career employees are not adversely
affected. MOU: Such workers will not be a part of a supplemental
workforce under Article 7. The meetings will begin no later than February
1, 2007 and will be concluded by May 1, 2007.|
January 11, 2007-
Senator Collins Introduces
Resolution Reaffirming Constitutional Protections of Sealed Mail
- Senator Susan Collins
has introduced a bipartisan resolution reaffirming that both federal
law and the Constitution protect sealed domestic mail from being searched.
The resolution is in response to a signing statement that the White
House issued in conjunction with the signing of the Collins/Carper postal
reform legislation. In a speech before the U.S. Senate, Senator Collins
explained that following the singing of the Postal Accountability and
Enhancement Act, the White House issued a statement that resulted in
confusion about the Administration’s commitment to abide by the basic
privacy protections afforded sealed domestic mail.
First wiretapping, now letter-opening?|
NY Post editorial misrepresented Bush signing
statement
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Bloggers Put Senator Collins in the Hot Seat Over Signing Statement
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First Class Mess
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Can Bush Open Mail Without Warrant |
Funnies:
Complaint for Bush? Write Your Sister |
Google it
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January 08, 2007-
Video: Signed,
Sealed and Delivered- Labor Struggle in the Post Office
1978 Strike Against Mandatory Overtime, Speedups, and Hazardous Working
Conditions -
"On July 21, 1978 thousands of postal workers across the country walked
off their jobs when their contract expired, saying "No" to mandatory
overtime, forced speedups and hazardous working conditions. As a result
of this wildcat strike, six hundred thousand postal workers won a better
contract. But two hundred workers were arbitrarily fired by management
to teach all postal workers a lesson. SIGNED, SEALED and DELIVERED is
the story of the struggle these postal workers waged to win back their
jobs. It follows their fight into the streets, onto the floor of the
American Postal Workers Union's National Convention and among workers
and communities nationwide. But it took the tragic death of Michael
McDermott, a 25 year old mail handler who was sucked into a conveyor
belt and crushed to death, to bring their hazardous working conditions
to national attention."
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January 31, 2007-
Woman Claims
Neighbor's Mailbox Is Obscene
A Pomfret
mailbox is at the center of controversy between two neighbors.
Pam Lee said she is offended by the mailbox of her neighbor
who lives across the street. ." It's very sexually oriented,
very offensive and very risqué," Lee said. The United States
Postal Service told Lee that it is not its job to censor patrons.
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NALC President Young: Reforming Health Care
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Semi hauling mail to Denver burns on highway
Ticking package turns out
to be box of toys
NY: Fire destroys Adirondack post office
FL: Postal Service, Vero Beach continue talks on dispute
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January 30, 2007-
APWU Receives 200 ‘Man-Year’ Office List
(01/30/07) The Postal Service has provided the APWU with a
list showing facilities that qualify as
“200 man-year” offices [PDF].
In accordance with the recently ratified 2006-2010 Collective
Bargaining Agreement, all Clerk Craft part-time flexible employees
at facilities of 200 man-years or more will be converted to
full time, no later than Dec. 1, 2007. According to the information
provided by the USPS, 440 facilities qualify as 200 man-year
offices.
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Earl Miller led the postal
workers' union
APWU: Postal Service Cancels Another AMP Study
Burrus: A Brief Conversation Rekindles the Commitment
USPS Promises, But Residents Skeptical
Woman gets 8 years in federal prison for Post Office Robbery
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NALC: Rap Session Info
Postal Service
Is a Backdoor ATM -
Several times a
week, the U.S. Postal Service is a backdoor ATM when customers
buy a 39-cent stamp, pay with a debit card, and get cash back
without paying bank fees. “Honestly, (our retail employees)
see it three or four times a week, if not more,” Clovis postmaster
John Yeast said. “Most of my employees are taking advantage
(of it) themselves.”
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January 29, 2007-
Goleta Postal
Shooting Anniversary
It’s been
nearly a year since a deadly shooting rampage in Goleta shattered
a community. Tuesday marks the one-year anniversary of the
tragic Goleta postal shooting massacre that left eight people
dead. A somber private ceremony to remember those killed will
be held Tuesday afternoon at the Goleta postal facility where
the shooting occurred. Olive trees will be planted, each honoring
a life lost.
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Senator Objects to USPS Proposed Passport Card Acceptance
Fee -
U.S. Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND) is objecting
to a proposed $25 fee the Postal Service intends to charge
to accept applications for the “passport card” Americans will
need sometime in the next two years to enter the United States
from Canada. He says the $25 fee is excessive, particularly
since the Departments of State and Homeland Security, which
will process the application and provide the passport card,
intend to charge only $20 for adults and $10 for kids. Dorgan
has asked the GAO to investigate the Postal Service estimate
that an additional $25 fee is required to cover its costs.
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Mailbox graffiti spurs demand for cleanup
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Postal Carrier Finds Pipe Bomb in Mailbox
Group Purchases Former Marina del Rey P & DC from Home Depot
U.S.
Lost Mail Turns Up in Juarez House |
Juarez Postal Employees Arrested
Deal struck to keep Kinsey post office open
UPS Franchisees
Charge UPS With Forcing Them to Distribute Pornographic Material
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January 28, 2007-
House Judiciary
to Hold Hearing on Bush Signing Statements
Photo: Delivering
Mail By Bicycle in St Pete
Photo: Postal
Truck Advertising Stamps and Fuel
Postal Cartoon:
Different Title, Same Job
Mailman helps nab assault suspect
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Shipping store bets on big business from Goin' Postal name
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Editorial: USPS is not the style authority
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Steroid dealer preferred USPS vs private shipping companies
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January 27, 2007-
Supreme Court
Rules Federal, Postal Employees Cannot Be Sued
In a 7-2 decision
last week, the high court ruled that the government can insert
itself as the defendant in lawsuits against federal workers
who claim innocence, even if the alleged act was not part of
the accused employee’s job description.
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Fewer Clerks, City Carriers on Postal Rolls
At the End of 2006
While Mail Handlers and Rural Carriers were
the only two bargaining unit groups that had a significant increase
for 2006. Clerks down by 8,354 (211,991), City Carriers 2,399(224,218),
Mail Handlers increased by 1,376 (57,261) and Rural Carriers
1,996 (66,977). Casuals increased by 3219 (17,206).The Postal
Inspection Service is down by 687 (2837) and The Office of Inspector
General increased it staff by 272 (1132). Total workforce complement
was down 7,921 –compared to 3704 at the end of 2005
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PRC To Consider Creating Inspector General Office, Position
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eNAPUS Bulletin (PDF)
Mailman Called Hero After Detecting Deadly
Gas At Home
'Super postman’
rescues couple from burning house
Shared savings plan could help Postal
Service save energy
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Postal
Worker Saves Baby Chicks Sent In Mail
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Long Green Post Office will close
School
revives art of snail mail
Canada: Ottawa postal worker rescues lost toddler shivering
in snow
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January 26, 2007-
Burrus: Postal Workers
Must Include COLA Raises in Wage Increase Comparisons
Postal employees
often compare our negotiated wage increases with those of workers
in other industries and conclude that postal raises don’t measure
up. Postal increases in the range of 1.5 percent or less, they assert,
don’t match the increases of 5 percent or more that the media reports
for workers in other industries. These comparisons are flawed, however,
because they fail to take into account that the raises provided
in the APWU contract consist of general wage increases and
cost-of-living adjustments. >
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Long lines, lost mail, area residents
give postal official an earful
- (New York) One board
member came forward with a bag of mail misdelivered to her address
over the past six months. Another had a package of medication that
had been misdelivered to her home a week ago, and had not yet been
picked up by the post office. During a session that lasted perhaps
25 minutes, numerous issues were hurled at Warner and Andrea Burrows,
the post office’s customer relations coordinator. The complaints
ran the gamut from problems with deliveries to unsatisfactory lobby
conditions. Board member Kenrick Wescott recalled waiting outside
the post office for his wife for a full hour while she transacted
her business within. “I thought she had gone someplace else,” he
told Warner.
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Post Office expansion
may include Condos built above it
(Maryland) Montgomery County planners
may approve renovations to the post office on Arlington Road in
Bethesda that could lead to a larger facility with 111 condominiums
above it. If the plans are approved, the existing 16,000-square-foot
building, at 7001 Arlington Road, would be torn down and replaced
with a new office, an underground parking lot for residents and
postal workers, and four stories of residences.
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Study: Women Prefer Direct Mail
to E-mail Ads
Rio Rancho residents promised better
postal service
Postal worker faces gift card theft
charges
Raleigh's first
female postal worker retires
Mailman Saves Family
Mail delivery stopped to retirement community
because of virus
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Postal Movie Set to Offend
Postal Worker aids
heart attack victim at Post Office
Undelivered mail
recovered in Caledonia
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January 25, 2007-
USPS Consolidations,
Tech Efficiencies Expected to Pare Work Hours
"Progress
in increasing efficiencies was so good in 2006 and the prospects
for more of the same in 2007 are so promising that the U.S. Postal
Service hopes to
reduce work hours
dramatically during the next 12 months. The goal, revealed in the
Postal Service's Annual Progress Report, released this month, states
that new efficiencies will eliminate as many as 42 million work
hours - or the equivalent of about 21,000 full-time workers. "It's
a lot," said the Postal Service's vice president of strategic planning,
Linda Kingsley. "There's only been one year in which we have achieved
that before."
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Mail Handlers Ratify
2006 National Agreement
The National Office of the National
Postal Mail Handlers Union is pleased to announce that the membership
of the NPMHU has voted to ratify the terms of the 2006 National
Agreement between the NPMHU and the U.S. Postal Service. The final
vote tally, subject to minor adjustment prior to final certification
by the AAA, was 15,244 in favor of ratification and 2,116 in opposition
to ratification.
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Editorial: Postal Service should butt out of a Denver election decision
Two Questioned In
Nebraska Post Office Bomb Threat
Postal delivery
changes set in Massachusetts town
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Money order imprinter stolen from Ohio post
office
"The machine and 60 blank money orders were taken. Authorities found
a handwritten note on a desk that said they were sorry and only
needed money."
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January 24, 2007-
Rise Seen In Postal Workers' Injuries
Since Storms Began
Some 80
U.S. postal workers have reported injuries in the Colorado/Wyoming
area since the start of the blizzard five weeks ago and the several
snowstorms that followed. A spokesman for the U.S. postal service,
Al DeSerro, said the injuries have included fractures, sprains and
a concussion due to slips and falls on the ice. DeSerro said workers
were injured in over 30 vehicle accidents with postal trucks, though
most of them happened at low speeds.
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Automation Forces Elimination of Some
Postal Jobs in Albuquerque
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New automated mail systems will eliminate some U.S. Postal Service
jobs in Albuquerque, though no workers are to be laid off, a spokeswoman
for the service said today. A mail processing center is awaiting
machinery that will read bar codes affixed to mail bins, directing
them to the proper location for sorting - work that previously was
done by postal workers, said spokeswoman Barbara Wood. A machine
that handles change-of-address requests will also affect some jobs
on the West Side, she said. The total number of jobs affected won't
be determined until the machinery is in full operation, Wood said.
But workers whose jobs will be made redundant can bid for vacancies
within the postal service, Wood said. "There will be no layoffs
due to technology," she said.
US
Sen. Bingaman Concerned About Possible Reduction In Postal Service
Staffing
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New Prescription
Benefit for Postal Employees Injured On Duty
Video: APWU
Save Our Service Rally in Minneapolis
Retirees can expect faster
full annuity checks – in 2008
Rise Seen In Postal Workers' Injuries
Since Storms Began
Post Office Bomb Threat Closes Businesses,
School In Stanton, NE
Third Generation Letter Carrier Dave
Duerk loves people
Kodiak: Postal Service pushes ahead with new facility
Coming and going postal: APO down-low
Politicians give postal trucks plan Bronx cheer
Disparity in wages, profits widening: UPS carrots and sticks
International Post Corporation Re-elects Potter as Board Vice Chairman
Butch the dog forces post office to reroute mail
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January 23, 2007-
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