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News from Postalblog
CRS Report: Common Questions About Post Office
Closures
This
report addresses common questions about the closure of post offices.
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First Village Post Office Debuts in Washington State
Marketplace: The U.S. Postal Service launches
the first of its money-saving village post offices in a tiny
town in Washington State. Red's Hop N' Market is Malone's
one-stop shop for coffee, cigarettes, beer, socks and pickled
sausages. DailyKos:
They're Coming for Your Post Office |
Editorial: Postal Service Keeps
Employees Disciplinary Records Forever
USPS Labor Relations keeps a
reference copy of an employee’s disciplinary action for the
employee’s entire career. Don’t believe it? THEY DO. See the
USPS Privacy Act Notice of June 17, 2011. Labor Relation’s
reference copies are never purged regardless of the disposition
of the discipline. |
Goldway: USPS May Be Closing
Post Offices Without Notifying PRC As Law Requires
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USPS Settles Class Action Discrimination
Lawsuit Filed For Disabled Veterans
- USPS settled the case by agreeing to pay over
$11 million to class members and other administrative costs.
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GOP 2012 Presidential hopeful
Pawlenty calls for privatizing USPS
Pawlenty suggested we apply what
he called "The 'Google' Test." Pawlenty believes private companies
UPS and Fedex offer same services as USPS.
Courier
Express & Postal Observer
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Goldway: USPS May Be Closing
Post Offices Without Notifying PRC As Law Requires
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IRS Identifies Postal Employee
Organizations that have lost Tax-Exempt Status
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One supervisor "accepted thousands
of dollars in drinks and lap dances at a local strip club,
over $8,000 in free work done on a truck belonging to Plumb’s
grandson, and a $3,000 paver patio installed in Plumb’s backyard.
In addition, on a weekly basis, Plumb used the services of
a prostitute paid for by the private contractor. Plumb also
accepted Levitra pills supplied by the contractor."
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USPS To Record Daily Activities Of Carriers For Use In Upcoming
NALC Contract Talks
- USPS notified NALC that it will use cameras to record
time
spent on office tasks starting today. |
USPS Proposed Rule To Amend Regulations
for Post Office Closing-Consolidating Process
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This proposed rule would amend
postal regulations to improve the administration of the Post
Office closing and consolidation process.
PRC Releases
List Of Suspended U.S. Post Offices
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PMG Announces Seven USPS Districts
Eliminated, Executive Ranks Reduced
- About 7,500 positions
will be eliminated across the organization through the redesign
that also includes the closing of seven district offices and
offers limited financial incentives to those who meet specific
qualifications.
VER Offering for 2011 Organizational
Redesign | $20,000
Special Incentive Offer FAQs
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PRC Issues Advisory Opinion On
Ending Saturday Delivery
The Commission stands ready to
provide further assistance as the deliberations progress.
Senator Carper Reacts to PRC Opinion
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Senator Susan Collins Statement
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PMG
Reacts To PRC Decision On Five-Day Mail Delivery
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Call For Action: Urge President Obama To Appoint Democrat
To PRC
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Oversight Hearing To Scrutinize APWU
Tentative Contract
PMG Expresses
Regret For Comparing Postmasters To Maytag Repair Man
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Postal Service Eyes Closing Thousands of Post Offices
Beginning
in March, the agency will start the process of closing as
many as 2,000 post offices, on top of the 491 it said it would
close starting at the end of last year. I
Ruling
on Shuttered Post Offices Expected Soon
| APWU Denounces Post Office Closure
Plans
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PMG Plans To
Streamline Management, Match Workforce To Workload
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USPS To Cut
7,500 Positions, 10 Districts, 2,000 Postmasters
The Washington
Post’s Ed O’Keefe reports on Twitter that Postmaster General
Pat Donahoe plans to cut about 7,500 jobs and about 2,000
postmasters, or the people responsible for running post offices.
Incoming
postmaster general promises cuts
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Senator Susan
Collins Seeks Reforms To Federal Workers Comp Program
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Some Postal
Managers Refusing To Accept USPS, APWU Freeze On Excessing
Agreement
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"USPS Management
Message Confirms Excessing Moratorium"
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USPS VP Position
Downgraded, New COO Gets $25,000 Relocation Pay
Stephen M. Kearney, Senior Vice
President, Customer Relations, has retained his position,
but by virtue of a realignment of his duties effective December
8, 2010, he is no longer an executive officer. New COO Megan
Brennan will receive a payment of $25,000 to help cover relocation
costs.
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October 31, 2011
Battle Over USPS Future Enters
Critical Period
Union Petition Drive to Protect Post Offices, Processing
Centers, Service Standards -The battle over the future of
the Postal Service — and our jobs — has reached a critical
stage: Key senators are meeting behind closed doors in an
effort to produce a compromise bill to address the USPS
financial crisis. It is likely that any proposals they
develop will be submitted to the congressional
“super-committee” to be incorporated into the committee’s
plan to reduce the nation’s deficit.
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NPMHU
Contract Update: USPS Suggests Sweeping Operational
Changes Are Necessary
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In short, the USPS
goal is to create a 20- hour daily operating window, with
all of the processing work being accomplished during these
hours, leaving only 4 hours of downtime for maintenance of
the machinery and similar functions. In order to implement
this plan after the facilities have been consolidated, the
Service Standards for most First-Class Mail and
Periodicals would need to be adjusted from overnight or
one-day delivery to two-day delivery. Another way that the
Postal Service will attempt to cut costs is by scrapping
any plans in the near future for technological innovation.
Instead, management will be seeking to maintain, sustain,
and prolong the life of current equipment and technology.
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October 30, 2011
Alaska Lawmakers Question USPS On Possible Closures of Fairbanks POs
- Press Release
Letter carriers are committed to serving
- Mount Pleasant MI Morning
Sun
Police find
6,000 stolen plastic pallets belonging to USPS
- San Gabriel Valley Tribune
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October 29, 2011
California Postal Worker Convicted
Of Paying For Money Orders With Counterfeit Bills
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Evidence at
trial showed that the postal worker, issued himself
$13,800 worth of U.S. postal money orders and purported to
pay for those money orders with counterfeit $100 bills.
The postal worker knew these bills were counterfeit and
had passed similar counterfeit bills at his credit union
in Hayward in November 2010. |
Military Post Offices in Iraq to Close Nov. 17 -
Press Release
Burrus: Q & A Defining the 2011 USPS-APWU National Agreement
- Burrus Journal
In time of
need, mailman delivers
- Shamokin PA News Item
Postal Worker gets 2-week sentence for
opening package, flipping thru
book - Bangor Daily News
A Not-so Universal Postal Service
- Big Fat Marketing Blog
Texas Postal Worker Sentenced For Mail Theft
-KWTX TV Waco
eBay: Support
online business by providing relief to the USPS
Postal retiree will now wait for the mail - Alvin Sun
Pasco postal carrier plucked gift cards from mail, feds say
- St. Petersburg
Times
USPS processing facility in Mansfield OH to close
-Mansfield News
Journal
Mail carrier fights back against would-be robber
- WSVN-TV
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October 28, 2011
Union Launches Petition Drive To
Save America’s Postal Service
President Guffey is asking
APWU members to collect signatures on a
petition [PDF] to
Congress urging senators and representatives to oppose
plans to close post offices, shutter mail processing
facilities, and drastically degrade service to the
American people. NALC, NRLCA:
Click
here to download a petition
Completed petitions should be mailed to your union's
headquarters
to arrive by Nov. 14:"
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Watchdog Issa seeks new role other than hounding Obama
Rep. Darrell Issa is forging a new role on Capitol Hill a
year before the 2012 presidential election, which could
bring a Republican into the White House and lessen the
California Republican’s clout.To help clear his bill
through committee this month, Issa softened the five-day
delivery provision somewhat. Issa likely recognized the
need to move his bill out of committee quickly,
understanding that the meat of the bipartisan work would
come when it was handled in conference, Davis said.
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Customer: Mail slow ahead of facility's closure
PR Reader: "USPS has ordered closing of the Frederick Processing and
Distribution Facility and consolidation of operations into
the Baltimore P&DC, some 50 miles away. The transfer has
already begun--with predictable results. Frederick is
Maryland's second largest city and, as far as mail service
is concerned, will now become a "second-class" city as
well." Frederick News Post: "According to the editor and owner of The Brunswick Citizen
and The Valley Citizen, some newspapers printed on Oct. 12
didn't reach subscribers until Oct. 20. Usually, customers
receive papers the day after the edition goes to press
."This is pretty hair-raising if you're having to rely on
the mail," Julie Maynard said Tuesday. "I'm very
concerned." |
Robber costs postal worker his job?
Clean cut postal employee
Gregory Johnson was robbed at gunpoint while delivering
mail in mid-August. Nearly a month later he was fired for
what a postal inspector said was for other reasons.
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Camden letter carrier retires after 50
years
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October 27, 2011
Postal Workers Fire Back on Pensions
CNBC -
The battle over the U.S. Postal Service's "pre-funding" of
future retiree health care benefits shows no signs of
weakening. Earlier this week, C-Suite Insider obtained a
memorandum between the CRS and
House Oversight Chairman Darryl Issa (R-CA) which said the
USPS was not obligated to pay for retiree health care
benefits of future workers, even though it could be
interpreted that way. But the memorandum is not changing
the opinion of the National Association of Letter
Carriers. |
PMG To Customers: “We’re
Here To Stay”
PMG Pat Donahoe today is
sending a message of reassurance to USPS customers,
telling them the Postal Service is “here to stay” and that
he has a plan to lead USPS to profitability and long-term
growth. In a video Donahoe brings customers up-to-date on
steps the Postal Service is taking on the legislative,
network optimization and wages and benefits fronts. The
PMG notes Congress must resolve issues associated with
pre-funding of the Retiree Health Benefits Trust Fund. He
also continues to urge Congress to allow USPS to move from
a six-day delivery schedule to five days per week.
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USPS to Sell 2011 White House
Ornament
Colorado Congressmen meet
with PMG to discuss impact of post office closures
Tree planting to observe 1991 Royal Oak Post
Office shooting -
MaComb Daily
NY postal worker admits stealing mail
-Buffalo
News
NY contractor pleads guilty to embezzling postal service funds
-Rochester
Democrat and Chronicle
Pennsylvania Rural Carrier Killed In Crash With Truck
-WTAE -TV
Manasota mail processing center to remain open
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Sarasota Herald Tribune
Obama-Appointed Judge Rejects City’s Suit
Against Postal Service
Three Teens Arrested in Robbery and
Beatings of Mail Carriers
APWU: Creating Desirable Duty Assignments
- APWU
Former Postal Carrier Admits Mail Thefts
= WGRZ-TV
Military Post Offices in Iraq to Close
Nov. 17
Join the Fight to Keep Six-Day Mail
Delivery -
AFL-CIO NOW BLOG
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October 26, 2011
The Twisted Logic of the Postal
Service: Fewer post offices, and more post offices without
a postmaster
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Save The Post
Office - Today the Postal
Service published its “Final
Rule” on “amending its regulations to improve the
administration of the Post Office closing and
consolidation process.” The new rules change the
definition of ‘‘consolidation’’ and the policy on staffing
post offices. The result will be that thousands of post
offices now managed by postmasters will be run instead by
an officer-in-charge or other postal workers with less
expertise and training than a postmaster. The goal, as
usual, is cost-savings, and the result, as usual, will be
to diminish the quality of service offered by the Postal
Service and to send it deeper into its downward spiral. League
Of Postmasters - USPS
Files Final Rule On Changes To Regulations For Post Office
Closings And Staffing
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Postmasters to Consult with
Attorneys Over USPS’ Final Rule on PO Closures
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Junk Mailers Get a Postage Price Break. You Don't
- AOL Daily Finance - In this month's edition, we
learn that over at the USPS, Postmaster General Patrick
Donahoe has announced his latest initiative to save the
post office from bankruptcy. (Hint: Improving customer
service to attract more business isn't a part of it.) As
you may recall, in recent months the good Postmaster has
suggested everything from postponing prepayments for
worker health benefits, to closing hundreds of mail
processing centers, to shutting down thousands of post
offices ......Evidently, that's still not enough. So
recognizing the need to raise revenue as well as control
costs, Donahoe is going back to the default business plan
at USPS, and hiking the cost of mailing a letter. At the
same time as Donahoe raises the price that ordinary postal
customers like you and I must pay, advertisers and other
business customers (commonly known as "junk mailers") are
getting a price break. |
USPS Reminder To Employees About the Hatch Act
- USPS News Link
Thieves target mail drops
- Las Cruces Sun-News
Judge: No Individual Mail Delivery for SRO Residents
-The Bay Citizen
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October 25, 2011
Where's
the outrage against the Issa Postal Bill?
The deafening silence of a
$1.3 trillion industry on the Issa bill - On Oct. 13, the Committee
passed a bill that creates two new unelected and
unaccountable government boards made up of people with no
knowledge of our industry to dictate a top-down
dismantling of an invaluable part of the nation’s economic
and financial infrastructure. Not a peep is heard. A
group of largely junior legislators who have no expertise
in our industry follow the lead of some auditors on loan
from the Government Accountability Office to radically
restructure an enormous American industry from the
clueless comfort of Washington, DC, and the business
community goes mute. Astounding. A chaotic mark-up
results in the adoption of one irrational amendment after
another and the mailing industry yawns. Mind boggling.
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Unconscious Woman Rescued From Home With
Help Of Postal Worker
WPXI-TV Police said a
neighbor along Locust Street in Etna called police after a postal worker
noticed days worth of newspapers and mail stacked up
outside the woman's door.
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Netflix
stock sinks as 800,000 or 36% of its subscribers quit
- Money CNN
Postal Service Mixes Up Its Fruits
in promoting new iPhone app
-
Dead Tree Edition
The Incredible Shrinking Postal Service
The Truth About the Post Office's
Financial Mess -
CNBC
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October 24, 2011
Postal Service to Announce FY 2011
Financial Results on Nov. 15
Press Release - The Postal Service will
release its FY 2011 financial results on Nov. 15 during an
open session meeting of the Board of Governors. Following
the meeting, Chief Financial Officer Joe Corbett will host
a telephone/web conference call to discuss the results. |
USPS Seeks Contractor To Manage
Fitness Center For HQ Employees
FedBIZOPP - The objective of
this project is to provide a comprehensive health
promotion program for USPS HQ employees as described in
the requirements section of this document. The program
components shall be afforded to all members and are
demonstrated, in part, through the fitness and health
assessments, individual programming, lifestyle counseling
and educational program.
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Residents say closing post office would
kill small Nevada town
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October 23, 2011
Crooks and Liars - From this Saturday's Forbes
on Fox, more attacks on labor unions and calls to
privatize the United States Postal Service. Host David
Asman opened the segment talking about the postal union's
decision to hire
Ron Bloom, one of the advisers that helped steer the auto
industry out of bankruptcy. That was followed by a
call from panel member Dennis Kneale to just shut down the
whole Post Office and allow FexEx and UPS to buy it and in
his words to “chop it up. Fox Pundit To Rural America: If Privatized
Postal Service Doesn’t Work For You, You Can Always Move!
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Federal
Times - Besides
paying tens of billions of dollars each year in
compensation, operations and overhead costs, the
financially strapped U.S. Postal Service has another huge
annual expense: hundreds of millions of dollars in
settlements to disgruntled employees and former employees.
This year, the Postal Service more than doubled its
projections of "probable" liabilities related to employee
grievances and lawsuits: $641 million, according to the
agency's latest quarterly financial report. The mail
carrier booked another $88 million for possible payouts
stemming from environmental, contract and tort claims.
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Poster Boys For Lean Accounting & Strategic Pricing:
Evolving
Excellence- The Post Office cost structure is pretty much all fixed. Buildings,
labor, trucks with steering wheels on the wrong side, fuel, and maintaining
bulletin boards with many of my friends and family members pictures on them
costs the same thing whether they bring me 1 piece of mail, or 20. In fact, the
cost doesn't change on a day when they bring me nothing at all. |
Proposal to end FERS is dishonest
Federal Times - One of the most draconian
proposals now before Congress' deficit-cutting supercommittee calls for ending FERS pension program. It
would immediately be killed for new and current employees
with fewer than five years of service. Pensions for FERS
employees with more than five years' service would be
recalculated to be "proportional" to their existing time
in service. The recommendation's author — Rep.
Darrell Issa, R-Calif. — would move new and current
employees with less than five years of service to a
proposed "defined contribution plan," for which he
provides no details. This new plan would be "payable at
Social Security age to supplement the Thrift Savings Plan"
— which is, itself, a defined-contribution plan."
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The Postal Service Runs Amok: How
Not to Close a Post Office
Save The Post Office - In the
classic guidebook for lawyers, The Art of
Cross-Examination, Francis Wellman advises, “A lawyer
should never ask a witness in cross-examination a question
unless in the first place the lawyer knows what the answer
would be or in the second place didn’t care.” This week
lawyers for the Postal Service cross-examined Mark Strong,
president of the National League of Postmasters, about
his testimony before the
PRC concerning the Retail Access Optimization Initiative . In response to questions
posed by the Postal Service, the League prepared a “Notice
of Additional Material”... The material paints a picture of the
public meetings that is anything but flattering to the
Postal Service, and it cites practices that seem in direct
violation of the USPS Discontinuance Guide (Handbook
PO-101). |
The Postal Workers Strike of
1970: ‘Our Backs Were Against the Wall"
The Indypendent - There was no way that
Congress was going to pass a pay raise for us at that
time. We had the Vietnam War and the failed War on
Poverty, and we had massive budget deficits. It was almost
like the situation today–not as bad economically, but
where we were trying to have an austerity budget, , cut
federal spending, do away with the “waste” from the War on
Poverty, get rid of all those programs that were helping
people because we were wasting too much money in Vietnam.
I
guess over the last 40 years, this country hasn’t learned
anything either. Well, not the country, but the people in
charge of it. We’ve learned something–that’s why we’re
here. |
NY group
pledges to "take the lead" in saving 17 Bronx Post Offices from closing
Postal Service trapped on a
route to failure - Times Union
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October 22, 2011
West Valley man
fights USPS over missing gold coins
Detroit postal contractor paid
bribes for 8 years before helping feds
Mail frauders headed to federal
prison - Your Houston News
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October 21, 2011
Editorial: FERS & CSRS
Disability Retirement – Defending a Necessary Benefit
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by Attorney Robert R. McGill - As a
Constitutional entity, it is absolutely proper that U.S.
Postal workers should enjoy the benefits of Federal sector
employees. ... they also enjoy the benefit of Federal
Disability Retirement. Federal Disability Retirement is
especially a needed benefit when one considers the type of
arduous physical requirements which craft employees,
supervisors and postmaster must endure in the daily course
of their working lives. Perhaps the everyday American is
not aware of the extent of repetitive use of one’s neck,
shoulders, back, knees, wrists, etc., that the Postal
Clerk, Letter Carrier, Mail Handler or Mail Processing
Clerk, among many other craft employees, must engage in on
a daily basis. |
Video: Ross Goes Hollywood And Talks
USPS Bailout On Fox News
Congressman
Dennis Ross it seems has been working overtime the last few days
trying to convince the American people his views are
correct on what ails USPS.. A few days ago Ross tweeted me this message, "@postalreporter
prefunding is not the cause of the USPS problems." which
was in reply to my tweet that GAO may be part of the
problems USPS is facing today.
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Out of Thin Air: New Numbers on
Declining Mail Volumes
Save The Post Office - : "Someone
please give Phil Herr at the GAO a Xanax. The guy has been
focused on USPS doomsday scenarios for so long, it’s
apparently making him depressed and clouding his vision.
His new GAO report paints a dire picture of the Postal
Service’s future, but it’s based on numbers that seem to
be pulled out of thin air"
GAO:
Restructuring USPS Business Model Could Eliminate
Prefunding for Retirees Health Benefits
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PMG Video To Employees discusses
proposal to move away from current Health Care Plan
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In his latest “State of the
Business” video to employees, PMG Pat Donahoe says the
proposal to move away from the current Federal Employee
Health Benefits Plan (FEHBP) to a USPS-sponsored benefit
is a vital element of a more sustainable business model.
GAO wrote in 2002: (prior to PAEA) ".. an attempt by the
USPS to terminate its participation in the Federal
Employees Health Benefits Plan (FEHBP) would be subject to
statutory constraints .
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USPS Issues New Policy For Postal
Employees On Use Of Social Media
Effective October 20, 2011,
the Postal Service™ is revising the Administrative Support
Manual (ASM), by adding new Part 363 which delineates the
Postal Service policy concerning social media.The web is
not anonymous. Generally, everything that you post is
accessible to anyone with a browser. Assume that
everything you post can be traced back to the Postal
Service and to you personally.
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Letter: Mail Carriers Overworked
Redondo Beach, CA Patch:
If you live in Redondo Beach, have you noticed over the
past two-and-a-half weeks that your mail delivery might be
arriving at midnight, 10 p.m. or 8 p.m.—or not at all? We
have. I found out that Redondo Beach, until 2 1/2 weeks
ago, had 50 delivery areas. Now there are 35 areas.
Because the postal service has reduced the number of
areas, mail carriers are forced to work until 10 p.m. or
midnight. We have gone without mail a couple of times.
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Postal Service proposes closing Gaylord
mail processing center
Postal workers mark 10 years since anthrax
attacks = Washington Post
Merchants Say 2012 Postal Rate Increase
Means Less Catalogs Mailed -
Multichannel Merchant
Ex-Postal Employee Charged With Postmaster
Attack
No Windfall Possible for UPS and FedEx
from USPS Problems
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October 20, 2011
The APWU and the USPS have
agreed to a set of Questions and Answers regarding the
2010-2015 Collective Bargaining Agreement, Director of
Industrial Relations Mike Morris has announced.
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Burrus: Pick Your Fight
One of the web sites that focuses
on postal issues recently suggests that I favor "throwing in the
towel" on 5 day delivery by supporting the Obama plan for postal
reform. This analysis misinterprets my suggested course for
addressing the USPS’ dilemma. Burrus: What’s Next for the Issa-Ross Bill
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Throwing in the Towel on 5-Day
Delivery?
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The Postal Service’s Radical Downsizing Plan: Be Careful What You Wish For
-Publishing Executive
USPS Deficit Puts NY City
Post Offices On The Chopping Block
- NY1 News
Nebraska postal worker indicted for misuse of Voyager card
-Omaha
World Herald
Mailers Getting Cold Feet About Postal Service Cuts
- Dead Tree Edition
Analysis: UPS, FedEx poised to gain from USPS pain
- Reuters
October 2001 Anthrax Attacks: Remembering Postal Heroes
- APWU
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October 19, 2011
Flashback: Congress Says 2006 Postal
Reform Bill Will Make USPS Viable for 21st Century
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Are we in the 22nd Century
yet? On December 20, 2006, the "Postal Accountability and
Enhancement Act of 2006" was passed in both House and
Senate (Darrell Issa was there at the time). This
legislation was supposed to "modernize the United States
Postal Service and make it viable for the 21st century.
The legislation, the first major overhaul of the USPS
since 1970, will help stabilize mail volume and stamp
prices." So what has happened in FIVE years?
Postal workers should be allowed to tell what is going on
inside the Post Office. We will tell a much different
story than postal pundits., starting with the rate
changes.
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Why Mailers Support Radical Downsizing of the Postal Service
-Dead
Tree Edition... mailers think the Postal
Service is ripe for some serious downsizing. (But they had
better be careful what they wish for, as Dead Tree
Edition will explain tomorrow in “Mailers Getting Cold
Feet About Postal Service Cuts”.) |
Is it time to update the Hatch Act?
- Washington Post
Postal Worker Reunites Owner with Dog after Crash Caused by Suspected Drunk
Driver - KSPR
Postal workers fired up about changes in Dayton
- WDTN TV
USPS, Help! Send Trays!!! (or at least have a Plan B)
- Postal Affairs
Blog
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October 18, 2011
Beginning early next year, it
will cost just a penny more to mail letters to any
location in the United States, the first price change for
First-Class Mail stamps (Forever stamps) in more than two
and a half years. The new 45-cent price for Forever stamps
is among price changes filed with the Postal Regulatory
Commission today. |
A Conflict of Visions:
The Pension Dispute, Periodicals Mail, and the Great
Postal Debate
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Save The Post Office -
The management of the Postal Service, along with the
mainstream media and many stakeholders in the mail
industry, are advancing a narrative that blames the
Internet and postal workers for the “crisis” in the postal
system. The Internet is making the post office
“irrelevant,” and workers’ wages and benefits are
egregiously out of line with the private sector and other
federal workers. The solution? Optimize the system by
closing post offices and cutting the workforce and
benefits. |
Ex-postal worker accused of
assaulting Hartford Postmaster
NBC News - The former
employee, who was recently let go, stormed into the
postmaster's office, pushed her to the ground and left,
officials said.
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Postal Worker Pleads Guilty to Mail and Worker's Comp
Fraud
Mayor: City not told about post office hearing
- Lawrence MA Eagle
Tribune
Post office closings could put an end to some Kansas towns
-Salina
Journal News
Chicago's Chinatown Residents Worried Post Office Might Close
- My Fox Chicago
A Decade Later:
USPS Remembers Anthrax Crisis - USPS News Link
USPS Announces Recommended Holiday Mailing Dates for Military Mail
- USPS Press Release
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October 17, 2011
Postal Reform After the House
Committee Markup
As it will likely pass the
House of Representatives, H.R.2309, does not generate
enough immediate cost savings or revenue increases to
allow the Postal Service to stay within a $25 billion debt
ceiling in the next three fiscal years. Congress has two
choices if it wants to use H.R. 2309 as the basis for
final legislation. NALC:
How the GAO report supports H.R. 1351
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APWU Video: Fighting for Our Lives
A video of the union’s fight
to save America’s Postal Service can be viewed online.
Fighting for Our Lives was first shown at the APWU
All-Craft Conference. . |
Privateers' prepare to plunder post office
Ithaca Journal - Republican members of
Congress, is alive and well today in the United States.
Far from being lawless, its practioneers are lawmakers
themselves. John Boehner, Darrel Issa and a host of other
pols make Captain Kidd, an honest pirate, look like Tiny
Tim. The mission of the new privateers is simple:
privatization of public service agencies.
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Ohio Lawmakers Express Concern Over
USPS Lack Of Transparency in Toledo Mail Processing Plant
Study
- Press Release - Regrettably,
neither the process nor clear guidelines seem to be in
place for the evaluation of the Toledo Mail Processing
Plant. It has been brought to our attention that the study
has been expedited and that community members have not
been consulted. We ask that the USPS clarify its process
for studying consolidation in Toledo. USPS has
reduced its Ohio workforce by over 3000 jobs since March
2010. We are concerned that that further reductions, at a
time when Ohio’s unemployment rate is at 9 percent, are
counterproductive and will undermine USPS efficiency.
Kucinich Issues Statement and Video
of Support for Postal Employees
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Lawmakers inch closer to compromise over Postal Service rescue plan
The Hill
- Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.), signaled this week that one possible area of consensus was a $6.9
billion overpayment that USPS is generally believed to have overpaid into a
federal retirement program. Officials have discussed possibly using those funds
to entice fully vested Postal Service employees into their retirement, which
would help the agency downsize its labor costs.
Legislation could allow Postal Service to use its own money
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For 3rd time in two weeks Postal Worker robbed in North Miami
WSVN TV - Late Monday
morning, a postal worker was robbed at gunpoint. That
worker was not injured. Friday, in the same city, a female
postal worker was robbed and beaten, and the thieves
responsible stole her master key. Several days earlier a
third worker was robbed and beat up.
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There's light at end of the USPS
budget tunnel
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Federal News Radio
Commission begins review of USPS
closures
-
Federal News Radio
New AmazonLocker Service Offers Postal
Delivery Options - Tech Daily News
USPS
faces $642m shortfall in print media mail services
- Post and Parcel
What
should the Postal Service do to become more profitable?
Wall Street Journal
Memphis truck company admits taking
postal service for $100,000 ride
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Memphis Commercial Appeal
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October 16, 2011
Letter Carriers Bring in Top Financial and Policy Experts
to Advise upon Postal Reforms
- Fredric V. Rolando, President of
the NALC, announced the retention of its advisors to 1,500
regional and local NALC leaders gathered in a national
conference to consider the current USPS financial crisis and the
long-term strategic, structural and business challenges facing
the USPS.
NALC
Brings in the Big Guns |
Postal Union Turns to Wall Street for Advice
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October 15, 2011
Burrus: What’s Next for the Issa-Ross Bill
The Issa/Ross Bill has now been
voted out of Committee but it is a long way from finalization.
Obama's proposal includes 5 day delivery which is strongly
opposed by the unions but the decision must be made on which
fights to engage in and with whom. Do we fight the Republican
efforts to destroy the Postal Service and the unions or do we
fight the Obama inclusion of 5 day delivery. This is a
legislative and executive decision but it is time to decide and
serious consideration must be given to the results if you don't
prevail. In American Politics you can be right and lose.
Throwing in
the Towel on 5-Day Delivery?
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U.S. still needs viable postal service
Waterbury Republican-American - Corporations are encouraging the
attacks on the USPS, for they welcome a lucrative future in
privatizing a reliable public service. A focus on profits would
mean discontinuing deliveries to the less profitable rural and
low income areas, as well as the usual cuts in the work force,
lower wages, and the elimination of benefits.
Now we can't even afford the mail? Please
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"The Postal Service is the richest broke company you'll ever see"
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Postmasters Say Issa Bill A
Victory for Rural Post Offices?
League Of Postmasters - in recognition of the importance of small rural post
offices— would limit the closing of rural post offices to only
10% of all the post offices being closed. That means that, for
every ten post offices that would be closed, only one of them
would could be rural. But let us make several things clear.
First, this bill is still not acceptable to the LEAGUE and would
cause great harm to the Postal Service.
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NALC President Rolando’s seven-point
proposal to the ‘super-committee’
- President Rolando has written a
letter to the members of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit
Reduction, better known as the "super committee." He outlines
seven proposals the NALC urges the committee to consider.
"Americans are begging you to act in a bipartisan manner to
address the nation’s problems," he wrote. "Bolstering the Postal
Service, a service mandated by the Constitution, is a good place
to start.
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Issa Urges Super Committee not to include
postal reform in its recommendations -
Issa claims White
House proposals will increase postage and end Saturday delivery.
He also claims the proposals will only be a temporary fix for
USPS. Issa also recommends : Changing the pension formula salary
base to cover the highest five year's average salary;
Increasing the employee FERS contribution by 6.2 percent;
Increasing the employee Civil Service Retirement System
contribution from 7 percent to 10 percent beginning in 2013;
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Revolt in Virginia Hollow Complicates Postal Service Survival
- Businessweek
2 Teenagers
Rob Postal Worker, Steal Box Key
Postal pin-ups pose for a cause
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KRQE TV
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October 14, 2011
House Panel Approves Postal
Destruction Bill
The APWU has denounced the bill,
H.R. 2309, as a “reckless assault on postal services and postal
employees.” The bill demands that the USPS implement $3 billion
worth of cuts in post offices and mail processing facilities in
a two-year period. It also would reduce “door delivery” by 75
percent.
archive:
Opinion:
Congressmen Issa-Ross Ignores 226 of their colleagues on Postal
Reform legislation
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Postal worker charged with
stealing drugs from mail
- NY Post
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October 13, 2011
Video: The GOP’s War on the Postal Service
Rages On
A Republican bill to kill the Postal service advances.” Video
from MSNBC “The Ed Show”
Oversight
Committee Approves Issa-Ross Postal Reform Bill (|
USPS OIG Responds to GAO Report
The current OPM methodology is
neither fair nor modern nor does it comply with the 2003 law. We
agree with you that action from Congress is necessary to settle
this issue once and for all. We believe Congress did just that
in 2003. If OPM cannot be convinced of the need to change its
methodology, the only alternative is for Congress to compel OPM
to act by adding even more explicit reform language to the
legislation currently being prepared.
GAO Rep ort
On USPS Overpayment
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NALC
President Rolando issues sta tement |
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Summary from Issa committee meeting
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USPS not pleased with overpayment report
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Cummings: Save the Postal Service Through Innovation
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GAO Says Postal Service Isn't Owed A Big
Refund
GAO Supports Issa-Ross
Arguments - Washington Post - Transferring tens of billions
of dollars in federal worker retirement accounts back to the
U.S. Postal Service would not address its long-term debt
problems and would force unfunded liabilities on to taxpayers,
according to a new government report. The conclusions set for
release Thursday by the Government Accountability Office run
counter to the opinions of postal regulators, the postal
inspector general and congressional Democrats, who say Congress
should refund as much as $75 billion to the Postal Service for
improperly overpaying federal retirement accounts since the
1970s. GAO concluded otherwise, writing in its report that "We
have not found evidence of error of these types. Any attempt to
refund money to USPS "would be a significant change from a
policy" in place since the 1970s, it said. Returning money to
the Postal Service for past and future retirement payments would
cause as much as $85 billion in losses for taxpayers "which must
then be paid by the federal government through tax revenue or
borrowing," GAO said. And any refund "would not be sufficient to
repay all of USPS's debt and address current and future
operating deficits."
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Family Personally Delivers
Party Invitations, Gets Charged Postage Anyway - Time
Michigan rural carrier suffers head injury in crash
- Mt Pleasant
Morning Sun
Ex-postal worker admits
illegally opening package, leafing through book at sorting
facility
Communities fight back
against post office closings
Empty Mailbox Blues
Periodicals Mail Study,
September 2011 (PDF) |
Postal study is bad news for
publishers
Postal Service worker suffers
head injury in crash between mail truck, pickup
-The
Saginaw News
Mailers Now Facing Large Rate Increase
Idaho Letter
Carrier Pleads Guilty to Mail Theft
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October 12, 2011
Unions, Veterans Tell House
Committee: Vote No on Issa-Ross Postal Bill
The APWU has united with a
prominent veterans’ organization and other postal unions to urge
members of the House Committee on Oversight and Government
Reform to vote no on H.R. 2309 when the committee deliberates on
Oct. 13.
NAPUS
Supports Braley Post Office Protection Amendment to HR 2309 At tomorrow’s House Oversight and
Government Reform “markup”, Rep. Bruce Braley (D-IA) intends to
offer an amendment to help protect small town and rural post
offices. The amendment would strike a number of provisions from
the Issa-Ross postal bill that would have a destructive impact
on universal postal services. The Postal Service debate, round two (Or three? We've lost count.)
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Burrus: From Here to there – Focus is now
turned to the hiring of PSEs
Burrus Journal - Well intended efforts were
undertaken by the union to initiate changes in contractual
provisions providing additional protections to employees but
they have been overtaken by events. Additional jobs was a worthy
contractual goal but the total number of postal employees will
be decided in a different forum and when the dust settles on
consolidations and 5 day delivery, if enacted or not, there will
be at a minimum 50,000 fewer jobs than existed prior to the
Watershed agreement. |
Washington Times - The change-of-address confirmation
letter comes in an official-looking USPS envelope with the words
“verification required” and “do not discard,” but it contains
mostly ads and coupons from companies. “In this case, you have a
federal agency collecting information for one purpose,
forwarding mail, and using it for a wholly different purpose,
direct marketing.” But it’s unclear how anybody who signs up for
the change-of-address program can opt out of receiving
commercial advertisements. Among those who have served on the
Imagitas board of directors is Mary Elcano, former general
counsel for the USPS, Imagitas also has past ties to the Carlyle
Group, where the chairman of the USPS Board of Governors, Louis
J. Giuliano, is a senior adviser. Imagitas is owned by Pitney
Bowes. |
Want to Save Your Post Office? Read This How-To Book
Orlando Sentinel - NAPUS first printed the Red Book in
the 1990s. Although it contains no political secrets, it does
offer practical tips for postmasters and customers who have
never faced losing their post office. And it offers hope.
Redbook (PDF)
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House Committee Releases Very Misleading
Video On Who Supports Issa-Ross Postal Reform Bill
- This news release and video
suggests that the entire House Committee On Oversight and and all Senators support the Issa-Ross-McCain
Postal Reform Bill as well as the views on the USPS overpayment.
However, only one member of the Committee has signed on as a
co-sponsor for HR 2309. Very misleading on all fronts.
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Postal Manager’s Demotion for Dropping His
Pants Upheld
On June 19, 2010, the agency
demoted Natty to a PS-04 Part-Time Flex Mail Handler based on a
finding of unacceptable conduct. Natty appealed his demotion and
the Administrative Judge found that Natty's comments about
race and sex, and the intentional dropping of his pants,
supported the unacceptable conduct charge. Natty claimed
he did not drop his pants intentionally.
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Workers' comp costs Postal Service more
than it should, IG finds
Federal Times - The U.S. Postal Service could save
at least $335 million on its yearly workers' compensation tab if
the federal government adopted some of the cost-cutting
techniques used by private companies, the agency's inspector
general concludes in a new report.
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Idaho Letter
Carrier Pleads Guilty to Mail Theft
Delivering Postal Service Reform, by
Darrell Issa - National Review
How Netflix went wrong: Qwikster was good for company, not the customer
- Christian Science Monitor
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October 11, 2011
Senators Pursue
Unanswered Questions from PMG on Rural Post Office Closures
- Press Release - A bipartisan group of U.S.
Senators representing rural America is aiming to get PMG Donahoe
on record in response to questions he has so far failed to
answer about potential closures of hundreds of post offices in
their states, and the elimination of Saturday delivery.
Senators angry at threatened
postal closures
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Highlights of PMG’s Visit to
Morgan P & DC
Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe
visited Morgan P&DC in New York City on Monday October 3, 2011.
Donahoe spoke to the employees of the overall condition of the
Postal Service and about what he believed was needed to address
the severe financial crisis that the Postal Service was
experiencing.
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APWU Local Presidents Call For Resignation
of PMG Donahoe
The APWU National President's
Conference attendees passed a resolution unanimously asking for
the resignation of Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe for not
bargaining in good faith (not wanting to stand by what was
agreed to in Collective Bargaining) and attempting to dismantle
the USPS. The NPC also discussed the PMG wanting to take away
the No Lay-Off Clause after it was negotiated. Also, those wanting to retire soon should wait, there may be incentive
coming in the near future.
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Haste Makes Waste: The
Hidden Cost of Closing Post Offices
Save The Post Office - The vast majority of post offices
being reviewed for closure are leased properties, and most of
them will have months or years left on the lease when they
close. The Postal Service could run into some serious buy-out
costs over the coming year, perhaps as much as $100 million.
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Please Mr. Postman, Look and See, If There's a Six-Pack in Your Bag For Me
- Dead Tree Edition
Commissioners
Robert Taub and Mark Acton begin their new terms at the PRC
NRLCA Elects
Jeanette P. Dwyer as First Female National President
Rock Bottom Postal Wages in 6 Easy Steps- Postal Sanity
Mailing List Broker Roundtable: USPS Finances and Direct Mail - Chief
Marketer
Mailbox Bomb Shakes Albuquerque Neighborhood - KOAT
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October 10, 2011
USPS Early Retirement Offer With Incentives
Coming?
APWU President Cliff Guffey told the
delegates to the APWU National Presidents Conference in Las Vegas
today, I am certain there will be an early retirement offer for
APWU members with incentives once the Postal Service fully complies
with our demands
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Tennessee Congressman to Super Committee:
Stop Early Retirements
Press Release - Rep. John J.
Duncan, Jr. in a letter this week urged the Congressional "Super
Committee" tasked with finding trillions of dollars in savings in
the federal budget to put a stop to early federal retirements. Duncan
wants Federal pension to start at age 62 as in Social Security.
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DVDs Will Be Staying at Netflix.com
- Press Release
Editorial: Free the post office
- New Britain CT Herald
5 Day Delivery FAQs
- multichannelmerchant.com
Postal workers help coworker
- Upper Michigan Source
Postal Service to continue
post-anthrax safeguards - Washington Times
Hallmark CEO: Cutting Saturday Delivery No
Answer to Postal Dilemma
- National Newspaper Association.
Wounded Knee Post Office Under Siege: Citizens
Fear Losing a Critical Service - Indian Country Today
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October 9, 2011
Why Are the Postal Service's Financial Problems
Such a Surprise?
Dead
Tree Edition - "The U.S. Postal Service's financial problems have,
of course, been big news lately, but they should hardly be a surprise.
It didn't take a genius to see this coming; here's what appeared
in Dead Tree Edition almost two years ago: "Although the Postal
Service is on track to become insolvent within a couple of years,
Congress has shown no appetite for wrestling with the problems that
vex the USPS. The Postal Service's requests to stem the financial
tide -- by eliminating Saturday delivery and eliminating the prepaid
retiree-benefit requirement, for example -- will inevitably lead
to a Congressional discussion of whether postal rates should be
raised." |
Wisconsin letter carrier arrested in suspected
drunken driving
A 45-year-old postal service employee
was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving on Saturday after police
received a call that a mail delivery vehicle had struck other vehicles
and was attempting to drive away without reporting the collisions,
Waukesha police said Tuesday.
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The Anthrax Files
-
PBS
Postal service revenue can't
keep up with payroll - Courier Press - The
workforce remains well-compensated despite the fiscal woes.
Postal Workers Union PAC: We'll
Stick to Regular Mail
- NY Times: The Internet
may be the new standard for communication, but snail mail still
rules at the political action committee of the APWU.
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October 8, 2011
Postal
Workers among Groups Protesting in Downtown Tulsa
- KRMG News
Talk Radio
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October 7, 2011
APWU - "there is no dispute with the
USPS at this level that postal workers have the right, protected
by the First Amendment, to publicly oppose the closure or consolidation
of postal facilities, including the reduction of postal services."
USPS Warning to Postal Employees About Campaigning
Against Mail changes
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Twisted government accounting
behind Postal Service woes
MSNBC - Politicians
have been raiding Postal Service revenues for years, using them
to make the federal deficit appear smaller than it really is. The
fiscal gyrations are so twisted that the Postal Service is right
now forced to pre-pay health care benefits for employees the agency
hasn't even hired yet — in fact, for many future employees who haven't
even been born yet — all to artificially shrink the federal deficit.Welcome
to the wacky world of Washington, D.C., accounting.
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Five Songs U.S. Postal Service Woes Have Changed
Forever
Nobody's saying the postal carrier
will disappear, but the ramifications of an abbreviated number
of delivery days and slower service could have a ripple effect
on all segments of our society. Take for example, popular song.
To illustrate our point, here are five pop classics that we'll
never listen to in the same way: Please Mr. Postman, Sign,
Sealed, Delivered and more..
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Police find mail contractor
suspected in hit-and-run that killed woman
-KATU TV
USPS posts notices for potential
closures at 38 Montana offices
- Billings Gazette
Florida Postal Supervisor
Guilty of Mail Theft Gets Federal Prison Time
- First Coast News
Bipartisan Support for Bill
to Save Post Offices
- KTVZ
Mailman beat up for not loaning
cellphone to teen - Stamford Advocate
Congressman Issa Goes Postal
- Huffington Post
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October 6, 2011
Hiring Freeze helped soften hit of USPS reorganization
Only 31 U.S. Postal Service employees
have been laid off following an administrative reorganization that
eliminated some 7,500 positions, a spokesman for the mail carrier
said this week. Another 1,800 USPS workers took advantage of $20,000
buyouts and left last spring. Employees in the remaining 5,600-plus
positions either left on their own terms or were moved into vacant
positions.
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Two More USPS Plants Post Non-Traditional
Full-Time Jobs
Two more plants complying with HQ's
order to post NTFT bids in October. Nationwide in scope, all plants
will be given the go ahead .
APWU, USPS Establish Guidelines on Alternative
Dispute Resolution Procedures
-The time limit for grievance
appeals and meetings at each step is governed by Article 15, with
a clarification regarding disputes involving Non-Traditional Full-Time
(NTFT) duty assignments. The 14-day time limit for appeals of NTFT
roll-out disputes starts on the date the duty assignment is posted
for bid, the MOU says.
USPS, APWU
Q & A regarding NTFT
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Postmasters Request Meeting With USPS to Discuss
RIF Avoidance Strategies -
On Monday, League President Mark Strong and NAPUS President Bob
Rapoza sent a joint letter to USPS Chief Operating Officer and Executive
Vice President, Megan Brennan, requesting a meeting to discuss the
impact that the Retail Access Optimization Initiative (RAOI) may
have on Postmasters whose offices are on the study list.
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APWU Challenges Proposed Changes to USPS Service
Standards
The APWU is challenging proposed changes
to USPS service standards that would result from a major reduction
in the number of mail processing facilities. The Postal Service
announced plans to eliminate 252 mail processing facilities on Sept.
14, and one week later published an “advance notice” of the proposed
changes in service
in the
Federal Register.
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USPS proposes to modify
Express Mail waiver of signature procedures
The Postal Service proposes to modify
Express Mail Label 11-B and Label 11-F, by eliminating the “waiver
of signature” check box. A mailer sending an Express Mail item,
and requiring an addressee's signature, must select the new “signature
required” box on the new Express Mail label dated January 2012.
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Why the Postal Service Exists
- Courier Express and Postal Observe
Postal
Service Remains in Limbo -
Govexec.com
Postal Workers Rally at Legislators Offices
- Yes Weekly
Postal Service Stops Delivering To Bronx
Building Due To Leaky Pipe
CBS New York
USPS Faces $$$ Crisis, Employees Ask for Support
BC Courier
Tree falls onto mail truck
- North County Times (CA)
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October 5, 2011
Baucus Introduces Bill to Aid Cash-Strapped
Postal Service, Keep Remote Rural Offices Open -
Senator Max Baucus (D-Montana)-
Prevents the Postal Service from closing any Post Office where another
office is not available within 10 miles
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Idle Sioux City postal workers to earn $1.7
million
"The situation has prompted some of
Iowa’s top elected officials to sound further alarms about the rationale
behind the federal government’s decisions to close some postal operations.
“My question is: Are there actual cost savings in this move?” asked
U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin, a Democrat.
Sen. Chuck Grassley, a
Republican, echoed a similar sentiment. “If the Postal Service is
determined to close this facility to save money, then it better
make sure that it’s saving money,” Grassley said. note by Don Cheney:
"Hundreds more mail processing plants like this one (Sioux City,
Iowa) would be closed if service standards are relaxed."
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Editorial: Does USPS Workplace Bullying Exist?
The report on federal job discrimination
complaints mentions “of the Cabinet-level and large federal agencies,
the U.S. Postal Service was a significant contributor to the total
number of discrimination complaints and investigations in fiscal
2010, the report found. Postal employees make up 18.6 percent of
the federal workforce, but the agency accounted for 40.2 percent
of counseling incidents, 31.2 percent of all complaints filed and
28.9 percent of completed investigations.”
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USPS Warning to Postal
Employees About Campaigning Against Mail changes
"As you are aware, in specific circumstances
some of our Postal employees have actively become engaged in discontinuance
study community meetings, to the detriment of USPS communications
with actual customers. Some of our Postal employees have written
congressmen and senators, beseeching their assistance in stopping
discontinuance studies. Some have banded together with Postal retirees,
in an effort to sidestep pr stop processes geared toward bringing
our organization back to financial stability. This type of activity
is restricted."
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MSPB Begins Posting
Nonprecedential Decisions On Its Website
- Press Release
Congressmembers Ask PMG to Take Buffalo, NY Off Closure List
- Press Release
Former Postmaster Relief Sentenced for Embezzling Money Orders
- Press Release
Closing rural post offices
would hurt businesses - Press Connects
Why the Postal Service Exists
- Courier Express and Postal Observer
Little People Paying for Big
Postal Service Problems
-Salem AR News
Congressional offices confront
an increasing amount of mail
- Washington Post
New Post Office Ad Backfires in at
Least One Case
- The Atlantic
OIG:
Digital Currency: An Opportunity for the Postal Service?
USPS OIG
Postal Workers Rally In Buffalo
-WGRZ Buffalo
Idle Sioux City postal workers to earn
millions
-Des Moines Register
The Case for the Post Office
- Huffington Post
USPS could help 73m ‘unbanked’ people
into digital economy
-Post & Parcel
Rural carriers miss a paycheck because
of USPS "glitch"
-KARE TV
Direct marketing
spending to hit $163 billion in 2011
- DM News
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October 4, 2011
Rep. Stephen F.
Lynch: Postal bill has support
Patriot Ledger- The Lynch bill has 222 co-sponsors, including
27 Republicans, making it likely to be part of any compromise.
"True, postal unions support the bill. But so do postal supervisors,
small businesses, postal customer groups and the U.S. Postal Service
itself. H.R. 1351 uses the $6.9 billion that is owed to the Postal
Service to stabilize its financial position unlike the Republican
version that uses taxpayer funds."
Issa's postal bill has a ..(drum roll)....whopping ONE co-sponsor,
Rep. Dennis Ross.
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Hundreds Question Possible Sunriver
Post Office Closure
Postal Service readies for change
in Erie, elsewhere
Congressional offices confront
an increasing amount of mail
Former postal
worker is charged with stealing Netflix videos, gift cards
Bucking the National Trend of
Post Office Shutdowns, Goleta Processing Center Grows
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October 3, 2011
Issa: USPS must shave labor costs
Issa still talking about first booting
out retirement eligible postal employees - The California
Republican reiterated at a Monday event that he believes his USPS
legislation would allow the agency to shed as many as 200,000 workers
in the next few years that would already be eligible for retirement.
But Issa also unfavorably compared America’s handling of the Postal
Service with Greece, which moved to
shed 30,000 government jobs
this weekend.“Greece is finally coming to grips with retiring those
who should be retired sooner rather than later,” Issa said. “Greece
is actually ahead of us on that.”
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Post Office Closings: Updated List and Projections
Save The Post Office - The pace of
post office closings and appeals is picking up, and it’s only going
to get worse over the coming months. If Congress doesn’t do something
soon, by the end of the year we’re going to see post offices closing
at a rate of several per day. |
Two Massachusetts Postal
Employees Charged With Selling Drugs While On Duty
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Press Release - Two
United States Postal Service employees, along with two others, were
indicted on charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute
and distribution of cocaine and possession with intent to distribute
and distribution of cocaine. At a hearing this afternoon, the prosecutor
told the court that the Postal employees allegedly sold cocaine
while on duty at the Somerville Post Office.
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Fight to survive: USPS's management, four
unions at odds over plan of action
El Paso Times -
How the nation's 236-year-old
postal system will operate in the future is uncertain as the Internet
and competitors continue to cut into its business while politicians,
management and unions argue over how to keep the institution alive.
The Postal Service's four unions are fighting to keep jobs while
management wants Congress to give the Postal Service the power to
lay off thousands of people as part of its plan to make the agency
leaner and return it to profitability by 2015.
Are We About to Lose the Postal Service?
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Postal service teeters
on brink as Congress watches
Sioux City's
USPS Mail Processing Center closes for good
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October 2, 2011
Setting the Record
Straight, part two: The NY Times Does It Again
Setting the Record
Straight, part one: The Postmaster Takes the National Review to
School
These Are
the Postal Service's Sad Ads Against Email
Mailers must
back postal cuts
Why Mailers are Taken for a Ride
The Fight To Save The U.S. Postal Service
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October 1, 2011
Federal News Radio - "The
continuing resolution passed
Monday by the Senate included a measure
to give the Postal Service until Nov. 18 to pay a
$5.5 billion debt to the Treasury. The House is
expected to approve the legislation Monday. Postal
officials warn that they will not be able to make a
November deadline, either. They expect to have just
one week's worth of cash left by the end of October.
The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee
is expected to mark up Republican legislation in
October that would authorize a control board to
seize Postal Service finances if the agency is more
than 30 days late in paying its debt."
Rep.
Amash Issues Statement on USPS Sept. 30 Default
| Rep.
Dennis Ross says USPS default deadline is extended
until Nov. 18. |
Carry the Rally Cry and protest PMG’s proposed
changes to service standards - by Omar Gonzalez - The
Postmaster General's dastardly plan to close mail
processing plants and postal facilities REQUIRES him to
change service standards. Management is "selling" these
proposed changes as a good thing. But the documentation
required and posted in the Federal Register clearly
reveals the impact: |
GAO Recommends Recruiting Mail
Carriers, Postal Retirees As Temporary Takers For
2020 Census
- Opportunities exist for the Bureau to take advantage of
the knowledge and experience of USPS mail carriers,
including retirees. Bureau and USPS officials agree that
USPS city and rural mail carriers are familiar with the
local living conditions in their communities and that this
knowledge could help the Bureau conduct aspects of the
2020 Census more effectively. But it may not be cost
effective. In 2010, the average USPS mail carrier
was paid about $41 (city) or $34 (rural) per hour
including benefits for regular time worked, compared to
the average hourly pay of about $15 paid to census
enumerators.
GAO
cites benefits of Census-USPS teamwork -- GovExec.com
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PMG Names Richard Uluski New
Northeast Area VP
Poll: Should Congress privatize the Postal Service?
Witness for the Post Office: The Mayor testifies, the Postal Service
cross-examines
Marketers forge through dire times for US Postal Service
Postal service teeters on brink as Congress watches
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