PostalReporter.com Blog

 The agreement includes high-tech (Global Positioning System - GPS satellites ) tracking system to improve productivity and security

General Electric Press Release

WAYNE, PA. -The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) and Trailer Fleet Services, a division of GE Equipment Services, have agreed to a new, six-year contract for domestic, over-the-road semi-trailers, used to transport mail between postal distribution centers and local post offices. The agreement includes installation of GE’s VeriWise™ Asset Intelligence system, which tracks and monitors trailer location and condition while in transit, or when parked.

Trucking companies use GE’s trailer tracking technology to avoid losing trailers, locate stolen trailers and the cargo they contain, or to monitor unattended trailers to prevent unauthorized transport in between loads-all situations that drive up operating costs for shippers and ultimately consumers. GE’s VeriWise system is also used to quickly locate trailers due for preventative maintenance, avoiding safety issues on the highway, and saving money by correcting small repairs before they become large and expensive. (graphic from GE added by PostalReporter.com)  

“Our GE team looks forward to sharing the latest trailer tracking technology with the U.S. Postal Service,” said Joe Artuso, CEO of Trailer Fleet Services. “We appreciate their confidence, and we will be working with the regional USPS leadership in executing the contract in a reliable and cost-effective manner.”

GE, which operates a national branch network to lease and maintain trailers, signed its first national trailer agreement with USPS in 2000. The new agreement is worth approximately $100 million through July 2012. It provides the USPS with 4,752 dry van trailers, each equipped with a high-tech VeriWise transceiver manufactured by Delphi, satellite services from Orbcomm, and a solar charging panel from GE Energy. The USPS fleet includes 45-, 48- and 53-foot dry vans, outfitted with roll doors, translucent roofs and spring-ride suspensions. The contract includes preventative and emergency maintenance services to keep the mail moving, and a new simplified process for handling trailer damage claims. (more…)

An internal memo from ABC Radio Networks to its affiliates reveals scores of powerful sponsors have a standing order that their commercials never be placed on syndicated Air America programming that airs on ABC affiliates.

According to Fair.org

Air America on Ad Blacklist?
ABC document: Sponsors shun liberal network

The October 25 memo was provided to FAIR by the Peter B. Collins Show, a syndicated radio show originating on the West Coast.

Headlined “Air America Blackout” and addressed “Dear Traffic Director”—referring to the radio station staffer who coordinates programming and The directive then advises ABC Radio Network affiliates to take note of a list of other sponsors who do not want their programming to run during Air America programming.

The list, totaling 90 advertisers, includes some of largest and most well-known corporations advertising in the U.S.: Wal-Mart, GE, Exxon Mobil, Microsoft, Bank of America, Fed-Ex, Visa, Allstate, McDonald’s, Sony and Johnson & Johnson. The U.S. Postal Service and the U.S. Navy are also listed as advertisers who don’t want their commercials to air on Air America.

The U.S. Postal Service White River Junction (VT) mail processing facility is facing fines for “what are being called “willful and serious” workplace safety violations. “The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration said that after a May visit to the facility by safety inspectors, officials were told of the need to protect workers from moving parts in a mail sorting machine, which could have caused cuts or broken bones. That violation was not corrected, OSHA said. Inspectors also found that employees and supervisors were handling and cleaning up spills of unknown materials without proper respiratory protection. The post office was issued two citations for the alleged violations, discovered after a complaint from an employee. The White River Junction has 15 business days to answer the citations.” AP via WCAX, VT 

Postal Workers Union and Regional Managers Differ Over Safety -  The day after federal regulators announced they were fining the U.S. Postal Service mail processing facility in Vermont $40,000 for operating an unsafe machine, union officials representing about one-third of the workers there said the facility has larger safety problems. The officials cite an accident in October in which a postal employee was injured between a freight truck and its trailer as evidence that safety problems are not limited to the mail sorting machine targeted by inspectors from OSHA. Jim Adams, district manager for the U.S. Postal Service in New Hampshire and Vermont, said employees are posturing for union negotiations and may be upset that managers are cracking down on “attendance problems” among workers. Valley News

OSHA Press Release (more…)

Postal Mail Handler is an extreme Halloween aficionado

From USPS News Link

By day, Tim Gavinski walks among the living, disguised as a mild-mannered mail handler, a 25-year veteran of USPS.

But during the cool autumn nights of October, he haunts the Waukesha, WI, Expo Center Grounds. There — perhaps transformed by some mysterious crone — Gavinski becomes one with the netherworld. His aim is to scare the daylights out of visitors foolish enough to pass through the eerie gates of his haunted abode.

Gavinski is the proud owner of Morgan Manor, the macabre mansion the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel rated the top Halloween attraction in Wisconsin. His handiwork has been featured on CNN and the History Channel, among other media outlets.

During the day, this master of pretense speaks persuasively about the value of the Postal Service. “I’m proud to promote the Postal Service, because it has given my family and me so much throughout the years,” he says.

So who is the real Tim Gavinski? No one will know, at least not until Halloween has passed.

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From PostalReporter.com: found on the ‘internets’

photo: Tim and Ann Marie Gavinski, otherwise known as the dual faces of the Angel of Death, get creepy at The Darkness haunted attraction at the Walworth County Fairgrounds.

photo: Ann Marie Gavinski

From USPS Newslink Extra:

Absentee ballots must be delivered

That includes short-paid mail

The U.S. Postal Service has a very important role during every election cycle in the proper handling and delivery of political mail and absentee ballots.

Due to the size of the upcoming general election ballots in some states, the standard 39-cent First-Class postage voters are accustomed to using to mail their filled-out absentee ballots may be insufficient.

Regardless of whether or not these absentee ballots have the correct postage, they must be delivered. Any delay of absentee ballots is a violation of postal policy.

All employees must adhere to postal policy as follows:

• Any absentee ballots identified as short-paid will be accounted for according to postal policy and will be delivered to the addressee.

• No absentee ballots or other election material may be detained or treated as unpaid mail, as directed by Postal Operations Manual section 171.3. Questions about possible abuse or impropriety must be referred to supervisors.

• Willful delay of absentee ballots or other election material is a violation of policy, ethics and law.

• When presented with absentee ballots, Retail Sales and Services Associates should ensure correct postage is applied.

Any questions or concerns about handling absentee ballots should be directed to District Political Mail Coordinators.

Burrus Update

Negotiations between the APWU and the USPS continue for a successor Collective Bargaining Agreement, to take effect Nov. 21, 2006. The union has submitted a variety of proposals that are intended to improve the conditions of postal employees, and the Postal Service has submitted proposals that would erode employee rights and benefits.

Economic proposals, including wage increases, cost-of-living allowances (COLA), night differential pay, and uniform allowances, have not been presented to date.

A principal focus has been on upgrading those jobs that were not upgraded as a result of the 2001 interest arbitration or the contract extensions of 2002 and 2005. Another issue of importance has been the elimination of part-time employment in offices where full-time assignments are warranted.

The union is flexible on the length of a new contract, with the term dependant on the specifics of a final agreement.

There have been no surprises in the negotiations to date, as each side has explained its priorities and provided justification for their objectives.

One of the central issues under discussion is how much the Postal Service will contribute toward health benefit premiums and how much employees will pay. In the private sector, healthcare coverage has eroded, with employers shifting more of the growing costs of medical services to employees. Issues related to healthcare have emerged as a major point of contention in virtually all private-sector contract negotiations over the past five years. As we anticipated, the issue also has been placed at the forefront of postal negotiations.

At the negotiating table, postal management has given a series of formal presentations on the Postal Service’s financial position, marketing, and mail volume, which are intended to undermine union demands and justify USPS proposals. The union has countered with documentation of the cost of postage as compared to the rates in other countries; the effect of excessive discounts on USPS finances, the employment uncertainties caused by massive excessing and reassignments; increases in the cost of living; and the need to balance the rights of employees more equitably between management and the employees.

It is too early to reach conclusions on whether or not voluntary agreement will or can be reached. Over the coming weeks discussions will take on added intensity as the parties focus on the issues that are absolutely necessary to arrive at a mutual agreement.

If voluntary agreement cannot be reached, the law requires referral to binding arbitration. This process requires the mutual selection of an arbitrator, followed by the laborious process of each side presenting their case intended to influence the arbitrator’s final decision. While we always are prepared for the possibility that arbitration may be necessary, at this stage the union’s focus is on reaching a voluntary agreement that can be submitted to the membership for approval.

William Burrus
President

Related Link: USPS Package Pickup Options

 The following is a press release from the United States Attorney’s Office:

O.C. MAN PLEADS GUILTY IN KICKBACK SCHEME TO HAVE INJURED POSTAL SERVICE WORKERS REFERRED TO HIS CLINIC

Los Angeles, CA - An Aliso Viejo man has pleaded guilty to federal health care fraud charges for conspiring to pay kickbacks to an employee of the United States Postal Service in exchange for the illegal referral of postal workers to his physical therapy clinic.

Daniel Gallacher Parker Jr., 54, pleaded guilty in United States District Court in Los Angeles Monday afternoon to conspiracy, two counts of paying kickbacks and seven counts of health care fraud. The case against Parker relates to his operation of Cooperative Care Medical Group in Aliso Viejo. The clinic was later called Performance Health Medical Group, which also had operations in Garden Grove and Torrance.

The Department of Labor, Office of Workers’ Compensation Program (OWCP) administers the workers’ compensation program for employees of federal agencies, including the Postal Service. The OWCP pays for medical care for federal employees injured at work, but the program will not pay for medical services or items that are provided as the result of a kickback paid by a medical professional.

By pleading guilty, Parker admitted that he conspired to pay kickbacks to an Injury Compensation Specialist at the Postal Service who agreed to refer injured postal employees to Parker’s clinics. Parker used a middleman to enter into an agreement with the Injury Compensation Specialist to disguise the true nature of the kickback scheme and to provide “legal insulation” for Parker. Parker had his co-conspirator pay the Injury Compensation Specialist $1,000 a month for the illegal referrals, but promised more money if enough referrals were made to Parker’s clinics. (more…)

 Here is a photo from Flickr. Click on links for larger view

 Mail Truck Mailbox - Fort Edward, Upstate New York 

In 2004, William H. Young, president of the National Association of Letter Carrier, entered into an agreement with  the Department of Homeland Security, Department of Health and Human Services and U.S. Postal Service for utilization of volunteer letter carriers to deliver antibiotics to homes in the event of a catastrophic bioterrorist event. On Saturday, November 11, postal carriers in King County, Washington, including Seattle, will play a critical role in testing local plans to distribute medications directly to people’s homes in an emergency.

More info from NALC:

The United States Postal Service (USPS) and the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) will participate in a drill in which postal carriers will deliver a cardboard container (simulating a bottle of pills) and emergency information cards to approximately 38,000 households in northeast Seattle.

The drill is part of the Cities Readiness Initiative (CRI), a national program focused on increasing the capacity of major metropolitan centers to rapidly deliver medications or vaccine to keep people from getting sick during wide-scale biological emergencies.

Drill details

During the drill, 41 delivery teams will be dispatched in the 98125 and 98115 postal zones to deliver cardboard containers and literature about the drill to each household. The cardboard containers will stand-in for medications that would be delivered in an actual emergency.

The Seattle Police will be deployed as part of security operations for the plan, so each team will consist of one postal carrier and one police officer.

The drill will begin early morning on Saturday, November 11 (Veteran’s Day), and run until late afternoon. Participation by postal carriers is voluntary. All participating USPS employees are eligible for holiday/overtime pay.

Households included in the drill and the general public will be informed prior to, during and after the exercise through a coordinated communications strategy, including use of a pre-event mailing, press conferences, and a web site.