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Pay Scales 2006-2010  

 

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New CSRS, FERS Retirement System Goes Online in 2008

 

NALC, NRLCA Presidents Debunk PMG Letter Justifying Contracting Out Mail Delivery

 

PMG: USPS Strongly Opposes the 'Mail Delivery and Protection Act'

 

Photo: Postal Window Clerk and A Very Strange Mail Package

 

OSHA partnership helps reduce ergonomic injuries at USPS

 

USPS Customer Satisfaction Questionnaire Website Launched

 

Senator Collins Introduces Postal Resolution Reaffirming Protections of Sealed Mail

 

NAPUS: Is Mail Service at Risk?

 

USPS Awards Contract to Protect Employee Personnel Records

 

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

 

Postal Service Awards $874.6 Million Contract for Flat Sequencing System

 

Unofficial Transcript of NALC Rap Session

 

Recent EEOC Decisions Involving Postal Employees

 

Postal Employees Know Your Rights  

 

Postal Worker Fired After Second Violation of USPS Zero Tolerance Policy

 

Postal Employees Should Think Twice Before Appealing Case to MSPB

Kenneth Jones vs. US Postal Service, illustrates why postal employees should think twice before appealing their discipline to the Merit Systems Protection Board. 

 

New Book: Beware of Cat: And Other Encounters of a Letter Carrier

Postal Worker Fired After Second Violation of USPS Zero Tolerance Policy

Bush Plan Would Cut Tax-Free Employer-Provided Health Insurance

MSPB Overturns Postal Worker’s Removal for $45,000 Stamp Stock Shortage

Postage Rate Hike in 2008?

Postal Service: ‘Intelligent Mail’ Fully Operational By 2009

Video: Signed, Sealed and Delivered-  Labor Struggle in the Post Office

NPMHU Sues USPS, APWU To Overturn RI-399 Arbitration Award

USPS: New Postal Law-The Financial Impact

Can Bush Open Mail Without Warrant?

 Former Postal Worker Charged in FEHB Scheme to Defraud USPS and NALC

Un-Merry Christmas
Postal Service Terminates Disabled Iraq War Veteran for Unacceptable Attendance

Letter to the Editor - Mismanagement at Royal Oak Carrier Unit

FedEx and DOT at Stalemate in Dispute Over Disclosure of Postal Contract Data -

USPS, APWU Reach $5.3 Million Agreement in Anthrax Travel Grievance

 Postal Worker Fired for Refusing to Work on DBCS Machine

Postal Nurse Charged With Defrauding USPS

Five-Year Postal Employees Stats At a Glance

Big Win For APWU in MS-47 Maintenance Case - "Custodial Jobs Protected"

Emery Agrees to Pay $10 Million for Submitting Fraudulent Billings to USPS -

USPS to Sell Segway Scooters to General Public

 Former Postmaster jailed for stealing over $50k

Postal Worker Sues USPS – Denied Permission to Work Off-the-Clock?

USPS OIG Paper: Postal Officers Travel Expense Guidelines

USPS Mail Processing Facility Faces $44,250 in Fines for Safety Violations

 USPS and GE Sign New Six-Year $100M Contract for Semi-Trailers

Man Pleads Guilty in Kickback Scheme to Pay Postal OWCP Specialist

APWU Initiates Dispute Over Changes to USPS Computer Security Rules

Postal Worker Injured in Iraq Wins Job Back Under USERRA

USPS to Conduct Search for Sex Offenders on Postal Payroll

Postal Supervisor Fired for Rewarding Employees With Non-Worked Overtime Pay

 Reader Raises Concern Over USPS Revised Emergency Salary Authorization Policy

 USPS OIG Audit Report: Pasadena P & DC Consolidation

MSPB Upholds Removal of Postal Worker Videotaped Abusing FMLA

USPS to remove stamp machines by 2010

Postal Service Plans for More Than $1 Billion in Cost Reductions  

 Carrier Fired for Gambling Signed Last Chance Agreement

Mystery Shopper Evaluations Should Not Be Used to Discipline Window Clerks -

 National Dispute Initiated Over USPS’ Improper Use of Casuals

APWU: Olympia, Tacoma and Everett Mail May Move to Seattle

Postal Service Lists 139 Facilities As Potential Candidates for Consolidation

Postal Worker Fired for Violating USPS Zero Tolerance Policy

Court Backs USPS in Stamp Trademark Lawsuit

 Letter - Postal Workers Injured on Duty Should Know Their Rights

 USPS Migrating Personnel Info to PostalPEOPLE System

Driving Postal Vehicle Without Seatbelt May Get You Fired

 USPS Dragnet Continues to Sweep Up Injured Workers

Supreme Court Revives Postal Worker's Discrimination Suit

Number of Active Postal Employees by Age, Years of Service (PDF)

Trenton APWU Excessing Update, Custodian Exam for Clerks

Federal Court Overturns Letter Carrier Removal for Breach of Last Chance Agreement

Postal Window Clerks Protect Your Jobs

USPS releases April 2006 Financial and Operating Statements

North Carolina Postmaster Reassigned After Assault Complaint

Postal Mail Handlers in Talks to Stay With AFL-CIO

NIOSH Reports on DBCS at Denver Postal Facility

USPS Proposing to Contract Out Postal Vehicle Service

Federal Court Affirms USPS FMLA Return-To-Work Policy

 

Whoa…An Interesting Supreme Court Case Involving USPS

 

 

July 31, 2007-

Mail carrier helps police nab suspects

Two Detroit men believed responsible for at least 50 suburban home invasions over the past five months face charges after being arrested with the help of mail carrier. Both men were placed under surveillance after a U.S. Postal carrier -- who is also a recent graduate of the Lakes Area Citizens Police Academy -- alerted police of "suspicious persons" driving around an apartment complex in a maroon sedan. |

 

Editorial: Privatization, consolidation, contracting = DESTRUCTION  |

Deprince is an inspiration to all  |

Bottle Rockets Probable Cause Of Postal Fire

Police: Reported post office shooting a hoax

Mail delivery in one Waco neighborhood could soon be changing

 

July 30, 2007-

Postal Employees Cry Foul Over Alleged USPS Privacy Violations

Lance McDermott, a mechanic for mail-processing equipment, said in the U.S. District Court complaint that he has been inundated with credit card, cell phone and life insurance offers in the past two years — but that’s not what most troubles him. In some instances, it appears the Postal Service provided the companies with eight-digit employee identification numbers, used for sensitive tasks such as accessing health care records, the complaint said. McDermott's lawyers filed a proposed class action lawsuit against the Postal Service on behalf of all employees, claiming the Federal government agency has violated terms of the Privacy Act and distributed contact information of its employees to marketing partners. Archive: Editorial :USPS Expands on Disclosures Permitted under Privacy Act  |

 

PRC Commissioner Goldway discusses changes in the USPS | Audio

Bee, wasp stings also a danger for postal carriers

Gallery show at Twist comes courtesy of USPS

Postal sorting stays in Jackson (TN)


July 28, 2007-

NALC: Tentative Agreement Being Readied For Rank-and-File Ratification Vote

 It is anticipated that the proposed contract will be ready for the official Ballot Committee (see separate article) to mail out to all active members in good standing by early August. The precise date of the mailing will be determined by the Ballot Committee. If ratified, the contract would provide a lump sum COLA payment of $686 for July 2006–May 2007, followed by a COLA for the two-month period of May–July 2007 which currently stands at $38 annually, and then nine additional COLAs over the five-year term of the contract.   |

 

Oakland Postal Employee Gets Prison for Assaulting Postal Police Officers

Court documents say that on Nov. 21 at the Oakland Processing and Distribution Center, Hercules pushed and swore at his supervisor, who used a handheld radio to call for help. Three Postal Police officers responded, and Hercules punched two of them in their faces before they could subdue him.  |

 

Time to ‘band’ together in Slope

Letter Carriers accused of littering streets with rubber bands. What is the postal service’s official policy towards litter? It’s a fair question to ask now that Park Slope’s streets are being blanketed by dozens — hundreds, thousands! — of thick, brown rubber bands that are carelessly dropped every day by letter carriers.  |

 

Opinion: New 13-Ounce postal rule make no sense

"Since the 1990s there has been a rule in place that said you couldn’t mail a package that weighed more than 16 ounces if you used stamps unless you took it to a Post Office and handed it to a clerk. The new rule modifies that to bring the size down to 13 ounces. The weight rule alone flies in the face of rational thinking. If you could make a 16-ounce bomb, who is to say you couldn’t make a 12-ounce one? It might be slightly less powerful, but a bomb is still a bomb. Some local postal officials, speaking off the record, question the logic too. Sounds like the change is a veiled attempt to drive customers to the post office where they offer to sell you everything from coffee cups to tote bags."   |

 

Highway Contract Driver pleads not guilty to destroying Indian artifacts - Court records show it was a HCR driver and not a letter carrier    |

Postal Employees Honored With Community Award

Sorting mail one piece at a time
Culp Creek post office gets canceled


July 27, 2007-

USPS Seeking Info to Contract Out Mail Distribution and Transportation? Is USPS Planning to Outsource P&DCs and BMCs - "The U.S. Postal Service is conducting market research to identify interested organizations with the capability to implement a time-definite mail distribution and transportation network. Network components consist of (1) Operations, (2) Network Design, (3) Facilities, (4) Equipment, (5) Information Technology, (6) Personnel, (7) Network Management, and (8) Security.  A synopsis of the network is described in this document. The synopsis is for information and planning purposes only and does not in any way constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP)." (PostCom )  |

GAO Report: USPS Progress Made in Implementing Mail Processing Realignment Efforts, but Better Integration and Performance Measurement Still Needed - GAO made recommendations to USPS to enhance the planning, accountability, and public communications related to its realignment efforts and to improve its delivery performance measures. The Postal Service: Planning for the 21st Century
Testimony from committee meeting focusing on the U.S. Postal Service's mail delivery standards and the effectiveness of its mail processing and distribution operations. Mailer group pushing for increased compensation for senior management: "The Postal Service’s Board of Governors must encourage creation of new executive compensation systems that reflect senior management’s ability to meet those standards. These systems must offer greater compensation where consistent, on-time delivery is met. The PAEA has given the Postal Service some additional and much-needed latitude in the way it compensates its managers. We strongly encourage the Board of Governors to use the results of any new performance measurement system in determining who will receive the additional compensation the PAEA makes possible."
 eNAPUS: Congressional Postal Hearings – No Sparks, But Small Fire |

 

Postal Service Using Private Contractors in Las Vegas   |

Postal Service Employee in Court for Taking Iroquois Artifacts   |

USPS Releases Photos Of Mauled Milpitas Letter Carrier   |

Meal rewards Romeo mail carriers' accident-free streak

Missing color on stamps a real find

Small Ore. town losing its post office

Disability group puts post office on notice


July 26, 2007-

Postal investigation sought in St. Joseph, MO

A U.S. Congressman said he's going to call on the postmaster general to investigate possible problems in St. Joseph's post offices. U.S. Rep. Sam Graves, a Republican from Tarkio, Mo., said Tuesday that his office has received complaints about mail being destroyed and delayed and he hasn't obtained satisfactory answers But sources inside the local post offices said that Carl Norwood, the St. Joseph post master, ordered clerks to dump the mail because of an impending inspection sometime before July 15. Those carts weren't checked for first-class mail and were sent out to be recycled, local sources said. What may be happening is infighting between some postal employees and postal administrators.  |

 

Too Sick To Work at One Agency But Not A Second One  |

Massachusetts postal worker charged in theft of $13,000
QC postal carriers deliver thank-yous to returnees from war zone
Postal Service Tell Public Dog Attacks Are Costly

Workaholic climbed to postmaster post

 

July 25, 2007-

Letter Carrier Faked Dog Bite Claim for Profit, Investigators Say

-"A Freedom letter carrier was arrested Friday following a month-long investigation by the U.S. Postal Service Office of the Inspector General into allegations that she tried to extort hundreds of dollars from one of her customers. Letter carrier Carolyn Maielua, 49, allegedly told the customer she'd been bitten by the customer's dog earlier this summer, but that she wouldn't report the attack if the customer paid her $700, according to Dan Mihalko, spokesman for the Inspector General's office The customer paid about $100, but when she didn't come up with the rest of the money, Maielua withheld her mail and the customer reported the problem to the Freedom Post Office, Mihalko said."    |

 

Senate Subcommittee Hearing Today on Implementing Postal Reform

U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information, Federal Services, and International Security will hold a hearing titled “Views from Postal Workforce on Implementing Postal Reform” today at 3:00 p.m. The hearing will be the second this year at which the subcommittee has taken testimony on the implementation of the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act (P.L. 109-435), which was signed into law in December.  |

 

Postal Workers Legal Woes

Mailman In Uniform Arrested In Drug Sting - An Indianapolis letter carrier faces felony narcotics charges after police said he tried to buy crack cocaine from undercover officers while he wore his U.S. Postal Service uniform. Ex- Postal worker indicted for stealing stamps - Wendy Watkins was charged with embezzling about $707.95 worth of funds and stamp stock . New Mexico postmaster admits thefts. Postmaster Pearson Cummings pleaded guilty to stealing $16,000 from the register and writing out false money orders to himself. Ex-North Carolina Postmaster gets fine, probation for $42,000 Theft    |

 

Fire Destroys Longtime Post Office

Interest Arbitrator Selected for NRLCA Contract Hearings  |

Mail carrier dies after slide into ditch

Contract Route Driver Indicted   |

Waco postal distribution center will not close, officials say

Editorial: Waco postal jobs -- saved!

USPS is there to serve at Oshkosh

Postal Carrier Honored for Bravery

Rural Carriers Head Up Cut the Corn Campaign

Postal Service delays Georgia utility bills
St. Charles bulk deliveries draw complaints
Fumes force evacuation of Omaha post office
Postal Logistics is the first to earn USPS OK to co-palletize

Explosion halts mail


July 24, 2007-

USPS steps up after 5 weeks of no mail for residents
"Through rain, sleet or snow, residents expect to get their mail. However, mailboxes at La Villita Las Colinas haven't seen any deliveries. In fact, one homeowner, Misty Broome, said she hasn't received one piece of mail since she and her husband moved into the neighborhood five weeks ago. "I felt like I'll be a reasonable person, maybe a week, maybe two weeks," she said. "But at the two-week point, I really started taking it seriously."   |

 

Delaware Rural Carriers Union Officer Admits Stealing $59,000

For four years, the secretary-treasurer of the Delaware Rural Letter Carriers' Association diverted money to himself -- including checks as small at $12 -- to steal almost $59,000 from his union, according to court documents. On Monday, Michael A. Pingitore, 47, of Newark, admitted six counts of embezzlement of union funds. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert F. Kravetz said Pingitore set up a secret bank account that he controlled in the union's name to collect reimbursement for business travel by other union officials, money from rebates due to union members, and some union fees and dues in dozens of transactions, some more than $6,000.  |

 

Postal Truck Stolen On Milwaukee's Northwest Side
Post office embezzler receives probation   |

New 13-Ounce Mail Rule to Take Effect July 30

Post office goes green: Three trucks run on biofuel

 

July 23, 2007-

Machine augments staffed post office counter

When the U.S. Postal Service changed the opening time at its staffed service counter from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. in February, Postmaster Vincent Daniels had no inkling that it would cause such a controversy among residents and township officials. Mayor Jason J. Varano said even though the post office is open 24 hours so that customers can use its automated postal center, personal service is what customers seem to miss. Instead of working at the counter, clerks are now sorting mail for the carriers, allowing all mail delivery to be completed by 4:30 p.m., instead of 6 or 6:30 p.m.   |

 

USPS streamlines sorting to keep up with growth

One of the seven mail sorting machines at the Hesperia Post Office. The highly automated procedure sorts mail by carrier route. Since mail currently takes longer to sort, some carriers have to return to pick up and deliver mail later in the day. Once processing is moved down to Redlands, Cannone said that could change. “Our whole intent is to get carriers on the street earlier, so they complete their routes by 5 p.m.”   |

 

Op/Ed: Service and efficiency in postal service
 
The National Association of Letter Carriers, like the American Postal Workers Union -- and the Postal Service itself -- has a storied history. That, in and of itself, is no reason to keep union carriers in place, as opposed to the contract workers that the Postal Service has employed in recent years to cut costs, even though it does speak to a tradition of service (perhaps not as efficient as it once was).  |

 

Job Opening: USPS Recruiter

Pardeeville postal carrier Hary gets state honor

Summer swelters, but mail won't fail


July 22, 2007-

Photo: 1940s Postal Vehicle

Letter: Contract Delivery Must Be limited

Post office tries to speed sorting


July 21, 2007-

Ask President Burrus

Question: How does the contract the National Association of Letter Carriers recently negotiated compare to the APWU Collective Bargaining Agreement? The following chart details the wage increases negotiated by APWU and NALC. While the agreements differ in achieving the objectives, the results are essentially comparable.   |

 

Burrus Tells Congress: Compel USPS to Bargain Over Subcontracting - If Congress wants to limit USPS subcontracting, lawmakers should enact legislation compelling the Postal Service to bargain over the issue, rather than intervening in specific contracting-out disputes. In informal remarks to the subcommittee, NALC President Bill Young endorsed Burrus’ message. “Last time we testified before this committee, it seemed we were in total disagreement,” he said. “Today we are in total agreement.” NAPUS (PDF) - USPS BOG Vice-Chair Alan Kessler implied that the contracting-out discussions could have been colored by the composition of the Board of Governors – 5 Republican and 4 Democratic members. Union seeks mandatory bargaining over mail delivery contracting   |

 

Postal Worker Survives Gunshot to Head

(Indiana) Danelle Trier says on June 30th, while delivering the mail on her normal route, something came in her open car window and hit her in the head. Trier said she was shocked when they announced to her she had been shot. Blood ran down her neck and that's when she went to the hospital. They revealed a .22 caliber bullet that had been lodged behind her ear. Police say a 17-year old male was shooting at squirrels around the time of the shooting.   |

 

APWU Lawsuit Over USPS Consolidation Plans Dismissed

In a recent ruling, a U.S. District Court concluded that the complaint was rendered “moot” by a subsequent advisory opinion issued by the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC). The December 2006 opinion found that the goals of the END program were “consistent with the policies and criteria of the Postal Reorganization Act,” but concluded that the “evidentiary record does not provide assurance that the proposed realignment program, as currently envisaged, will meet its goals.”   |

 

Ex-Postal worker gets probation in guitar thefts

New Harry Potter book to set postal record, UN agency says


July 20, 2007-

Washington Watch from Linns Stamps

Clerk Miller "Formerly Known as USPS BOG Chairman" - Because of his repeated calls for privatizing the U.S. Postal Service, James Miller III, the chairman of the Postal Service board of governors, has not been regarded as a friend of the nation’s large postal unions.   Perhaps in an attempt to show his appreciation for postal workers, Miller showed up at the board’s May 2 meeting sporting a light blue Postal Service postal worker shirt.  He said it was a great shirt, and he was honored to be working for the same organization, but he needed a name tag.     He asked Postmaster General John E. “Jack” Potter if he could use his influence to get him a name tag.    Without pausing, Potter shot back, “When you join the union, we’ll give you a badge.” With that Miller announced that he would be known as “Clerk Miller.” New USPS Lobbyist- Marie Therese Dominguez  hired as vice president of government relations. In her new position, Dominguez, a former Clinton administration appointee, will be in charge of bolstering the Postal Service’s image on Capitol Hill. Dominguez comes from FieldWorks, a Democratic consulting firm. One of the firm’s partners is Deborah Willhite, who once held the top government relations job at Postal Service headquarters. Richardson new consumer advocate for PRC.   |

 

USPS, APWU Reach Agreement on Contract Postal Units

The issue was whether the creation of a Contract Postal Unit (CPU) violates the National Agreement if a contract is let to a contractor who does not own the property or facility where the CPU is being established. As of May 17, 2007 , branded products and services of competitors such as UPS, FedEx, and DHL may not be sold at any newly-established CPU. Exceptions to this exclusivity requirement may be approved by Headquarters Retail Access Channels, but this is likely to occur only in isolated areas where the CPU is quite literally the only place in town at which a consumer can process package deliveries.  |

 

USPS to Sell Prepaid Cards at Post Offices

"The USPS desires to sell General Purpose Stored Value Card at approximately 15,000 POS ONE locations nationwide. The sales of General Purpose Stored Value Cards at USPS retail sites will be operated as an alliance between the USPS and a commercial partner."  |

 

Nation's oldest postmaster wants to be known for being herself

Now that the national hoopla has died down, Verna Naylor, 91, can get back to just being herself and doing her job.In May, it was announced that Naylor is the oldest postmaster in the United States and the second oldest postal employee in the country, second only to a 92-year-old man in California. She also has the distinction of being the oldest female postal employee.  |

 

Photo: Antique Mail Cart

USPS to meet with residents on post office

Street’s Mail Service Cut Due To Terrorizing Pit Bull
Harry Potter Flying Into Stores, Homes

PhotoStamps of the Year Contest Winners

Mail should be flat rate

Customers mourn kind, helpful mailman

Nice job, Postal Guy (or Gal)

Post Office Robbed At Gunpoint

Cost increases aside, Postal Service still bargain

 

July 19, 2007-

Inquiring Minds Want to Know: What is the Postal Service Contracting Out?

Today, the Subcommittee on Federal Workforce, Postal Service (of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform) will  conduct a hearing on USPS' decision to consider all new routes for contract delivery. Witnesses will include Rep. Albio Sires (NJ), Alan Kessler (BOG Vice Chairman), PMG Potter, David Williams (Inspector General, USPS) and union presidents , Burrus,  Hegarty, Pitts and Young. |

 

Postal carrier shot in Illinois
A gunman shot a mailman Wednesday afternoon in Calumet City, and the federal government is offering a $25,000 reward for information leading to arrest and conviction. The mail carrier was treated for a bullet wound to the leg after the gunman tried to rob him at 4 p.m.   |

 

Photo: Semi-Automated Postal Robotic Delivery Vehicle

 "SARA is a semi-automated postal deliver robotic vehicle. The concept is a proposal for a robotic vehicle for delivery of letters and flats in residential areas. We concluded that many tasks of the postal delivery can and should be automated to gain savings in fuel and man hours."  |

 

Postal Bulletin July 19 Issue - SOP for “Notice Left” Mail

Post office is the best deal when sending your bags ahead

Man reindicted in crash that hurt postal worker
It's a red-letter day for sender as mail from 1981 returns home

Mail mix-up in Dana Point wears out welcome

Postal Employee Arrested for Assaulting Cop

Cooling a postal hot seat in Monticello

Postal Service to offer Flight 93 postmark

Rattlesnake mailed to ex-boss


July 18, 2007-

Is The Postal Service Suffering?

The lines are longer at the post office and some people are getting their mail later in the day. It's all part of the new U.S. Postal Service. But is customer service suffering? There are fewer people behind the counter, and fewer people delivering the mail. And the post office is beginning to hear complaints from customers. Jim Bertolone heads up the American Postal Workers Union, which represents mail clerks. "It appears to us that the service has gotten so bad, both in delivering the mail and how long people wait in line, the Postal Service is in fact encouraging people to buy their postage online, or get it in their drugstore. We don't want you to come into the building unless you're going to spend a lot of money."  |

Postman who vanished is charged in federal court
John R. Jordan, the Knightstown letter carrier who disappeared for several days before he was found in Columbus, has been charged in federal court. Jordan was charged with "unlawfully detaining and delaying mail entrusted to him and which was to be delivered by him as a carrier of the Postal Service," said an announcement from U.S. Attorney Susan Brooks on Tuesday.
Runaway mail carrier put on home detention  |

Peoria Woman Going Postal Over Mail Pick Up

A home-bound woman in Peoria is going a little postal because her outgoing mail isn't always picked up. Sharon Roberts tells us, "the post office informed me if there is no mail delivered to your house, the carrier does not have to pick up your outgoing mail. It is a courtesy--not part of their job.  |

 

House Subcommittee to Hold Hearing on USPS Contracting

Cost increases aside, Postal Service still bargain

Police seek tips in postal station robbery

Postmaster General Discusses ‘Vote By Mail’ at Conference

Publish and Perish?


July 17, 2007-

NALC Asks to Hold Congressional Action on Contracting Out (PDF) - NALC Bulletin -

 A National Joint Committee will seek to address the issue of Contract Delivery Service for new deliveries during a six-month moratorium on outsourcing in offices where city carriers work. As a result, Young said in a message to e-Activists that he would ask Congress to pause for a few months before acting on a legislative ban on contracting out. Young emphasized, however, that if NALC does not get a satisfactory contractual solution to this problem, he will again call on e-Activists and other members to help win a legislative prohibition.   |

 

 Ex-Houston Postal Workers Accused of Mail Misdeeds

A federal grand jury last week issued felony indictments against Sebert Ramey, 21, of Spring; Michelle Thordsen, 42, of Splendora; and Michael Kull, 42, of Cypress. Ramey, a former temporary letter carrier is charged with delay and destruction of U.S. mail. Thordsen, a former rural letter carrier is charged with theft of mail and possession of stolen mail. Kull, a former temporary letter carrier  is charged with opening a package he was to deliver, with intent to steal the prescription narcotics it contained.   |

 

Prosecutors Consider Charges Against Resurfaced Mailman  |

Mike Causey-  Dental Benefits: Are You Smiling Yet?

Mail carrier honored for quick action in house fire

Periodical rate hike worries small mailers

Suspicious Packages Inundate Authorities

Editorial: Don't cut Waco postal service
Edwards campaign changes mail protocol after suspicious packages

Cops save teen stuck in mailbox

 

July 16, 2007-

Check's in mail, but not in box

People unhappy with their contract carriers- Sun Valley East in suburban Boynton Beach is one of at least 10 communities in Palm Beach County where the Postal Service uses subcontracted employees to work the routes. The workers are hired by contractors that bid on delivery routes. For several years now, tensions have risen in the county over the use of these part-time workers. Residents like Anthony Broskowski say the worst problems occurred two years ago. He remembers seeing carriers with mail strewn across their car dashboards. Note: As one PR reader pointed out the NALC contract proposal calls for a halt to contracting out at 3,000 city delivery installations--not at all post office with delivery operations.  |

 

Delivery's rural, free, at present anyway

Postal service studying changes to local delivery

Rural post offices more than mail

New York: Postal Center temporarily evacuated after fire

Going postal may not pay when seeking stamps

Tighter Standards for Addresses Prompt New Look at Mailing Practices

Customers slow to warm up to automated postal centers

Lake Geneva mail boat delivers mail

Post office move may prove wrong

 

July 15, 2007-

An opportunity lost--in the mail

Woman crashes car into post office

 

July 14, 2007-

Mail carrier missing 3 days found safe

 Letter Carrier Arrested on Weapons Charge - John Jordan, 48, Knightstown, apparently left his route Wednesday of his own accord, said Felicia George, an inspector with the U.S. Postal Service. Jordan apparently put a kayak into a stream on the south side of Greenfield and floated to southern Indiana, Greenfield Police Chief Clarke Mercer said. Columbus is about 60 miles south of Greenfield. A customer at a Columbus Laundromat called police and reported seeing a gun in man's travel bag, Mercer said. Columbus police picked up Jordan and arrested him on a weapons charge. Jordan's motives for disappearing -- apparently without informing his wife or two teenage daughters -- remained unclear, though mounting monetary woes may have contributed. Mailman found with red scooter and $5,000 cash | Postman found with tent |

 

Former postal employee faces fraud charges

Margaret M. Cio, 49, is accused of submitting fraudulent Claims for Reimbursement for Expenditures on Official Business to the U.S. Postal Service. Besides theft of public money, the indictment also charges Cio with making and presenting false, fictitious and fraudulent claims for reimbursement to the U.S. Postal Service. Authorities say Cio sought and received reimbursement for expenses she claimed to have incurred in connection with work-related travel.   |

 

Postal News Tidbits July 14, 2007

Postal Service finds site in Opa-locka

 

July 13, 2007-

Without A Trace: No Clues in Greenfield, IN Letter Carrier's Disappearance

The 20-year Postal Service veteran who disappeared from his mail delivery route this week had just returned from a family vacation with his wife and two teenage daughters. These details emerged Thursday, but little else surfaced to aid investigators trying to determine what happened to John Jordan, 48, who did not return to the Greenfield post office at the end of his shift Wednesday. Jordan delivered mail to the first residence on his route Wednesday about 9 a.m., said Kathy Evans, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. The rest of the mail for Jordan's route sat undelivered at the end of the day in his mail truck. Search dogs tracked Jordan's scent to a nearby cemetery but that's where the trail ended. Blood found on missing mail carrier's truck | Volunteers helping in postal carrier search| Police Search For Missing Mailman   |

 

Mailing plan outlook: What's in store for the fall?

Squirrel With Sweet Tooth Terrorizing Alaska Post Office


 

July 12, 2007-

Tentative Agreement Reached On City Letter Carriers Contract

The agreement, retroactive to November 21, 2006, provides general wage increases of 8.85 percent over five years along with regular cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) and a single lump-sum COLA payment of $686 for the period between July 2006 and May 2007.The proposed contract includes new limits on contracting out of city letter carrier work in more than 3,000 city delivery installations and establishes a six-month moratorium on contracting out city carrier delivery services elsewhere across the country. The tentative 2006-2011 National Agreement also abolishes the use of low-wage temporary employees known as “casuals” and replaces them with bargaining unit “transitional employees The agreement provides a 1.4 percent wage increase retroactive to November 25, 2006; and wage increases of 1.8 percent on November 24, 2007; 1.9 percent on November 22, 2008; 1.9 percent on November 21, 2009; and 1.85 percent on November 20, 2010. Tentative Agreement Highlights |
 

Police Search For Missing Mailman

Authorities are asking for help to find a mail carrier who disappeared Wednesday morning. Officials said John Jordan, 48, started his route on Wednesday but disappeared. Jordan's postal van was found a few blocks from the Hancock County courthouse. Jordan made his first morning deliveries, but the rest of the mail is still inside the truck as it gets processed for evidence.  Jordan is a 20-year veteran of the Post Office in Greenfield, Indiana.   |

 

Worker bot sorts packages

 "...a parcel sorting system that employs agile robot workers capable of quickly classifying and separating small items such as mail packages |

 

Sen. Harkin Secures Postal Service Provision in Appropriations Bill

Contract Mail carrier arrested for DUI on route  |

Video: NALC Picket Held July 1, 2007 in Paterson, NJ

Postal Delivery Suspended to Lubbock Home Following Dog Attack

Letter Carrier Biking to Deliver a Different Message

Mitt Romney mails USPS-compatible DVDS

Sam's Unusual Mailbox Pictures

DHL, union at odds over firing

UK: Postal Strike? What Strike?
 

July 11, 2007-

Death of the Mailman?
"There is talk of reducing the number of days the mail is delivered from six to four or even one. There are suggestions of eliminating home delivery in favor of customer pickup at central locations. There is discussion of outsourcing some delivery areas to private companies. Call me an alarmist, but none of this sounds good. Any blow to the U.S. Postal Service is a blow to the fiber of America. I know it's a changing world. I know the cost of everything is going up. But if we can't save the U.S. Postal Service, we've got big problems."   |

 

USPS Deployment of Automated Postal Centers Put On Hold

Postal Service is delaying the second stage of installing automated postal centers in lobbies.
Spokesman Gerry McKiernan confirmed the delay Wednesday, saying the agency is studying why some of its already installed automated centers did not perform up to expectations. A
June report from the agency's inspector general said that as many as half of the installed centers were not meeting minimum expectations.  |

 

EEOC Annual Report on U.S. Postal Service Work Force

While the United States Postal Service constituted 28.5% of the work force, it accounted for 43.7% of all EEO counselings, 36.9% of all complaints filed, 41.2% of all completed investigations and 40.7% of all complaints closed in FY 2006. The top 3 bases of alleged discrimination most often raised were: (1) Reprisal; (2) Disability (Physical); and (3) Age.   |

 

Humane Society Sues Postal Service for Mailing Animal Fighting Materials - "The Humane Society of the United States filed a lawsuit in federal court in the District of Columbia challenging the United States Postal Service's refusal to implement portions of a new federal law that prohibits the mailing of animal fighting paraphernalia, including trade magazines that advertise fighting animals, knives, and other implements used in illegal dogfights and cockfights." Roosters Delivered to Post Office Tip Police to Cockfighting |

 

Video: USPS Infomercial

Heat-related illness sends three postal workers to the hospital

McHugh bill would stop mail-order cigarettes

Postmaster says no local plans for contract mail service
USPS offers hold mail command via the Web

UPS works to hobble its rival, FedEx

 

July 10, 2007-

Union wary of Postal Service’s plans for KCK center

Plandome Heights Mail Carrier will be missed

Mailers react to $29M House cut

NPR: Postal Rates Increase for Magazines


July 09, 2007-

Study Shows Mail Carriers Need Sun Protection

A San Diego State University professor wants to change the Post Office uniform. It's just one of her suggestions after a four-year study on letter carriers and sun protection. Doctor Joni Mayer began Project Sunwise  with $2 million-plus grant from the National Cancer Institute. The problem was obvious. Mail carriers are in the sun a lot, but they hardly use hats or sunscreen. The study provided sunscreen and comfortable, wide-brimmed hats to thousands of mail carriers in Southern California. Health officials gave sun damage talks while carriers sorted mail. Researchers found that carriers were twice as likely to use sun protection when sunscreen and comfortable hats were provided for them. Mayer says Project Sunwise left a lasting impression with San Diego mail carriers. Mayer is now in talks with the U.S. Postal Service to expand the program nationwide.  Postal Carriers Promote Healthy Habit   |

 

OPM modifies rules for figuring certain employees' retirement benefits

The Office of Personnel Management is changing the way it calculates service toward retirement for certain employees on workers' compensation, agency officials announced last week. According to an OPM benefits administration letter, federal employees on workers' compensation who hold a full-time appointment but are able to work only part-time now will be credited for full-time service. To the extent that agencies can provide their own records on those who have recently retired or are in the process of retiring, it would be retroactive," said OPM spokesman Mike Orenstein. see archive on Hatch vs OPM   |

 

Ex-Postal Exec Enters Guilty Plea

"A former supervisor of more than 75 post offices in New Jersey yesterday admitted steering contracts to private businesses in return for cash and other favors and also to getting an employee to do work at his home. John F. Balliro, 51, of Hamburg entered his plea to a count of conspiracy to defraud before U.S. District Judge Stanley Chesler in Newark, also noting he agreed to cooperate in the government's ongoing investigation of the case. He told Chesler he also steered contracts for cleaning and maintaining Postal Service vehicles to an unidentified car wash and repair business between 1998 and 2003. In court papers, the work was valued at $600,000 or more, and the beneficiary was listed as operating in Newton. Yesterday's plea brings to three the number of people charged so far in a federal probe of Postal Service corruption in North Jersey. "Former postmaster admits guilt   |

 

Postal carriers save time since sorting moved to Albuquerque  |

Alabama: Douglas post office robbed
On new routes, mail delivery is passing to private contractors

Paris postal employees receive regional honor rewarding productivity

APWU: Updated Joint Contract Interpretation Manual (JCIM) Available

Retail associate stamps out crime

Letter writers use pen and paper to say it best

Postal rates hurt good will via books
Repositionable notes extended for additional year


July 08, 2007-

Postal changes aim to thin lines

In a move that departs from typical postal procedure, local union leaders and postal management audited their own facilities over the past several months, leading to a major realignment of job duties that they believe will add more window clerks and eventually shorten lines. Local postal leaders said they have not been allowed to replace employees lost over the past few years to relocation or retirement, leaving large gaps in operations. The current realignment aims to fix this staffing shortage by combining and shifting job duties.   |

Postal van collides with truck in Mesa rollover
Post office orders 'green' packages

July 07, 2007-

APWU alleges mail moved to Traverse violates AMP

According to local American Postal Workers Union President John Marcotte, the USPS moved “flats” from the Gaylord location the day after announcing the Area Mail Processing (AMP) study was concluded. “The flats have nothing to do with the AMP study. That study had to do with cost-saving benefits of taking (single piece first-class) mail collection to Traverse City rather than Gaylord,” said Jim Mruk, USPS manager of Public Affairs and Communications.   |

 

Postal Delivery Should Not Be Outsourced

Tension and contention for postal world increases  |
They Want a New Post Office. A Fortress, Not So Much.
Stolen Mail Raises Fears of Stolen Identities


July 06, 2007-

What's Next For the U. S. Postal Service

 "Could mail one day go the way of many pizza chains, where customers can pick it up or pay extra for home delivery? Will the mail still arrive six days a week? Will the government still be involved? The Postal Service is facing big questions as it struggles to cope with rising costs and major changes in the way people communicate." For example, Gene Del Polito suggested the possibility of requiring centralized delivery and allowing the consumer pay something extra to get actual delivery service to the door.   |

 

Please, Please, Mr. Postman, Come Back- And He Did

(New Jersey) When Bob Fay, a postal worker, seriously injured his knee, he was forced to go on disability for five months. But the hiatus also offered him a rare opportunity: the chance to see — and hear about — what life on his mail route in this Essex County suburb would be like without him. David Stamm said that he had seen so many replacement mail carriers, some not wearing uniforms, while Mr. Fay was gone, that he thought there had been a postal strike.   |

 

Postmaster admits stealing $70,000
(New York) "There was something foul in 12202. (That's Berlin, not Denmark) A former Rensselaer County postmaster routinely monkeyed with sales records to hide her theft of nearly $70,000 from the U.S. Postal Service, according to court papers. Karen Dobert-Morine, 51, of Averill Park, the former Berlin postmaster, has admitted to dispatching thousands of dollars of money orders to herself."   |

 

eNAPUS Bulletin (PDF)

The Social Security Check is in the Mail

Gone postal: Health concerns close Boneville Post Office
 

July 05, 2007-

USPS Seeks Vendors for Postal Package Processing System

"In concert with its Strategic Transformation Plan 2006-2010, the United States Postal Service (USPS) is evaluating the augmentation and potential replacement of its existing fleet of legacy sorting machines with new equipment that will improve operational efficiency to reduce costs associated with package processing. This new equipment will be developed under the program name Postal Package Processing System, commonly referred to as “3P”. This prototype system will be assembled and tested at a postal facility located in the Washington DC Metropolitan Area."  |

 

Jail Time for Postal Carriers
"Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel Conley this week announced the sentences of four U.S. Postal Service workers arrested for selling cocaine and marijuana, at times from their post office vehicles. Michael Sheehan, 43, and Stanley Giordano, 43, of Revere and Newburyport respectively, were sentenced to two years on cocaine charges. Michael Micciche, 39, of Revere, was sentenced to two years - sentence suspended for three years- on marijuana charges. Raymond Bell, 37, of Chelsea, was sentenced to one year of probation on marijuana charges.  The four postal workers were arrested last fall, as part of Operation Pony Express.   |

 

Mike Causey: Borrowing From Your TSP Nest Egg

ZIP-PITY HOO-HA: New Yorkers unhappy over loss of their glitzy ZIP code

Postal Bulletin 7/05/07 Issue

15-minute Tip: Should You Put That Check In The Mail

Postal Worker Finds Girl Abducted From Sandbox

Mail delivery won’t change

Sellwood postal worker’s hobby preserves history through photographs

 

July 04, 2007-

Postal Supervisor’s Retaliation Lawsuit Dismissed

Recently, a federal court in Richmond, VA dismissed a civil lawsuit filed by postal employee Harold Moss. In the suit, Moss claimed his postal superiors retaliated against him after he complained about certain mail counts, reports and delivery practices. Some of the allegations include: 1) directing him to falsify mail counts and reports;(2) ordering him to discipline employees when discipline was not warranted.   |

 

Video: NALC Branch #709: Reno Picket Against Contracting Out

Random Acts of Kindness: "Angels in the post office"  |

Postal Service trying to track down missing Social Security checks

Schumer joins fight against fortress-like post office  |

Grassley: Decision Should Have 'Rational Basis'

Mail competition

Community Saves Post Office

Hoods in Mailmen's Clothing -That's no mailman. That's some hoodlum in a smoke-spewing car, driving down the wrong side of the street -- a new nonpostal employee shoving letters into your mailbox.

July 03, 2007-

PRC Commissioner Goldway Urges FTC to Watch USPS (PDF)

 Ruth Goldway : "I am writing to urge the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to fully assert their broad statutory responsibilities to oversee the activities of the United States Postal Service (USPS) given to it by the Postal Authorization and Enhancement Act (PAEA). Under this reform law, the Postal Service is encouraged to act more like a private corporation. It can accumulate a surplus and raise pay levels for management. The FTC must use its regulatory expertise and authority to review and, if appropriate, call into question actions of the Postal Service as the Service markets competitive products that may create unfair competition with private competitors."  |

 

APWU: DHL Express Found Guilty of Unfair Labor Practices

Labor Department Study Affirms That FMLA ‘Is Working as Intended’

Esquivel's Mr. Fix-it for the post office

Fireworks burn hundreds of letters

Mailman more than a messenger

Postal Inspection Service deal goes to Birmingham Film company


July 02, 2007-

Policy Leaders Call for Lifting the Postal Service’s Mailbox Monopoly

 The current monopoly bars private citizens and businesses from placing letters or other items in mailboxes without paying Postal Service delivery fees. The prohibition “injects unnecessary nuisance, cost and inefficiency into simple acts of community communication,” continued the statement. The letter was signed by heads of leading organizations representing taxpayers and consumers who rely on First Class letter mail and postal services, as well as two prominent postal policy experts..  |

 

Postal clerk gets prison for stealing over 8,000 movies

A former a 32-year Houston post office clerk was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison Monday for stealing thousands of movies sent through the mail. Anthony Zuniga, 53, of Houston, was convicted of two counts of mail theft by a postal employee. Using surveillance, U.S. Postal Inspectors watched Zuniga steal 122 DVDs from the post office and later found another 8,000 stolen Netflix and Blockbuster DVDs during a search of his home.  |

 

World War II-era photo arrives in mail

New Jersey: Postal workers rally in Silk City  |

Clients of Blue Cross to get billed for paper bills  |

House passes appropriation bill minus postal funding

How to put a post office back together


July 01, 2007-

What would Dad think of outsourcing our postal carriers?

"A mail carrier's salary allowed us to be about as middle as middle-class could be in the 1950s. But lately the mailman is going the way of the shoemaker, the steelworker and the auto worker. These jobs are being outsourced. The United States Postal Service is gradually doing away with its own mailmen, outsourcing the jobs to private companies, who pay their employees who knows what." A postal proposal delivers anxiety  |

Talk Therapy for Postal Rage
There have been times when I have been in line and there were no (window) clerks behind the window,” said Mr. Dubrow, citing his experience as the holder of a post office box at the Kensington station. “If it’s quiet or something, all of a sudden they’ll go take a walk.” Just recently, Mr. Dubrow said, he waited a half-hour to deal with a matter regarding his post office box, only to be told he was in the wrong line. His e-mail complaint to post office management has gone unanswered for two weeks, he said Friday. See Video referenced in story  |

Uncertain future for Zip Code 99757


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