"...There is no word on when — or if — the committee will reconvene to finish consideration of the legislation, S. 1486. Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee meeting, Jan. 29, 2014 Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee meeting, Jan. 29, 2014 “The bill would be devastating for postal workers and the people of the country..."
"...Since 2000, the Postal Service has shed 300,000 career jobs — a drop of almost 40 percent. The Postal Service eliminated 37,400 jobs in fiscal 2013 alone. And it’s not going to get any better. Over the next few years, postal jobs are going to keep disappearing — at a faster rate than in any other sector of the labor force. According to the Occupational Outlooks Handbook just put out by the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, by 2022 the number of clerks, mail processing workers, and letter carriers will decline another 28 percent — 139,000 more jobs gone...."
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| Keith Jardine [myspace photo] |
"...the postponement of the implementation date for the revised service standards for market-dominant mail products that were scheduled to take effect on February 1, 2014, as part of the Network Rationalization initiative. The new implementation date will be announced by the Postal Service in the Federal Register at least 90 days before it takes effect...."
In an article from the American Postal Workers Union, "The Postal Service announced in the Federal Register on Jan. 24 that it is postponing Phase 2 of its latest mail processing consolidation plan, which was slated to begin on Feb. 1. The USPS is also delaying implementation of changes to service standards that would have further slowed the mail, to the detriment of customers and postal workers."
Mail processing facility closures were contingent upon revisions to mail service standards changes. The postponement of service standard changes are a major victory for the citizens of the United States of America, employees of the Postal Service and mailers alike. It is obvious that the citizens of this country have spoken loudly and want to save the timely delivery and universal mail service to all patrons. To have purposely slowed the mail in this country would have been a disservice to everyone and would have only led to the possible destruction of the Postal Service as well as a move toward privatization which we all realize would lead to exorbitant rate increases for first-class mail. This decision may be a realization that our government is actually listening to the desires of the citizens of this great country and will preserve an institution that is vital to the infrastructure of our country. We applaud the intelligent decision to, at least, temporarily put a halt to the destruction of the United States Postal Service and the network as we know it today. The Postal Service is like the United States Military, as it was not designed to be a 'for profit' entity, but was constructed to provide an efficient and effective service to its citizens.
Is the Postal Service becoming too dependent on a management program that has been discounted by some as a proven failure? It appears they are employing 'Six Sigma' heavily[1], but history and the S&P 500 may be proof as to why the Postal Service may be investing in the wrong direction with Six Sigma. Read more on the process and you decide.
"...In fact, of 58 large companies that have announced Six Sigma programs, 91 percent have trailed the S&P 500 since, according to an analysis by Charles Holland of consulting firm Qualpro (which espouses a competing quality-improvement process). ..."
Link Appreciation Return: http://postalaffairsblog.intelisent.com/six-sigma-postal-service-touting-program-of-failure-to-managers/
"...documents released this week to the PRC indicate that the plan may have another purpose — preparing the way for ending Saturday delivery. In the Request, the Postal Service explains the rationale for the plan this way: “By changing the service standard for DSCF Standard Mail..."
"... While an individual mailer dropping off a postcard may not be affected by this proposal, most large mailers would feel the delay. The revised delivery schedule would impact about 32 percent of overall mail, or 62 percent of standard mail. The Postal Service called its plan “load leveling..."
"...The revisions would change the service standard (a) from three days to four days for Standard Mail pieces that..."
"... USPS, said employees can request access to two types of applications: packages and products that are licensed, such as Microsoft’s Visio, and Web-based applications such as USPS’ eCareer and its time and attendance system...."
"...“My understanding is the Post Office has been declining to deliver these packages and sending them back to shippers, and it seems to be getting more and more acute,” Stanford said. “I’ve heard gut-wrenching stories of people waiting on critical packages lost in limbo. How can we improve this? Right now it’s just unacceptable. It’s not servicing the residents of our community.”..."
"...the USPS’s shipping and package services grew to $12.5 billion in fiscal year 2013, representing approximately 19% of its revenues. The USPS said package volume grew by 210 million pieces (6%), and that fiscal year revenues increased $923 million...."
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| Military Vets in the U.S. Postal Service |
"...It means working to ensure that the post office continues to be a good place to work — with job security, decent wages, and good benefits — and remembering that the post office provides jobs to thousands of veterans, minorities, the disabled, and women. It means doing your postal business at your local post office, not some Village Post Office or the postal counter in Staples, and it means challenging workshare discounts, outsourcing, and all the other forms of piecemeal privatization. ..."
"...Allison says over the past few months, even more zip codes have been added to the Birmingham plant. "During the time of the post office right now we've been doing some consolidations. So we've consolidated Huntsville plant into the Birmingham plant here. ..."
Reference: http://www.animalnewyork.com/2013/watch-ups-tetris-24-hour-holiday-delivery-time-lapse/
"...pulled a knife on two women who were closing up a Washington Heights post office Tuesday, law enforcement officials say. Sable fled with about $2,000 and was arrested several hours later...."
"...If the Postal Service can't handle the higher volume, it will have long term financial implications as well since potential patrons could choose another delivery source, the report says...."
"...For the first time ever, post offices in Dallas, Forth Worth, and Arlington were open and processing mail on a Sunday...."
"...Postal Service spokesman George Flood says employees were evacuated when the fire began in a mail processing machine at the New Jersey International & Network Distribution Center..."
"...U.S. Postal Service spokesman Ernie Swanson said Ketchikan's sorting equipment gave out and it's not practical to replace it right now...."
"... The result is that my office has received numerous complaints from local governments and businesses concerned about timely delivery of bills and receipt of payments for taxes, utilities, goods, and services.” “I would urge you to review the decision to fly Ketchikan-bound mail hundreds of miles from Ketchikan to Juneau and back to Ketchikan..."
"...The USPS is expecting a higher than normal mail volume on Mondays during the holidays “Normally, we do not cancel and process mail on Sundays, but we are expecting our local mail volume to increase from about..."
"...sent a couple clerks from Juneau to help ease staffing problems at the Skagway post office...."
"...provisions in the 2013 Postal Reform Act that would restructure its health care plan, shift to a six-day package / five-day mail delivery model..."
"...The plant closures have resulted in increased travel times, with mail taking longer to get to local post offices and pushing back carrier start times from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. Once the mail arrives at local offices, there are now fewer clerks to sort the mail to routes and fewer carriers to cover existing and vacant routes, resulting in many carriers working shifts of more than 12 hours, and well into the evening hours...."
"...darkness and later starts – because of slower processing due to facility consolidations – means carriers are on the streets well after dark. “There were several carriers still on the street after 10 o’clock ..."
"...“Our trucks have been late from Birmingham,” Cheatham said. “The Postal Service has consolidated Huntsville and Tuscaloosa in Birmingham, and they haven’t been able to work all the load.” As of 10:45 a.m. Thursday, Cheatham said the Alexander City Post Office had yet to receive its Birmingham mail shipment. ..."
"...A U.S. Postal Service mail carrier was shot and killed Saturday night while on his rounds..."
"...A Texas actress accused of mailing ricin-laced letters to President Barack Obama and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has reached a plea deal with federal..."
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| USPS.com |
"...The dispute caps more than a year of friction between the Postal Service and the Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee, named by the postmaster general to help make sure that the American experience is properly portrayed. ..."
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| www.amazon.com |
for your younger children. A great learning toy! Enjoy the thrill of receiving personal mail every day with this wooden mailbox activity set. With 6 letters and 6 removable stamps, it’s fun to sort the mail into the mailbox, and then open the door with the wooden key for special delivery.
..."
"...The Postal Service has an operating profit through the first three quarters of fiscal 2013. The agency — which gets no taxpayer money, instead generating its own revenue by selling stamps — has earned $330 million more this year than..."
This Article is From: www.mydesert.com
"...The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) expects to ship 15 billion pieces of mail and packages between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Eve. USPS management claims this will be a record. The number represents a surge of 12% from last year...."
"...According to the inspector general, the Postal Service failed to identify fuel overpayments by contractors on Highway Contract Routes (HCR), which covers more than 17,000 drivers...."
This Article is From: freebeacon.com
"...Qualified employee selections will be made during this period for the 10/15 – 10/30 job postings. Job applicants will be informed in the usual manner if they were or were not selected for the position. On November 29, 2013, VER applicants complete the Acknowledgement of Irrevocability and Application for Immediate Retirement, and send to the HRSSC (Human Resources Shared Service Center) per instructions provided in the offering packet. After your forms are received at the HRSSC (must be received no later than 8:30 PM EST on November 29, 2013) you will be mailed additional forms required to complete the retirement process and information needed to schedule your retirement information session. Proof of mailing is recommended (for example, delivery confirmation) when submitting your application within seven (7) days of the irrevocability date. ..."
This information is From: LiteBlue at https://liteblue.usps.gov/humanresources/organizationalchanges/oc_2013_consolidationclosing_aag.shtml?
"... in light of the rumored Feinstein & Blum U.S. Postal Service deal — were apparently made in vain. Therefore, I will now urge my grandchildren to comprehensively study just one book, How to Win Friends & Influence People
"...Feel free to copy our 2013 North Pole Postmark and Christmas Cancellation for your..."
This Article is From: northpolepostmarkcancellation2013.blogspot.com
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| Going Postal... (Amazon) |
National award-winning investigative journalist Peter Byrne reports that the husband of U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein of California has been selling post offices at bargain basement prices—often to his own business partners. Richard C. Blum is the chairman of CBRE Group Inc., the largest commercial real estate firm in the world. In 2011, the Postal Service awarded Blum's company an exclusive contract to sell off postal real estate in cities and towns across America. Byrne's in-depth investigation details the many apparent conflicts of interests driving the CBRE deals. It brings to light a scathing government audit of Blum's contract that is being ignored by the Obama administration. The investigation reveals how Senator Feinstein pressured the Postmaster General to stop a postal construction project, and to favor the interests of a developer working with her husband's firm. Byrne explains why the Post Office is not really broke and how powerful forces on Capitol Hill are angling to franchise the U.S. Mail monopoly. We learn that the post office executives in charge of Blum's contract have been up to a financial shenanigans of their own. This is first class investigative reporting on a vital issue of the day that you will not find anywhere else...."
"...The Postal Service announced that it has additionally printed 100 additional sheets of stamps of the recently issued Inverted Jenny stamp but with the plane flying right-side up. These very limited edition stamps were circulated with the recent issue of the most famous “misprinted” stamp. Customers who have recently purchased the new Inverted Jenny stamp could have a very limited edition of the famous stamp...."
"...pulled a gun on a U.S. Postal Service mail carrier and threatened to shoot him for walking in “his alley.” Police recovered the gun used in that incident, tested it and identified it as the gun used in the woman’s shooting...."
This Article is From: www.ohio.com
"...A recent article in the Huffington Post discusses an American Enterprise Institute (AEI) plan, written in 2011. According to the article, the AEI plan is to make USPS look worse than it is. It should appear like “the USPS is obsolete and doomed..."
This Article is From: www.theepochtimes.com
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| 2013 Holiday Mailing Dates (USPS) |
"...Mark Dimondstein was elected the new president of the American Postal Workers Union in a hotly-contested race that ended Oct. 7. His “Members First” team won most of the offices they sought, defeating incumbents. ..."
This Article is From: www.apwu.org
"...Going Postal: U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein’s Husband Sells Post Offices to His Friends, Cheap. In his letter, Nader highlights a number of troubling issues raised by Byrne, including that in the first two years of CBRE’s contract with USPS, it sold 52 postal properties at $66 million less than their assessed value...."
This Article is From: www.corporatecrimereporter.com
"...The US Postal Service has issued a contract to FedCentric Technologies LLC to deliver a High Density Supercomputing (HDSC©) solution including Silicon Graphics International high density hardware platforms and FedCentric Technologies products & professional services to provide high availability and expanded functionality to the Transactional Record Processor (TRP) system...."
This Article is From: www.prnewswire.com
"...The government itself wasn't enough. Now, led by Darrell Issa, the right wants to go after your mail delivery ..."
This Article is From: www.salon.com
"...charged with killing two Tennessee postal workers had to be physically restrained and removed from a Memphis courtroom after..."
This Article is From: abcnews.go.com
"...Offices of the USPS are also operating normally, despite the federal government shutdown...."
This Article is From: www.staceypageonline.com
"... However, the Office of Personnel Management is concerned about how the Postal Service's planned exit would affect the FEHBP, which OPM manages. Jonathan Foley, OPM's director of planning and policy analysis, said the overall impact would be about a 2 percent increase in costs per enrollee. But he testified Postal Service's withdrawal from the federal health system would have a larger impact on those plans with a heavy presence of postal employees. ..."
This Article is From: www.federalnewsradio.com
"...Although delivering mail may not turn a profit, it is a valuable public service. The Postal Service delivers 40 percent of the world’s cards and letters, according to the Center for American Progress. Sending letters, though less common today, is far from obsolete. Spending a small amount of tax money to keep the postal service afloat is not automatically a bad idea...."
This Article is From: washingtontimes.com
"... ongoing cutbacks at the U.S. Postal Service have been delaying the arrival of the paper in subscribers' mailboxes by as much as several days...."
This Article is From: www.watershedpost.com
"...The United States Postal Service said Wednesday that it has proposed increasing the price of first-class mail to 49 cents from 46 cents, beginning in January..."
This Article is From: www.nbcnews.com
"... the gallery’s 12,000 square feet are devoted to a single object that seems on the brink of extinction: the postage stamp. ..."
This Article is From: www.nytimes.com
What is going on with the U.S. Postal Service? Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe says By mid-October 2013, the Postal Service projects it will have a cash balance on hand of approximately five days of average daily expenses. The aforementioned article claims the Postal Service will be broke by November 2013, yet in one of many examples, evidence seems to run counter to that claim. Specifically, while the USPS is shuttering and consolidating mail processing facilities across the nation, they are at the same time allocating money to renovate and even expand others. For example, Korte is to begin $42 Million design-build construction For a USPS Processing and Distribution Center (P&DC) in Houston. This is after claiming the urgent need to close or consolidate facilities due to excess floor space and mail processing equipment sitting idle too much. This tends to give more validity to the perception that the USPS has manufactured a crisis to assist in lowering wages and benefits of workers, thus making it easier to privatize profitable portions of the USPS.
This Article is From: Postal Newsgroup
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| Tim Costello |
"...Under the standard federal package, employees can retire early if they are at least 50 years old with a minimum of 20 years’ service or at any age with at least 25 years’ service...."
This Article is From: federaltimes.com
"...a local postal inspector, wrote in a recent court filing that Express Mail, in particular, has been used to ship narcotics. “The use of Express Mail is favored because of the reliability, speed and relatively low cost of this service..."
This Article is From: theadvocate.com
"...These destructive bills (H.R. 2748 and S. 1486) also pose a dire threat to the pensions and health benefits of postal employees by interfering with the postal collective bargaining process that has worked so well for more than 40 years.”..."
This Article is From: www.apwu.org
National Geographic remembers 9/11
"... History is repeating itself today with the nation's postal service, and much of the press is asleep at the wheel. ..."
This Article is From: www.alternet.org
"...For a workforce of about 2.1 million, that works out to roughly one fatality for every 39,000 employees..."
This Article is From: www.federaltimes.com
"...The U.S. Postal Service is poised to offer early retirement to thousands of executives, postmasters, and other managers, according to the National Association of Postal Supervisors (NAPS)...."
This Article is From: www.federaltimes.com
"...The USPS’ inspector general posted the requests on the FedBizOpps, asking for a supplier with “subject matter expertise” to develop a report that compares the Postal Service’s leave and paid holiday program and retirement benefits to those offered by “major private-sector companies.”..."
This Article is From: www.govexec.com
"... In a pre- hearing statement from the post office, the agency states it will prove Colon cannot establish a case of discrimination and that the alleged harassment was not sufficiently severe or pervasive and did not create an abusive working environment...."
This Article is From: www.wtvm.com
"...The nation's mail delivery service is offering companies a discount to send consumers product samples through the mail. ..."
This Article is From: www.washingtontimes.com
"...Initially, the Post Office wouldn't pay Rider's insurance claim for the stolen DVD's, until an investigation was conducted by NewsCenter 16...."
This Article is From: www.wndu.com
"...The Postal Service’s proposal to take postal workers out of the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program would weaken Medicare and would result in reduced coverage and increased costs for postal workers. ..."
This Article is From: www.apwu.org
"...The Postal Service inspector general’s office has requested input from USPS employees, asking whether they feel conference costs and amenities were appropriate. Postal workers can submit comments through a page on the agency’s Web site...."
This Article is From: www.washingtonpost.com
"...Issa’s bill comes on top of sweeping postal actions in the last year that have closed 30 percent of mail processing plants; reduced hours by 25 percent to 75 percent in half of all post offices; put 10 percent of post offices up for sale; subcontracted trucking and mail handling; cut thousands of mail routes; and eliminated 60,000 postal jobs. The cuts are creating a slowed-down mail system...."
This Article is From: www.workers.org
"...it would likely put postal workers at risk of paying higher premiums, incurring more out-of-pocket costs and receiving less insurance coverage for a variety of procedures...."
This Article is From: www.govexec.com
"...Career APWU members will receive a $937 annual increase in pay in September, APWU President Cliff Guffey has announced...."
This Article is From: www.apwu.org
"...BIRMINGHAM, Alabama— The pilot and co-pilot of a large UPS cargo plane were killed today when it crashed and burst into flames on approach to the airport in Birmingham, Alabama...."
This Article is From: www.chicagotribune.com
"...eBay is aware of a problem impacting tracking numbers on packages sent via USPS that is causing consternation among buyers and sellers. Last week sellers began reporting that the tracking numbers the postal service issued on their shipments were showing delivery dates from last fall, a glitch in which the USPS or their shipping partners appear to be recycling tracking numbers. ..."
This Article is From: www.ecommercebytes.com
Senators Introduce Postal Reform Bill With Bipartisan Support
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| Postal news blog |
"..."Our plan is to stay here in direct defense of the post office," said retired postal worker David Welsh, who has camped on the steps since July 24. "We're saying this is our public commons. It belongs to the people and should not be sold off to private interests."..."
This Article is From: www.contracostatimes.com
"...A new health plan would be created to address the needs of retirees enrolled in Medicare parts A and B. Some of these employees now pay for full Medicare and Federal Employees Health Benefit Plan (FEHBP) coverage. Those postal retirees not enrolled in Medicare would be able to do so without being penalized. ..."
This Article is From: www.federalnewsradio.com
"...The Clause has been construed to give Congress the enumerated power to designate mail routes and construct or designate post offices, with the implied authority to carry, deliver, and regulate the mails of the United States as a whole. An early controversy was whether Congress had the power to actually build post roads and post offices, or merely designate which lands and roads were to be used for this purpose, and to what extent that power could be delegated to the Postmaster General.[5] The U.S. Supreme Court construed the power narrowly during the early part of the 19th century, holding that the power consisted mostly of designation of roads and sites, but gradually gave way later on, allowing appropriation of land for postal purposes.[..."
This Article is From: wikipedia.org
"...After the closure of the East Texas Processing and Distribution Center near Tyler, bulk mailers began reporting the loss of customers related to slow delivery times on time-sensitive material like newspapers and advertisements...."
This Article is From: www.bullardnews.com
"...Postal Service is offering marketers a 2% discount if they incorporate NFC, 2D barcodes or augmented reality in their direct mail campaigns..."
This Article is From: www.nfcworld.com
"...the revised version would prohibit postal unions and management from negotiating protections against layoffs in future contracts; increase health insurance costs; limit collective-bargaining rights; close post offices, stations, and branches; consolidate plants; and privatize operations...."
This Article is From: www.govexec.com
"...the use of overtime at the Urbandale facility as necessary to meet an increased workload created by the Postal Service’s ongoing reorganization...."
This Article is From: www.desmoinesregister.com
"..."Only a year ago the government and Moya Greene promised postal workers that their pensions were secure - now they have reneged on their promise and postal workers' pensions are again under attack. For the company to present this as some kind of benefit linked to a pay offer is scandalous. This is daylight robbery of a further £2 billion of pension scheme assets being used to subsidise privatisation.”..."
This Article is From: www.cipd.co.uk
"...Cummings’ bill would also grant USPS the authority to offer buyout incentives through 2016 -- providing voluntarily separated employees with $25,000 or an extra one-to-two years of credited service...."
This Article is From: www.govexec.com
"...The postal operation, which counts the U.S. Postal Service and Deutsche Post among its customers, has benefited from the growing number of consumers shifting to internet shopping...."
This Article is From: www.reuters.com
"...Though staffing reductions may be necessary to keep the operation afloat, they are not proving popular with customers...."
This Article is From: www.orlandosentinel.com
"...group of about 10-15 people were present during the attack, but only four participated. Weapons were involved and the postal worker's..."
This Article is From: www.appeal-democrat.com
"...mail truck was slowing down to make a left turn Saturday morning when it was clipped by a pickup truck whose driver was trying to pass the mail truck..."
This Article is From: baltimore.cbslocal.com
"...truck went into a business Thursday afternoon in ..."
This Article is From: www.theindychannel.com
"...“Ending overnight delivery standards – and the subsequent consolidation of processing facilitates – will have a disastrous impact on unemployment. With unemployment high, this is a particularly bad time for the Postal Service to eliminate jobs...."
This Article is From: www.apwu.org
"...Accenture “has demonstrated an absence of business ethics, a lack of transparency and insufficient internal controls in its business dealings with the Postal Service,” according to the audit, which also cited..."
This Article is From: www.federaltimes.com
"...Brooklyn Center officers say a postal service employee was killed after being hit by a Post Office truck...."
This Article is From: kstp.com
"...The US Postal Service pays no attention when graffiti vandals deface its mailboxes — but when someone goes to tidy them up, they suddenly swoop in and take action, some Brooklyn residents are complaining. ..."
This Article is From: www.nypost.com