LATEST POSTAL NEWS  

USPS bars NIOSH from returning to the Denver P & DC?

Postal employees in Denver requested NIOSH to investigate the flat mail sorting machines in Denver and NIOSH initiated an investigation in April, 2009. Denver FSM 100 flat sorting machine workers have recently had an extremely high rate of injuries. The machines are poorly designed and ergonomically unsafe. There has been severe understaffing of the machines causing stress and overwork.In the summer, NIOSH contacted a lead representative of the workers who had originally asked NIOSH to come to the facility. The NIOSH investigators wanted to return to the Denver facility and bring with them an industrial psychologist who wanted to do a job satisfaction survey of the workers. In September NIOSH informed the workers that the USPS Western Area Safety Manager  is “opting not to participate in the survey that we had suggested.”  (11/12) |

Congressman Paul Hodes Demands Answers in Postal Service Fraud

Congressman Paul Hodes called on the United States Postal Service to present a plan to fully reimburse postal workers for the wages they have lost as a result of managers manipulating their timecards. Several weeks ago, an investigation uncovered a scheme at five New Hampshire postal stations to manipulate workers’ timecards, and the individuals responsible for these actions have yet to be held accountable. Somersworth NH NALC Rep claims time sheets were altered  (11/10) |

150 plants and 400,000 Postal Employees

On November 5th, former Deputy Postmaster General Michael Coughlin suggested that the Postal Service in order to survive must have a much smaller footprint with possibly 150 plants and 400,000 employees. There is one major drawback to implementing a 150 plant Postal Service, which is greater than the logistical and management challenge of shrinking the network; the elimination of 200,000 postal jobs at a rate between 20,000 and 40,000 per year in an implementation plan. Shrinking the network at that rate would create a far louder political outcry than even the first round of base closings. Shrinking the network at that rate would also create significant severance or early retirement costs and the Postal Service does not have the cash to pay them.  (11/9) |

APWU President criticizes USPS for lack of diversity in executive staff

In a letter to the Postal Service Board of Governors, APWU President William Burrus wrote he is “deeply troubled” by the lack of diversity in the USPS executive staff, and said, “Although the nation has made significant progress toward equality, it appears that the USPS remains mired in the Dark Ages.” Burrus wrote the letter after receiving a copy of Postal Service’s Official Organizational Chart.  USPS Official Organizational Chart | Burrus Letter (11/7) |

Postal Service eyes options beyond layoffs and buyouts

Employee layoffs are not the only solution to digging the agency out of debt, said Rep. Stephen Lynch, D-Mass., chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform's federal workforce subcommittee. "It would be a mistargeting of our problems to look at the backs of our employees." But Lynch expressed disappointment over the agency's consolidation and cost-savings efforts thus far, particularly because recent buyout offers have not generated enough employee interest to reduce the Postal Service workforce. At Hearing on Postal Service future, hope is in short supply  |  statements and streaming video of yesterday's hearing (11/6) |

Calendar/ Postal Holidays:

- Open Season FEHBP - Nov 9-Dec 15

What's New/Updates

MMO-109-09-_Influenza Cleaning_Contingency.pdf

«more postal news archives»

11/12/09

• KY: Paducah postal worker gets 22 years probation on theft charge

• Congressman skeptical about cuts in mail delivery

• More Americans Are Paying Their Bills Online

• Fire at store destroys Maine post office

• How Does Labor Law Matter for the USPS?

• Mail thief caught on tape in Southwest Las Vegas

• Mishawaka, IN man arrested after assaulting mail carrier

• Post office preparing for the holiday rush

• Crowd wants postal station to stay open

• Charlottesville: Postal Service might move mail services

• St. Louis: All area post offices will remain open

11/11/09

• Small-Parcel Shippers to Get USPS Rate Breaks
• Fort Payne postman accused of mail theft

11/10/09

• Truck carrying mail involved in crash that kills 4

• Some mail delivery may be delayed by Ida

• Police: Teens shot paint balls at letter carrier

• Missing mail prompts investigation

• Bangor Postmaster Waives Preliminary Hearing

• Champaign post office cuts hours
• Refurbishing old equipment saves USPS almost $70 million
• Driving the Customer Away
• Special Delivery

11/9/09

• OIG: Disappearing Collection Boxes
• So, Who Drew the Short Straw?

11/8/09

• USPS Board Of Governors Set Agenda For Next Meeting

• Local post office concerns eased

• Health Benefits Open Season

• Flexible Spending Accounts 2009 Open Season: November 9 thru December 27

• Christmas Pay Procedures for Rural Carriers

11/7/09

• CSRS vs FERS: Somebody's Got it Made!

• 35 Elmira Postal Workers receive notice

• eNAPUS: Postal Subcommittee Trolls for Data on New Postal Products (PDF)

• Great Falls Couple Mad After Post Office Stops Delivering Mail
• Postal Service holds public meetings on closing offices in Syracuse

• Feds weigh impact of new FERS sick leave benefit

• When the post office leaves

11/6/09

• Mobile post office, itself a stopgap, is now gone
• Congressman says Must Explain closing of Philadelphia L&DC
• Family of murdered mail truck driver searches for answers

11/5/09

• Postal Service: Rumors of death exaggerated

• Hickory: Postal service sets date for public forum

• Albany: Post office gets big backing

• How to avoid drowning in Open Season's flood of choices

11/4/09

 GAO: USPS Needs To Continue Making Cuts In Its Workforce And Network Costs - USPS has asked Congress to change the restrictions established by PAEA so that it could offer new nonpostal products and services such as banking and insurance. Allowing USPS to compete more broadly with the private sector could lose money, and fair competition issues would need to be considered. Thus, in addition to its revenue-generation initiatives, USPS will need to continue making significant reductions in its workforce and network costs.  House Subcommittee Holds Hearing to Examine Postal Service Revenue-Generation Initiatives - On Thursday, November 5, 2009 at 10:00am the Subcommittee on Federal Workforce, Postal Service, and the District of Columbia will hold a hearing entitled, “More than Stamps: Adapting the Postal Service to a Changing World.” The purpose of the hearing is to examine revenue-generation initiatives recently undertaken by the Postal Service in order to further address the agency’s ongoing financial challenges. |

USPS announces 2010 shipping prices

In addition to an overall price increase of 3.3 percent, on average, for Priority Mail, there will be new prices for Express Mail, Global Express Guaranteed, Express Mail International, Priority Mail International, Parcel Select and Parcel Return Service, also effective Jan. 4. Prices for First-Class Mail, Standard Mail, Parcel Post and other mailing services products will not change in 2010, with the cost of a First-Class Mail stamp remaining at 44 cents. Details of the new rates (PDF)  |

Burrus Update: Caught Like a Burglar With the Goods in Hand

The union’s challenge to Postmaster General Potter to set the wages of mail-processing employees at an amount that is less than the worksharing discounts major mailers enjoy has generated several flawed responses by mailing industry officials, APWU President William Burrus reports in an Update for union members.  |

Who could replace Potter?

It has been made quite clear by the Board of Governors Chairman Carolyn Gallagher that Postmaster General Jack Potter will not be leaving anytime soon. The question is still exists - who could replace Potter?  |

• Postal worker found drunk in mail truck

• The Future of the Postal Sector |  Eight Challenges for a Postal Business Model

• FERS Sick Leave Cure: Rumor vs. Reality

• Child Support Company Sued By U.S. Postal Service

• Pitney Bowes Asks - What’s next for the USPS?
• Mail Truck Rollover Kills Driver in Nevada
• Are 19 L.A. communities losing their U.S. Post Offices?
• Hearings scheduled on Albany NY area post office closings
• Congressman seeks to save Green Bay mail processing center from move to Oshkosh
• Local family battles post office over shredded death certificate
• A perfect fit for postal ads

11/3/09

• Postal carrier charged with littering after dumping mail

• Post office changes routes in recession
• Mail theft on the rise in Las Vegas
• Consolidation proposed for Kinston mail service
• Letter to the Editor: Wrong to close efficient postal center

11/2/09

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