January 29, 2012

NAPUS: Senate Postpones Consideration of Postal Bill

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced that the Senate would take up the “Stock Act,” rather than postal reform legislation during the week of January 30. At this point, there is some uncertainty about scheduling Senate consideration of S. 1789,  |

Congressman Hinchey calls for a moratorium on the closing studies
Save the Post Office - New York Congressman Maurice Hinchey has written a letter to Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe asking him “to place a moratorium on the USPS's current discontinuance studies until the USPS resolves the numerous problems the PRC identified in the RAIO. “  Hinchey is circulating the letter in Congress, looking for others to sign on with him.  |

Why Mail Matters: Political Attack Ads Can be Tougher

Hares Corner closing lacks backup evidence

Protesters rally to keep Rockford’s mail center open –

With a Postal Service like this one, we need e-textbooks

New Postal Service Program Could Mean More Junk Mail

PMG: Situation "Unsustainable"

Postcom: The Challenge of Good Legislative Execution

Rumor: Netflix Shipping Center Layoffs Because of Declining DVD Shipments?

Post Office Photo Collection

Temple residents fight to keep post office open

Arkansas and Its Post Offices

Postal Worker Helps Nab Sheboygan Drug Dealers

January 28, 2012

Editorial: USPS, NALC and Mail Handlers’ Negotiations

Burrus Journal - The issues involved are more than likely the USPS’ health care cost and NALC craft jurisdiction. The pot of gold at the end of the rainbow for the Postal Service is not in employee hourly wages, but in the enormous cost associated with health care funding, including that of retirees. One way of addressing this staggering cost would be a health plan covering every letter carrier, controlled fully by the Postal Service and NALC.  |

Letter Carrier Convicted of Delaying the Mail

Video: Moonshine sparks evacuation At Florida Post Office

January 27, 2012

OWCP Issues Statement Regarding USPS, Align Networks Partnership For Physical Therapy Services - "Recent communications from the United States Postal Service and Align Networks have caused confusion regarding the process for securing authorization for physical therapy for treatment of approved conditions under the Federal Employees’ Compensation Act (FECA). Under 5 U.S.C. 8103 and its implementing regulations and procedures, only the Department of Labor’s Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs has the authority to determine what medical care will be authorized."  |

NALC: Senate Will Not Consider Postal Bill Next Week

S. 1789 will not be brought to the Senate floor next week. We were successful in delaying a floor vote on S. 1789 because letter carriers called their senators and urged them to oppose the bill in its current form. Congressional Budget Office Analysis of Senate postal reform bill - For the purposes of this estimate, CBO assumes that S. 1789 will be enacted early in calendar year 2012. The bill would affect outlays of the Postal Service Fund, which is off-budget, and of the PSRHBF, CSRDF, and FECA accounts—all of which are on-budget. CBO estimates that the net cost to the unified budget would total $6.3 billion over the 2012-2022 period. APWU Members Must Take Action NOW! |

Video: PMG Donahoe On Future of the Post Office

In a CNBC interview, Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe responds to comments made earlier this week on “Squawk Box” by Rep. Darrell Issa regarding the Post Office and its reforms. "If we make any changes it probably won't be in effect until next year, probably January time frame". ( |

USPS, NAPUS and League Agree to Postmaster Pay Talks Extension

An agreement has been reached between the Postal Service and the two Postmaster organizations (NAPUS and the League of Postmasters) to extend Postmaster pay talks until February 29, 2012.USPS, Postal Supervisors Extend Pay Talks   |

Congressman Lynch Joins Higgins in Fight Against Closing of Buffalo Mail Processing Facility - Congressman Stephen F. Lynch (MA-9) is joining Congressman Brian Higgins (NY-27) in asking the U.S. Postmaster General to remove the Buffalo Mail Processing facility from the list of those slated for closure.  |

USPS and France’s La Poste to Honor Miles Davis and Edith Piaf on Forever Stamps

U.S. Postal Service Launches Express Mail Flat Rate Box

Retirement Planning: Life Insurance Basics

Former postal worker gets probation in  theft

Faith restamped in Postal Service

New 45-cent commemorative stamps unavailable to many post offices

January 26, 2012

Petition: Fire the PMG

Postmaster General Donahoe is forging ahead with his plans to dismantle the Postal Service by lowering service standards and overnight delivery. His plans have NO support from the public, the employees and most elected officials. Yet he forges ahead like a dictator. As Postmaster, he should be looking for ways to grow the business, not decimate it. The closing of thousands of Post Offices and Processing Plants around the country will put the Postal Service on the road to ruin.  |

Postal Service’s Overfunding of Pension Plans Grows to $13 Billion

Why is the Postal Service consistently overfunding FERS? What is going on in CSRS pension plan? Take a close look at why the assumptions have changed so dramatically and determine if the Postal Service’s employee population is significantly different from the rest of the federal government. Then, adjust the assumptions, and the plans, accordingly. But most importantly, take these funds out of the political process. Why have we tied proper fund management to the larger issue of reforming the nation’s postal system? We should not let the important work of shaping a new business model for a communications infrastructure get bogged down in issues around fund management. |

APWU Discourages Members from Participating In Align Networks Physical Therapy Services -I t is our understanding that as a contract provider, Align Networks and their therapists can share information with the USPS that would otherwise be protected by doctor-patient confidentiality, including information that is unrelated to workplace injuries. |

Democrats Oppose Additional Cuts to Federal Pay and Benefits

Federal workers have already made significant sacrifices to help reduce our government’s budget deficit. We therefore urge you to reject provisions such as those in the House version of H.R. 3630 that would require an additional one-year extension of the federal pay freeze initiated in 2011; impose a 1.5% increase in federal employees’ retirement contributions over a three-year period; and eliminate the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) Social Security supplement for most federal workers. AFGE Statement on Federal Employee Retirement Hearing  |

Fired letter carrier Testifies About Hitting Supervisor With Car In Attempted Murder Trial - A former letter carrier for the U.S. Postal Service admitted in court Tuesday that he was upset at his former supervisor for firing him and that he rammed the man with a truck near the supervisor's home in Albany two years ago.  |

Postal Employee And Four Others Indicted For Stealing And Cashing U.S. Treasury Checks

Video shows mail carrier allegedly stealing prescription medicine

USPS Board Of Governors Sets Agenda For February 9 Meetings

January 25, 2012

Rep. Lynch: Hearing On Reducing Retirement Benefits is Really Attack On Federal Workers - Congressman Stephen Lynch (D-MA) says hearing on strengthening retirement pensions is nothing more than eliminating federal pensions. Rep. Dennis Ross, R-Fla., on Wednesday introduced a bill that would increase how much federal employees pay toward their retirement and steeply reduce pensions for new employees. HR 3813, the Securing Annuities for Federal Employees Act, would raise contributions for current Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) and Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) employees by 0.5 percentage points per year for three years, beginning in 2013. This would make FERS employees contribute 2.3 percent of each paycheck toward their pensions, and require an 8.5 percent contribution from CSRS employees.  Legislative Attacks On Federal Retirement Compensation Is Based On Misguided Assumptions  |

PRC Announces Simplified, More Transparent Rules For Post Office Closure Appeals - The simplified rules will, among other things, ease requirements for persons who file appeals but do not or can not use the internet; allow interested persons to file comments without first formally intervening; and grant participants extra time to respond to Postal Service motions and briefs. The rules streamline the Commission’s review process as well.  |

Chairman Issa Really Wants the Postal Service to Cut It’s Workforce by 225,000

Yesterday’s post,  Chairman Darell Issa Says USPS is Committee’s Priority; USPS Should Cut 260,000 Employees, implied that the Chairman’s statement overstated the head count reduction that he felt is needed at the Postal Service.   At the time, I thought he was talking only of full time employees and the number of full time employees is less than the 660,000 he mentioned and therefore the job reduction would be less as the number of Postal Service full-time employees is less. A conversation with a member of the House Oversight and Govnerment Reform Committee majority staff clarified Chairman Issa’s comment.  The Chairman was actually talking about a reduction in total full-time and part-time.  |

NAPUS: Senate Poised to Consider Postal Bill

It appears likely that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) will call up S. 1789, the Lieberman-Collins-Carper Brown postal relief bill sometime next week.  |

Dead Tree Edition: We Already Have A Veterans Job Corps — Its Called the Postal Service - Hours after a leading Congressman urged massive job cuts at the largest civilian employer of military veterans, President Obama proposed creation of a Veterans Job Corps. |

USPS Giving Away Leftover Letter Carrier Bobbleheads

We have a box of Letter Carrier bobble heads left over from several years ago.Here's your chance to win one. What does mail mean to you?  |

USPS Offers New 2nd Ounce Free for First-Class Mail Automation and Presort Letter Mailers -  Effective this week, businesses mailing First-Class Mail automation, presort letters using “2nd Ounce Free” pricing can mail letters weighing up to 2 ounces at the 1-ounce postage rate.  |

Former Georgia postal worker sentenced to prison

A contracting officer with fiscal responsibility engaged in two schemes to defraud the U.S. Postal Service. He used Government-issued credit cards and  purchased over $19,000 in luxury gifts for himself and his family. Welch used the credit cards to purchase the gifts through online retailers, which included a golf cart and boat motor. |

VA data breach may have affected more than 4,000 veterans

Ex-Postal Employee Pleads Guilty to Attacking Postmaster

January 24, 2012

Issa Says USPS Needs to Slash 260,000 Jobs and End 6-Day Delivery

Despite a mandate to avoid deficits, the post office loses up to $15 billion a year, Issa told CNBC during an informal gathering of senior House Oversight and Government Reform Committee members.  |

72-Year-Old Postal Employee Makes Shocking Confession to FOX 26

While postal inspectors gathered evidence, 72-year-old Karen Samford sat in a folding chair, wondering what was to become of her 36-year career with the US Postal Service.”People can have mental issues,” Samford said. “It doesn’t make them crazy; it doesn’t make them insane. It makes them stupid.”For the past 10 years, Samford has been stealing bulk mail, mail that was going to be destroyed anyway, from the Pearland Post Office. She said she stole enough mail each year to fill up a big box truck.It all came to light about a week ago when her supervisor noticed mail sitting in her office.”Well, they asked me, ‘Besides in the office, do you have it anywhere else’?” she said. “Well, they asked me so I told them." She told her boss they could find undelivered bulk mail in storage spaces she rented and at her Friendwood home.   |

America’s message to Congress: We want first-rate mail delivery service, six days a week - NALC - The American people want Congress to take action to save the service network. As President Rolando states in his letter, Congress should take action to “strengthen and build the Postal Service, not weaken and slowly destroy it.” As Congress debates the future of the Postal Service, it should pause and take into account the will of the people.  |

Dayton, N.J. Mail Carrier arrested and charged in connection with fraudulent tax refund scheme -  Press Release -A U.S. Postal Service worker was arrested today and charged in connection with his role in a scheme to provide, in exchange for payment, addresses to be used to file fraudulent tax returns and divert refund checks from his mail route,  |

Invisible Hands: The Businessmen’s Campaign to Dismantle the Post Office
Save the Post Office - The leaders of the Postal Service have made no secret of their plans for reforming the postal system.  They have issued white papers, given speeches, presented “optimization” programs, and appeared before Congressional committees.  The plans are clear: eliminate the layoff protections in union contracts; cut the career workforce by nearly half while tripling the number of non-career workers; reduce service standards for first-class mail; do away with Saturday delivery; give management control of workers’ benefit plans; consolidate away over 250 processing plants; and close 15,000 post offices.   |

Hacker Valley WV celebrates post office victory

Year Of  the Dragon: Lunar New Year Celebrated on Commemorative Forever Stamp
USPS shoots for $1 billion in annual Every Door Direct Mail sales

Man finds dumpster full of mail

Poll: Postal Rate Increases - Did you even know about it?

Rep. Offers Proposal To Help the USPS Battle Deficit

How UPS, FedEx Move 25 Million Packages a Day

January 23, 2012

GOP and Dems Still Pushing To Fire Federal Employees Who Owe Taxes

Congressman Jason Chaffetz and Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) have authored bills that would force federal agencies, the U.S. Postal Service and congressional offices to fire employees who purposely avoid paying taxes. Exceptions would be made for employees suffering from family turmoil or working to correct significant financial hardship. Sen. Claire McCaskill [D-MO] is a co-sponsor Coburn's bill |

Six Day Delivery and H.R. 2309

Courier Express and Postal Observer - On Friday, the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) announced that a majority of the House of Representatives signed on as sponsors of House Resolution 137 (H.R. 137) which expresses the House’s support for 6-day delivery. As such, the resolution only expresses the sense of the House. It does not have the power of law to prevent the Postal Service from implementing 5-day delivery. NALC: A bipartisan majority in the House backs six-day mail delivery   |

USPS Issues Clarification On Public Disclosure Policy and Lobbying Restrictions - It’s important to note that the law only applies to the “use of postal resources.” The law prohibits employees — acting in their official capacity — from encouraging stakeholders to intercede with Congress.   |

Federal/Postal Coalitions asks Congress not to finance payroll tax holiday on backs of federal and postal workers

US Postal Service, A New Year, An Old Failure

Truck loaded with mail burns north of Waycross

US Postal Service, A New Year, An Old Failure.

Holiday gift goes missing at US Postal Service for more than a month

January 22, 2012

Former Boston Postal Employee Sentenced for Mail Theft

Going Postal: Seeing Providence Rhode Island

A new pledge to fix late, shoddy mail

Making sense of the Post Office financial situation
 

January 20, 2012

Congressman Says Buffalo Mail Facility Closing Violates National Environmental Policy Act  Congressman  Asks White House for Environmental Review -Congressman Brian Higgins (NY-27) says the United States Postal Service’s (USPS) plan to close the Buffalo mail processing facility fails to include an environmental impact analysis and therefore is a violation of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)  |

USPS: Labor Contract Negotiations with Two Major Unions Reach Impasse

Today, the United States Postal Service declined to extend collective-bargaining negotiations with the National Association of Letter Carriers, triggering an impasse that will automatically send the matter to mediation.  NPMHU: The parties at the National level are still discussing how they will proceed from this point forward, USPS declines to extend contract talks With NALC  | Talks stall with Mail Handlers | Stamp prices go up as postal labor talks fail  |

NALC: A bipartisan majority in the House backs six-day mail delivery

Reminder: USPS Prices for Mailing and Shipping Go Up January 22

Postal employee sentenced to prison for workers' comp fraud

Man who took mail carrier hostage get 15 years in prison
Politicians pitch salvation plan for Delaware plant
Postal Service is hiring despite threat of closure
Poll: Which of These 4 Print-Related Giants Is Headed for Bankruptcy?
Collins says Postal Service situation is dire

Former Roxbury mailman sentenced to prison, ordered to repay $9K

January 19, 2012

Statement on USPS Asking PRC to Accelerate Review of Network and Service Standard Changes - The PRC issued a schedule last week that guarantees the Commission will not issue its non-binding advisory opinion until July 10, 2012, at the earliest. The Postal Service would like to move forward with its planned network and service standard changes with the benefit of the PRC’s advisory opinion, which it would need to have well before May 15. .  |

A post office worth preserving

FOR MANY MONTHS NOW, postal management and a chorus of pundits have delivered one message: Out-of-control deficits are dooming the Postal Service, and it will survive only if management is given the authority to radically downsize the system.  Half the country's post offices and processing plants must close, Saturday delivery must go, service must be reduced, and over two hundred thousand jobs must be cut.  These steps, however, will not ensure the survival of the Postal Service.  This is not a vision for the future.  It's an invitation to a funeral.  .  |

NAPS: Senate Could Take Up Postal Measure Soon

Sen. Susan Collins: USPS cannot be allowed to fail

New Jersey mayor thinks 3 of 4 Post offices will close - I think this is a dog-and-pony show

Video: USPS takes back 1976 magazine delivered in 2012
Custer's last stand and your retirement

Postal Service Worker Robbed At Gunpoint, DC Police Looking For Suspect

Postal Service cuts could slow Oregon’s mail voting in November

January 18, 2012

Postal Workers Have the Right To Speak Out Against Facility Closures

APWU News - A one-page list linked to the LiteBlue posting outlines permissible and prohibited activities under the Anti-Lobbying Act, but neglects to mention that activities listed as “impermissible” are impermissible only if they are done on postal time or using postal funds or facilities. They do not apply to  activities conducted off-the-clock and outside postal facilities. The LiteBlue posting also mentions a prohibition on the disclosure of non-public postal information.  Postal employees who have access to non-public information may not reveal it to unauthorized individuals.  |

Video: Careless Mail Carrier Caught on Camera

Michael Oreb happened to be watching the security camera in front of his North Hollywood home when the mailman came. The mailman had a package Oreb was waiting for… an antique clock he ordered from Pennsylvania. When the mailman was unable to open the gate… he threw the package over the fence!  |

TSP again used in debt ceiling move

The Treasury Department announced the maneuver involving the Thrift Savings Plan’s government securities fund to keep the government below the $15.2 trillion debt ceiling, pending approval of a higher limit.The fund, commonly called the G fund, consists of special-issue securities available only through the TSP. By not issuing new securities for the fund, the Treasury in effect frees up money on investment in the fund to stay below the debt limit. However, the G fund money remains on account with the Treasury, and investors “are guaranteed interest when Treasury securities are issued to the fund and they are guaranteed interest when securities are not issued to the fund,” TSP spokesman Tom Trabucco said. |

OPM sends Congress its plan to fix retirement services

OPM plans to hire more staff, fire incompetent workers and reward those who meet increased productivity demands. The goal is to eliminate the retirement claims backlog, which stood at 48,378 on Dec. 31, within 18 months, and then to adjudicate 90 percent of new claims within 60 days.   |

Postal Service Self-Sufficiency, Financial Viability and the Business Model

Postal cuts: 5 Montana libraries forming next-day delivery courier system

Postal workers aren't 'mules,' Mr. Johnston

The Political Economy of Postal Reform in the Victorian Age (PDF

Portland Area Postal Workers Rally to Save Jobs, Saturday Delivery

Updates to USPS Express Mail refund policy begin on Jan. 22

Hope's post office hoping for miracle: Small towns across Minnesota are on the brink of losing their post offices

January 17, 2012

USPS Warns Employees About Disclosing Non-Public Postal Information

Employees should not discuss non-public aspects of their work, or any other postal work with anyone other than those directly involved. Sales or cost data, and unreleased financial statistics are examples of such information.  |

APWU Safety and Health Specialist Criticizes USPS OIG Report

An audit report conducted by the Postal Service’s Inspector General’s Office (OIG) on the USPS Health and Safety Program, released Nov. 14, is limited in both scope and depth and is thus of little value in assessing the agency’s overall efforts to promote a safe workplace, the union has determined.  |

Abaq.us Announces USPS Certification for 'myGeoTracking' Cloud-Based GPS Location Service  -The USPS put in place new GPS location reporting requirements for transportation firms carrying USPS freight. All companies hauling USPS freight must report the position of vehicles in transit every 15 minutes. This generally forced the industry to adopt GPS systems, but this posed an issue for those companies using owner/operator drivers under contract – how can they generate position reporting information when they don’t own the vehicle?   |

USPS its own worst enemy

Waltham News Tribune - The Postal Service is crumbling before our eyes, and as usual, the rank-and-file workers are going to take a hit while those who ran it into the ground go about their merry way with no repercussions. All that is missing is a big bailout for upper management and you would think we were talking about life in the private sector. |

Postal Services on Holidays.

Courier Express and Postal Observer.- The Martin Luther King Day Holiday is one of ten Federal holidays on which the Postal Service is closed, along with the rest of the Federal Government. However, most private sector businesses are open today,  just as they are on President’s Day, Columbus Day and Veterans’ Day. While the Postal Service is closed because Federal law requires that all federal entities be closed, its private sector competitors are open because they know that their customers demand service on all but the six most universally celebrated holidays |

Under Siege: The Outlook for Print Media Is Even Worse Than We Thought, Expert Says — But Publishers May Prosper - Dead Tree Edition -If you think the internet revolution has been rough on print media, wait until you see what the tablet revolution does, a paper-industry forecaster says. As if there weren’t enough gloom and doom in the paper and printing industries these days, Roman Hohol says tablets and other digital devices will depress the demand for printed media even faster than most forecasts predict. But the director of the marketing practice for Forest Industry Consulting also sees signs that the tablet revolution will benefit many publishers.  |

eBay Raises Cost of Domestic Goods, Lowers Costs of Asian Imports
New York man charged with assaulting letter carrier
Police: Man broke into post office for bath salts

USPS Changes Retail Hours To 41 Chicago post offices

Contract units aid USPS

Postal Service is cost-cutting itself to death

Highway Post Office Bus

January 16, 2012

What Else Could Postal Carriers Do?

USPS OIG - City and rural carriers deliver and pick up mail, including letters and packages. In addition, they are familiar figures who care about the people they serve, often helping in dramatic ways while making their rounds in neighborhoods 6 days a week. The U.S. Postal Service has many examples of carriers sending for help when senior citizens fail to collect their mail, alerting residents of fires, aiding accident victims, and even stopping burglaries. What do you think about carriers handling non-postal related tasks? Do you think the Postal Service should provide additional services that can be handled by carriers?  To Avoid Collapse The Post Office Should Deliver Health Care And Other Services  |

Post Office Closings in 2011: Lists, maps, the whole mess

Save The Post Office - The past year was not a good one for those who value the institution of the brick-and-mortar post office.  Over four thousand post offices were studied for closure, and were it not for the Christmas holiday suspension and the moratorium on closings, a large portion of them would have closed by year’s end.  Just to put that in context, consider that for the past 40 years, post offices have closed at the rate of a hundred a year.When the moratorium ends in May, we’re told to expect “mass closures” of the 3,330 post offices on the Retail Access Optimization Initiative (RAOI) list.  |

Global Postal Services Market to Reach US $323.6 Billion by 2015

Proposed postal service closing concerns Ozarks businesses

January 15, 2012

Clarence Boggan delivers more than the mail

Charlotte Observer - Letter carrier who was paralyzed walks on to inspire those on his route. "Ever since my accident, my mail route became even more of a mission than it was before. Being a letter carrier has provided joy in my life that no other job could have provided."   |

Competing bills aim to fix Postal Service

Postal service, stamp collectors have seen better days

Bulk mailer puzzles over possible mail center closure
Checks being pushed aside as governments sign on to e-payments
Connecticut mail industry back postal service cutbacks

January 14, 2012

Congressman to USPS: Reopen Shickshinny post office

SUV Rear Ends Postal Vehicle, Pinning Carrier Between SUV and Postal Vehicle

Bangor post office suddenly shut down due to mold problems

Baltimore Community Protests Planned Post Office Closure

A Look Inside the Consumer Price Index and Postal Rate Increases

Congressman Says USPS Data To Justify Closure Of Buffalo Facility Is Inadequate and Insulting

Hiring freeze leaves town with limited postal service

Candy-eating raccoons leave mess at post office

New Jersey Postal Workers Bracing For Cuts

North Dakota Delegation Calls on Postmaster to Reconsider Closures

January 13, 2012

APWU Warns Members: Beware of Risks in USPS Campaign for Voluntary Transfers to Letter Carrier - The APWU is warning union members of risks associated with a management campaign to encourage career Clerk, Maintenance and Motor Vehicle Craft employees to volunteer for reassignments to the Letter Carrier Craft. USPS to start campaign encouraging Postal Employees to become Letter Carriers - The program is intended to provide career clerk, mail handler, maintenance, and motor vehicle craft employees with information on volunteer reassignment opportunities to the city carrier craft. APWU Eastern Coordinator: I would discourage our members from volunteering to become carriers.  |

North Carolina residents just now receiving holiday catalogs, ads and fliers

Charlotte Observer - Due to changes in the U.S. Postal Service's bulk mail delivery, ads and fliers from as far back as November are still landing in local mailboxes. "In late November, the processing method was changed" for bulk mail, said Robbs. The new methods, Robbs said, process bulk mail according to the USPS's "Service Standards," instead of the in-home delivery dates on the mailings. According to the USPS service standards posted online, bulk mail should be delivered within three to 10 days from when it is sent.  |

USPS Sued for Allegedly Blocking Probe of Campaign Mailings

Bloomberg - USPS was accused by a political watchdog group of improperly blocking a freedom- of-information request seeking the source of negative campaign mailings in a California school-board recall election.   |

Richard Anderson has been at the Post Office for 41 years; deaf and mute since birth - Successful lifelong endeavors can sometimes be accomplished without speaking a single word.Such is the case with Richard Anderson, a 41-year employee of the United States Postal Service who has been deaf and mute since birth.With official retirement on the horizon in February, the Willowick resident looks back at his more than four decade career as a favorable one. |

Postmaster Pay Talks Continue

The Check’s in the Mail - for Two More Days

Video: Post offices reach end of the road in the US

Most of the mail lost in postal truck wreck recovered

Retirement Planning: Reductions and Withholdings

January 12, 2012

The Reality of Non-Traditional Full-Time Assignment

San Diego (California) Stations & Branches to Post Hundreds of NTFT Jobs.  Also from APWU -Non-traditional full time (NTFT) duty assignments have caused confusion in some offices, and to understand what they are, how they should work, and how they came about, we have to review some recent history. In many cases, the Postal Service missed an opportunity to improve employee morale by violating the contract. Instead, management has created unnecessary employee anxiety and generated numerous potential grievances.    |

NAPS Letters to Groups regarding USPS Veterans Preference Policies

As an organization that represents the interests of our nation's veterans, we would like to bring to your attention a serious matter that will undoubtedly impact the future employment of hundreds if not thousands of veterans who now work for the United States Postal Service.   |

At crammed forum on possible postal cuts, Collins says ‘proposal could create a death spiral’ - Bangor Daily News - Approximately 350 people were on hand to listen to U.S. Postal Service representatives explain a controversial consolidation proposal that includes the closure of operations at the Eastern Maine Processing and Distribution facility in Hampden. Maine’s only other facility, a plant located in Scarborough, would take over duties for the entire state. Senator Snowe Opposes USPS Consolidation Plan for Hampden Facility  |

Retirement Incentives at the USPS
Courier Express and Postal Observer - Given that the Postal Service wants to get many more employees to retire than other agencies offering incentives, it makes little sense for the Postal Service to have a lower incentive limit.  If getting higher-paid older employees to retire is critical for turning the Postal Service’s fiances around, getting employees to retire as fast as possible without affecting operations is critical.  |

USPS Launching New Initiative to Help Employees Provide Positive Customer Service - USPS is launching a new initiative to give employees resources and tips to help provide a positive experience for every customer in every transaction or contact with the Postal Service.|

Retiree Health Benefits Causing Financial Strain on Employers

The USPS has made headlines over the past year as economic woes have forced it to announce plans to close facilities, change delivery schedules and eliminate jobs. Many have noted that a large part of the trouble USPS is facing is due to a legislative requirement, mandating retiree health benefits be pre-funded for employees.  |

Bridgeport clerk admits to embezzling union funds, stealing money orders

New USPS App for iPhone Scans Shipping Labels for Package Tracking

New York postal worker gets probation for money order fraud

More than a mail carrier: He's a hero

County Commissioners join fight against USPS closings.

Residents, business owners oppose Postal Service plan to shutter Teterboro NJ plant

Snail Mail’s Slow Death by Government Intrusion

Edison braces for economic setback if mail center moves

Newspapers invite signing of postal petitions

January 11, 2012

Myth, Reality, and the U.S. Postal Service..

Pitney Bowes - I couldn’t help but think about this as I read Thomas Sowell’s attack on the USPS on the website of the New York Post. His arguments are based on only the most superficial interpretations of the market for sending physical information and goods from one place to another, and it’s important that more complete analyses be heard as well. Sowell perpetuates the myth that, somehow, privatization of postal delivery will lead to “cheaper or better” mail service. He cites the profitability of FedEx and UPS—both great companies—as evidence that the private sector would trump a government service. |

OIG Audit: USPS Past Network Optimization Initiatives

We noted the projected AMP annual savings for the 33 completed post-implementation reviews (PIRs) was approximately $94 million. The PIRs indicate the Postal Service realized annual savings of approximately $323 million. A variance of over $229 million occurred because concurrent initiatives’ savings were included with AMP consolidation savings.  |

EEOC Update: Notice to Walker vs USPS Class Members

This is being sent to you to correct mistakes made by the Postal Service in the last mailing to class members. It was the Agency's responsibility to provide correct information and to include an Initial Inquiry Regarding Damages, which it failed to do. The failure was in no way due to error by the Commission or the attorneys for the class  |

Thrown Overboard: Publishers Feel Abandoned by the U.S. Postal Service.

Dead Tree Edition - Until recently, Postal Service executives talked about periodicals as “the anchor in the mailbox.” But lately, says one publishing executive, it seems that “the USPS just tied us to the anchor and threw it overboard.”  |

Residents rally to protest possible Gary Post Office closure

Our View: Postal problems make us sick

Postal workers make last minute dash before comment period ends

No Kodak Moment for USPS

Can an MIT professor save the USPS?

Post office restructuring might do harm

Problem dogs put one 18th Avenue block's mail delivery on hold

Aquilent Extends USPS Work for Project Phoenix Website Redesign 

Project Phoenix Audit Report (PDF

PayPal Link to USPS Shipping Zone (must be logged in to PayPal to see USPS and UPS options)

 Post office should face competition

January 10, 2012

Measuring the Impact of Network Optimization

What he missed was that printers seeing local processing plants closing face an even bigger threat to their business.  National and local clients could move their printing business to a competitor that is closer to the plant that will handle mail processing once the Network Optimization Initiative is implemented.   |

Who failed, Amazon or the USPS?

Jeff Jarvis, an influential social media evangelist had a problem. He bought a book from Amazon and wanted to return. Sounds simple, doesn’t it? However when he went to the Postal Service, he was told his only option was Express Mail, the most expensive service the Postal Service offered. So what did he do? He took the parcel and went to United Parcel Service and had UPS handle the return for significantly less than what it would have cost if he had used the Postal Service. Jeff Jarvis’s problem is important to both the Postal Service and Amazon.   |

USPS Selects Verizon as a Prime Contractor to Help Manage Advanced Communications Platform

Nice Touch: West Newbury, Vermont

Postal Worker Gets Probation for stealing Vets prescriptions from mail

Postal Carrier Attacked by Two Dogs on Lorain Route

USPS Employee Stuck in Trailer

Danny Thomas Immortalized On U.S. Commemorative Forever Stamp

Proposed cuts worry Erie region businesses that lean heavily on Postal Service

Man Pretending to Be Mail Carrier Robs Greenville Family

January 09, 2012

Congressman says USPS financial problems due to failed management, poor business practices - Congressman Mike Ross Urges USPS to Explore Other Cost-Cutting Alternatives - Recently, the agency said it is losing more than $23 million a day as a result of the economic slowdown and an increase in electronic media, such as e-mail.  However, I believe the Postal Service’s troubles are much more than the economy and the Internet.  The financial problems plaguing the U.S. Postal Service are due to failed management, inadequate planning and poor business practices – problems that closing a few post offices simply won’t fix. Video: Sen. Sanders Fights for the Postal Service   |

Postal Employee Disciplinary Records May Be Kept Forever

by Don Cheney - Despite periodic announcements in the Federal Register, not many postal employees are aware that the Postal Service Labor Relations department can legally keep copies of their disciplinary records for their entire postal career – even those “expunged from all files.”  |

Mass Appeals at the PRC

Save the Post Office - The Postal Service closed about 600 post offices in 2011, and it is poised to make mass closures in the spring when the moratorium ends on May 15.  That will also mean mass appeals at the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC), and last Thursday the Commissioners were talking all about it.   |

Retired Postal Worker Fights To Get More than Half Of Pension

When Minard retired last August, he expected his pension check to be there. Instead, he says he is only receiving a little more than half of the $2500 he is owed.  |

Letter and Rural Carriers Collect One Million Signatures

Mail Expected to Slow as Postal Service Deals With Losses

Saving the Post Office: The Models of Kiwibank and Japan Post

Portland: Scenes from Rally to Save the Postal Service

The Last Post Looms: When did you last get an old-fashioned letter?

Postcodes and Geocodes - Changing the Address System?

Get a Bunch of Free Discount Coupons by Pretending to Move

Stamp collectors count on birds of prey

California Postal Worker Sentenced To Prison For Workers’ Compensation Fraud

USPS tries to survive in new era

Portland postal workers rally against cuts

Post office closes; town vows to fight on

Large mailers object to plan to close Wallingford postal center

January 08, 2012

No savings by sorting mail in Portland

January 07, 2012

USPS Seeks Suppliers for Transportation Management Services

FedBizOpp- If the Postal Service moves forward with the consolidation, the suppliers may be required to route trucks to transport mail from processing and distribution centers to post offices within a broad service area. The supplier also may be required to provide a cross-dock distribution hub between facilities to consolidate mail for distribution to down stream offices. |

PRC supports National Newspaper Association criticisms of post office closings

Ohio Postal worker injured after vehicle crash

Post office closings worry many in W.Va

Probation for Postal Employee That Tried Stealing Charity Checks

New plan would further delay mail delivery for Volusia residents

Postal Employees Say Cuts are in Wrong Area [Poll]

Mail carrier helps woman who fell and couldn't get up

Verdi residents struggle without their torched post office

Longtime Dover-Foxcroft postmaster retires

January 06, 2012

Direct mailers no longer need to prepay postage

DM News- USPS has been granted permission by PRC to allow direct mailers to pay postage via credit rather than requiring prepayment, said PRC chairman Ruth Goldway on Jan. 6. The new rules went into effect Jan. 5. USPS to offer credit billing to direct mailers  |

The Postal Market Drove Employment Growth in December Jobs Report

Courier Express and Postal Observer - The December Jobs report reported today showed that 200,000 jobs were created in December and the unemployment rate dropped to 8.5%. This was better news than most forecasters expected and stock futures jumped on the news. The detailed industry data clearly shows that the postal market drove jobs growth.  |

Editorial: Postal Service Cuts Use delay to improve plan

Now that the U.S. Postal Service's proposed cuts and facility closings have been postponed until spring, and are being challenged by the Postal Regulatory Commission, perhaps some thoughtfulness can be included in the process. Offering worse service to save an organization from bankruptcy is not good business. Letter: Angering customers is bad postal business |

Editorial: What’s Behind Postal Crisis? Privatization

by retired letter carrier John Curtis - The push to dismantle the U.S. Postal Service’s distribution and delivery network is a scheme by corporate privatizers to crush the largest organized workforce in federal employment, pick apart a trusted government service, and grab the most profitable parts of the business for their own enrichment. |

FedEx Seen Losing $400 Million in Next Postal Contract

Bloomberg - FedEx Corp. may see a federal mail-flying contract drop by more than 27 percent in 2013 as the agency restructures. Revenue from carrying Postal Service express, priority and first-class mail in FedEx cargo jets may shrink to less than $1 billion annually once the current agreement expires. USPS Paid FedEx $1.4 Billion for Airfreight in 2010  |

PRC Commissioner Nanci Langley begins term as Vice Chairman

Congressman Asks USPS to Work with Him to Keep Open Rockford Sorting Center

USPS Testing Gopost Shipping Kiosks

January 05, 2012

Postal reform bills could see action early this year

Govexec.com -  Postal reform legislation could move quickly in both chambers when lawmakers return to work later this month.  The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee plans to file its report on H.R. 2309 in a matter of days, Ann Fisher, director of public affairs and government relations at the Postal Regulatory Commission, said during a meeting Thursday. Ali Ahmad, a spokesman for the House committee, confirmed that a report would be filed soon. Fisher also said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., is eager to move that chamber's postal reform legislation early in the second session of the 112th Congress |

Editorial: Springfield Battles to Protect Mail Processing and Distribution Center

by Merle Keith Kutz, editor of  Local APWU #888 - Hubris.  That pretty much describes the U.S. Postal Services attitude during the January 4th, public input meeting concerning the closure of the mail processing center in Springfield Missouri. From the booking of a much too small venue, (approx. 100+ were turned away) to the defective microphone those trying to have their objections heard were required to use, the postal service stacked the deck in its favor.  One has to wonder if those in charge were either incompetent or their real agenda is to dismantle the postal service on the way to privatization. |

Heated showdown between postal workers, USPS officials over Springfield job cuts - KY3.com - Postal workers say USPS exaggerating figures to close facility - Hundreds of postal workers turned out Wednesday night to challenge the U.S. Postal Service’s plan to close Springfield’s mail processing center and move those operations to Kansas City to reduce costs. So many people showed up for the public hearing that there was not enough room to hold them. Up to 100 people waited in line outside the center for seats to open inside. Holding signs that said “Save Our Middle Class,” workers interrupted postal officials with chants of “mic check — return to sender” as the officials tried to explain why the center’s business should be shifted to Kansas City. Video: Hundreds of Western New Yorkers join fight to save mail center | USPS lies to the people of the Bronx  | Vermont | PA: PO Problems  |  Worried in Central Florida  | MO Postal Workers: Save Our Middle Class | Brockton postal employees speak out   |

Retired Postal Worker Fights To Get Job Back After 20 Years

Charles Johnson worked for the USPS from 1960 until he accepted an early retirement offer on November 20, 1992, at age 52. Mr. Johnson unsuccessfully litigated in various forums the question of whether his retirement was involuntary or was the result of age discrimination. The Court of Appeals remanded the case for further proceedings before MSPB on two issues.  |

USPS Attempts to Negotiate with APWU Locals For Postal Support Employees Pay  - APWU: Several locals have informed us that managers have approached them seeking to raise the wages of non-career Postal Support Employee (PSE) drivers. This is because the USPS has encountered difficulty filling the positions at the current pay rate. |

No Such Thing as a Free Ounce: Does 'Second Ounce Free' Make Sense for USPS or for Mailers? - Dead Tree Edition - For the most part, mailers cheered when the U.S. Postal Service announced “Second Ounce Free” for bulk-mailed First Class letters. But guest columnist Robert W. Mitchell points out below that the pricing strategy is unlikely to be profitable for the Postal Service, is seemingly unfair to some mailers, and does not follow good pricing practices.  |

Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson Supports PRC Report On USPS PO Closures

President Obama Announces Recess Appointments to NLRB Posts

Kemptville postal worker saves Christmas for Smiths Falls toddler

Postal Service's plan to close post offices hits roadbumps

Sheriff: Letter carrier stole mail, burglarized homes

January 04, 2012

Rahall Says USPS Must “Go Back to the Drawing Board” on Post Office Closures - Citing a recent study that found overly optimistic savings projections and an insufficient attention to community needs, U.S. Rep. Nick Rahall (D-W.Va.) Tuesday called on the Postal Service to go back to the drawing board on its efforts to close and consolidate postal facilities in southern West Virginia.  |

Retired USPS Manager’s Devastating Comments on Proposed Closure of Long Beach Postal Facility - "Local officials, consumers and postal union representatives spoke in opposition to a U.S. Postal Service proposal to close its 2300 Redondo Ave. processing facility (also known as the "Steve Horn Post Office") at a Dec. 16 USPS-conducted public meeting at LBCC. Among those speaking was a Long Beach resident Martine Etchepare, who identified himself as a retired Postal Manager. Etchepare said, "A perfect storm is brewing, the impact of the proposed plant closures of Long beach, Pasadena; City Of industry; Anaheim and their combined mail operations into the Los Angeles Plant is a recipe for disaster ."  |

USPS memo highlights privacy violations

Washington Times - The U.S. Postal Service has quietly sought to “immunize” itself from Privacy Act challenges to its address-correction service, a program that gives credit, marketing and data-service providers access to updated name and address information for tens of millions of Americans.     |

2300 Missing Surface Visibility Scanners?
Postal Affairs Blog-  Currently, nearly 2,300 SV hand-held scanners are not being used by processing operations. The Postal Service needs to recover these unused SV scanners. Because these scanners are no longer manufactured and the current inventory is nearly depleted, the scanners must be col­lected and returned for refurbishment. The Postal Service will reissue the scanners to support current SV sites and Network Optimization where new processing operations sites need scanning capability.  |

USPS Service Cuts. Could Cost Large Companies $100 Million A Year

Letter Carrier Delivers Couple From Burning Home

Tiny Towns Fight for Post Offices, and Survival

January jumpers: Why some feds are retiring now

Postal unions under the gun

Butte community members attend USPS meeting

Mark Twain and Congress’s Management of the USPS: Are They Criminals or Idiots?

Dead Tree Edition's Best (and Worst) of 2011

On the Road: Postal Trucks as Vehicles of Discovery

Congressman, union official oppose Cape Cod plant closure

Video: Postal workers protest Wayne PA processing center closing

Video: USPS Re-Airing Its Popular Clown Ad

Video: Postal Service Employees Outraged At Texas Meeting

Vermont delegation, governor to attend meeting on future of White River Junction plant

January 03, 2012

USPS Reinstates Relocation Leave For Postal Execs

 EAS employees are eligible to receive paid time off generally for the packing, delivering, and unpacking of household goods or at their manager’s discretion as long as it is related to relocation..  |

Wrecking America's Postal Service

Other good ideas circulate. Instead of managing counterproductively, competing effectively with Fed Ex, UPS, and other express delivery operators should be prioritized. Congress also shares blame by restricting USPS services. But that's no excuse for "long lines, long phone delays, other mismatches between staff and levels of fluctuating business," and other troubling issues, including excessive time spent on cutting, abandoning, closing, delaying and outsourcing services to Wal-Mart and K-Mart locations.   |

Longtime postal carrier won't ring bell anymore

Indianapolis: Police investigate fake virus parcel

Saving snail mail one postcard at a time

Planned Post Office closures hurting Wyoming communities

January 02, 2012

500 jobs could be lost in downtown Youngstown if USPS closes plant

Postal Service's list of Philadelphia endangered sites goes from 14 to 1

January 01, 2012

The John Adams Award: Congress' useless and damaging oversight of the USPS - Dead Tree Edition - 2011 was the year that the mainstream media and general public started realizing how useless and damaging Congress' oversight of the allegedly independent U.S. Postal Service has been. Up for the award were the scores of Congress members who floated various "reform" proposals that mostly seemed designed to make matters even worse  |

A Close-Up Look at goPost

Courier Express and Postal Observer  - goPost parcel lockers appear all but ready for live customer tests. Viewing one in person clearly showed to me how a customer thinking of using a GoPost would interact and how it would work for both abled and disabled individuals as well as adults of a full range of  heights. |

Week in Review: Protests, dissents, and a fury that won’t go away - Save The Post Office

Post office sets sights on your mailbox

Congress too partisan to manage post office

Marketers eye USPS' struggles with caution