Sunday, March 30, 2014

Maintenance Craft PSE Conversion to Career - Steps Outlined

Maintenance Memo Outlines Steps For PSE Conversion to Career

"...A March 28 agreement with the USPS [PDF] outlines the procedure for the conversion of Maintenance Craft Postal Support Employees to career, Maintenance Craft Director Steve Raymer has announced...."    


This Article is From: www.apwu.org
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Friday, March 28, 2014

2 Time Purple Heart Vet Claims Corruption After Firing At Fayetteville, Tennessee Post Office

Former War Vet Turned Mail Carrier Claims Post Office Corruption After Firing
Karah Adams
Karah Adams
"...a cover to get rid of her after she wouldn’t go along with post office corruption she called “blatant.” “A lot of stuff that goes on in the Fayetteville Post Office, it is intimidation and harassment at its best,” said Adams. “I did my job and I did it well.”..."    

This Article is From: whnt.com
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Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Postal Buyout 2015? - PMG Says the USPS will not offer early retirement or buyout incentives

USPS Slashing 10,000 Jobs in 2015

"...USPS will not offer early retirement or buyout incentives, Patrick Donahoe said at the National Postal Forum, instead relying exclusively on not filling positions after employees separate from the agency. ..."    


This Article is From: www.govexec.com

Fact Check: How accurate are statements by the PMG and the Post Office as a whole? You decide. The article referenced above claims the USPS will be reducing employee numbers by "relying exclusively on not filling positions after employees separate from the agency." So in a fact check on this statement we find this announcement not long after the aforementioned article: Post Office Hiring in Memphis. An additional check on the USPS careers site identifies hiring in many crafts, albeit it is obvious the postal service is attempting to shift to a more non-career workforce to replace employees. Giving the PMG partial credit in his statement, the article does mention '2015', so maybe beefing up the workforce in '2014' will lend accuracy to the statement of reductions in '2015'. (LOL)


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Sanctity of the Mail: President Jimmy Carter Puts His Trust in The United States Postal Service For Secure Communication

Carter says he hand-writes letters to avoid US surveillance

"...Former US President Jimmy Carter has said he hand-writes letters to foreign and US leaders in an effort to evade what he described as pervasive US electronic surveillance...."    


This Article is From: www.bbc.com

The U.S. Mail is the most secure communication standard that exist. Sanctity of the mail is taken very seriously by postal employees.

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Friday, March 21, 2014

Whatever happened to the much needed 'stamp vending machines'

The U.S. Postal Disservice

www.etsy.com
Photo Courtesy of Etsy
Why is it you cannot go to the lobby of a U.S. Post Office and purchase a stamp after-hours? Well it seems the Postal Service decided to remove the stamp vending machines citing the expense required to repair and replace the antiquated machines. The Postal Service has attempted to quietly 'play it off' that changes in U.S. currency to prevent counterfeiting made it too costly to update machines to handle new bills, as well as a decline in first-class mail. Although the not-so-naive customer identifies it as a move to privatizing another once great service. Of course the elimination of stamp machines has come at a greater cost in convenience and loss of revenue generated by eliminating that convenience. The postal service came up with a plan to eliminate its 23,000 vending machines by 2010.


To this day, you still hear customers grumbling during 'after hours' stops to local Post Office lobbies, complaining about the absence of a stamp vending machine. Many are actually angry that when at the spur of the moment they want to make a quick run to the local Post Office after hours to mail a quick letter or birthday card only to find they now have to go to a 'convenience store' to buy a book of stamps, stand in line, fight the traffic, only to have to return to the Post Office to mail the letter because the Postal Service has not only removed the stamp machines, but have also removed the majority of the freestanding blue boxes where people could quickly mail letters. As one customer remarked, "It's like the U.S. Postal Service is purposely attempting to anger us so we become frustrated with the lack of convenience so that we are forced to turn to private retail businesses to pick up a stamp. It just seems the Postal Service should now be called the U.S. Postal Disservice! Why would a business want to turn customers away from a business model that worked so well at one time and is still needed and desired just as much today? It just doesn't make sense."    
This Article is From: The Postal Newsgroup
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Tuesday, March 18, 2014

PMG Donahoe said the concept of a separate health plan for postal employees is a ‘dead issue’

Postal Service to reduce workforce by 10,000

"...The bill does not allow the Postal Service to break off from the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program as the Postal Service had suggested previously...."    


This Article is From: www.federaltimes.com
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Sunday, March 16, 2014

Postal truck flips in accident

USPS truck collides with car, flips over in SE Houston

"...accident Friday afternoon in southeast Houston involving a United States Postal Service truck and..."    


This Article is From: www.khou.com
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Sunday, March 9, 2014

Unopened 'leased' post office has cost the USPS $180,000

U.S. Postal Service pays $180,000 for unopened post office

"...The Postal Service pays Brian McCarthy Family LTD $30,916.87 annually to lease a 1,500-interior-square-foot property inside the McCarthy Flowers building, according to a spreadsheet provided by the agency. The lease agreement lasts through May 2023. ..."    


This Article is From: thetimes-tribune.com
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Friday, March 7, 2014

Staples’ Decision to Close 225 Stores: Further Proof That It ’s a Bad Idea To Move U.S Post Offices into Staples Stores

Staples’ Decision to Close 225 Stores: Further Proof That It ’s a Bad Idea To Move U.S Post Offices into Staples Stores

"..."This proves, more than ever," said APWU President Mark Dimondstein, "that it’s a bad idea to turn public services over to a private company that can close stores at will, with no public input and no public comment. "Staples currently has a no-bid, sweetheart deal to operate postal counters — staffed by poorly trained, low-wage, high-turnover employees — at more than 80 of its stores," he said. "The U.S. Postmaster General has said he plans to expand this “pilot plan” to 1,500 U.S. Staples’ stores. And bills pending in Congress would make it easier to close and sell off U.S. Post Offices," he added. ..."    


This Article is From: www.apwu.org
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Thursday, March 6, 2014

White House Backs Toxic 'Carper' Postal Overhaul

White House Backs Major Postal Overhaul

"...Their plan would require eligible retirees to use Medicare as their primary health care provider. ..."    


This Article is From: www.govexec.com
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Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Americans want the post office to stay exactly the way it is

USPS: Americans Still Love Mail
America Loves the Postal Service Just the Way It Is
America Loves The Postal Service 'As Is'
"...The report from the U.S. Postal Service found Americans want the post office to stay exactly the way it is. Even though the agency is currently in a financial bind, residents still love sending and receiving letters. ..."    

This Article is From: www.wics.com
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Monday, March 3, 2014

Quad/Graphics Inc. to shave USPS rate increases through 'new investments'

Quad makes investments to counter postal rate hike

"...Because Quad ships so many pieces of direct mail and publications, over the years it has created such a tight relationship with the U.S. Postal Service that Quad in some ways effectively acts as an extension of the Post Office. Quad pre-sort magazines and catalogs, which creates efficiencies for the Post Office "mail-stream" and entitles Quad to bulk mailing discounts...."    


This Article is From: www.jsonline.com
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