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2004:

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2003:

Jan-June 2003| July-Dec. 2003

May 31, 2006

FYI: USPS Vendor Request for OPF Conversion Services

Jaffer Responds to  “George W. Bush’s War Stamp Tax" article

Suspects sought in robbery of postal carrier

New London Post Office caught in red tape
Plan to reorganize mail delivery in Vermont is shelved
Signed, Sealed and Undelivered
Gas prices continue to cause pain for public services

May 31, 2006  - Teamsters Hope to Lure FedEx Drivers
"Bob Williams, who led the unionization drive, says the model does not work for the drivers. Like many, he was lured to FedEx by advertisements that said "Be Your Own Boss" and talked of earning $55,000 to $70,000 a year. After he began, Mr. Williams said, he felt like anything but his own boss. "They have complete control over my day," Mr. Williams said. "I have to wear their uniform, buy their truck and use their logo. I have to buy insurance from them. I have to do the route they tell me to do and make the stops they tell me." Mr. Williams was also disappointed by the pay, the lack of health benefits and assignments to unfamiliar routes. He said he grossed a maximum of $62,000 a year but netted only $30,000, despite 60-hour weeks." |

May 30, 2006 - Postal truck creates havoc in West Haven (CT) neighborhood - "The gentleman that lived in the house told him (the driver) not to try to back the vehicle up. As we found out he was inebriated. He proceeded to back the vehicle up, going 40-50 miles per hour backing it up," says Noel Lewis. The destruction and now the fear continued. "My wife is standing here across the street. He came out, she had to run, she literally had to run, seconds before this guy could hit her," says Lewis. The mail truck went back across Ownly Street and ran into a chain-link fence. "We didn't want him to go back into his truck and do anything. We forced him to the ground and then the police officers showed up," says Lewis."  |

 Video: Postal Worker Crashes Mail Truck

 May 30, 2006 - Stamp out charity discounts for political mail, critics say

Some Republicans are using nonprofit postal permits to send election fliers - The California Club for Growth Newsletter doesn't look much different from all the other political fliers filling voters' mailboxes as the days tick down to the primary election. But unlike almost all other political mailings, this one is being sent at the special 40 percent discount that the U.S. Postal Service gives to charities, potentially saving the candidates hundreds of thousands of dollars in postage. Democrats say it's unfair and illegal. The Alliance for a Better California, a Democratic organization, is suing the Postal Service in federal court over a mailing that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's political operation sent out at a discount during the special election. |

- Mail loophole has some California politicians fuming

May 30, 2006 - Postal Workers' Outcry Over Plan Goes Unheard

"The postal union and area business leaders are opposing a plan that would send all of the Rio Grande Valley’s mail through Corpus Christi. Local union officials and business leaders worry the consolidation would cost some local postal workers their jobs, delay local mail delivery, replace local postmarks with the Corpus Christi postmark and delay postmarking altogether. Postal officials have said the fears are unfounded." |

May 30, 2006 - Washington Mutual, USPS Seek to Extend Suspension on NSA

"The parties want to review two recent PRC filings regarding other NSAs and revise their own. In particular, they want to make revisions to historical volumes that were filed in the case. The postal service had filed for an NSA with Washington Mutual Bank on March 29 based on encouraging the company to increase its use of First Class Mail. The USPS is seeking a three-year deal covering First Class Mail for the bank's credit card services."  |

May 27, 2006 -

May 26, 2006 - NIOSH Reports on DBCS at Denver Postal Facility -The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)  has just completed a three year investigation at the General Mail Facility in Denver of ERRP and other “solutions” to the ergonomic design of the Delivery Bar Code Sorters (DBCS). NIOSH found in part  that the DBCS machines presently in use by the USPS (four tiers, 201 stackers) present the same or greater risk of injury to workers as the three-tiered DBCS machines evaluated by NIOSH in 1991-92.  more |

May 26, 2006 - Postal Employee Official Personnel Folder Goes Electronic -

NAPUS: This week the Postal Service provided a briefing to union and management association representatives on the conversion of employee Official Personnel Folders (OPF’s) from hardcopy to electronic format. The eOPF program will enhance record recovery in the event of disaster and will comport with the Human Resources Shared Services strategy. Conversion to electronic files is also consistent with planned Office of Personnel Management (OPM) modifications to retirement and separation processing systems.  |

May 26, 2006

May 25, 2006  - Due to postal service changes, newspaper deliveries may be delayed - "If it seems like it's been taking longer for you to receive your newspaper in the mail lately, you're not alone. The U.S. Postal Service implemented a 24-piece periodical sack rule that went into effect May 11. While Daily Sentinel subscribers residing in the towns of Le Mars, Remsen, Oyens, Brunsville, and Merrill receive their newspaper from carriers, others receive it through the mail. If you receive your paper through the mail and live in a vicinity which has fewer than 24 subscribers, your newspaper delivery may be delayed.|

May 25, 2006 - Underwater image used to create U.S. postage stamp - An underwater photo that Randal Sanders took near the Florida Keys more than 20 years ago has surfaced with a splash. It’s been used to create one of the 40 postage stamps in a commemorative series being released Saturday by the U.S. Postal Service.

May 25, 2006-  Postal Worker Charged with Making Drug Deliveries

The postal worker just seemed to be doing her job as she carried innocent-looking white packages around the North Philadelphia neighborhood, in her uniform. But yesterday, narcotics cops announced the arrest of her and her husband after learning that the deliveries weren't as innocent as they seemed. |

May 24, 2006 - Stamps to Become a Marketing Vehicle

"The U.S. Postal Service is allowing companies to create their own branded stamps for first-class mail. Instead of flags, you can expect to see a company logo; instead of photos of famous Americans, you might see pictures of your local real estate agent. It is a test, part of an effort to reverse the decline in first-class mailings. As USPS spokeswoman Joanne Veto said, "We want to make mail more interesting to consumers." Zazzle Offers Stamps for Businesses |

- HP becomes first to print postage featuring corporate logos and images

May 24, 2006

Letter carrier Ron Kaiser to retire after 41 years in Postal Service

It's canines vs. carriers
Las Flores mix-up with Postal Service

Postal Worker pleads guilty to theft

May 23, 2006 - Postal Service Cops Going Hollywood
"Most of us are familiar with the post office thanks to our mail carriers. But the post office also has a law enforcement branch that protects consumers from fraud and scams. The U.S. Postal Inspection Service spent $4.3 million to produce a series of DVDs that showcase none other than the postal inspectors themselves. As CBS 5 Investigates' Anna Werner reports, just like the makings of a Hollywood movie, the DVDs have directors, actors, sets, even catering."|

May 23, 2006 - Business owners left without mail for two weeks

Frank Higginbotham of Impact Glass, as well as other business owners, said he has not seen their mail carrier in a couple of weeks. As it turns out, their carrier is on sick leave and the U.S. Postal Service is short about 100 substitute mail carriers in Fort Myers and Cape Coral.  |

May 23, 2006 - - Postal Investigation
Who's delivering your mail? That's what the US Postal service wants to know as it launches a national investigation, trying to find out how many sex offenders are on the payroll. The probe comes after three sex offenders were discovered working for the US Postal service in Dallas. Officials say they had no idea sex offenders were working for them. That's because they may have committed their crimes after they were hired. The postal service plans to develop a fair policy for employees who are registered sex offenders, one the public can accept. For now, they've reassigned those three offenders in Dallas so they do not have contact with the public.|

Georgia City Carrier removed from USPS on charge of improper conduct

May 23, 2006  - Maine Attorney General seeks stricter tobacco delivery law - Attorney General Steven Rowe has urged U.S. Sen. Susan Collins to reform the postal laws to prohibit the delivery of tobacco products to minors, Dow said Monday. "After enactments of the state statutes, and voluntary agreements by carriers and credit card companies, it is ironic indeed that the USPS serves as the last remaining channel for the delivery of cigarettes to minors," he said in a letter to Collins. "Due to the other carriers' refusal to serve as conduits for delivery, the delivery of cigarettes to minors by the USPS will undoubtedly continue to increase." Collins has said that she would look into the matter and consider introducing legislation to address the problem.
 

May 20, 2006 - Kentucky Postal Employee Arrested on Child Pornography Charges - "A postal service worker [OIG via court documents: window clerk] in Jamestown was arrested after officials discovered he was using company computers to view child pornography. Morris E. Hall, 58, was arrested at the post office on Thursday on a charge of receiving child pornography, the U.S. Attorney's office said. Federal authorities began investigating Hall in October 2005 after receiving information that a Postal network user was typing in certain keywords while doing an internet search. Authorities said the network user's computer number matched the one assigned to Hall." |

May 20, 2006 - Postal vehicle break-downs blamed on gas blend -- Half of the Nantucket post office’s delivery trucks were out of service last week due to problems with their fuel pumps that may have been caused by a new shipment of gasoline blended with ethanol, two postal workers said. Island mechanics also reported working on about 30 cars with similar problems in the same time period. |

May 19, 2006 - Mailman opened letters
Electronic device in mail was the tip-off - A mail carrier has been sentenced to a year probation, six months of electronic monitoring and mental health treatment for opening mail belonging to residents of Concord Heights. Darrell Butcher, 47, of Hudson, Mass., pleaded guilty to one count of obstruction of mail on Monday in federal court. Judge Joseph DiClerico waived Butcher's fine because he was unable to pay it, according to court records.

May 19, 2006 - Return to sender, address unseen - An important Veterans Administration meeting on disaster preparedness for more than 600 legally blind local veterans turned into a disaster itself this week.
Nobody showed. Not one vet. Turns out they didn't even know about it. The fliers that were supposed to be mailed to them were instead returned to the Sepulveda VA's Visual Impairment Service Team by the Santa Clarita postal processing center because the return address on the mail was not recognized as being eligible for "free matter to the blind" mailing privileges.

May 19, 2006 - Fort Belvoir Post Office receives five-star rating - "Spirits are high at the Fort Belvoir Post Office and all of the employees are proudly wearing lapel pins because they recently received a five-star overall service rating from the Gallop Organization. "The Gallop Organization surveys USPS customers, asking them to rate local post offices on efficiency, accuracy of delivery, consistency of delivery and wait time in line," said Postmaster Jim Fleisher. In addition to lapel pins for each employee, the post office also received a sign for their door so that all of the customers entering the post office will know about the five-star rating, said Fleisher."

May 19, 2006  - Hunting identity thieves -- alone, one at a time

Matthew Boyden doesn't deliver the mail; he investigates it, with a .40-caliber pistol strapped to his waist and an MP-5 machine gun within easy reach. He is one of the nearly 2,000 U.S. postal inspectors who fight mail fraud, the use of the mail to commit crimes. In the past six years, Boyden has arrested more than 300 people, many of them identity thieves who steal personal information in order to loot bank accounts, launder stolen checks or milk credit cards for cash.|

May 19, 2006 - Critics say a move to Palatine will slow delivery - Twenty four hours a day, seven days a week, up to 6 million letters are processed at the Palatine Post Office. The Rockford facility is much smaller. Local Union Leader Greg Voiles says Palatine`s size is the problem." Normally your larger plants such as Palatine aren`t as efficient as a smaller plant, as Rockford is," says Voiles. But Palatine Senior Plant Manager Ron Woodall says Rockford customers won`t notice a difference. But letters mailed to a Rockford addresses from a Rockford address will have to start at the Rockford Post Office, and then be shipped to Palatine for processing, finally going back to Rockford for delivery. "It could be a day delay or more," says Voiles. And Voiles says if operations do move to Palatine he estimates a loss of 50 to 100 Rockford jobs. Woodall disagrees. "No career employees at Rockford will loose their jobs," says Woodall. "We will divert them to other positions in the Postal Service." So far no decision has been made if Palatine will be the new home for Rockford Postal Workers. The next step for the study is a public forum. It will be June 5th at 6:30 p.m. at the Northern Illinois University Educational Center.

May 17, 2006 - USPS March Financial Results
"USPS revenues of $6.59 billion for March were 3% or $189 million over plan and $424 million or 6.9% more than March 2005. Expenses were virtually on plan, producing a net income of $295 million before the escrow allocation. Total mail volume in March was 1.5% more than last year, with volumes in all major categories except Express Mail and International Mail above their March 2005 levels. Year-to-date, net income before escrow allocation is $1.57 billion or $147 million over plan. Year-to-date, the net gain after escrow allocation is $74 million."  USPS Net Income Rises in March |

May 17, 2006  - USPS Unveils Prescription Drug Card for Workplace Injuries

The USPS has announced a voluntary prescription drug card program for employees who suffer workplace injuries or illnesses. According to the Postal Service, employees who choose to participate in the program will submit their drug card and prescriptions to the pharmacy of their choice, and the prescriptions will be filled at no cost to the employee. |

May 17, 2006 - Fire at Oakland Postal  Mail Sorting Facility

 Bay-Valley District Offices Damaged- "Oakland firefighters have controlled a  fire that began this morning at the Post Office distribution center (1675 7th St) . The fire broke out on the administrative side of the post office building, where the front office is located and personnel files are stored, postal officials said. The building is a five-story concrete structure where all mail moving through the East Bay and portions of the North Bay at some time move through, according to U.S. Post Office spokesman Augustine Ruiz." No postal workers were injured or mail damaged. Oakland APWU President Fred Jacobs said no determination of the fire has been made as yet. Oakland post office fire under investigation | 3-alarm fire damages Bay-Valley District Office | KTVU Slideshow |

May 17, 2006 - RR Donnelley Opens New Consolidation Facility in Texas - "RR Donnelley is the largest shipper of mail into the United States Postal Service, delivering approximately fifty percent of all U.S. standard mail into the postal stream," said Dan Scapin, President RR Donnelley Logistics and Distribution. "Our expansive consolidation network, expertise, and scale allow us to offer to our customers proven services that help them to achieve postal savings and cycle time reductions. This new facility positions RR Donnelley better to serve direct response marketers, magazine publishers, catalogers, and other mailers in the Southwest." RR Donnelley's logistics network permits it effectively to deliver mail to every Bulk Mail Center and Sectional Mail Facility in the United States."

May 17, 2006

National Dog Bite Prevention Week, May 21-27 | Postal service battles bites

USPS Expands Personalized Postage for Businesses

PhotoStamps | ZazzleStamps  | USPS Authorizes PictureItPostage

May 16, 2006 - NALC, USPS Extend Multiple Days of Inspection MOU (PDF) -(NALC Bulletin) President Young has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Postal Service (M-01571) which extends the terms of the previous MOU on 'multiple days of inspection'. During a six day route count and inspection, the MOU allows management up to three 'days of inspection', but limits them to only one day of completing PS Form 1838-C. Additionally, when two or three PS Forms 3999 are completed, the MOU dictates which PS Form 3999 will be used to transfer territory when adjusting routes. The terms of the new MOU are applicable through May 26, 2007 unless mutually extended by the parties. Also:  Young, PA activists prod Sen. Rick Santorum into supporting Postal Reform Bill Provision |

May 16, 2006  - First Mail-Delivery Van Converted to Hybrid

At a ceremony today at the Boston General Mail facility, the Postal Service launched the first conversion of a mail-delivery van into a hybrid-electric vehicle. The hybrid-electric mail-delivery van will be monitored in regular service-delivering mail to Boston-area homes and businesses -- to determine its potential for emissions reduction and fuel-economy improvements. It was converted by Azure Dynamics Incorporated, Boston, a developer of electric and hybrid-electric powertrain systems. Based on the company's other hybrid applications, and depending on the vehicle and its duty cycle, Azure officials expect fuel-economy improvements to be in the range of 30 to 50 percent. |

May 16, 2006  - Letter Carrier's $3.1M injury settlement doesn't take away pain - Steven Watson's eyes tear when he thinks about all he's missed out on. Four years ago the Westerleigh man was young, healthy, married to his longtime sweetheart and the father of a toddler. But that all changed when a car rammed into the back of Watson's mail truck. Watson, a letter carrier, was delivering mail in Dongan Hills. He had parked his truck and was sorting through mail trays, court papers said when a Ford Expedition rammed into the rear of Watson's truck . Watson suffered severe back injuries, including a ruptured back disc. He could not return to work, do everyday chores like take out the trash or rough-house with his son.