PostalReporter.com Blog

Ask President Burrus

Question:

The memo read that all APWU employees would get one level upgrade.  If you do the math, the ETs and MPEs are not getting a full level upgrade by today’s pay scales, while everyone else is getting more than a full upgrade by today’s pay scales.  This is very deceptive and disappointing and deserves an explanation.

Glen, Manchester (NH) Area Local

The projected pay Tables 2 and 3 seem to indicate a lower level-assignment for Levels 11 and 12. Why are the technically skilled levels being minimized in the negotiated benefits of this contract?

Tom & Gary, Western Nassau (NY) Area Local

President Burrus:

Thank you for your questions.

If the tentative agreement is approved, the upgrades will be accomplished by creating a new pay scale.

An upgrade based on the current pay schedule would have resulted in wide disparities in the percentage increases, ranging from approximately 1.9 percent to 15.8 percent.

The new pay scale smoothes out the variations so that the upgrades will result in equitable increases.

The new pay schedule will be renumbered, beginning at Grade 3 (upgraded from Grade 2). There were no employees in Grade 9, and the employees in Grade 10 were being upgraded to Grade 11.

While employees in Grades 10 and 11 of the old schedule are not being advanced numerically in the new schedule, each will receive the monetary benefit of an upgrade, and they will continue to occupy the highest numerical positions in the pay scale.

more at the link above

by Donnie Dotzler, APWU Virginia Beach Area Local #1518

I am hosting a new talk show titled “GOING POSTAL.” It airs nightly at 6:30PM EST. If you have something to say you can call in at 646-915-9919 or you can listen in from your PC, desktop, notepad, laptop or any blue tooth device with Internet access by going to the site at www.blogtalkradio.com/goingpostal

This is an open forum and all are welcome. I am only doing 30 minute segments right now but may expand to an hour as the number of callers increases. It’s fun and informative. Call in TONIGHT!! Email comments or suggestions to goingpostalradio@aol.com

source: 21cpw.com and via email to PostalReporter.com
 

USPS Press Release

First major change to the Postal Service since 1971

pictured at left President Bush, Postmaster General Jack Potter, Sen. Thomas Carper (D-DE), Rep. Tom Davis (R-VA), Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), USPS Board of Governors Chairman James Miller, Rep. Danny Davis (D-IL), and Rep. John McHugh, (R-NY).
 
WASHINGTON – President George W. Bush today signed into law new postal legislation that will benefit both residential and business customers by ensuring predictable price increases tied to the rate of inflation.

The Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act is the first major change to the Postal Service since 1971. The law enables the organization to continue its transformation efforts and cost-cutting measures.  

“This new law could not have come at a better time. The Postal Service has never been stronger and this law enables us to build on our successes,” said Postmaster General John E. Potter who attended today’s White House signing ceremony. The Postal Service has ended a fourth consecutive year with positive retained earnings, a seventh consecutive year of improved productivity, and has benefited from record service and customer satisfaction scores that are independently measured. 

This is the culmination of a 12-year effort by Congress to secure changes to the laws governing the Postal Service. It will link future rate increases to the Consumer Price Index and give the Postal Service more flexibility for pricing competitive products. The Act also reconstitutes the existing Postal Rate Commission into a regulatory body with greater authority and responsibility.  The current rate case under consideration will proceed as scheduled. The Postal Service will be able to file one last rate case under the current rules. 

The new law directs the Department of the Treasury to resume the funding of military pensions for postal employees and abolishes a federally mandated escrow requirement directing those monies to pre-fund retiree health benefits. Potter said, “Over the next decade, these changes will free the Postal Service of future legacy costs. We are now on firm financial footing for the future.”

Here is the full text of the Postal Reform Bill H.R. 6407 

Update: President Bush Signs New Postal Reform Law

                                                                                                                   pictured at left President Bush (from left): Postmaster General Jack Potter, Sen. Thomas Carper (D-DE), Rep. Tom Davis (R-VA), Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), USPS Board of Governors Chairman James Miller, Rep. Danny Davis (D-IL), and Rep. John McHugh, (R-NY).

USPS Audio News Release
Postmaster General Joins President Bush for Signing of New Postal Legislation Into Law - Contents | MP3 File | Zipped MP3

From the Associated Press

New postal reform legislation that passed Congress calls for the first major changes in decades on how the post office works. Few Americans are likely to notice the difference.

While the measure affects the spending of billions of dollars, the mail will keep flowing, the letter carriers will keep making their rounds and the price of stamps, like just about everything else, will keep rising, but perhaps more slowly.

The bill is scheduled for signing by President Bush on Wednesday. (more…)

USPS Press Release : 

Postmaster General Jack Potter today announced the appointment of Megan Brennan as Eastern Area Operations vice president. Brennan replaces Al Lazaroff, the new Chief Postal Inspector. Brennan has served as Northeast Area Operations vice president since May 2005.

Brennan joined the Postal Service in 1986 as a letter carrier in Lancaster, PA, and has served as district manager for the Springfield District, manager of the Lehigh Valley Processing and Distribution Center, and manager of the Reading, PA, Processing and Distribution Facility.

Brennan also served as manager, Field Support and Integration, at Headquarters. She is a Sloan Fellow and was awarded a master’s degree in business administration from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

“Megan has done an excellent job of leading the Northeast Area to new performance heights, and I know that she will build upon the fine legacy left by Al Lazaroff in the Eastern Area,” Potter said.

Potter also announced the appointment of Tim Haney as acting Northeast Area Operations vice president. Haney has been Capital District manager for the past four-and-a-half years, where he was responsible for postal operations in Washington, DC, and southern and suburban Maryland.

“Tim has been an outstanding performer in a high-visibility district that serves the nation’s capital and the Washington metropolitan area,” said Potter. “I am confident that he will do a great job in the Northeast Area. Tim is inheriting a fine, established team from Megan.”

The two assume their new roles Dec. 31.  

Related link: Postmaster General Appoints Area Operations VP as New Chief Postal Inspector

The Postal Rate Commission (PRC) has issued its “Advisory Opinion Concerning A Proposed Change In The Nature of Postal Services” - Evolutionary Network Development (END) Service Changes -Docket No. N2006-1).

Overview of the advisory opinion issued by PRC:

The United States Postal Service proposes a program — which it has designated the Evolutionary Network Development (END) strategy — to review and realign its mail processing and transportation networks for the purpose of adapting them to the current and anticipated future needs of the nation’s postal system. The program’s objectives include enhancement of operational flexibility and efficiency, capture of resulting cost savings, and preservation of current service standards. The Commission finds these goals to be fully consistent with the policies and criteria of the Postal Reorganization Act, and endorses them.

The Commission has carefully considered the evidence presented by the Postal Service to explain how END is designed to achieve these goals, as well as the contributions of other participants in this proceeding. The Presiding Officer solicited supplemental evidence from the Postal Service through eight detailed information requests in order to further elucidate this program. The Commission finds that the resulting evidentiary record does not provide assurance that the proposed realignment program, as currently envisaged, will meet its declared goals. In particular, the record reflects flawed or absent information on certain crucial aspects of the Postal Service’s plan for network realignment. The Commission advises the Governors to obtain and integrate reliable information in these areas before proceeding with full implementation of the contemplated program.

The Postal Service intends to use its existing Area Mail Processing (AMP) review to assure that every change “makes sense” locally before it is implemented. Recent AMPs conducted by the Postal Service do not comport with applicable guidelines. They do not reflect systematic, consistent, or replicable projections of costs; they provide limited review of service impacts; and they utilize no discernable standards for evaluating or balancing cost and service impacts. Furthermore, required post implementation reviews have not been done. The Commission recommends that management be directed to assure that AMP reviews document the use of appropriate cost and service data to evaluate both the potential and actual impact of realignment,and that a process for promptly correcting any unexpected negative impacts be established.

An important function of the realignment process is to identify and capture cost savings associated with reducing redundancy and inefficiency. The Postal Service’s primary means for estimating systemwide mail processing costs savings is its END models. These models are used to guide consolidations of mail processing operations. The Postal Service presentation does not attempt to quantify expected
savings, and the Commission was unable to develop any reliable estimates.

 First, the opportunities for mail processing cost savings may be limited by the Postal Service’s universal service mandate. Because of this mandate, incoming secondary sort schemes cannot be easily consolidated. Incoming secondary sortation
accounts for the majority of mail processing costs. Consolidating outgoing sorts is feasible and may result in economies of density. However, outgoing sortation accounts
for only a minority of mail processing costs so the opportunity for cost savings is relatively limited.

Second, the Postal Service does not assume that facilities will be closed after mail processing operations are consolidated. If, in fact, facilities are not closed, the Postal Service will continue to incur the fixed cost of maintaining them.
Third, key model inputs are averages, rather than facility-specific data, which may lead to inefficient operations. This point is discussed in detail in the following
sections.

(Docket No. N2006-1).

by Carl Bosland, FMLA Expert

The decision is directly relevant to employees covered by Title I (Postal employees and other non-civil servants), the CAA (congressional employees), and the PEOAA (employees of the Executive Office of the President). 

In Collins v. The United States Playing Card Co., No. 1:05CV637 (S.D.Ohio Nov. 6, 2006), the employer moved for the dismissal of the employee’s FMLA interference claim arguing that the employee’s requests for breaks of a few minutes each during the course of the workday to get something to eat (he had diabetes) were not covered by the FMLA.  The court disagreed. The Court found that leave during the workday by a diabetic employee in order to eat to correct low blood sugar when medically necessary may qualify as intermittent leave under the FMLA. (more…)

Press Release from Lockheed Martin

OWEGO, NY, December 18, 2006 — Lockheed Martin has completed the deployment of 74 Automated Package Processing Systems (APPS) to the U.S. Postal Service under a more than $300 million contract awarded in 2002.

APPS provides the Postal Service with a fully integrated, end-to-end system capable of automatically sorting high volumes of First-Class packaged mail, Priority Mail envelopes and parcels, and bundled mail, such as magazines or catalogs, with greater efficiency and higher accuracy. The system is capable of processing more than 9,500 packages an hour while automatically reading machine printed or handwritten addresses.

“Our system offers a modular and scalable solution, and is customizable for each site’s needs, which maximizes the return on investment for the program,” said Brian Tanton, vice president and general manager of Lockheed Martin Distribution Technologies.

Lockheed Martin’s APPS increases productivity and provides sorting accuracy by combining state-of-the-art material handling capabilities with advanced optical character recognition (OCR), bar code reading (BCR) and video coding technologies. The system automatically processes bulk loads into a single stream of mail pieces; gathers detailed information specific to each package; acquires the correct delivery address through advanced OCR and BCR technologies; inducts a package individually onto a next-generation cross-belt sorter; and then accurately delivers the package to an assigned discharge bin so it can be dispatched to its destination.

Lockheed Martin Distribution Technologies designs, produces and integrates mail automation, material handling, recognition and information processing systems for postal services, package delivery operations, corporate mail centers, and distribution, fulfillment and manufacturing centers worldwide.

Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin employs about 140,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. The corporation reported 2005 sales of $37.2 billion.

Bridal Veil, Oregon is a virtual ghost town. As of July 2006, all that remained of the town was a post office, a cemetery and a church. One reason Bridal Veil still exists is its highly sought after postmark. Letters that come through Bridal Veil have their stamps cancelled with a Bridal Veil postmark. Thus, thousands of brides bring their wedding invitations through Bridal Veil for that coveted postmark. During the spring and summer, the height of wedding season, the post office is filled with thousands of wedding invitations awaiting that special postmark. The wedding business and ardent support from locals every time the federal government threatens shut down of the Bridal Veil post office has helped keep the town going long after the logging industry left the town.” (source: Photo- Flickr, Info-Wikipedia)

by Gary Neuharth -President-Bismarck-Mandan APWU Area Local #349 (via 21cpw.com)

I have been informed that United States Postal Service’s National Reassessment Process for limited duty employees is going nationwide in January, 2007. Pilot sites for NRP were NY Metro, San Diego, and Western, NY. National APWU apparently has been briefed. The USPS Area Managers will be rolling out their plan of action to USPS Districts very soon.

The USPS reassessment process will be reviewing cases of 33,707 employees whom are currently on rehabilitation / limited duty assignments. This process will determine which employees can return to available work, and who qualifies in terms of OWCP compensation. It is obvious that USPS is seriously looking at compensation eligibility.

USPS team members include senior operations manager, labor relations personnel, legal personnel, manager of injury compensation, NRP injury compensation leader, and medical personnel. It would be a good idea for APWU leaders to prepare for the USPS action if you represent employees currently on light duty. I suspect the USPS methods are to remove as many USPS employees from OWCP compensation as possible, and get employees back to work. Unfortunately, many very deserving employees will be run through the wringer, and stressed out by this process. These injured postal workers have rights, and APWU must insure that USPS follows procedures and regulations set forth in our nation’s laws.

I doubt you will find this reassessment process friendly. It comes with prescibed distrust by management of any injured employee.

Related links:

More articles on National Reassessment Process

More info on National Reassessment Process