Letter also sent to President
Barack Obama, Senators Diane Feinstein, Barbara Boxer-
What in the world is going on here? I know of front line
supervisors fired for doing route inspection paperwork with
their postmaster, carriers who were fired for letting their
child sit in daddy's jeep, and clerks who have been investigated
for having Government pens at their homes. Yet this guy, Robert
F. Bernstock isn't even prosecuted? If I were an OIG Agent, I'd
be pissed and embarrassed. The OIG cannot get Robert F.
Bernstock to court? There are some big dogs stealing and wasting
millions for their own personal gain. The boys and girls in the
OIG set out instead to chase a few craft employees for pennies.
(7/05) |
One area identified in the Postal
Service’s action for the future is to increase workforce
flexibility. A larger, part-time work force would give postal
management the flexibility to increase or decrease employees
depending on mail volume. Although this change is not as drastic
as closing postal facilities or switching to 5-day delivery, it
raises questions about what a part-time postal workforce would
look like. (7/05) |
Under 5 C.F.R. § 353.301(d),
agencies must make efforts to restore partially recovered
employees “in the local commuting area.” The local commuting
area is the geographic area in which an individual lives and can
reasonably be expected to travel back and forth daily to his
usual duty station. Because the agency’s search for
available work was apparently limited to a single district,
whether the agency searched the entire commuting area remains an
unanswered question of material fact, which must be explored on
remand. (7/02) |
Top
USPS Attorney Says They Are Two Sets Of Rules Governing Use Of
Postal Equipment
- "The Postal Service's
top attorney, Mary Anne Gibbons, told investigators she thought
there were two sets of rules governing the so-called "de minimis"
policies on the use of postal equipment for outside activities:
one rule for hourly employees and another for executive
employees such as Mr. Bernstock." According to the report , "
Gibbons told the OIG that PMG Potter had the authority as the
head of the Postal Service to override federal government policy
limiting the use of government resources for use in Bernstock's
personal business activities. He was authorized to override
Postal Service policy to allow Bernstock to use his computer
system and e-mail for his personal business activities." Replace a broken USPS-
Letter to the Editor of the Washington Times by Wayne L. Johnson, Commander,
Navy Judge Advocate General's Corps (retired) (7/02) |
Charles Wilcher, a 204B
from the letter carrier craft, claimed he was "working" on July
5, 2006 when he spent the day with his Postmaster [Margie
Flores-Jones]. She was also accused of getting paid for July 5,
2006 even though it was alleged that she did not actually work
that day. She was initially demoted to the position of
Supervisor of Customer Service, but was subsequently returned to
her position as Vineland Postmaster. Eight months after the
incident he was issued a Notice of Removal. . (6/30) |
Inspectors found serious safety violations at the facilities:
Untrained or unqualified workers were performing tests on live
electrical equipment, and personal protective equipment, work
practices, and warning signs were inadequate, OSHA said.
Employees were working on live electrical machinery without
being provided non-conductive head protection, voltage-rated
gloves, flame resistant clothing, or face shields to prevent
injury from “electric arcs,” the agency said. More citations are
expected in the coming months. (6/30) |
APWU: Unemployment Compensation
And The National Reassessment Process
- Injured employees
who undergo the National Reassessment Process (NRP) and are told
by the Postal Service either that there is only partial day work
available or that there is no work available, should consider
filing for unemployment compensation. This temporary financial
assistance can serve as an important monetary bridge during the
time that an employee is waiting for his or her OWCP
compensation to be processed. (6/30) |
Walls said Sherwin Wigley was a
retired postal worker. According to a postal service website,
Lori Wigley was recently named as the postal service's district
manager for Alabama. (6/30) |
USPS OIG: Former
Postal Marketing Exec
Robert Bernstock misused staff, contractors
-The U.S. Postal Service's former
top marketing executive repeatedly used government staff — and
at least two business associates he hired with sole-source
contracts — to manage his personal finances and outside business
interests, according to a new report. Robert Bernstock, who
resigned June 4, admitted to Office of Inspector General
investigators that he had used postal resources and staff to
handle his personal business while on the agency's time. The
report, released today, said his use of Postal Service employees
and property to conduct personal business was improper. The
report also raises questions about Postal Service general
counsel Mary Anne Gibbons' apparent failure to report
Bernstock's improper use of postal staff.
PMG Gave Okay for Bernstock to transfer personal emails to
USPS email account| Bernstock update:
Postal sole-source contracting rules tightened||
Read the full report(6/29) |
On his retirement date, Chester
Reed will have accrued 37 years and 16 days of Postal Service
employment, and to top it off, will have never used a day of
sick leave. Combined with his military service time, Reed has a
total of 62 years, 10 months and 12 days of government service.
|
Employees at the South Mills post
office have used outdoor Porta-Johns for the past year — in both
“stifling heat” and freezing temperatures, one customer asserts
— because Postal Service officials thus far have been unable to
get the landlord to fix the building’s indoor toilets.
|
OSHA
Proposes $430,000 in fines against USPS At Scarborough, Maine
Mail Facility- The U.S. Department of Labor's
Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited the U.S.
Postal Service for alleged willful and repeat violations of
safety standards following an inspection at the Southern Maine
Processing and Distribution Center in Scarborough, Maine. The
Postal Service faces a total of $430,000 in fines, chiefly for
exposing workers to electrical hazards. OSHA Fines
USPS $210,000 At Eagan Facility
|
One of the Postal Workers Indicted is former Southern Region
Coordinator
Frankie Sanders who is running to get his old job back.
Note: although Sanders was indicted does not mean he's guilty of
the charges. His trial is set for August of this year.
|
1977 House Report on Saturday Mail Delivery:... the
Commission on Postal Service, a special study commission created
by Public Law 94-421 to study the public service aspects of the
Postal Service and other subjects, issued a report recommending
that Saturday mal delivery be discontinuance of Saturday
delivery service would reduce postal costs by $412 million
annually. Through attrition, approximately 18,000 full-time
positions would be eliminated. 1980: then-Postmaster
General William F. Bolger stated that eliminating Saturday
delivery was one option the Postal Service was considering to
ensure its economic stability in the face of the budget cuts.
Bolger estimated the service reduction could result in the
elimination of 15,000 to 20,000 Postal Service jobs, but would
save the Service about $588 million.
|
The Postal Service proposes to
utilize mobile fueling contractors to fuel vehicles on site at
selected postal facilities located throughout the United States.
The program would focus on, but not be limited to, city and
rural delivery units with 30 or more routes using vehicles owned
by the Postal Service. |
Confessions of a Former Station Manager -
A
business can pick and choose. A business exists solely to
produce profit. If a business fails, the business folds and all
walk away, shoulders bent over, looking at the ground. A public
service is there for everyone. A public service cannot pick and
choose who their customers might be, based on where they live or
how much they make. A public service exists to meet the needs of
those in a society. A public service cannot fold. The US Postal
Service is unique because it has an income other than taxes. Do
not be fooled. It is not a business. It is clearly a public
service. We exist to serve everyone.
|
West Jersey P&DC will be
closed; 345 Postal Employees To Be Reassigned The
change will require the transfer of more than 300 people who
work in Whippany, said George Flood, a spokesman for the post
office. The closure will shift their responsibilities to the
postal service’s Northern New Jersey Metro center in Teterboro,
as well as the Kilmer plant. some mail processing handled at the
Edison branch will also be moved elsewhere, creating a net loss
of 45 employees there.-
|
Postal Topics
