March 28, 2004-

• APWU NBA Greg Poferl will enter federal prison April 6

• More service, fewer lines

• Neighborhood mailboxes are closed for lack of use-

• UPS Selma office to shut down

• Men dressed in Postal Uniforms attack man in home invasion

March 27, 2004-

• Postal employees do huge job well

• U.S. war on anthrax has its risks

• Monument Will Honor Pioneering Airmail Pilots

  March 26, 2004

• National Association of Postal Supervisors to hold legislative training seminar on legislative and policy issues concerning the future of the U.S. Postal Service. AGENDA:  8:30 a.m. - Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va., chairman, Government Reform Committee- 10:30 a.m. - Postmaster General John Potter DATE: March 29, 2004 LOCATION: Crystal Gateway Marriott, 1700 Jefferson Davis Highway, Arlington, Va. CONTACT: Ted Keating, 703-836-9660

• USPS proposes to 'revise' its purchasing of property and services regulations

• Michigan Postmaster  transferred --nepotism prohibited by USPS

• Time is right for Congress to set Postal Service free

• Postal Rate Commission Agrees to Hear Complaint Filed by Major Publishers

• Prison guard, postal worker charged in drug deals

• 2 charged in postal scam

• North Carolina Postmaster Strives For Positive Change

• Bill aims to name Cape Girardeau postal facility for vet

• Lost Mail Slips Cost Hollywood studios more than $25 million in  royalties

• Bogus bomb threat has Charlotte Postal Workers concerned about their safety-A bomb threat at the USPS main processing and distribution center in Charlotte, NC earlier this week has left many workers upset saying they are the last to know when an emergency hits. More than 1,500 postal employees work at the Charlotte processing and distribution center. Early Tuesday morning a bomb threat was phoned into the facility. It turned out there was not bomb, but some workers were evacuated and others were not. "Preparedness is the first step in handling any crisis and the postal service was not prepared in this instance,” said Kevin Flaherty, Local APWU President. Flaherty said the information was not communicated clearly and there was a lot of disruption and concern. Many postal workers were upset by the confusion.

• Mail equipment workers feel sacked by restructuring-The Postal Service says the consolidation of two facilities in Detroit and Pittsburgh into a single operation in Cleveland for repairing mail bags, trays and rolling stock is part of a cost-saving restructuring. Local employees of Resource Consultants Inc. say the consolidation is a retaliation against their company for $7.3 million the Postal Service paid to it last summer to settle a dispute over unauthorized contract changes at a Washington, D.C., facility also operated by Resource Consultants

• Temporary and Permanent Help Wanted at Trenton P & DC, Overtime Available-Trenton P&DC, successfully cleansed of anthrax contamination, is in need of Building Equipment Mechanics, Mail Processing Equipment Mechanics, Electronic Technicians, and Maintenance Support Clerks for assistance maintaining interim facility located in Monroe, NJ and overhauling of its mail processing machines.

• Postal Clerk in TV Competition to win Mortgage Paid in Full-Bishop “Smitty” Smith, a clerk at the Hiawassee Post Office in Orlando, FL, and his wife will appear on a “Home Free” episode of TLC’s Trading Places on Sunday, March 28 at 8 p.m. ET. Trading Spaces: Home Free pits neighbor against neighbor in a tournament-style competition.  Homeowners race to redesign their neighbors' homes in the hopes of winning — their mortgage paid off. Plus, one lucky viewer will also win his/her mortgage paid -off in a parallel online sweepstakes.

• AAA Reports California Gas Prices Highest in Country

• Photo: City Carrier Sergio Serrano looks at gas receipt in disbelief

• U.S. postal inspectors snare 30 pounds of marijuana

• Editorial: The wrong hands / A postal worker is victim of a boy's gun access

• The mail order of things-Ben Clapp, 51, has been awash in mail for decades. His wife, Kathi Clapp, is the postmaster in Lake Oswego; his son Jeff White is a postal supervisor in Portland; and his other son, Jared White, is a letter carrier.

• Stamps.com Has Marks of a Dot-Com Survivor
• USPS February 2004 Financial & Operating Statements

• Mandatory stand-up talk on tuberculosis and associated protective measures-

• USPS-brand packaging tape in Target stores now

• USPS, U.S. Cycling Still Talking Sponsorship Deal

• UPS CEO's pay rose to 1.2 million in 2003

• Retirement: Not What You Think!

• Saks Inc. Names FedEx as Exclusive Carrier

March 23, 2004-

•  USPS tests system for Human Resources--800 positions may be eliminated - Postal Service is testing a knowledge management system that would let employees enter personal data, such as how many years they have been employed, and through a session of questions and answers, the software is   by Authoria Inc. will provide detailed HR data, rather than calling on a human resources official for answers . |

• Some access to 'Blue'  (Intranet) from home coming soon-"The first release, expected in the next 90 days, will launch with a limited number of features. The challenge is to make external access to the postal intranet safe so the Postal Service's infrastructure isn't at risk. Our overall goal is to add as many of Blue's services and features as possible over time."  Transforming Blue-The postal intranet is evolving to include new features- (Remember this question? Postal Reporter question: Who has access to the "blue" or postal intranet?   |

• E-retailers turn to cheaper shipping, but delivery doesn’t suffer

• United States Postal Service - A Race With Change" (pdf)

• US Postal Service sponsorship still in question

• African American Postal League to host its 16th annual convention

• Postmaster is lighter on his feet

• Royal Mail asks postal managers to work longer hours after 3,000 staff cut

• Mail sorting system dispute set to bring Ireland's Postal Service to its knees

March 22, 2004-

• Postal Inspectors Say 9 Yr. Old Shot Letter Carrier- Letter carrier Clayton J. Smith of Colliers, W.Va., was shot dead in broad daylight in the parking lot of the Crafton-Ingram Shopping Center in Crafton on June 23, 2003

-Woman Illegally Owned Gun In Mailman Death

• USPS, U.S. Cycling Still Talking Sponsorship Deal-A USPS spokeswoman said that the postal service and Tailwind were still in negotiations.|
-USPS Set to Pull Plug on $50 Million Pro-Cycling Team
-US Postal Service sponsorship still in question

• USPS Financial Outlook is Bleak and Getting Bleaker

• Church Members drop 8,000 letters in mail  to support ousted pastor

• Post Office Consolidation Does Not Slow Down Letters Mailed In NEWS 9 Test-

• Retired Postal Supervisor Makes Archeological Research Full-Time Job

• Postal Carrier Explains Ins and Outs of his job

• FedEx Fiasco Opens Doors for Competitors

• USPS Positions Mail as 'CRM Tool' for Big Biz

• USPS Campaign Promotes Click-N-Ship Service

• THE AMAZING DISAPPEARING mailman lost 165 lbs.

March 21, 2004

• Court Rules Against Brentwood Postal Worker in Same Sex Harassment Case

• 'Best job in the world' says Manchester, NH mailman Bill Bothman

• Congressional List at Michigan Post Office is outdated -- by a decade

• Printing Company with Postal employee on site sends out more than 140 million pounds of mail a year

• FedEx's Fred Smith and UPS's Mike Eskew sat down together last week and told the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs how their rival and customer, the U.S. Postal Service, should be repackaged - run more like a business but still under government control. Smith lent FedEx's support to postal reform legislation that Sen. Thomas Carper, D-Del., introduced last year but Eskew said UPS won't endorse any legislation for now. (Traffic World)

March 20, 2004-
• Alabama Mail Carrier injured when truck hits house-Officials are investigating whether Terry was having trouble before crashing |

• After Supreme Court Ruling, Where Won't the Post Office Compete Next?

March 19, 2004-
• NAPUS Member to PostalReporter.com: one of the senior management officials involved in the abuse of EAS employees in the Sacramento District was the postmaster of Royal Oak, Michigan during the time of the multiple shootings in the 1990s. (This rumor is buzzing around the Sacramento and Bay-Valley Districts). In addition, USPS has started interviewing employees this week in the Sacramento District surrounding the allegations against senior management officials.
• Postal Inspectors Double Tucson Force
• Alert Postal Carrier Helps Save Choking Victim
• Mail Handler's President John Hegarty narrates video history of NPMHU
• Postal Service Should Cancel More Electronic/Financial Services-

• Rule Changes Give CMM Mailers More Options-Effective March 4, mailers have the option to use the Standard addressing format with CMM, which is a delivery address containing the name of the intended recipient. Previously, CMM customers had to use the Exceptional address format, where "Current Resident" or "Current Occupant" is used alongside the recipient's name

Also from DMNews -Financial Firms Investigated in Postal Discounts

March 18, 2004-

• Dept. of Labor creates SHARE Initiative Website-On January 9, 2004, President Bush announced the Safety, Health and Return-to-Employment (SHARE) Initiative directing federal agencies to establish goals and track performance in 4 major areas. Federal agencies are charged with lowering workplace injury and illness case rates, lowering lost-time injury and illness case rates, timely reporting of injuries and illnesses and reducing lost days resulting from work injuries and illnesses.

• Postmasters Plan Rally For Universal Service-More than 1,300 postmasters are expected to travel to Capitol Hill the week of March 22 to urge Congress to support universal postal service

• Man faces charges over nude pictures at post office

• Anthrax scare may have been prank

• The Myth of Efficient Government Service

• Terror scare closes Ponte Vedra Beach post office

• Investigators probe Tennessee mail carrier's death

• Temporary clerk in Nicasio piles up mail

• Postal Mailing Standards Specialist winner of Benjamin Franklin Award

• Craddockville Post Office faces service suspension

• FedEx Trade Networks Transport & Brokerage, Inc. have petitioned the Federal Maritime Commission to initiate a rulemaking to amend its regulations and permit qualified third-party logistics companies, such as non-vessel operating common carriers (NVOCCS) to enter into confidential service contracts with their customers in the same manner as ocean common carriers. UPS, National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association, Inc, Ocean World Lines, Inc, BAX Global, Inc. C.H. Robinson all filed similar petitions in 2003.

March 17, 2004

•  Looking ahead: Options and reforms for the postal sector in the 21st century

• Joint House/Senate Postal Reform Hearing Scheduled –
• Heritage.org releases Briefing on Postal Reform

• Postal Service rejects springy Z-Coil shoe. | Z-Coil  website

• RCI Contract loss stamps out 200 jobs-More than 200 people will be out of work at the Capitol Heights division of Resource Consultants next month, following the loss of a Postal Service contract. The Postal Service will reduce the number of centers to 18 from 22 over the next nine years -- a move expected to save $20 million to $40 million, says spokesman Jim Quirk. He says the company has two similar contracts with postal facilities in Pittsburgh and Detroit that also are in danger of shutting down. (note: On March 12, 2003, the Detroit Local APWU entered into a landmark agreement with Resource Consulting Inc. by signing workers as union members)

• Postal worker saves life -Joseph Wayne Strickland wasn't even going to mention it, but he had to call his boss and explain why he was going to be late for work. He was busy saving a man's life.

• Sometimes we find a few gems along with the junk mail

• Moms, daughters and legacy of love- Postal Clerk was a supervisor's dream

March 16, 2004-

• USPS investigating Providian over possible ineligibility of discounted postage rates- Providian Financial Corp. (PVN)  according to the company's annual report filed on Monday with SEC, " a claim against us and one of our vendors, alleging that the company and/or vendor received discounted bulk mail postage rates from the United States Postal Service on certain mailings between 1997 and 2001 which were not eligible for the discounted rates." The filing also said that Providian received  a subpoena from USPS to turn over documents.  USDOJ is working with USPS to investigate allegations and to determine whether to pursue the matter. Providian could be "subject to treble damages, penalties, and other relief."

• Smelling Canada Postal Privatization-From Canada Union of Postal Workers  President: " I am writing to express my concern over recent media reports citing statements by Treasury Board President Reg Alcock that your government may be considering privatization of Canada Post On behalf of the 54,000 members of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers I am requesting that you make a clear and unequivocal commitment that your government will continue to support public ownership of Canada Post Corporation and that it will also oppose deregulation of this vital public service."

• Doodle Led to Postal Mural

• Messing with the mail

• USPS Drops First Wave of Flip Book

•Computer deals-Changes to the USPS Employee Connectivity Program
 

March 15, 2004-

• Fifty- year- old California Postal Clerk on his way to Iraq -After spending 26 years serving as a weekend warrior -- two days a month and two weeks a year -- Carl Gutierrez , a Postal Clerk  and a warrant officer with the National Guard, was called late last year for a one-year deployment in the Middle East. Gutierrez's job at the Wilmington post office will remain secure, but the family will have to make do with less money during his absence

• Bond develops between rural carriers and residents in Western Kentucky

• Idaho Falls man rebuilding Iraq postal system

• This is a Good Time to revisit the presentation :Trade Deals and Postal Workers

• Observant Colorado Mail Carrier help police track down burglars

• New Mexico Post Office robbed -- Postmaster assaulted-

• DM News Request Correction from  Washington Post  over "Junk Mail" Article

- Referenced Editorial from Washington Post

•Direct mailing changes shape with new rules

• Auxier Post Office honors cancer survivors

• UPS Fined $71,000 for Covering up fatal accident of employee

• FedEx to Pay $3.2 Million ++ to Female Truck Driver for Sex Discrimination, Retaliation-

March 14, 2004-

• Alert: Threat of occupational exposure to poor air quality at Trenton P & DC

• New Postmaster brings stability to Nantucket’s postal operations

• UK Postal Managers threatens strike action at Royal Mail over job cuts

March 13, 2004-
• Post office gets personal-Nevada City branch hosts 'heartfelt' letters contest
• New York Postal Worker busted for trashing bulk mail

March 12, 2004-

• Maryland Postal clerk charged in robbery hoax- Accused of fabricating report of 'holdup' at the Childs post office-Police charged one of the post office's clerks with making a false statement to a law enforcement officer. The Window Clerk eventually admitted she had fabricated the armed robbery, according to court documents, because she made a clerical mistake and feared retribution from the Postmaster for voiding the money orders.

• What is Red Circle (RC) on Postal Pay Rate Chart? by Thomas P. Molanick

• Diversified Security Solutions, Inc. announced that its Henry Bros. Electronics subsidiary has been awarded a $697,000 contract by Teng Construction of California Inc. to upgrade the electronic security at the Los Angeles, California United States Postal Office Processing and Distribution Center. The project will include Access Control, Alarms, Gate Access and Closed Circuit Television for the entire site which operates 24 hours a day, 7 days per week. Installation and integration within the processing and distribution facility will begin this month and will be completed by summer 2004"

• Postal incident sparks customer's outrage

• Williams SC Postmaster becomes the nation's youngest at age 21

• Kindergartners Design ‘Stamps Of The Future’

• Ad for postal jobs leads to scary dead end

• Substitute Letter Carrier's Encounter with the 'Twilight Zone'
• Man robs La Mesa post office, threatens workers
• Man used direct mail to raise $1.7 billion for the aid of disabled vets

• Check your mail: Interest remains high in post cards and advertising cards

• Spy Block bill would outlaw hidden spyware

• OPM's USAJOBS Web site list postal positions

• Vine Grove shows its appreciation for postal employees
• Mailers Call for a More Nimble, Competitive USPS-The postal service's current distribution network was established over 30 years ago, and yet it has remained virtually unchanged ever since.. Facility locations, size and transportation routes should be changing constantly to keep up with demand, eliminate redundancy and overcapacity, and to achieve productivity gains." (DMNews)

March 8, 2004