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 From National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) Bulletin (PDF)

Bloch Chosen Neutral Arbitrator For Determining Next Contract
Fall Dates Scheduled for Hearing Testimony;
Final Decision Anticipated in Mid-November

The NALC and Postal Service have jointly selected noted arbitrator Richard Bloch to serve as the third, and neutral, arbitrator for the binding interest arbitration to determine the new National Agreement for city letter carriers.

The two parties have sent a joint request to the director of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service that Bloch be formally appointed to the neutral arbitrator position.

At the same time, Arbitrator Bloch and the two sides have selected four weeks for hearing on testimony in the arbitration: the weeks of September 10 and September 24; October 29, and November 5. There is a likelihood that one or more dates may be added in advance of September.

It is anticipated that a final award in the arbitration will be received in mid-November. The other two arbitrators will be NALC General Counsel Bruce Simon of the New York law firm of Cohen, Weiss & Simon as NALC’s appointed arbitrator, and Robert Dufek of the Washington, DC law firm of Morgan Lewis, as the Postal Service’s appointee. Bloch has had a distinguished career and served in 2002 as president of the prestigious National Academy of Arbitrators. He also received national attention in 2005 when he served as arbitrator in a widely publicized dispute between professional football star Terrell Owens and the Philadelphia Eagles over a four-week disciplinary suspension against Owens.

Simon, who has been NALC’s General Counsel since 1979, has served as the NALC appointed arbitrator in four past interest arbitrations which determined the 1984-87, 1990-94, 1994-98 and 1998-2001 contracts.

Dufek served as the USPS-appointed arbitrator in the 2000 contract arbitration between the Postal Service and the American Postal Workers Union.

Terms of the 2001-2006 National Agreement remain in effect pending the award to be issued by the Bloch Panel.

Related link:  Contract goes to arbitration: USPS stonewalls partnership, NALC fights back on two fronts (NALC Postal Record- May 2007-PDF)

Title: “West Texas”
Artist: William McVey
Year: 1948
It is a tymstone sculpture.

From Flickr Photos

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Can’t wait? The U.S. Postal Service announced customers may pre-order the set of 15 Star Wars stamps today.

The stamps will officially go on sale Friday, May 25, following a special dedication ceremony at Star Wars Celebration IV, the biggest Star Wars event in the galaxy, at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

For $6.15 customers can ensure they receive these stamps by going to www.usps.com or by calling 1-800-STAMP-24. All Star Wars stamps pre-orders will be shipped on May 25.

Voting continues for America’s favorite stamp

Voting continues through May 23 on www.uspsjedimaster.com. The winning stamp will be announced at the first-day-of-issue ceremony of the Star Wars stamp sheet on May 25 during Star Wars Celebration IV in Los Angeles and will be honored with the issuance of a single stamp, which will be for sale later this summer.

Which one is your favorite? Luke Skywalker; Han Solo and Chewbacca; Princess Leia Organa with R2-D2; C-3PO; Yoda; Queen Padmé Amidala; Obi-Wan Kenobi as seen in Episodes IV through VI; Anakin Skywalker battling Obi-Wan Kenobi; Darth Vader; Emperor Palpatine; Darth Maul; Imperial Stormtroopers; Boba Fett; the Millennium Falcon; or an X-wing fighter.

Check www.uspsjedimaster.com for regular updates on voting — it’s up to America to choose which Star Wars stamp wins the honor of a single-stamp sheet release.

Pre-order the Star Wars pre-paid Express Mail envelopes

This set includes three pre-paid Express Mail envelopes featuring artwork images of Yoda, Darth Vader and Obi Wan Kenobi and the postage will be the Marine One Express Mail stamp. The set of three envelopes costs $48.75 and will be available only from May 6 through Sept. 1. Customers may pre-order the envelope set now at www.usps.com, by telephone at 1-800-STAMP-24 and in the quarterly USA Philatelic catalog. The set is not available in post offices.

Become a Jedi shipping and mailing master to win a trip

Through May 7, customers can enter this sweepstakes by solving six different challenges about Postal Service products and services featuring a Star Wars theme. As each question is answered correctly, customers are automatically moved to the next challenge. At the start of the sweepstakes, customers enter their contact information into a sweepstakes form. There is a limit of one entry per challenge, for a total of six entries.

The Jedi shipping and mailing master challenge is a fun, interactive Web tool that reminds customers of the quick, easy and convenient suite of services available from the Postal Service, including ZIP Code Lookup, International Shipping, Flat-Rate Boxes, Click-N-Ship, Priority Mail and free Package Pickup. The winner of this sweepstakes will receive an all-expenses-paid trip for four to the 30th Anniversary Star Wars Celebration IV in Los Angeles, which runs from May 24 to May 27. (For details, go to www.starwars.com/celebration.)

(Note: To obtain a downloadable 300 dpi image of these stamps visit the 2007 Commemorative Stamp Program release link at http://www.usps.com/communications/newsroom/2007stamps/starwars/welcome.htm)

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Mail remains the safest way to communicate and share information, and represents the smallest threat to identity theft.

“The President’s Identity Theft Task Force,” released today by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC), is a strategic plan for government agencies to follow in efforts to combat identity theft. The FTC reports that less than 4 percent of all identity theft can be traced to the mail. The U.S. Postal Inspection Service served on the task force.

The Postal Service already has in place the top four recommendations included in the report:

• Replaced Social Security Numbers with unique Employee Identification Numbers. Social Security Numbers are the most valuable commodity for an identity thief.
• Developed systems to quickly alert private sector companies and consumer information should a security breach occur. The Task Force recommends that national standards be established for private sector entities as well.
• Sponsored an awareness campaign for consumers, partners, companies and employees to warn against identity theft; and
• Establish a National Identity Theft Law Enforcement Center, similar to one created by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, that coordinates efforts and information efficiently.

Two years ago, the Postal Inspection Service created the Intelligence Sharing Initiative, a website that allows inspectors and fraud investigators representing retail and financial institutions, as well as major mailers, to share information relating to identity theft, as well as financial crimes investigations and prevention methods. This effort came more than 15 years after the Inspection Service began a Credit Card Mail Security Initiative to work more effectively with the credit card industry to reduce fraud losses.

The U.S. Postal Service is recognized nationally as the most trusted agency in the federal government. For the third year in a row, the Postal Service ranked first among more than 80 agencies for protection of privacy and trust in a national survey by the Ponemon Institute. In a separate survey, Ponemon reported that the Postal Service ranks sixth among private industry companies for trust. No other shipping company in the United States made the Top 10.

Please note: A copy of the complete Strategic Plan can be found at idtheft.gov

source: U.S. Postal Service

From PostalReporter reader: 

In his April 17th testimony to Congress, President Burrus asked for a more appropriate image on a commemorative stamp honoring slaves.  see testimony-PDF  What do your readers think?  Can they come up with a more appropriate image?

Excerpt from Burrus testimony 

For many years, I have been advocating that the Postal Service issue a commemorative stamp honoring the millions of slaves whose work in bondage contributed so much to building this country.

I have made some progress in these efforts, and the Postal Service has agreed that a stamp will be issued in 2008 honoring those human beings who suffered so much for so little reward. Unfortunately, we may be in disagreement over the image to be depicted.

The stamp committee is proposing to depict a ship transporting slaves across the ocean. I ask simply, “Do we honor the oppressed or the oppressors?”

Tens of millions of human beings completed their life journey without notice, and this stamp presents an opportunity to display their image - to tell their story in a stamp. After 400 years, it’s the right thing to do.

 ——————

Below: image of the 13th Amendment 3 cent Stamp

The 75th anniversary of the passage of the 13th amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which abolished slavery, was commemorated on a stamp issued in 1940. This 3 Cent stamp was issued October 20, 1940. The stamp shows Abraham Lincoln granting freedom to a slave.

Idaho Senator Larry Craig’s Press Release:

Mail Processing Will Remain in Twin Falls 

Delegation opposed move, fearing disruption in timely delivery

TWIN FALLS, ID - The U.S. Postal Service has dropped plans to shift some mail processing functions from Twin Falls to Boise following opposition expressed by Idaho’s Congressional Delegation. Senators Mike Crapo and Larry Craig and Congressman Mike Simpson had questioned the cost savings the Service was citing as a reason for studying such a move.

“Both the Boise and Twin Falls markets service more than a third of Idaho’s total population base,” the Delegation noted. “This large segment of Idaho’s population counts on expeditious delivery of the mail which it now currently enjoys and operational changes could put that delivery record in jeopardy.”

The original proposal would have merged the mail distribution center in Twin Falls with the one in Boise and resulted in the transfer of up to 35 employees who handle between 50,000 and 80,000 pieces of mail daily from 30 post offices in the region. The Delegation wrote the Postal Service last year and expressed concern over the economic impact of the proposal, timely mail delivery and service availability for the people who rely on the Twin Falls Center.

The Postal Service notified the Delegation today it has ended its study of the issue. It indicates that “there are currently no significant opportunities to improve efficiency and/or service through consolidation of mail processing operations at the Twin Falls Post Office. So, no significant changes will be made at this time.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Board of Governors of the U.S. Postal Service will meet in Washington, D.C., at Postal Service Headquarters, 475 L’Enfant Plaza, SW, on May 1-2, 2007. The public is welcome to observe the Board’s open session, scheduled to begin at 8:30 a.m. on May 2 in the Ben Franklin Room on the 11th floor. The Board is expected to discuss the following items:

Wednesday, May 2 at 8:30 a.m.

1. Minutes of the previous meetings.

2. Remarks of the Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Board (Jim Miller and Alan Kessler).

3. Remarks of the Postmaster General and CEO John E. Potter.

4.Committee reports.

5. Board of Governors bylaw amendments.

6. Capital investment – Additional delivery bar code sorters and stacker modules (Walt O’Tormey, vice president, engineering).

7. Quarterly Report on Service Performance (Delores Killette, consumer advocate and vice president).

8. Quarterly Report on Financial Performance (Glen Walker, chief financial officer and executive vice president).

9. Integrated Financial Plan Addendum (Glen Walker).

10. Tentative agenda for the June 19-20, 2007, meeting in Washington, D.C.

Source: U.S. Postal Service

From Postal Reporter reader:

NEWS RELEASE FROM U.S. POSTAL SERVICE:

Technology Enhancements Prompt Postal Service To Close Remote Encoding Center

(BEAUMONT, TX) —The U.S. Postal Service today announced that the Beaumont Remote Encoding Center (REC) will be closed as part the next phase of a nationwide consolidation plan. The facility, located at 750 Pearl Street will close in November, 2007.

“The Remote Encoding Centers were designed as a temporary solution to automate and expedite the processing of handwritten and poorly printed addresses,” said Danny Smith, manager for the Beaumont REC. “The plan from the start was to downsize the REC operation as technology enhancements enabled us to automate more mail.”

In 1994, when the Beaumont REC and 54 others were established, postal computerized sorting equipment could only read two percent of addresses on handwritten envelopes. Since that time, with new technology improvements, postal computers are currently able to read and process 93 percent of the mail electronically.

Smith said the decision to close the Beaumont REC was based on a variety of business factors, including operating costs, facility costs, lease expiration dates and the ability of other RECs to absorb the workload. The Beaumont closing, and the previous closings since the consolidation process began in 1999, mean that the number of RECs will decline to nine.

The Postal Service is providing the REC employees with six months notice of the closings. The 344 career postal employees at the Beaumont REC will be reassigned to other postal positions in accordance with national collective bargaining agreements. The 549 part-time temporary employees will receive outplacement counseling to help them find new employment.

The remote encoding process involves transmitting electronic images of handwritten mail from mail processing plants to RECs where operators view them on computer screens and key in address information. This information is transmitted back to the postal processing plant where a barcode corresponding to the address is printed on the envelope so that it can be processed on automated equipment. With ever-increasing improvements in optical character recognition technology, the volume of images sent to RECs has diminished significantly and the Postal Service has gradually consolidated them. As technology evolves, the Postal Service will continue to look for opportunities to reduce operating costs and these opportunities will likely include additional REC consolidations in coming years.

Dave Lewin
Communications Programs Specialist
Southwest Area Public Affairs and Communications

Related Links:

Congressman Poe’s Statement on Beaumont Postal Facility Closing
US Postal Service Employees Worried About Losing Their Jobs

April 17, 2007 -

Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) today introduced a bipartisan amendment reaffirming that both federal law and the Constitution protect sealed domestic mail from being searched. The amendment is in response to a signing statement that the White House issued in conjunction with the signing of the Collins-Carper postal reform legislation.

In a speech before the U.S. Senate, Senator Collins explained that following the singing of the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act, the White House issued a statement that resulted in confusion about the Administration’s commitment to abide by the basic privacy protections afforded sealed domestic mail.

“The President’s spokesman has explained that the signing statement was not intended to change the scope of the law. But the statement caused confusion and concern about the President’s commitment to abide by the basic privacy protections afforded sealed domestic mail,” said Senator Collins. “Given this unfortunate perception, I wish to be very clear as the author of the postal reform legislation. Nothing in the Postal Reform Act or in the President’s signing statement alters in any way the privacy and civil liberty protections provided to a person who sends or receives sealed mail.”

The Collins-Carper Postal Reform bill, which was signed into law in December 2006, represents the most sweeping reforms of the U.S. Postal Service in over three decades. It will help the Postal Service meet the challenges of the 21st Century, establishes a new rate setting system, and helps ensure a strong financial future for the Postal Service. And it protects the basic features of universal service. The new law also provided for continued authority for the Postal Service to establish a class of mail sealed against inspection.

“Under current law, mail sealed against inspection is entitled to the Constitutional protection against unreasonable searches. With only limited exceptions, the government needs a court warrant before it can search sealed mail,” said Senator Collins.

Senator Collins’ resolution is cosponsored by Senators Carper, Daniel Akaka (D-HI) and Norm Coleman (R-MN).

Related link: Can Bush Open Mail Without Warrant? (12/29/2006) 

From PostalReporter reader and Union official:

“The USPS OIG Special Agent in Seattle looking for employees with certain traits to investigate. Wow! A rumor can get you in trouble now. “

In August 2006 a USPS Office of Inspector General (OIG) Special Agent  sent a letter to each post office in the Seattle District (PDF). The agent’s letter stated in part: 

Please contact me if you are aware of any employee that displays any of the following traits: excessive gambling, alcohol/drug abuse, and/or financial problems. These types of problems often go hand in hand with mail theft. I will not confront the employee, but will investigate.

Related link: NALC Young: It’s time to stop the ‘run amok’ Postal OIG