Friday, January 30, 2009

Obama Moves to Reverse Bush’s Labor Policies

Obama Moves to Reverse Bush’s Labor Policies
"... Future monthly meetings will be held across the country to discuss the mundane but essential concerns of working people like child care, workplace safety and retirement security, the vice president said. The administration has set up a Web site, AStrongMiddleClass.gov, that Mr. Biden said would tell people what their government was doing and invite them to share their thoughts...."
Article Reference Source: www.nytimes.com

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Postal Service Considers Reduced Service


"...The most likely days to be cut would be Saturday or Tuesday. Recent studies by the Postal Service showed Tuesday as a light mail day...."    



This Article is From: www.msnbc.msn.com

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Thursday, January 29, 2009

USPS proposes to cut Tuesday delivery?

Postal Services Proposes To Deliver Mail Only Five Days A Week

"...Saturday would seem like the obvious choice, but apparently, Tuesday is typically the lightest delivery day of the week. If choosing Tuesday would impact customers the least, that would most likely be the day that is cut...."    



This Article is From: www.msnbc.msn.com

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Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Postal Announcement, Big Meeting ...No, it's a Hearing on the Impact of the Economic Crisis on the U.S. Postal Service


"...The rumors of a big meeting/announcement have been floating around the internet for a couple of weeks now. Those rumors have come to fruition as of today. The hearing is set to examine how the current financial crisis is hurting business at the U.S. Postal Service,..."    



This Article is From: postal-edaily.blogspot.com

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Postal Hearing

The following links relate to today's Hearing and the future of the Postal Service. You must read carefully and completely to understand the dynamics of the situation in full.
  • STATEMENT OF POSTMASTER GENERAL/CEO JOHN E. POTTER BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON FEDERAL FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT, GOVERNMENT INFORMATION, FEDERAL SERVICES AND INTERNATIONAL SECURITY OF THE COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS UNITED STATES SENATE JANUARY 28, 2009
    "...Contracts with the two unions that alone represent almost 75 percent of our 652,000 career employees – the American Postal Workers Union and the National Association of Letter Carriers – do not expire until late 2010 and late 2011. We cannot wait until then to address what are pressing needs today. So I am proposing to union leadership that we begin talks now to create needed levels of workforce flexibility. ..."
    Article Reference Source: www.intelisent.com

  • Key Points Made By Witnesses before the
    Senate Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information, Federal Services and International Security
    "... Senator Susan Collins:

    * Enactment of PAEA was an arduous process.
    * We need to continue the nation's universal postal services. Mail is still a key part of the nation's economic infrastructure.
    * The current recession has placed the Postal Service back on the congressional agenda.
    * The question has been raised as to whether the Postal Service is trying to use this crisis as a way of pulling away from PAEA.
    * The PAEA retiree payments were a key part of the negotiating to make PAEA possible.
    * A rwo-year reprieve is doable. Beyond two years make take too much pressure off the USPS to respond to its other challenges.
    * GAO has been disappointed with the USPS' responses. GAO expressed frustration with the USPS' lack of transparency.
    * Very disappointed that the proposed solution is the elimination of the six-day a week delivery requirement. Service cutbacks also can impact mail volume adversely.
    * Already received many complaints from publishers in Maine. Service has been compromised.
    * I don't know how you can ask for relief while proposing cutbacks in service that could precipitate further losses.
    * I'm very concerned about the lack of the Postal Service's financial transparency. You're coming to Congress for relief with the needed transparency. This is unacceptable.
    ..."
    Article Reference Source: www.postcom.org

  • Video: Title: The Impact of the Economic Crisis on the U.S. Postal Service
    "... U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
    Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information, Federal Services, and International Security
    ..."
    Article Reference Source: hsgac.senate.gov

  • Area offices to reduce staffing levels
    "... With this action, complement at Area Offices has been reduced – some vacant positions have been eliminated, while other occupied positions are impacted. Starting this week, employees occupying impacted positions will be notified and given information and guidance...."
    Article Reference Source: www.postalnewsblog.com
  • Tuesday, January 27, 2009

    Most postal workers refuse anthrax vaccine


    "...During the 2001 anthrax attacks, which resulted in five deaths, 10,000 postal workers and others who were suspected or confirmed to have been exposed received a two-month dose of antibiotics...."    



    This Article is From: www.upi.com

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    AG warns of personalized photo stamps


    "...Blumenthal calls this warning a pre-emptive measure. He says there have been no actual predatorial cases linked to any of the personalized stamps...."    



    This Article is From: www.wtnh.com

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    Enveloping rage: Georgia starts a postal war with Abkhazia


    "...Although they still cannot be used outside Abkhazia due to postal blockade, Eduard Pilia, one of the authors of the Abkhazian stamps project, says collectors from Russia and other countries already consider these stamps as rare and valuable...."    



    This Article is From: www.russiatoday.com

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    Postal union opposes move


    "..."We think moving mail processing to Stamford is going to delay delivery," said Michael Dennehy, president of the American Postal Workers Bridgeport local. "The mail will have to come back from Stamford and as a result it will get to the carriers later. In general that means important pieces like checks, cards and gifts will be delivered later."So the union has filed suit in federal court..."    



    This Article is From: www.connpost.com

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    Monday, January 26, 2009

    Choosing the right day to retire can be a science

    This applies to Federal Retirement

    "...an employee can maximize their annuity, which goes into effect the day after retirement. Annuity is based on completed years and months of service. If an employee opts to retire in the middle of the month, that individual could lose potential compensation. ..."    



    This Article is From: www.tinkertakeoff.com

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    ‘Ghosts,’ The Coast Mississippi featured on three 2009 stamps


    "...The Biloxi Lighthouse is one of five depicted in ‘Lighthouses of the Gulf of Mexico’ commemorative stamp series that will will be issued by the U.S. Postal Service in July. The lighthouse, built in 1818, has come to symbolize survival after surviving Hurricane Katrina when everything near it was..."    



    This Article is From: www.sunherald.com

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    Friday, January 23, 2009

    APWU Local Collects 8,000 Signatures In Support of Consolidation Fight in Florida


    "...an Area Mail Processing study of the feasibility of consolidating some operations at the Manasota and Lakeland (in nearby Polk County, 40 miles from Tampa) facilities in late November. The Manasota Local quickly went into action ..."    



    This Article is From: www.apwu.org

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    Wednesday, January 21, 2009

    Presidential stamp collector awaits Inauguration


    "...George's stamp collection, which once belonged to his mother-in-law, includes stamps that commemorate the Inaugurations of George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and JFK.
    ..."    



    This Article is From: www.kvbc.com

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    Michigan postal carrier busted for stashing nearly 10K pieces of mail in locker


    "... "It's like it got dark and she didn't know what to do with the mail." In what could be dubbed "The Newman Factor," a spate of real-life postal carriers have been caught doing what the fictional "Seinfeld" character did for laughs. ..."    



    This Article is From: www.nydailynews.com

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    Postal Service will study consolidating local distribution facility


    "...Some operations in the U.S. Postal Service’s processing and distribution center in Wilkes-Barre could be consolidated into a similar facility in Scranton..."    



    This Article is From: www.citizensvoice.com

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    Sunday, January 18, 2009

    Mailbox Requires Respect


    "...information published by the USPS, “mailboxes are considered federal property, and federal law (Title 18, United States Code, Section 1705), makes it a crime to vandalize them (and to injure, deface or destroy any mail deposited in them). Violators can be fined up to $250,000 or imprisoned for up to three years for each act of vandalism.” ..."    



    This Article is From: www2.ljworld.com

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    USPS Big Announcement


    OPINION - Apparently the "Big Announcement" from the United States Postal Service either never existed or maybe just delayed because the bigwigs didn't like the fact that news of an announcement had been leaked in advance. Whatever the case, nothing came to fruition relative to the news. The "Big Announcement" at this point is that there is not a big announcement according to an article over at "The National Spending Journal."


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    Friday, January 16, 2009

    Federal Health Plan Open Season Extended


    "...The USPS has indicated that its computer programmers have not been able to modify PostalEASE to accept Open Season changes beyond Dec. 28, but they are working on a solution. Postal officials have assured APWU Health Plan staff that no enrollment changes made as of Jan. 31 will be turned away...."    



    This Article is From: www.apwu.org

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    US Postal Service Offering $10000 Reward

    Reward Offered For Knife-Wielding Robber In O.C

    "...suspect attempted to hold up the post office at 1620 W. First St. in Santa Ana, prompting the U.S. Postal Service to offer the $10,000 reward. The Postal Service takes crimes against its facilities seriously...."    



    This Article is From: cbs2.com

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    Thursday, January 15, 2009

    Cher wants Sonny’s image on stamp, and she’s staying put at Caesars


    "...one-woman crusade to get her late ex-husband, Sonny Bono, a commemorative U.S. Postal Service stamp is true. She’s also successfully enlisted the help of California Rep. Mary Mack, who was married to Sonny..."    



    This Article is From: www.lasvegasweekly.com

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    Bring on the Rumors for USPS’ “Big Annoucement” Friday


    "...On several blogs covering Postal Service issues, the topic is hot. Local postal workers near our offices know about the announcement and all have their own theories...."    



    This Article is From: blog.shoeboxed.com

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    Wednesday, January 14, 2009

    Man "Going Postal" Leaves Suspicious Items in Post Office


    "...leaving behind two packages with suspicious writing on them and no mailing addresses...."    



    This Article is From: www.todaystmj4.com

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    Tuesday, January 13, 2009

    Escondido Location Offers Faster Service for Background Checks


    "...Digital fingerprinting was adapted by the Department of Justice back in 1997. As a result of that legislation, the DOJ developed an automated background check process that requires digitized fingerprints (Live Scan), and beginning January 1, 2000, fingerprints had to be submitted by Live Scan rather than hard copy fingerprint cards...."    



    This Article is From: www.franchising.com

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    Less mail may mean changes for Postal Service


    "...No full-time letter carriers will lose their jobs as a result of the change, said Todd Skulnik, a USPS communications coordinator for the New Hampshire and Vermont region...."    



    This Article is From: www.nashuatelegraph.com

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    Manila Postal Workers Quarantined After Handling Suspicious Envelope


    "...Officials have not yet determined whether any lethal agent was actually inside the envelope, which was addressed to the U.S. Embassy in Manila and mailed from Houston, Texas...."    



    This Article is From: www.globalsecuritynewswire.org

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    More on alleged USPS announcement on Jan. 16, 2009


    "...The prospect of some grand announcement by the USPS on January 16 appears to be..."    



    This Article is From: postal-edaily.blogspot.com

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    Sunday, January 11, 2009

    Picket on Monday for fired postal worker, Clint Burelson


    "...He is the chief shop steward and president of the postal workers union. In these roles, he has consistently stood up for other workers t..."    



    This Article is From: olyblog.net

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    Post Office offers reward to catch postal worker's killers


    "...Mr Hodson-Walker, 29, was shot in the chest when three robbers, armed with a handgun and sledgehammer, targeted the Fairfield Post Office and Stores in Fairfield, north Worcestershire, yesterday morning. ..."    



    This Article is From: www.timesonline.co.uk

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    Friday, January 9, 2009

    After 50 years with postal service, Grahn still going strong


    "...Grahn served in the Navy from 1953 to 1957, and received his first postal experience on board a destroyer escort. "I became interested in this kind of work in the Navy," Grahn said. "I was in communications, and part of my job was the post office. Yeah, we sold a few stamps, but I was the first to go to shore to get the mail and bring it back...."    



    This Article is From: www.wiscnews.com

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    Thursday, January 8, 2009

    It All Adds Up


    "...Postal management’s response to the dismal situation has been in keeping with its historic knee-jerk reaction: Reduce work hours. Service has begun to suffer, and some members of Congress have begun to question whether the USPS is in compliance with its service standards...."    



    This Article is From: www.apwu.org

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    Wednesday, January 7, 2009

    Supervisor ends long, lucky career


    "...After a 35-year tenure with the United States Postal Service, Sanchez won a seat on the Miami Town Council in 1994. Post office rules previously prohibited Sanchez from running for partisan office...."    



    This Article is From: www.paysonroundup.com

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    Thieves target postal drop boxes


    "...Adkins Postmaster Jesse Garcia said the two boxes might be part of a string of several similar incidents, and that the San Antonio metropolitan area has been dealing with a recent spike in this sort of activity. At his post office, Garcia said, they are working to prevent future incidents...."    



    This Article is From: www.wilsoncountynews.com

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    Swap meets thrive by going postal


    "...paperbackswap.com came in. Post a list of books you want to get rid of. Mail them to folks who want them. Get credits to buy other people’s books. Jewell, a 61-year-old Sandy Springs business consultant who reads 300 books a year, swaps out 15 to 20 books a month, costing herself only $25 to $30 a month in postage. Her closets are a bit emptier and she’s happy that “the books have gone to a better place.” ..."    



    This Article is From: www.ajc.com

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    Be skeptical of online ads offering postal jobs


    "..."Postal Inspectors warn that if you should call these promoters for "employment information," you are probably going to very disappointed. In most instances, you will find that you are going to have to pay about $30 to receive information of very dubious value. The con artists may lead you to believe you are talking to someone from the U.S. Postal Service, but no postal jobs will be offered."

    For legitimate information about jobs with the Postal Service, go to the Postal Service's web site: www.usps.com/employment/welcome.htm..."    



    This Article is From: www.palmbeachpost.com

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    Monday, January 5, 2009

    More than 2,000 pounds of pot found in fake postal truck

    "... found last month inside a fake United Parcel Service truck in Pima County, according to a news release. ..."  
    Source: www.abc15.com



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