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2007: January | February | March | April | May | June| July | August | September | October | November | December

Other Links

Colorful Pay and Holiday Postal Calendar for 2013 (PDF)

Thanks to Jim Edwards, Bloomington IL Area APWU Local 228 for sharing calendar with PostalReporter readers. The easy to read colorful calendar shows paydates, pay periods and holidays.

 

Website Displays Postal Employees Names, Salaries, Position, Date Hired And Work Facility
FSS Deployment Schedule
Flat Sequencing System Photos, Deployment Schedule By Zip Code and More..
Postal Employee Legal Cases
 

 

News from Postalblog


Video: Caring California Letter Carrier gets $500 from co-worker via TV show

Kevin Wonten wanted to pay it forward to his long-time friend Frank Betancourt. Both men are veteran letter carriers with the United State Postal Service.   Comments (Count)

 

USPS Loss For January 2013 $437 Million -- Year To Date loss for FY 2013 $1.7 billion -  USPS reported a net operating loss of $437 million for the month of January 2013.  Comments (Count)

 

USPS To Close Wichita Remote Encoding Center --797 employees affected

The U.S. Postal Service today announced the Wichita Remote Encoding Center (REC)  will close no sooner than September of 2013, as technology enhancements have made the need for RECs virtually obsolete.   Comments (Count)

 

 

USPS to Launch New Product Line of Apparel and Accessories

The agreement leverages Postal Service intellectual property by introducing the Rain Heat & Snow brand of apparel and accessory products.  Comments (Count)

 

USPS spending $2.2 million to send execs to National Postal Forum

Documents obtained by MacFarlane show the event will cost the agency approximately $2.2 million, including travel and $220,000 for exhibit space. Postal Service Defends Pricey Conference| The National Postal Forum Is NOT a Party | Lawmakers demanding answers over postal conference | Video from KTVU 2: :USPS conference   Comments (Count)

 

24 Senators Urge USPS not to take any action on eliminating Saturday mail delivery unless authorized by Congress - On February 15, 2013 24 members of the Senate wrote to Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe to express their concerns on USPS' intent to end Saturday mail delivery service in August and its legality.   Comments (Count)

 

 

USPS Announces Moratorium on DUO and POStPlan Implementation

Postal officials notified NAPUS that Delivery Unit Optimization (DUO) implementations and Post Office closures will be suspended temporarily starting Monday, November 19 and continuing through Friday, January 4, 2013. Comments (Count)

 

 

USPS, NALC Sign Agreement to convert 6,000 PTF carriers to full time, hire 3,400 TEs  . Comments (Count)

 

USPS Management and Privatizers: Reading from the Same Script

 Congress must make Postal Service a priority |  

 

GOP Sets Postal Service On Fire and Demand They Put Themselves Out   |  

 

Arbitrator Orders Los Angeles District Manager to Apologize to Employees For Fired Abusive Supervisor - "Arbitrator goes after the Los Angeles District Manager for their lack of enforcing their own "ZERO TOLERANCE" policy. The district Manager has to now do a written apology to the employees at the Redondo Beach California Office."  |  

 

 

Postal Service Set to Default on Billions in Health Payments   |  

 

Congressman Issa Takes Aim At The USPS And Saturday Delivery   |    

 

New PMG Video To Employees explains how USPS will continue moving forward  - Donahoe tells employees that new service standards were instituted July 1. The new standards will allow the Postal Service to consolidate up to 140 network facilities, while still providing excellent service to customers. Updated with video.  |

Romney Working To Eliminate The US Postal Service

Mitt Romney and his economic advisors like Kevin Hassett have a clear message in how a Romney administration would address the US Postal Service. It’s fairly simple they would eliminate it. ” .|  

 

 

Editorial: Who is Stephen Crawford and How Will He Affect the Post Office?   |    

 

 

Issa targets six-day provision in appropriations bill  |  

 

Rural Carriers have a New contract - In an interest arbitration award dated July 3, 2012, the NRLCA and USPS finally have a new National Agreement, which is effective from November 21, 2010 through May 20, 2015.See Arbitration Award  |  

 

 

USPS Ends FY Second Quarter With $3.2 Billion Lost – YTD $6.5 Billion

The Postal Service continues to suffer from a severe lack of liquidity caused by over $25 billion of cumulative net losses in the past five fiscal years which included $21 billion of Congressionally-mandated payments for prefunding retiree health benefits NALC: USPS reports that pre-funding accounts for $6.2B of the $6.5B in red ink. |

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

August 31, 2013

End of an era: Tennessee Post Office closes as landlord questions move

Stolen postal truck chase detailed

 

August 30, 2013

NALC responds to PMG’s workroom floor video

“The PMG’s comment that there are some positive aspects in both bills is bizarrely beside the point,” Rolando remarked. “Sure, there are a number of individual provisions in the bills that are good in isolation—but both bills would hasten the destructive downsizing and service cuts we’ve faced for years, and both would attack the collective-bargaining rights of postal employees.   Comments (Count)

 

NALC: New Memorandum of Understanding on Filling Residual Vacancies

NALC and the Postal Service have entered into the Memorandum of Understanding Re: Residual Vacancies – City Letter Carrier Craft, which establishes a process for filling residual vacancies not under a proper Article 12 withholding order. Comments (Count)

 

Michigan: Armada welcomes new postmaster

The PMG has a bridge to sell: The GAO report on the Postal Service healthcare plan

Accounts clash on reason for post office camp departure

Eastern Kentucky. post office burns

Postal worker admits gift card theft

Video: Iowa Postal Workers Protesting Two Bills In Congress

 

August 29, 2013

Iowa man sentenced for counterfeiting nearly $60,000 in postage meter stamps

USPS: Properly processing change of address forms

California: Novato to begin Postal Carrier Alert program for seniors, disabled

USPS looking for holiday help

Inside the Postal Startup That Wants to Stick It to the (Mail) Man

Mailman mauled by dog, in intensive care

Today in labor history: National Association of Letter Carriers founded

Legal Loophole Allows Homeless At Astoria Post Office

North Las Vegas mailman sent to hospital after bee attack

Police shoot at stolen postal van
Michigan letter carrier accused of stealing Kohl's coupons
Berkeley post office protest leads to crime in area, authorities say
USPS causing “confusion” with post office relocation process

 

August 28, 2013

Video: Georgia Letter carrier claims 'acting manager' repeatedly harassed her -   Gessell Colon, a United States letter carrier in Columbus, is crying foul after claiming she has been the victim of repeated sexual harassment on the job.  Comments (Count)

Business worries USPS will broadly raise rates to make more revenue
Canada Post segment reports a $104-million loss before tax in second quarter

Bomb squad investigates suspicious package near Boynton Beach post office

 

August 27, 2013

USPS Turns to Corporate America For Input on Leadership Development Programs USPS is soliciting input from the Executive Leadership Development and Corporate education communities about the requirements and conditions to design, develop, and deliver a program (or series of programs) targeted for senior executives  Comments (Count)

 

USPS Seeking National Contract for Rental, Leasing of Minivans & Cargo Vans

According to USPS: Presently, there are not sufficient capital funds to purchase new equipment.  Comments (Count)

 

Video: Chattanooga Post Office Landlord and USPS Part Ways on Bad Terms

Green said she signed the lease and sent it off to USPS seven days ago but that a signature from USPS officials to honor the lease never showed up. USPS placed post office on emergency suspension.  Comments (Count)

 

Ohio Letter carrier on probation delivers mail on day off

The man was sent home and a supervisor from the post office came to deliver the remainder of the mail.  Comments (Count)

 

Iraq veteran must move mail box or lose mail service

Florida: Aripeka’s small but beloved post office slated to close Sept. 13

Cleveland woman’s mail delivery interrupted due to postal carrier fear over her dog

Mayor’s Appeal on Berkeley Post Office Rejected – for Now | Berkeley PO sale allowed to proceed

Exigency Extra

Sketch of Hayneville postal driver robbery/shooting suspect released

No way! Commission rejects appeal on post office closure for being late - postmarked one day after filing deadline

Video: Vermont post offices facing slashed service

Nebraska window clerk pleads not guilty to federal charges

Jekyll Island working to keep its post office and zip code

USPS Hasn't Updated Revision Guidance on Employee Handbook (ELM) in Almost 20 Years

Carbondale Post Office Officially Shut Down: Mail Will Be Processed in St. Louis

St. Hilaire post office ransacked

Calgary mail carriers watching the skies as Hawk targets postal workers

 

August 26, 2013

Local soldier reimbursed after Postal Service denied claim

Public Sector Has Some of Oldest Workers Set to Retire

USPS plans to sell antique Palmer Square post office in Princeton NJ

Postmaster comes through big for those fighting wildfires

Postal Service apparently not 'Stronger than the Storm' in Sea Bright

New scheme targets people who are moving

Current Thrift Savings Plan Fact Sheet

Bomb squad called to Ohio post office
A smile, a word and a first-class fellow: Bakersfield window clerk is remembered

Christmas for Pat: A heartwarming tale in which everyone gets what they want - and then doesn't

 

August 25, 2013

Video: Postal Worker Killed In Hit-And-Run Crash Remembered As Loving Family Man - Police continue to hunt for the hit-and-run driver in a early Saturday morning crash that that killed two men — a 47-year-old postal worker who was just a block from work, and the suspect’s brother  Comments (Count)

Arkansas Postmaster Named One of Best in the U.S.

Postal Service updated study called flawed as Gretna rallies to save downtown post office

 

August 24, 2013

Postal worker on the way to work killed by drunk driver in South Los Angeles

Pit bull attack sends mailman to hospital

Musical chairs in Reading PA leaves historic post office without a place

Video: Las Vegas woman catches thieves on video stealing from her mailbox

Tennessee Postal Worker Killed By Police Remembered

Video: Las Vegas woman catches thieves on video stealing from her mailbox

When postal workers double as first responders

$50,000 reward offered in Pennsylvania post office robbery

 

August 23, 2013

PMG Responds to GAO Report On USPS Healthcare Plan

Post and Pa rcel - Without addressing the cost issue in a responsible way, the Postal Service may be unable to afford to provide health care benefits to retirees. Our proposal assures that we will.    Comments (Count)

 

USPS and Mail Handlers National Agreement Finalized

The NPMHU and USPS have finalized the text of the 2011 National Agreement as compelled by the February 15, 2013 Award of the Board of Arbitration.   Comments (Count)

 

Eighth NY Postal Worker Sentenced for Stealing $40,518 in Unemployment Insurance Benefits

NJ Letter Carrier gets prison for using mail route in $390,000 tax returns scheme

Video: Dutch Designer Follows The Postal Trail

SC postal worker charged with stealing counterfeit cash from mail and then trying to spend it
Camp at the Berkeley Post Office Continues

USPS Issues March on Washington Stamp

Oregon letter carrier charged with sexually assaulting 75 yr old woman on route

Former mail carrier explains discarding 2,000 items

Wauwatosa postal carrier threatened, chased while on job

 

August 22, 2013

Tennessee Postal Worker Killed By Police Remembered

Taylor served 20 years in the Air Force, and went on to work for another 23 years with the U.S. Postal Service in Knoxville. He expected to retire this December.   Comments (Count)

 

Why was the mail Delayed ?

From Communities and Postal Workers United: - Many people think, what is the problem? The mail only has to travel an extra 50 miles to the new sorting facility and 50 miles back, an extra couple of hours. What’s the big deal? Why is the mail being delayed days or even weeks?     Comments (Count)

 

Congress's toughest watchdog is also its richest member

 Worth $355.4 Million - Congressman Darrell  Issa wiped some significant debts from his books last year, helping him climb to the very top of The Hill's 50 Wealthiest. The California Republican no longer lists $75 million worth of personal notes among his liabilities. In addition, a personal loan from Union Bank went from at least $50 million in value in 2011 down to $25 million.   Comments (Count)

 

Mailer Groups Tell USPS BOG A Rate Increase Would Be “Devastating”

The Affordable Mail Alliance (AMA) understands that the Board of Governors will be considering a potential exigency rate increase on your conference call on September 5. The mailing industry, and its suppliers, responsible for $1.3 trillion in sales annually, and nearly 8 million private sector jobs, are unanimous in our great concern that, notwithstanding the Postal Service’s ongoing financial predicament, an “exigent” increase would cause severely adverse, and likely irrevocable, consequences for mail volume and revenue. Magazines, Newspapers Brace for Exigent Postal Rate Hike | Exigent Postal Rate Increase Is Feared Near  Comments (Count)

 

Top USPS Executives Highlight Challenges Facing Postal Service At NAPUS Convention - On Wednesday morning, USPS Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President Megan Brennan spoke to Postmasters at NAPUS’ 109th National Convention.  Comments (Count)

USPS honors tennis great Althea Gibson with Forever stamp

USPS stamp commemorates March on Washington

Unlikely Allies Rush to Save a Bronx Post Office's Murals

Rochester: Postal Service hiring more city carrier assistants

Former NY postal worker gets jail time for mail thefts

OIG Begins Probe of Postal Service Conferences

 

August 21, 2013

Postmaster General Visits North Dakota for Firsthand Look at State's Needs

The senator also arranged a roundtable featuring community leaders, postal worker representatives, oil industry and newspaper leaders to apprise the postmaster of the pressing need to retain and expand postal services to residents and businesses, as well as rural communities in the region.  Comments (Count)

 

New health plan options, reduced retirement benefits & Chained CPI  

Chained CPI could cost feds thousands over time, NARFE says - Many federal employees and retirees have expressed concern over the impact of the Affordable Care Act and reforms to the Federal Employee Health Benefits program. However, another plan under consideration on Capitol Hill may have a greater impact on feds’ long-term financial well-being — the chained Consumer Price Index. The Obama administration has come out in support of the chained CPI  Comments (Count)

 

USPS Awards SecureKey Technologies Contract to Implement Federal Cloud Credential Exchange SecureKey, the leading provider of trusted identity networks, today announced it has been awarded a contract by the United States Postal Service® (USPS®) to provide the cloud-based authentication infrastructure for the new Federal Cloud Credential Exchange (FCCX) Can the US Postal Service find a future running a gov't cloud-based .  Comments (Count)

 

USPS Chief Information Officer Ellis Burgoyne retiring in October

PMG Pat Donahoe credited Burgoyne with guiding USPS through one of its most pressing challenges — the use of information systems  archived USPS CIO to resume duties after extended leave   Comments (Count)

 

Indiana Postmaster arrested on child exploitation charges

According to charging documents, law enforcement first began their investigation in June
2013, when an undercover member of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Southern Indiana
Child Exploitation Task Force connected with a computer that was allegedly sharing sexually explicit
images depicting young children.  Comments (Count)

 

Postal Service: No deal with LDS Church

Postal employee sentenced for stealing mail

Video: Roanoke, VA Postal Workers Picket in effort to educate people About USPS issues

Deputies: Flasher busted at a Florida post office

High on Landmark Panel’s List - A Post Office Lobby, Adorned and Ennobling

Postal Service spokesman says no rural post offices in danger of closing

Minnesota Postmaster pleads guilty to stealing postal funds

Video: “If The Post Office Closes Horatio Will Be No More”

Springfield, IL: Postal Workers Picket

Into the Postal Weeds: Where in the World...Is the USPS Headed With Flats? (PDF)

Moleskin Postal Notebooks Combine Writing Book and Letter

 

August 20, 2013

Mail Carrier Assaulted by Customer

Teen Neighbor, Mailman To Be Honored For Rescuing BA Woman From

Fiasco in Freistatt: How the Post Office Became a Cluster Box

USPS to be no show, but Gretna to rally Friday to save downtown post office from closure

Stabbing near Berkeley post office demonstration raises questions

PMG to Visit North Dakota

August 19, 2013

GAO: USPS Proposed Health Plan Could Improve Financial Condition, but Impact on Medicare and Other Issues Should Be Weighed before Approval The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) would likely realize large financial gains from its proposed health care plan, primarily by increasing retirees’ use of Medicare. Some elements of USPS’s proposal would add uncertainties that could reduce funds available for its employees’ and retirees’ future health care. GAO: USPS Healthcare Plan Would Hurt Medicare, Postal Worker s |USPS Plan to Pull Out of Fed Health Benefits Could Cost Postal Workers USPS Plan: Make Medicare Pay Our Bills  Comments (Count)

 

USPS OIG Audit report: Use of PSEs in Customer Service Operation

The Postal Service showed incremental increases in using PSEs in customer service operations in FY 2012 and achieved significant labor cost savings totaling over $233 million. However, it ended the year with a PSE usage rate of only 10.5 percent, about half of the maximum 20 percent usage rate allowed by the National Agreement.  Comments (Count)

 

California Company Fined $250,000 for scheme to defraud USPS in sale of Postal Uniforms Los Angeles resident Carl Wayne Adrian, Sr., and his company, California Uniforms, Inc. were fined $250,000 and ordered to forfeit $135,000 worth of seized Postal uniform items. Adrian Sr. was also sentenced to 12 months of home detention by U.S. District Judge William Q. Hayes.    Comments (Count)

USPS Board of Governors to meet in closed session on September 5th, 24th and 25th The US Postal Service Board of Governors will meet in closed session next month via teleconference and in Kansas City, MO   Comments (Count)

Mailman at 72 With America’s Longest Route

Two hospitalized after vehicle crashes into post office near Jennings

USPS Cloud Contract Award Coming Soon

USPS Online help for mailing promotions

USPS OIG: Fueling a Fleet

USPS Board of Governors to meet in closed session on September 5th, 24th and 25th

Will USPS Future Plans for Priority Mail Result in Higher Rates?

 

August 18, 2013

Postal Service Applies Old Promise to New Priority

Who's the stranger with my mail?

Misunderstanding results in many Berkeley post office protesters breaking camp
America's Post Office: Not As Doomed As You Think

 

August 17, 2013

Embattled Postal Truckers to protest privatization on Labor Day

In April 2013 USPS sent the postal unions a notice of intent to subcontract their Pacific Area Postal Vehicle Service, citing cost comparisons. This, despite the fact that they failed in a previous attempt to subcontract PVS in California on an environmental pretext.   Comments (Count)

 

Video: USPS Contract Tractor-Trailer delivering mail overturns in Sunol, CA

Chattanooga East Lake Finance Station to close

Joplin's request for post office consolidation denied

Post Office Sees Gain in Lost Weekend
Utah cyclist sustains critical head injuries in collision with mail truck

 

August 16, 2013

NALC: USPS finances show 3rd quarter ‘rebound’

The Postal Service has released its financial figures for the third quarter of Fiscal Year 2013, which covers April, May and June. “The latest quarterly report makes clear that its finances are rebounding strongly as the U.S. economy improves,” NALC President Fredric Rolando said. “   Comments (Count)

 

APWU: First 399 Clerk Craft PSEs to be Converted to Career Status

In response to demands from the APWU, the Postal Service agreed on Aug. 14 to convert 399 Clerk Craft Postal Support Employees (PSEs) to career status. The conversions will be the first in mail processing. APWU: PSEs Overtime Adjustment Postponed to Pay Period 19Comments (Count)

 

National ad campaign featuring USPS employees debuts

The new ad is the latest round of a comprehensive multi-media campaign on the Postal Service’s revamped Priority Mail offering. Already, USPS has sent an introductory mailpiece to 10 million U.S. businesses. Anatomy of an ad: Making the new USPS Priority Mail commercials   Comments (Count)

 

Did Netflix and the USPS have a falling out?

Gretna sets Aug. 23 rally to protest possible post office closure

Protestor at Berkeley post office camp-in stabbed in thigh

Two South Carolina postal workers indicted for delay of mail

Illinois Man gets prison time for snatching ‘COD’ mail package without paying

Clifton post office addresses customer complaints

Sale process for Norristown, PA post office moves forward

Canada postal carrier sentenced to house arrest and ordered to make donation for stealing mail

 

August 15, 2013

PMG Video: USPS Will Not Need a Taxpayer Bailout If Congress Acts

As for eliminating Saturday delivery, Donahoe says the proposal "is still on the table." There are bills in the Senate and House that would allow the postal service to move to a 5-day delivery system but the plan has already been dismissed by members of both parties.   Comments (Count)

 

APWU Wins Major Subcontracting Case

The APWU won a major victory Aug. 13 when Arbitrator Shyam Das issued a ruling that will help the union fight subcontracting, President Cliff Guffey has announced. Das ruled that locals must be notified when management makes a decision at the local, district or area level to contract out craft work  Comments (Count)

 

APWU: $937 Cost-of-Living Raise Set for September

Career APWU members will receive a $937 annual increase in pay in September, APWU President Cliff Guffey has announced. “This substantial raise is the result of the 2010-2015 Collective Bargaining Agreement, which preserved cost-of-living adjustments for our members,” he said    Comments (Count)

 

Video: Why do conservatives want to kill the USPS?

Thom Hartmann talks with Don Soifer, Executive Vice President-Lexington Institute Comments (Count)

 

Oklahoma group pitches compressed natural gas deal to USPS

 A group of Oklahoma City businessmen is optimistic about its chances of working out a deal with the U.S. Postal Service to try out a fleet of vehicles that run on compressed natural gas instead of gasoline.. Evans said the Postal Service has never leased vehicles before, but the arrangement could save it about $600 million a year in maintenance costs if the MERVAN Project is taken nationwide. Postal Service officials still has questions about the proposal, which will be addressed at future meetings. For now, the group is focusing on building grassroots support for the project.  Comments (Count)

 

MVS Arbitration
Burrus Journal -The July 25 interim decision identifies the issues in dispute as whether the union under the terms of the Memorandum conditioned their agreement for increased PSE wages on the establishment of desirable duty assignments and other issues. In the decision, the arbitrator’s award specified that such conditions of agreement must be “reasonably related” to the wage adjustment. Assuming that agreement cannot be reached through further discussions, it will be a stretch for the union to convince the arbitrator that the establishment of desirable duty assignments is reasonably related to wage increases for new employees.   Comments (Count)

 

Mystery' blockade of private truck at Portland mail facility

 A mystery vehicle suddenly blocked a private truck attempting to transport mail at the Mt. Hood Distribution Center (US Postal Service) at 9am this morning (8/14/2013). A ten-foot banner reading “Stop the Privatization of the People’s Postal Service” covered one side of the silver station wagon, tying the action to a blockade of the same private truck last month.   Comments (Count)

 

Frustration Builds as Mail Still Withheld in Chicago Neighborhood

Up to $5,000 Reward Offered for the Burglary of Golden, MO Post Office

Pennsylvania mailman held on theft charges

Rural letter carriers union protests proposed cutbacks

Let the Open Season Panic Begin!

Ohio Postal Worker Found Guilty of Workers Comp Fraud

Letter carrier sues bakery after sign allegedly fell on him

Could These Apps Save the USPS?

Sending mail around Hampton Roads to take longer after distribution operations move

If the postal service has to show a profit, why not the rest of the government?
Rhode Island letter carrier pleads not guilty in theft of mail

 

 

August 14, 2013

PMG addresses legislation, health care in latest video

Updated with video-In his latest video, PMG Pat Donahoe addresses the latest news on legislation and proposals for USPS to sponsor its own health care plan   Comments (Count)

 

USPS Sees $500 Million From Priority Mail Changes

The U.S. Postal Service says it’s improving its express shipping options to become more competitive with FedEx Corp. and United Parcel Service Inc. Day-specific delivery “will be a very compelling feature and attract new business for USPS, which means it could draw volume away from FedEx and UPS from their two-day and three-day deferred air express services and ground service,” said Satish Jindel, president of SJ Consulting Group in Sewickley, Pennsylvania. Press Release: USPS Launches Major Upgrades to Priority Mail  Comments (Count)

 

APWU, USPS Agreement Strengthens, Clarifies PSE Seniority

The American Postal Workers Union achieved a significant victory on Aug. 13, with the signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that strengthens and clarifies the seniority rights of Postal Support Employees (PSEs), Industrial Relations Director Mike Morris has announced   Comments (Count)

 

FERS & CSRS Disability Retirement: Finding the Paradigm of an Effective Lexical Nexus - by Attorney Robert R. McGill - In the end, one must always remind oneself that the Federal or Postal Disability Retirement applicant always has the burden of proof. As such, to prove a Federal Disability Retirement application based upon a preponderance of the evidence, one must always present a cohesive, comprehensible and streamlined presentation of the lexical nexus to the deciding agency – the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.   Comments (Count)

 

What it’s all about: The war on workers goes to the post office

Mark Jamison via Save The Post Office -What if the postal crisis we’ve read about over the last five years isn’t really about saving the Postal Service after all?  What if the story really isn’t about an archaic Federal agency struggling to find a business plan in the face of technological change?  Could the real story be much simpler than that? Maybe the real story is about changing the basic relationship between employers and employees in the one sector of our economy where employees have been able to maintain decent wages and benefits? :  Comments (Count)

 

NRLCA Convention: Saturday Mail Delivery Safe For Now But Common Sense Solutions Could Fix USPS Woes

Video: UPS cargo plane crashes at Alabama airport

Video: Man Jumped Post Office Counter, Grabbed Postal Clerk By The Throat

Go Paperless? Not Just Yet

Woman hits gas instead of brake - Slams into VT Post Office

National Alliance of Postal and Federal Employees To Relocate After Selling Building For $5.5M

 

August 13, 2013

Washington Post Editorial Board Endorses Darrell Issa's Postal Service Reform Bill - DailyKos - It appears the Washington Post has hit a new low by endorsing Congressman Darrell Issa's Postal Service Reform bill and not offering a complete, objective analysis of the whole postal service situation: First off, to the editors of the Washington Post, the U.S. Postal Service's financial problems were caused by the Postmaster General, Issa and others in the first place, not by other factors at hand like say...  Competition. And you can't get anymore clueless like the Postmaster General in comparing the USPS to Greece:    Comments (Count)

 

VIDEO: Woman thinks letter carrier is stalking her

This is a video I found on YouTube, It's just a lighter side of postal news. The woman confronts letter carrier by saying, “Stop stalking me, alright? Don’t ever stalk me again.”  He calmly turns around with a look of confusion and has no idea of what she’s talking about.   Comments (Count)

 

USPS pilot program to expand footprint in $20 billion small business market

Video: Man killed in shooting near Chicago South Side post office

Political mail a landslide winner for the Postal Service

Video: Sun Valley, NV’s Sole Post Office Proposed to Close

Virginia: Jacqueline Fisher, 20, among youngest postmasters appointed by USPS

When good news is bad news: The Postal Service spins its Q3 financial report

Mailman injured, cited in a rollover crash in Mooretown

Web Services to Challenge Post Office in Bill-Paying

Newburgh postal facility move to slow first-class mail deliver

 

August 12, 2013

Sen. Sanders: Congress Must Not Hobble Postal Service Rebound

With revenue rebounding, the U.S. Postal Service would have posted a profit for the past three months without an unprecedented requirement that it sink $5.5 billion a year into future retiree health care, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said today.  Comments (Count)

 

APWU: OWCP Suspends USPS Access to Electronic Data-- Indefinitely

As a result of the suspension, the Postal Service is also unable to access the Agency Query System (AQS), which provides secure access to FEC injury claims, and will be unable to obtain specific case documents through electronic kiosks in OWCP District Offices.  Comments (Count)

 

"Clerks Care Program" encourages employees to seek new opportunities, leads for USPS Clerks Care, a new lead generation program that encourages all clerk craft employees to identify and submit leads to help grow revenue and build new business opportunities for USPS, is underway.    Comments (Count)

 

Netflix Blames Closing of DVD Distribution Center On USPS

Netflix has closed the Bloomfield DVD distribution center due mainly to United States Postal Service transportation and service changes, along with increased internal production efficiencies, resulting [in] a small number of jobs lost,  Comments (Count)

 

PRC agrees to hear mayor’s plea to halt Berkeley post office sale

$5,000 Reward Offered in Golden, Mo. Post Office Break-in

NLRB at full strength as four Obama appointees are sworn in Monday

Connecting History: March on Washington stamp goes social

St. Louis to greet 5,000 letter carriers this week

Video: Suspicious Substance At JFK Turns Out To Be Beauty Supplies

eBay Aware of Problem with USPS Tracking Numbers

Postmaster has show dogs, rides motorcycles

The Post's View: Saving the U.S. Postal Service

 

August 11, 2013

Without Pre-Funding Obligations The USPS Would Profit How Much?

 New Hampshire Labor News - The new USPS Financial Report issued Friday further validates the claim that the Postal Service is neither broken nor in crisis. Excluding the pre-funding expense the USPS has turned a $660 million profit delivering mail in fiscal year 2013. Showing again that Senator Carper, Senator Coburn and Congressman Issa are manufacturing a postal financial crisis as an excuse to dismantle it. Standing in their shadows are vultures named FedEx and UPS. It appears that Senator  Carper and Senator Coburn  are being influenced by FedEx and UPS who would capitalize on a dismantled Postal Service. The facts paint the picture: Since Carper’s reelection nine months ago he has received $30,000 from FedEx and 26,500 from UPS .  Comments (Count)

 

Voluntary Early Retirements for City Carriers in FY 2014?

by Don Cheney - The Postal Service is predicting a huge number of retirements--41,000--in FY 2014 that starts October 1, 2013.  Comments (Count)

 

Merchants not so bubbly for Postal's alcohol delivery pitch

Weiner inserts his own campaign fliers into mailboxes

Postal truck fire in New Castle County

US Postal Service Stops Discarding Imagination Library Books

Teens destroyed 43 mailboxes, property in Bridgewater, police say

 

August 10, 2013

Postal Customers Get it - Why Can’t Some Members of Congress?

Postal customers concerned about the undoing of their postal service are speaking out.  In recent op-eds featured in local newspapers, customers point out that much of the financial “reasoning” surrounding the Postal Service doesn’t hold water.  Comments (Count)

 

Widow Questions Safety at Brooklyn Center Post Office Where Husband Was Run Over

Playing Post Office

Video: USPS Suspends Mail Delivery on Street in Chicago after carrier attacked

California: Mail strewn about roadway after USPS Contract truck overturns

 

August 9, 2013

USPS Reports Net Loss Of $740 Million for FY Third Quarter

Corbett said current projections indicate that the Postal Service will continue to have low levels of liquidity for the remainder of this fiscal year, will be unable to make the required $5.6 billion retiree health benefits prefunding payment due by Sept. 30, and will continue to have no ability to borrow additional funds at that date. NALC: USPS finances are rebounding strongly as economy improves  Comments (Count)

 

APWU: USPS Issues Stamps Honoring Workers, But What About Its Own?

The Postal Service’s release on Aug. 8 of a series stamps featuring iconic images of the workers who built the nation’s bridges, railways, and skyscrapers almost a century ago is more than a little ironic, the APWU noted.  Comments (Count)

 

Hundreds trying to save Fernandina Beach post office

Nevada: Girl, 7, suffers bumps, bruises when hit by postal vehicle

California: Teen Rides Bike Into USPS Truck, Breaks Leg

Florida postmaster faces DUI charge

Massachusetts Postal Worker Arrested for Stealing Video Games From the Mail

Ask the Experts: VERA, FEHB and sick leave

Postal workers save child from attempted kidnapping

Expiring leases send two San Diego post offices off for closure

Men dressed as postal workers rob elderly woman

High Rent Forces Post Office Move

NPR: Can Congress Figure Out How to Rescue the Post Office?

 

August 8, 2013

Mail Handlers and USPS Reach Agreement on Fishgold Arbitration Questions & Answers-With the release of the Fishgold Arbitration Award, which established the terms of the 2011 National Agreement, the parties agreed to jointly develop and implement a Question and Answer document addressing and affirming the parties’ mutual understanding and interpretation of many provisions contained in the 73 page decision.  Comments (Count)

 

Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe on USPS Budget Solutions

People were calling for you to resign. How did you feel about that?
I don’t want to be a smart aleck, but I’m not running a popularity contest. I’m trying to do the responsible thing.  Comments (Count)

 

Burrus: Carper Postal Bill is doing the bidding of the major mailers in his state

Between A Rock and A Hard Place - Postal unions and American citizens who rely upon secure and trusty mail delivery can thank Senator Carper, a Democrat for putting them in a position to oppose any postal legislation in this session of Congress.  The House under the leadership of Chairman Issa has already voted a Bill out of Committee that is totally unacceptable.  Now Carper is doing the bidding of the major mailers in his state and has produced an equally offensive piece of legislation for consideration in the Senate  Comments (Count)

 

Video: USPS Rejects Sacramento Chef’s Insurance Claim For Stolen Kitchen Knives - He shipped the 24-pound, 10-ounce package from the U.S. Virgin Islands when he moved here — but said the package he picked up from his mailbox inside The UPS Store felt almost empty  Comments (Count)

 

Louisiana: Metairie robber dressed as mail carrier forces way into woman's home

Illinois: Cahokia post office to reopen Monday

Florida: Mailman on New Smyrna Beach-area route arrested on charges of defrauding customers

Rhode Island Letter Carrier Indicted for Allegedly Destroying, Stealing Mail

USPS Forever Stamps Honor America’s Industrial Workers

Authorities release photo of “vehicle of interest” in Hayneville

13,000 pieces of mail recovered at Columbus postal carrier's home

Inside Man: Duo Faces Five Years in Ansonia, CT Postal Truck Heist

 

August 7, 2013

Issa’s gavel up for grabs as jockeying begins

About a half-dozen lawmakers are jockeying for the gavel of the powerful House Oversight and Government Reform Committee...(Darrell) Issa’s term as the Obama administration’s chief inquisitor expires at the end of 2014, and unless leaders waive party rules, he won’t be eligible to keep running the committee.   Comments (Count)

 

Sanders, Postal Unions Oppose Bill to Weaken Mail Service, End Saturday Deliveries, Slash Jobs U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders said today he agrees with Postal Service unions that oppose legislation likely to end Saturday mail service, significantly slow down delivery, close processing plants and eliminate door-to-door deliveries.  Comments (Count)

 

Undermining the Union in the Legislative Arena – More Concessions from APWU President Guffey - by Clint Burelson, candidate for APWU Clerk Craft Director  Comments (Count)

 

Day 12 of Tent City on steps of Berkeley’s Post Office

The Tent City on the steps of Berkeley’s main post office is now in its 12th day. Two dozen campers have been sleeping there to rally opposition to the Grand Theft of the people’s Post Office being engineered by Postmaster General Donahoe and his right wing collaborators in Congress. “These post offices were paid for by our parents and grandparents,” said one camper. “Why should they be sold off to line the pockets of a handful of big corporations?” Postal police and postal inspectors come by every day and all night, threatening to remove the camp and its banners, and arrest the protesters   Comments (Count)

 

Friends remember Deatsville postal worker killed in vehicle crash

Video: Three hurt after car plows into Hawaii Kai post office

California: Reward offered after Oakdale letter carrier assaulted in road rage incident

Postal reform?

Sticking point: Postage stamps, ads not a match

Postal Service property taken during robbery, shooting of truck driver in Hayneville, AL

 

August 6, 2013

Budget Cuts Are Delaying USPS and Federal Retiree Payments

DeadTree Edition - USPS’s most successful efficiency tactic in recent years has been reducing its workforce by offering Voluntary Early Retirement (VERA). But reports of disgraceful nine-month waits to start receiving full retirement checks discouraged many other employees from taking the offers.    Comments (Count)

 

PMG Seeks to Take Us Out of Federal Healthcare Plan

by Greg Bell - Thanks, But No Thanks- Donahoe first urged lawmakers to take postal employees and retirees out of the FEHBP at a House hearing on March 27, 2012, claiming such a move would save the USPS $7 billion annually. (Now he claims savings would reach $8 billion per year.)    Comments (Count)

 

Alabama postal worker killed in single-vehicle crash

Video: Mailman, neighbor save woman from burning house in Broken Arrow,OK

Video: Washington State postal worker off the job for stealing mail

Postal Carrier Attacked By Pit Bulls In Chartiers

Post office protesters defy order to move

Burned post office in Hawaii unlikely to be rebuilt

Post Office Enforces Parcel Policy

Postal service closes Alorton and Cahokia post offices

Beware the fungus! Two more post offices closed over mold problems

Op-Ed: Save the post office by finding a new use for it

Veteran US mail carrier works with speed, ease at post office

Houston: Feds searching for suspect in armed robbery at postal station

 

August 5, 2013

Postal unions write joint letter to Reid against Carper-Coburn postal bill

The four postal unions sent a joint letter to Senate Majority Harry Reid on Aug. 5  expressing “utter dismay” at the introduction of S. 1486, the postal bill co-sponsored by Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE) and Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK), the chair and ranking member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. The bill continues the disastrous policy of mandating massive pre-funding of retiree health benefits and provides for major downsizing measures to pay for it, the letter notes.  Comments (Count)

 

As prospects dim for postal reform, Senate bill already encountering flak

Only days after it was introduced , a proposed Senate overhaul of the U.S. Postal Service is taking its lumps from both organized labor and the mailing industry. Senate finds bipartisan postal bill where House did not   Comments (Count)

 

Senator Carper introduces legislation to virtually end the USPS

New Hampshire Labor News - Democratic Senator Tom Carper has moved the Postal Service one big step closer to extinction this weekend by introducing his new Postal Reform Act S 1486. Mr Carper a long time ally of wealthy corporate interests intends to drive the stake into the heart of the worlds best Postal Service. His bill on many levels closely resembles Congressman Issa’s HR 2748 which passed out of a House committee 10 days ago on a party line vote, with only GOP support.   Comments (Count)

 

OPM: USPS Early Retirement Claims Partially Responsible for Backlog

The Office of Personnel Management is months behind schedule in eliminating the retirement claims backlog because of mandatory budget cuts and an influx of new applications from the Postal Service earlier this year, according to an update released on Monday. Comments (Count)

 

An Environmentally Sustainable USPS? by Thomas Day, USPS Chief Sustainability Officer

Video: USPS plans to sell downtown Reading PA post office, carrier annex

Postal authorities increase pressure on protesters seeking to stop sale of historic Berkeley PO

Yonkers post office robbed at gunpoint

USPS launches multi-channel marketing campaign to promote priority mail

Postal Service IT contract oversight deficient, says IG

Inside Man: Three Due In Court In Staged Ansonia, CT Postal Truck Heist

Rolando Letter: Postal Service pre-funding is source of red ink

Door-to-Door Postal Delivery Is Part Of The American Experience
Sale of main Berkeley post office building means loss of rich history

USPS Awards Two Contracts Worth More than $53 Million To AT&T

Wife of contract carrier explains a 12 things about rural America's communications lifeline

The Postcard's Stormy Birth

Postal changes put an end to tradition of Missouri family

 

August 4, 2013

With Changes Looming, Fayetteville Postal Workers Carry On

International students could be hurt by Postal cuts

Postal Service loses money despite customer growth

NAPUS: Initial Posting of 6 Hour Offices to Open August 20

 

August 3, 2013

The Postal Worker Today & Filing a Federal Disability Retirement Application Based upon Workplace Stress- By Attorney Robert R. McGill -  Stress is an inherently commonplace element in the workplace. Whether on a farm tending to sick animals or attempting to meet a deadline in order to satisfy a client, workplace stress is a factor which must be tolerated in any employment arena. For the U.S. Postal Worker, such stresses are compounded by the corporate imposition of a top-down organizational infrastructure incentivizing short-term profits reflected on a skewed economic model, threatened with oversight by an unsympathetic Congress, always at the expense of labor – of the craft employees who must work with less, and refuse to allow the hostile work environment to interfere with the task at hand,  Comments (Count)

 

USPS Warns Protesters Camping At Historic Berkeley Post Office To Move Out

A group of postal inspectors and postal police visited the protesters Friday and warned them that they needed to remove their tents from the steps of the historic post office at 2000 Allston Way, U.S. Postal Inspector Jeff Fitch said.  Comments (Count)

 

Postal worker robbed in southwest Houston

Save the mail: The Postal Service needs help on several fronts

The Story Behind Nebraska’s Post Office Murals

 

August 2, 2013

Senators Introduce Bipartisan Postal Reform Bill

This proposal is a rough draft of an agreement subject to change that I hope will move us closer to a solution that will protect taxpayers and ensure the Postal Service can remain economically viable while providing vital services for the American people.” Senate postal reform would reduce USPS payments into FERS | Proposal to Reduce Fed Workers' Comp Benefits Attached to Postal Bill |The Senate does postal reform: Highlights and low points of the Carper-Coburn bill | Senator Sanders: Postal Reform Bill significantly weaker than the bill passed in Senate last year | NALC and APWU call Senate Postal Reform Bill “Misguided” and “Fatally Flawed” | NAPUS Reacts To Carper-Coburn Postal Reform Bill   Comments (Count)

 

AP Interview with PMG: USPS takes photos of all mail

The Postal Service takes pictures of every piece of mail processed in the United States - 160 billion last year - and keeps them on hand for up to a month. In an interview with The Associated Press, Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe said the photos of the exterior of mail pieces are used primarily for the sorting process, but they are available for law enforcement, if requested.   Comments (Count)

 

Video: Postal Truck Driver Shot, Robbed at Hayneville AL Post Office

USPS: Postal bulletin board guidelines

Arbitrator: MOU Requires Union Agreement When Exceptions to PSE Wage Rates Are Needed

August 2013 Newsletter Of Communities and Postal Workers United (PDF)

Alabama: USPS Truck Driver Robbed, Shot Now in Stable Condition

USPS OIG: The Postal Service's Use of Social Media (PDF)

The End of Creative Mailboxes?

Ripley's Strange Mail Contest

Chain collision injures postal worker delivering mail

USPS offers three mailing promotions

OSHA announces changes to recordkeeping rule for federal agencies to improve tracking of federal workplace injuries, illnesses

Postal worker hurt while delivering mail:

Two Men Rob Atlanta Post Office

 

August 1, 2013

Cash-strapped Postal Service eyes alcohol deliveries to help raise revenues
Allowing the Postal Service to deliver beer, wine and spirits is high on his wish list for raising cash for his financially ailing agency, Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe said Thursday.In an interview with The Associated Press, Donahoe also endorsed ending most door-to-door and Saturday mail deliveries as cost-saving measures for his agency, which lost $16 billion last year.   Comments (Count)

 

Donahoe's Postal Vision - DM News

the turmoil and uncertainty surrounding the USPS has big business mailers attentive, waiting for a shoe to fall. They tentatively prepare for rejiggered delivery schedules and worry about an “exigent” rate increase—one that would be activated above and beyond the scheduled increases already approved by the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC).Cognizant of Donahoe's alertness to the concerns of his biggest customers—business mailers—Direct Marketing News approached the PMG to ask if he would field a few questions from our readers  Comments (Count)

 

Video: San Diego Letter Carrier recounts details of pit bull attack

 A letter carrier who was attacked by a pit bull while on his route is hoping his story draws attention to what he says is a problem.  Comments (Count)

 

Ohio Postal Worker Under Investigation

Agents with the DEA and the United States Postal Service Office of the Inspector General spent hours hauling away bins of mail from a house off Sale Road in North Columbus.  A postal truck was brought in to haul away all the seized mail.  It was filled to the roof along with another car.   Comments (Count)

 

TSP Funds Back in the Black in July

USPS delivery changes begin for St. Cloud, MN