Postal news for those interested in the mailing industry, postal employees, stamp collecting, etc... This site is not affiliated with the U.S. Postal Service
"...Applicants must apply January 23 through January 27, on line at www.usps.com. Paper applications will not be accepted. CCAs will deliver and collect mail on foot or by vehicle under varying road and weather conditions in a prescribed area. Salary is $15 per hour, with limited benefits..." This Article is From: www.abcactionnews.comRead our latest posts!
.
Cash-strapped Postal Service probed for travel expense waste
"...In September, David Kosturko, a former Postal Service executive, was convicted of defrauding the agency of more than $17,000. According to a February 2011 report from the Office of Inspector General, the Postal Service overpaid more than $600,000 in travel costs as result of improper claims ..."
Even if It Enrages Your Boss, Social Net Speech Is Protected
"...a series of recent rulings and advisories, labor regulators have declared many such blanket restrictions illegal. The National Labor Relations Board says workers have a right to discuss work conditions freely and without fear of retribution, whether the discussion takes place at the office or on Facebook. ..." This Article is From: www.nytimes.com Read our latest posts!
.
Postal Service: Accelerated mail processing plant downsizing not linked to new board directive
"... the Postal Service announces that its governing board has given orders to accelerate cost-cutting measures. On Thursday, the Postal Service notifies the National Postal Mail Handlers Union that it is speeding up the shutdown of mail processing operations at 18 plants...."
"... As a result, a letter mailed by Perkins to a client in Cordova, is now flown approximately two hundred miles from Cordova to Anchorage where it is sorted by automated sorting equipment and then flow back to Cordova, where likely the same postal employee who took Perkins's letter at the front counter several days ago puts it into the client’s post office box...."
2 arrested, a third sought in Postal Service plastics theft
"...Sheriff's Department’s Industrial Plastic Theft Task Force arrested the two Wednesday night at the warehouse, where detectives say the men were grinding stolen trademarked plastic products into chips to be sold to plastics manufacturers, according to a Sheriff’s Department report...."
Lance Armstrong in talks to return Postal Service money
"...While total figures are not available, USPS paid more than $30 million to sponsor the cycling team between 2001 and 2004, according to documents reviewed by ESPN and the Wall Street Journal. ..."
Arbitration board issues award: Sets terms of the 2011-2016 National Agreement;
‘NALC achieves its major goals,’ Rolando says
"...The Das board rejected the Postal Service’s proposals to freeze pay, eliminate cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) and implement a two-tier wage schedule for career city carriers. Instead, the new contract provides three general wage increases between now and the end of the contract: 1 percent in November 2013, 1.5 percent in November 2014, and 1 percent in November 2015. It also provides for the payment of seven COLAs between now and 2016, though the two COLAs calculated in 2013 will be deferred and paid in 2014. These wage and COLA provisions follow the wage pattern established by the negotiated American Postal Workers Union (APWU) contract and the arbitrated National Rural Letter Carriers’ Association (NRLCA) contract. However, the award lowered the entry wage for new career letter carriers..."
D.C. Post Office Gets 106 Baby Chicks After Shipping Mix-Up
"...Post Office, because... because they know how to care for farm animals? OK, so we're pretty sure that enjoying the presence of 106 peeping chicks would be a fun way to pass the time while waiting in line. But the post office ..." This Article is From: www.nbcwashington.comRead our latest posts!
.
"...complaining about long lines at post offices, delayed mail and returned mail. They say Williston, Watford City, Ray and Tioga have been among the most affected communities...."
USPS warns of “risky” approach to flats pricing policy
"...The move is prompted by the Postal Regulatory Commission’s 2010 order that rates should rise towards full cost coverage, so that other mail services do not subsidise the shipping of items like catalogues...."
"...would allow private companies to deliver parcels up until the "last delivery mile," according to the Washington Post. A Postal Service letter carrier would still be responsible for that last mile, physically delivering letters and packages to their recipients...." "The study is being underwritten by Connecticut-based firm Pitney Bowes, which already contracts with the Postal Service for portions of its operations and could stand to benefit from the agency's further privatization."
Despite fiscal cliff deal, taxes to rise for most Americans
"...That's because the legislation did nothing to prevent a temporary reduction in the Social Security payroll tax from expiring. In 2012, that 2-percentage-point cut in the payroll tax was worth about $1,000 to a worker making $50,000 a year...."
Huntersville woman wins $1 million Powerball; 2nd ticket unclaimed
"...The retired U.S. postmaster found out she won while checking the numbers in The Charlotte Observer. “I said, ‘Oh, I have some numbers for a change,” LaFave recalled Monday as she collected her prize. “My birthday numbers were there. I saw the fourth number. Then..."
"... The 1950 Pennsylvania Railroad calendar never made it to James W. Flanagan, general manager of the Scranton Times. He would never need it: he died in December 1949. But on Friday, 63 years after his death, the U.S. Postal Service made a delivery...." This Article is From: citizensvoice.comRead our latest posts!
.
"...The 1st COLA will become effective the first full pay period after the release of the January 2013 CPI-W, tentatively scheduled for March 9, 2013 (pay period 07-2013, pay date March 29, 2013). Note: both the 1st and 3rd COLAs under the 2010 National Agreement will be effective on this date.
The 2nd COLA will be $375.00 per year, $14.40 per pay period, $0.18 per hour and will be effective the second full pay period following the release of the July 2013 index. The expected effective date will be Sept. 7, 2013 (Pay Period 20-2013). Note: both the 2nd and 4th COLAs under the 2010 National Agreement will be effective on this date...."
"...Before she left the president of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers said: "If you compare the four years before Greene with the four years under Greene's management… injuries have gone up 15.4 per cent and grievances have gone up 59.3 per cent." ..."
UPS delivery man steals iPad Mini after FedEx delivered it
"...Alverson contacted UPS over the phone to complain about the theft, but felt like he was “getting the run around” by the people handling the claim according to an interview with KHOU News. After posting the video footage to YouTube and Vimeo on Wednesday night,..."
USPS Kicks off Same Day Delivery with Gourmet Gifts
"...Metro Post will be available for purchases involving four of 1-800-FLOWERS.COM's gourmet gift brands, including popcorn and specialty treats from The Popcorn Factory; cookies and baked gifts from Cheryl's; premium chocolates and confections from Fannie May fine chocolates; and gift baskets and towers from 1-800-Baskets.com...."
Fort Wayne police rescue 4 postal workers after armed robbery
"...Police formed a perimeter around the post office and called for city SWAT teams, which entered the building and rescued the four employees, police spokeswoman Officer Raquel Foster said in the statement..."
"...A U.S. Postal Service employee who was fired for “excessive use of military service” when he tried to return to work after four years on active duty with the National Guard must be reinstated with over $2 million in back pay..."
Postal workers stage second hunger strike as House-Senate talks on legislation continue
"...As Senate-House negotiations continue for a possible year-end deal to help the financially struggling U.S. Postal Service, a small band of protesters plan to launch their second hunger strike in six months on Tuesday...."
"...Tester compared executive pay at the U.S. Postal Service to the annual salaries made by the Secretary of Treasury, Tim Geithner, and the Secretary of Defense, Leon Panetta -- $199,700...."
Former corrections officer confesses to postal killings on tape shown to judge
"...A former corrections officer told investigators last year that killing two postal workers in 2010 in Henning "didn't bother me one bit"..." This Article is From: www.commercialappeal.com Read our latest posts!
.
"...Either some of us are entirely too lazy to click the mail tab at the top of Google, or we are really interested in news about the United States Postal Service..." This Article is From: www.myfoxboston.comRead our latest posts!
.
"...postal official has been accused of taking payments from contractors and steering money to a company he allegedly established under someone else's name...."
911 call: Postal worker impaled by pole during crash
"...A steel rod goes through a postal worker's body during a freak accident on the job. Twenty-seven years delivering mail, and she never imagined this kind of job injury...."
"...Lance Armstrong resisted turning over records sought by U.S Postal Service investigators, then tried to keep the inquiry under seal and out of the public eye, according to recently released court documents...."
Man receives Christmas snail mail from mother 69 years late
"...Postal mail is often referred to as "snail mail" because it is much slower than electronic messages, however this story perhaps gives new meaning to the phrase...."
"...I have lived here since 1959, and I have never seen a mess like the Postal Service is now. In the past, I have sent mail to Missouri, and it made it in three days. To have something mailed from the Lower 48, you have to pay two to three times more in postage because we are supposedly overseas...."
James Island mailman faces second charge of sniffing canned air
"...In the parking lot, Hampton’s boss at the Postal Service said Hampton recently had been cleared for work after he was arrested in early November. His supervisor told a police officer Tuesday that she had found Hampton slumped in..."
USPS awards $30m contract to firm it is suing for $390m
"...The US Postal Service has awarded a $30m contract to Northrop Grumman Corporation at the same time it is attempting to sue the company over breaches of another contract, seeking a nine-figure sum...."
But it’s not just the sheer amount of mail here that’s worrying; the attitude of at least one member of staff leads us to believe that no amount of “fragile” and “keep upright” stickers adhered to our precious cargo is going to make an ounce of difference at this particular sorting office This article is from: rocketnews24.com
.
"...I used a priority mail box from the post office because I have so many of them around for sending things out it was easy to grab, and I like that it already says "priority". They are free from the US Post Office, but I recommend if you pick one up, use it for your Elf and then actually mail something with it. The post mark I downloaded from 2012 Christmas North Pole Postmark Cancellation and it is also free-thank you to them for providing that!..." This Article is From: www.mommysavers.comRead our latest posts!
.
U.S. Postmaster General: "We're facing our own fiscal cliff"
"...Privatization of the Postal Service has been a topic of discussion for years, but the issue is delivering to the areas the U.S.P.S. does. "We're required by law to provide universal service to the American public at a universal price," he said. "(FedEx and UPS) are great companies. But there are many parts of the country that FedEx and UPS don't deliver, but maybe two times a week. If we had the flexibility to change delivery schedules, we would make money, too."..."
What Do the USPS Financial Troubles Mean for Mailbox Franchises and Independent Mailbox Store Owners?
"...The Mail Box Stores, the largest independent non-franchise developer of mailbox stores in North America. According to her, while overall the number of deliveries for USPS may have decreased the decline in mail overall is not necessarily down as much as the USPS numbers may make it seem. Increased population..."
Pitney Bowes Software’s Data Analytics Says Houston, Atlanta and Washington DC Will Add the Most New Households in Next Five Years
"...“Projected household growth is a critical indicator for the economic prospects of a specific geographic area, and this data can help real estate, retail and a range of other businesses, plan their growth strategy scientifically,” said John O’Hara, President of Pitney Bowes Software. “It is no longer acceptable to make strategic business decisions on gut feel alone. Given the plethora of data, and the advanced tools for analyzing it, business leaders can stay ahead of real estate trends for planning.”..." *More than 100,000 households
Network Rationalization Update, with detailed schedule of changes
"...It's still possible that phase 2 will never happen. The Postal Regulatory Commission's advisory opinion basically recommended against it, at least until the Postal Service could see the effects of phase 1 and do some Post-Implementation Reviews. Since the Postal Service first announced the Network Rationalization initiative in December 2011, it has changed the plan several times...."
Hubbard v USPS Settlement - Deaf and Hard of Hearing Employees who...
Excerpt from website: "...The settlement agreement affects the following individuals, who are considered eligible class members: All current and former Deaf and Hard of Hearing Employees who were employed by the Postal Service between November 14, 2001, and the Effective Date, who allege that: (1) they were denied communication accommodations, including interpreters, for critical workplace meetings and events; (2) they were denied TTY for phone communications; (3) they were denied emergency evacuation notification systems; (4) they were subjected to a hostile work environment and/or harassment due to their deafness or hearing impairment; and/or (5) they were denied promotional opportunities and/or assistance to pursue promotional opportunities within the Postal Service due to their deafness or hearing impairment. ..."
"...Village post offices are operated by local businesses contracting with the postal service, and offer a range of products and services including stamps and flat-rate packaging...."
"...By letter dated November 16, the Postal Service has notified the NPMHU of an updated list of facilities that will be impacted in February 2013. The NPMHU will be meeting with Postal Headquarters to determine the impacts, by Installation, and to ensure that all appropriate Contractual provisions are adhered to regarding the affected Mail Handlers. ..."
"...It would allow the USPS to offer buyouts and early retirement packages to 100,000 employees, and authorize a switch to five-day delivery – eliminating Saturday mail service – if the Postal Service cannot come up with other cost savings within two years...." This Article is From: www.metrowestdailynews.comRead our latest posts!
.
US Postal Service points to dozens of retirements as it pushes for more NM hires
"...The jobs are described as transitional and postal support positions. None of the jobs offer benefits, but some come with the potential of permanent employment with the agency. The pay ranges from $12.38 to $16 per hour...."
"...What follows from these arguments is a series of draconian proposals from the Postal Service, including – for current mail handlers – absolutely no general wage increases, no cost-of-living adjustments, and a drastic increase in employee contributions for health insurance to the current rate paid by federal employees. Another proposal from the Postal Service seeks to substantially modify, and effectively eliminate, the current no lay-off clause...."
"...Neither rain, nor sleet, nor gloom of night shall keep you from carrying it all to wherever your travels may take you. Handmade from repurposed mail sacks, this sturdy, canvas tote delivers edgy style to your daily stash of cards, keys, notes and electronics...." This Article is From: www.terracycle.comRead our latest posts!
.
"...benefits covering about 471,000 current postal employees shrank to $2.6 billion from $10.9 billion a year earlier, John Berry, director of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, said in an Oct. 30 letter to Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe...."
"...At first, Eric Ferguson thought the upside-down flag flying outside the Clarkson post office on Lake Road was an honest mistake. But with the flag still broadcasting a distress signal five days after he first notified post office staff of the error, he isn’t so sure...." This Article is From: www.democratandchronicle.comRead our latest posts!
.
"..."I don't really have a concern about work falling between the cracks. And the reason I say that is because the Postal Service is probably at an all-time high of delivery service to its customers," Vegliante said. "Our customer satisfaction measurements are all increasing...." This Article is From: www.federalnewsradio.comRead our latest posts!
.
U.S. Postal Service Considering Billing Board Of Election For Absentee Ballot Postage Confusion
"...The ballot turned out to be heavier than the board originally thought, and the postage required on them increased to 65 cents. Instead of noting on the envelop how many stamps are required, it just reads “Place stamp here.”..."
In Oregon secretary of state's race, Brown and Buehler continue to spar over ballot postage issue
"...The issue arose in the last few days following the release of an Oct. 31 letter that Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe sent to Trout saying he was denying Trout's request to "cease this practice" of delivering postage-short ballots. ..."
"...The plant has already scaled back their operations and are closed on Saturdays.
The US Postal Service said that it plans to close the plant on April 14th, 2014; the day before tax day. The Post Office portion of the location would remain open...."
12 INVESTIGATES: Improvements at USPS Sandston plant
"...major problems with mail delivery in Central Virginia. Packages, bills, letters and magazines sitting at the Sandston Distribution Center, untouched and delivered weeks late. ..."
"..."The U.S. Postal Service is committed to the safety of its employees and the delivery of mail and packages to every address in America," Patricia Licata, a USPS senior public relations representative of told BusinessNewsDaily in a prepared statement. "We regularly deliver mail in adverse conditions and therefore, where it’s safe to do so, USPS will continue to deliver the mail in areas impacted by Hurricane Sandy. ..."
"...The local eligible workers represent about 40 percent of the 395 members of the American Postal Workers Union Akron Local 120. They work at the Akron mail processing and distribution center on Wolf Ledges Parkway and at post offices, stations and branches in the Akron area...."
Postal Service acknowledges Birmingham absentee ballot problem
"...She started asking questions and received concerning answers. USPS says mail processing equipment erroneously read the return address as the mailing address. They did not specify if the error occurred in Birmingham or in Montgomery, where the mail was post marked...."
Democracy in 'Suspense': Why Arizona's Native Voters Are in Peril
"...Like most people living on the Navajo Nation, White uses a PO Box. The US Postal Service doesn’t deliver to homes because many of them are far off from paved highways where there are no streets—much less street names. The occurrence is so common that Arizona’s..."
Fiber-optic data firm buys former Postal Service building in Nashua
"...In what could be considered a metaphor for changes rattling much of society, a building created to move physical pieces of mail in trucks will now be devoted to moving bits of data in fiber-optic cables...."
"...USPS wants to keep its employees informed and prepared during times of change. That’s why it has developed dedicated websites to keep employees and managers current...."
Postal Service, IG at odds on whether top exec’s $306K compensation package over legal limit
"...The officer, who was not named, made a total last year of $306,250 in annual salary, pension and bonus, IG auditors found in a newly released report. That would be well above the maximum pay limit of $276,840..."
US direct mail giant urges rethink on Standard Mail pricing
"...rate increase set to come into effect on 27th January, 2013, will not be high enough to cover the costs of the Standard Mail Flats service. The company said in failing to meet its costs, USPS was breaking US postal law, and putting its own financial health at risk..."
"...Lance Armstrong was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles and banned for life on Monday after the International Cycling Union (UCI) ratified the United States Anti-Doping Agency's (USADA) sanctions against the American...."
"...Octomom believes her mail lady isn't just delivering the mail ... she's delivering information about her to other people ... and Octo wants her fired for it! Octo's rep tells TMZ her security caught the mail lady..."
Postal Service sides with Clerks on one of the AFCS-200 assignments
"...In a letter faxed to the NPMHU office on Friday evening, September 28, 2012, the Postal Service has outlined its intent to assign one “operator position” on the new AFCS-200 to the clerical craft. The primary craft for the induction activities on the AFCS-200 will remain with the mail handler craft.
..." This Article is From: www.npmhu.orgRead our latest posts!
.
A historical perspective by Mr. William Burrus, former APWU President
"...Resolution of a remedy was achieved and thousands of employees were provided payment for the assignment of work to improperly hired casual employees. Perhaps even more important was the system that was agreed to for future hiring of casuals. Prior to the union challenge, each office was free to employ casuals without respect to the number hired in other offices so there was no internal control over compliance with the 5% limitation. As a gesture to resolve the dispute postal management offered in arbitration to implement headquarters’ control to monitor the hiring of casuals. This voluntary means of control was incorporated into the arbitration award and the union achieved a means of monitoring the use of casuals to ensure that the contractual limits were not exceeded. ..."
APWU, USPS Sign Agreement For Offices Without a Local Union Structure
"...negotiated the changes in the memorandum, which now permits Postal Support Employees (PSEs) from nearby offices to be utilized in small offices in order to provide vacation relief...."
Postal cuts meant to help small towns may still hurt
"...reductions as eroding a service that many in small towns have come to rely upon. As postmaster, Rust said she spent many nights at the Buffalo Post Office because she was snowed in, or because a blizzard was on its way and she knew she wouldn’t make it in the next day from her home in Casselton...."
"...“Our goal was to achieve an incentive for members who are ready to end their postal careers; to ensure that no groups of employees are excluded, and to lessen the hardships of excessing for those who remain,” Cliff Guffey, the president of APWU, said in a statement. “This agreement accomplishes those objectives.” ..."
"...The APWU has negotiated a retirement incentive agreement that awards eligible full-time career employees a $15,000 payment in two installments, President Cliff Guffey has announced. The first installment will be $10,000; the second will be $5,000...."
U.S. Postal Service will skip out on controversial payment
"...Last Wednesday, Sept. 26, the U.S. Postal Service announced that it will not make the scheduled payment of $5.6 billion to prefund retiree health benefits, which was due Sunday, Sept. 30. The payment was mandated by Congress under a 2006 law ..."
"...Having achieved the one billion dollar annual savings from the APWU contract and anticipated cost reductions from service standard changes and consolidations, Congress is in no hurry to travel the political minefield of five day delivery and shredding of the negotiations process. ..."
"... Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney intimated that he would make deeper changes to the government workforce if federal employees weren’t unionized, during secretly taped remarks at a recent private fundraiser in Florida...."
"...I am a CSRS USPS employee (age 56 with 35 years’ service) thinking about retiring at the end of the year. Do the same dates hold true for postal workers as federal employees? To maximize my benefits..."
Mitt Romney: No apologies, but 'victims' comment not elegantly stated
"...Romney plans no apology for stating that nearly half of Americans "believe that they are victims." Instead, he is expected to respond to questions about the statement by reinforcing the message he delivered at a hastily called news conference Monday night, in which he said Obama favors "a government-centered society" with people dependent on public support...." This Article is From: www.newsday.com Read our latest posts! .
"...A 64 year old postal worker went home from the hospital, without his heart. Now the world's only artificial heart is keeping him alive. Leroy Hanes is now home, all because of a portable power supply..."
"...The new Restoration Hardware catalog has been landing – with a thud – in mailboxes across the country, weighing in at a whopping 5 1/2 pounds...." This Article is From: www.news.ruralinfo.net Read our latest posts! .
"...More than 4,100 career postmasters — almost 20 percent of the total — signed up for $20,000 buyout and early retirement offers, the Postal Service said last month. Almost 3,800 had left by the end of July; another 330 are set to go by the end of September...."
Congress faces continuing resolution, sequestration and postal reform
"...Amid the election-year politicking, the list of unfinished business also includes legislation to restructure the financially ailing U.S. Postal Service and a cybersecurity bill that aims to safeguard the nation's critical infrastructure...."
Valassis' sweet deal a sour pill for everyone else
"...Suddenly — and "suddenly" is the appropriate word since the USPS' deal with Valassis was made effective immediately — newspapers, and everyone else in the direct mail business, found themselves in competition with a company that had secured a sweetheart arrangement with a government agency...."
New Haven, CT MPO - Mechanical & Building Automation System Upgrade
"...There will be a pre-proposal for this project held on September 12, 2012 beginning at 10:00 a.m. on site. Attendance is not mandatory but is strongly recommended. On-site visits may be arranged by contacting Richard Bryant, Manager, Maintenance, at (203) 782-7351. Technical inquires are to be addressed to Project Architect Evelyn Cole Smith of CME Associates, Inc. at (860) 928-7848 or USPS Project Manager Robert A. Giulietti at (860) 285-7176...."
"...Watzlawick’s wife, Kay, said her husband had been feeling ill from the heat the day before he died and asked to be relieved from work early. But he told her a supervisor said no because he had been on vacation the week before when he was recovering a medical procedure on his knee. ..."
Postal manuals from 1940s donated to national museum
"...Buried in the corner of an unused closet for at least 35 years, the book was recently found by Clermont Postmaster Sandy Perkins, who was looking through a dust-covered box at the post office building...."
"...Carl Desert, 30, was arrested Friday in the courtyard of his apartment complex, where police and the postal inspector say he identified him-- self as the occupant of the address and even signed for the package. Inside were 1,345 oxycodone pills hidden..." This Article is From: bostonherald.com Read our latest posts! .
Duck stamps that boost wetlands, birds aren’t just for hunters
"... The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says 98 percent of proceeds from sales of the stamp are used to acquire and protect vital wetlands supports hundreds of species of migratory birds, wildlife and plants. The stamps can be purchased from the U.S. Postal Service, from some sporting goods shops and online. Since the program’s inception in 1934, Federal Duck Stamp sales have raised more than..."
"...he Postal Service Employment Verification. The following will provide you with the information needed to verify employment with the U.S. Postal Service. We are not affiliated with the U.S. Postal Service or..."