Thursday, January 31, 2008

Postal Service Board of Governors, TSP, Chicago Postal

Feb. 1, 2008:   TSP Current Returns   "... These returns are net of the effect of accrued administrative expenses and investment expenses/costs. The performance data shown represent past performance, which is not a guarantee of future results. Investment returns and principal value will fluctuate, so that investors' shares, when sold, may be worth more or less than their original cost. ..."    [Reference: www.tsp.gov]



Feb. 1, 2008:   Chicago mail service improving, but overnight service still among worst in U.S.   "... while the improvements narrowed the gap between Chicago and other regions, the overnight delivery rate continued to lag behind most of the markets ..."    [Reference: www.chicagotribune.com]



Feb. 1, 2008:   Alan Kessler Elected Chairman, Postal Service Board of Governors   "... substantial experience in the defense of class-action litigation, including securities, antitrust, toxic tort and civil rights cases as well as a government relations and counseling practice. ..."    [Reference: www.webwire.com]

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

the USPS is composed mainly of relatively low-paid "...clerks and letter carriers, its officer corps does fine."

Here is a very enlightening article by Mike Causey over at Federal News Radio: Don't Go Postal Over This. The article details the pay disparity between USPS hierarchy and the blue collar workforce.
Posted by: Technorati Profile

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Postal News

Jan. 29, 2008:   Teens' explosive device injures postal worker   "... The postal worker found a second device inside the home's mailbox Saturday and suffered minor chemical burns and an inhalation injury, police said. The Clayton County police bomb squad detonated the device, and no other injuries were reported. ..."    [Reference: www.ajc.com]



Jan. 29, 2008:   Teen Accused of Shooting Postal Worker In Court   "... Omaha, NE - A teen accused of shooting at a postal worker last August asked a judge to transfer his case to juvenile court today. ..."    [Reference: www.action3news.com]



Jan. 29, 2008:   Nigeria: Union Members Kick Against Postal Reform Bill   "... The union members who are angry with the dwindling fortune of the Nigerian Telecommunication Limited (NITEL), and the Nigerian Mobiletelecommunication (MTEL) since they were sold to Transnational Corporation (Transcorp), urged the federal government to put the postal reform bill in abeyance ..."    [Reference: allafrica.com]

Thursday, January 24, 2008

Mail Handler Pay Increase Reminder

February 16, 2008 (PP05-2008), is the date and pay period for the next general wage increase scheduled to be added to base wages for the Mail Handler craft. This pay raise was negotiated by the National Postal Mail Handlers Union (NPMHU).

The future of buyouts

The U.S. auto market has typically been a pacesetter when it comes to union contract negotiations, collective bargaining agreements, and now ...buyouts. It is a fact that America's large unions keep their eye on the auto industry when it comes to comparative analysis for the purpose of wage, benefit, and buyout negotiations. UAW and Ford have set the stage for future buyouts in labor intensive industries where automation, subcontracting, illegal immigration, and foreign competition have taken a heavy toll on the U.S. blue-collar worker. Large unions that represent America's postal workers, like the American Postal Workers Union and the National Postal Mail Handlers Union, continuously monitor the labor climate during these troubled times to garner equal or greater results. As the country snowballs into a recession, the auto industry, led by Ford and the UAW, are taking proactive steps to re-take the competitive lead in the global auto market by offering buyouts to each and every worker. The Detroit Free Press reports the buyout offer will look like this:
    Elements:
  • Under a special termination-of-employment program, retirement-eligible workers who volunteer to leave the company and forgo all benefits except accrued pension can receive a $140,000 buyout.


  • For workers who have at least one year of employment with Ford, the special termination program calls for a payout of $100,000, with the worker forgoing all benefits except accrued pension.


  • Under an educational opportunity program, workers with one year of service are eligible to receive up to $15,000 in college tuition for up to four years. Workers who take part in this program can receive medical benefits and half of their regular pay while enrolled in school.

  • Workers also could opt to set aside $100,000 in a family scholarship program to be used for an educational program for spouses, children or grandchildren.


  • Workers 55 and older who have 30 or more years of service are eligible to receive a $35,000 check and begin retirement immediately with full benefits.


  • Workers 55 and older with 10 or more years of service will be provided a fixed level of income for life, which varies according to each employee's service with the company.


  • Workers with at least 28 years of service are eligible to take a leave for two years until they reach 30 years of service, when they can retire as normal. During their leave, the workers will receive 85% of their pay.



File under "postal buyout" for reference

Saturday, January 19, 2008

Thrift Savings Plan, FERS, APWU Suit, Postal

Jan. 19, 2008:   APWU, NALC Sue USPS and Inspector General
Over Invasion of Medical-Records Privacy
  "... The suit alleges that the OIG has routinely instructed medical providers that they must submit records to the OIG and that they should refrain from notifying affected employees that the records have been requested by the OIG. ..."    [Reference: www.apwu.org]




Jan. 19, 2008:   [Thrift Savings Plan] Can You Risk Playing It Safe?   "... "FERS employees (the majority of people now working for Uncle Sam) have the most difficult situation," he said. Because they have smaller civil service retirement benefits, and get diet-COLAs which don't kick in until age 62 ..."    [Reference: www.federalnewsradio.com]



Jan. 19, 2008:   Study Finds Postal Service Gets No Edge   "... Indeed, federally imposed restraints on the post office's operations increase its costs to provide competitive products by an estimated $330 million to $782 million a year, the FTC said. ..."    [Reference: ap.google.com]

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

PostalPeople, FEEA Scholarship

Jan. 16, 2008:   [PostalPeople] USPS consolidates HR systems   "... Officials say the new platform, which was completed in October, will help employees and HR managers. Employees can access HR information and apply for USPS jobs online, and supervisors can use new online management and administrative tools. ..."    [Reference: www.fcw.com]




Jan. 16, 2008:   FEEA 2008-09 Scholarship Application
available now!
  "... FEEA Scholarship Program is an annual, merit-based contest open to civilian federal and postal
employees, their spouses and college-age children. Awards range from $500-$2,500 for one year.
Applications are available January - March each year. ..."    [Reference: www.feea.org]


Thursday, January 10, 2008

More Postal News: Are you overpaid? ...and more articles

Jan. 11, 2008:   Are You Overpaid?   "... At least three presidents - Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton - thought so. They believed federal pay was out of line because the value of perks like retirements, holidays, and cradle-to-grave health insurance weren't considered as part of compensation. ..."    [Reference: www.federalnewsradio.com]



Jan. 11, 2008:   [Alaska] Former Kipnuk postmaster faces charges for assaulting workers   "... a postal employee in Kipnuk since December 2000, and became the officer in charge in September 2007. ..."    [Reference: www.adn.com]



Jan. 11, 2008:   U.S. Postal Service Gets Scientific With New Stamps   "... Due for self-adhesive glory are physicist John Bardeen, inventor of the transistor; astronomer Edwin Hubble ..."    [Reference: blog.wired.com]

Monday, January 7, 2008

2008 Federal Pay Scales, New Stamps, and TSP Investing...

Jan. 7, 2007:    2008 Federal Salary Tables and Related Information   "... General Schedule and Locality Pay Tables, 2008 Locality Payments and Total Pay Increases for General Schedule Employees, Senior Executive Service, Special Salary Rate Tables ..."    [Reference: www.opm.gov]



Jan. 7, 2007:   [TSP] Investing: How Safe Is Playing It Safe?   "... Last year (2007) the value of a single share of the international stock index fund, the I-fund, went up $2.32. That may not sound like much unless you have a lot of shares, or unless you compare it with the performance of the super-safe treasury securities G-fund. The value of a G-fund share you had in January of last year went up only 56 cents by the end of the year. ..."    [Reference: www.federalnewsradio.com]



Jan. 7, 2007:   New Stamp Series Will Observe Chinese New Year   "... In observance of the Chinese New Year, the U.S. Postal Service will
debut a new stamp series for the 12 different animals in the Chinese calendar.
The series will continue through 2019. The first stamp in the series is for
the Year of the Rat, which begins Feb. 7, 2008 and ends Jan. 25, 2009. ..."    [Reference: www.reuters.com]


Wednesday, January 2, 2008

Postal Service inspection office moves from Birmingham to Hoover

"...terrorist acts and an increasing number of identity theft crimes committed using the U.S. mail have changed the "silent service" to one that is more vocal, said Tony Robinson, a spokesman for the Alabama Postal Inspection Service Office. Around Thanksgiving, the office moved to 100 Corporate Parkway, off U.S. 280 in Hoover's Meadow Brook Corporate Park..."    



This Article is From: www.al.com

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