"...on his way to a dialysis appointment when he and Pettit, 52, who also was driving, exchanged obscene gestures.
Wonder pulled into a busy post office parking lot, and Pettit followed. The men began arguing and Wonder pulled a handgun from his waistband and shot Pettit once in the back of the head..."
"...first official postage stamps in China, Cultural Revolution stamps - Stamps as propaganda tools, as well as contemporary Chinese stamps..."
"...Because the Supreme Court expressed no view as to the First Circuit’s holding (89 EPD ¶42,690) that sovereign immunity did not present a bar to the worker’s suit (the Postal Reorganization Act generally “waived the immunity of the Postal Service from suit by giving it the power ‘to sue and be sued’ in its official name”), the circuit court remanded the case to the district court for further proceedings consistent with the Supreme Court’s opinion and the sovereign immunity portion of its decision. (Gomez-Perez v Potter, 1stCir, 91 EPD ¶43,255)..."
"...It seems the USPS got into its present dilemma by failing to create an adequate pallet control system. Now it seems the USPS may be embarking to another equally precipitous course of action. It is moving to a wood pallet program without specifications and other quality control measures in place to ensure a consistently good quality pallet every trip. ..."
"...Pettit was shot once by a man during a possible fight in the post office parking lot, officials said. No one else was injured, and it wasn't clear whether the shooting was related to the agent's job. The suspect drove off in a car and police were combing the area for him...."
"...the timing of the announcement, a week after Ivins’ suicide and a month after the government paid another former Fort Detrick scientist almost $6 million for wrongly implicating him for years, drew skepticism about whether authorities now had the right man. Ivins’ lawyer, Paul Kemp, asserted his client’s innocence and called the government’s news conference "heaps of innuendo and a staggering lack of real evidence — all contorted to create the illusion of guilt by Dr. Ivins."..."
"...Most postal workers are fiercely proud of the job they do and see it very much as a community role, way and above the concept of putting letters through letterboxes. This view would seem to be supported by Royal Mail itself which runs an annual competition to find postal workers that have demonstrated a commitment way and beyond the requirements of the job. In that respect, postal workers do stand out against employees in many other service industries, even if not entirely unique. Postal workers, at least for the moment, see the new working ethos as akin to working like robots, particularly with timed walks, but they weather the changes in the hope that it will at least secure more jobs. ..."
"...a mail carrier showed up a little before 7 p.m., explaining to Swedock that route cuts had been made and the carriers were trying to adapt.
"That's ridiculous," Swedock said Monday. "It's ridiculous for the carriers too. I'm all for efficiency, but at the same time, if it ain't broke don't fix it."..."
"...Permanent full-time city letter carriers and other postal employees who deal with the public are required to..."
"...A government scientist told the Associated Press Sunday that investigators started with DNA from some of those victims and matched specific DNA patterns to anthrax cultures that the suspect, Army scientist Bruce Ivins, 62, was responsible for in the lab...."
"...included in a larger bill, the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (H.R. 1108), which Waxman also authored. The bill is similar to a bill (H.R. 5573), which was introduced earlier this year by Rep. James Moran (D-VA).
Under the provision, federal employees who retire within three years from the date of enactment would receive credit for 75 percent of unused sick leave; employees who retire more than three years after enactment of the legislation would get full credit, similar to CSRS employees. Federal employees hired after 1983 are covered by FERS; most of those hired in 1983 and before are covered by CSRS...."
"...The report pointed out that, under the terms of the collective bargaining agreements, when the Postal Service is contemplating outsourcing, it “must consider five factors: public interest, cost, efficiency, availability of equipment, and qualification of employees – and must determine whether outsourcing will have a ‘significant impact’ on work performed by postal employees covered by collective bargaining agreements.”
If outsourcing will have a significant impact on postal employees, the USPS “must compare the costs of performing proposed work with postal employees and with a contractor, notify the affected union that it is considering outsourcing and consider union impact before making a decision.”
But the GAO was unable to determine the Postal Service’s total outsourcing contracts related to bargaining unit work, because the USPS does not track these contracts separately. And, the GAO found, “the Service does not know the savings related to its outsourcing efforts because it does not have a process to evaluate the impact of outsourcing or to track actual savings...."
"...WBNS-TV says the devices were found at postal facilities in Guysville and Stewart..."
"...Mail carrier versus dog: the eternal conflict. Contrary to the cliché, some dogs aren't trying to chase mail carriers away, they can't wait to see them. That's because some carriers try to soothe the savage beasts along their routes with doggie treats..."
"...Paul Lunde, who promoted the resolution in Oregon and has worn kilts on St. Patrick's Day, Halloween, and occasional Saturdays when his supervisors aren't paying attention, said that expanding the uniform choices would be a way to express his Celtic heritage, just as Jewish postal workers are allowed to wear yarmulkes...."
"...Under the law, the postmaster general serves as chairman of the council, the deputy postmaster general serves as vice-chair, and the president is required to appoint 11 other members, including four nominated by postal labor unions; four representatives of major mail users; and three representing the public at large. The postmaster general is named in the suit because the responsibility for forming the council may have been delegated to him as chief executive officer of the Postal Service..."
"...The actual COLA will reflect the increase in the CPI between January and July 2008. It will be payable the second full pay period following the release of the July 2008 index..."
"...about an offer of Voluntary Early Retirement (VER), APWU President William Burrus is advising union members to delay making a decision as long as possible.
“The decision about when to retire is a personal one that is influenced by family obligations and lifestyle,” Burrus said. “But the attractiveness of ending a career early should be weighed with consideration of factors that may not be readily apparent.”
In addition to life-long annuity reductions, he said, employees should realize that the Postal Service offer is being made because of the prospect of heavy financial losses in the current fiscal year and beyond. “The opportunity to retire early may be tempting, but it is not being offered for the employee’s benefit: It is intended to improve the financial condition of the Postal Service.”
“An employee who retires after 25 years of service can expect to receive an annuity of less than half of the average basic salary of the last three years,” Burrus said. He noted that this would exclude most of the time period covered by the 2008 upgrade and the September 2008 Cost-of-Living Adjustment, which is expected to be over $1,000 — one of the largest in postal history.
“Employees who can work for another 15 years before reaching their annuity maximums can expect pay hikes over that time equal to the nearly $18,000 in raises over the past 15 years,” Burrus said of the increase from $34,000 to September’s $52,000.
“The USPS would save about $1 million in salary, benefits, and retirement annuity for each such employee,” he said.
“Those who take the early-out offer will allow the Postal Service to avoid these future obligations, while receiving a significantly lower annuity for the balance of their lives — and lives of their survivors.” The annuity reduction would be “substantial,” he said, and cannot be justified unless the Postal Service offers an incentive.
“We have discussed incentives with the Postal Service,” Burrus said, “but, so far, management has refused to consider any kind of bonus in conjunction with the early-out offer.” The discussions with management are continuing, he said.
“We do not oppose Voluntary Early Retirement per se,” Burrus said, “but we believe incentives should be offered and all eligible employees should be included.”
“And we expect that if a sufficient number of employees do not accept the early-out, the Postal Service will still face a significant deficit, and will still be forced to find ways to reduce the workforce. We will be having continuing discussions with postal management,” he said, “and these discussions will be influenced by the number of employees who voluntarily retire without incentives.”
“In this uncertain economy, there is no reason to make a hasty decision,” Burrus said. “Energy and medical costs are escalating, which will make it extremely difficult to survive on a fixed income. One simply has to consider the financial disincentives to retire early, especially without an upfront monetary incentive.”
“As employees who meet the eligibility criteria think about their choices, I ask that they forgo making a quick decision. At this time, the union’s recommendation to eligible employees is that unless you have compelling personal reasons to retire early, DON’T GO.” ..."
"...Over 8,800 letter carriers are planning to convene in Boston July 21-25 as delegates to the 66th Biennial National Convention of the National Association of Letter Carriers -- the largest convention among AFL-CIO unions...."
"...We also can expect that if a sufficient number of employees do not accept the early-out offer, the Postal Service will still face a significant deficit, and will still be forced to find ways to reduce the workforce. In light of these factors, it would be foolish for employees to retire early without achieving all of their personal objectives. The union will continue to discuss the details of the early-out offer and will report the results of those discussions. Among the subjects to be addressed are whether all APWU-represented employees will be included and whether eligible employees will receive an incentive bonus for retiring...."
