Mail processing changes in Maine

Mail service shifts some mail processing in Maine

"...Richard B. Reed Jr., president of the Bangor Area Local 536 of the American Postal Workers Union, wrote a letter to a number of postal customers indicating that the switch will adversely affect mail delivery. "The mail is shipped by truck between (the two facilities) and the extra travel time would add an automatic one day to the delivery process in the best-case scenario," Reed wrote. "The employees here at EMP&DF do not feel that is in the best interest of the customer."..."    

This Article is From: www.boston.com

Read our latest posts!

.

Request for consideration to include all additional EAS field positions as part of a Voluntary Early Retirement (VER)

Mr, Ted Keating, President,
National Association of Postal Supervisors requested USPS seek additional authorization to include more EAS positions for VER eligibility

This Article is From: www.naps.org

Read our latest posts!

.

APWU and NPMHU COLA

APWU and NPMHU postal employees will receive a Cost-Of-Living Adjustment of $1,477 and will be effective Aug. 30, 2008. The COLA will be in checks Pay Period 19-08 which is Sept 19, 2008. This equates to a 71-cent per hour increase ($56.80 per pay period).


Read our latest posts!

.

Next NALC Postal Contract COLA...

 
The Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) increased 0.5 percent in July, prior to seasonal adjustment. The July level of 216.304 (1982-84=100) was 6.2 percent higher than in July 2007. This equates to $1,498 annually for NALC postal employees covered under the National Contracts. The COLA will be effective the pay period beginning August 30 and received in checks on September 19. The new COLA is equivalent to 72 cents per hour ($57.60 per pay period).


Latest CPI-W Release from the BLS

CPI Reference: www.bls.gov

Read our latest posts!

.

Elvis Presley: Collecting The King

"...December 21, 1970, the U.S. Postal Service announced in 1992 that Elvis' image would be used for a commemorative postage stamp. In an unprecedented move, the Postal Service let the American public decide whether to use the image of Elvis as a young rocker or one of him starring in a special Hawaiian performance. The image of the young rocker won out, and the Elvis stamp is the most widely publicized stamp issue in history, and the top selling commemorative postage of all time. More than 500 million Elvis stamps have been printed, more than three times the print run for any other commemorative stamp...."    

This Article is From: www.hofmag.com

Read our latest posts!

.

The FERS is Flying

"...about three things you can do to plan for retirement under the Federal Employees' Retirement System (FERS) so that you won't be caught financially short at retirement...."    

This Article is From: www.federalnewsradio.com

Read our latest posts!

.

Alabama Post Office Burglarized And Set On Fire

"...burglars broke into the post office between 1 a.m. and 2:30 a.m. Friday.
Epes is located along I-20/59, between Boligee and Livingston. ..."    

This Article is From: www.nbc13.com

Read our latest posts!

.

'Road Rage' Led to Federal Agent's Shooting Outside Florida Post Office

"...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..."    

This Article is From: www.foxnews.com

Read our latest posts!

.

Chinese stamp exhibition

Singapore launches Chinese stamp exhibition

"...first official postage stamps in China, Cultural Revolution stamps - Stamps as propaganda tools, as well as contemporary Chinese stamps..."    

This Article is From: news.xinhuanet.com

Read our latest posts!

.

Postal worker’s age bias suit goes back to the district court

"...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)..."    

This Article is From: hr.cch.com

Read our latest posts!

.

USPS Wood Pallet Splintery Retun

"...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. ..."    

This Article is From: www.materialshandling.net

Read our latest posts!

.

Post Office Parking Lot Shooting

Federal agent dies after Fla. post office shooting

"...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...."    

This Article is From: ap.google.com

Read our latest posts!

.

Circumstantial case against Army scientist is unveiled

"...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."..."    

This Article is From: www.star-telegram.com

Read our latest posts!

.

Postal Workers - No Time To Stroke Cats

"...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. ..."    

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

Read our latest posts!

.

Meriden postal routes cut

"...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."..."    

This Article is From: www.myrecordjournal.com

Read our latest posts!

.

Q&A: Is there proper postal carrier attire?

Are postal carriers not required to wear uniforms anymore?

"...Permanent full-time city letter carriers and other postal employees who deal with the public are required to..."    

This Article is From: www.tampabay.com

Read our latest posts!

.

Anthrax Update

New DNA Technique Led Authorities to 'Anthrax Killer'

"...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...."    

This Article is From: www.foxnews.com

Read our latest posts!

.

FERS Sick Leave

House Passes FERS Sick-Leave Bill

"...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...."    

This Article is From: www.apwu.org

Read our latest posts!

.

Government Accountability Office report,: USPS Outsourcing not justified

USPS Unable to Justify Outsourcing, GAO Finds
APWU Web News Article #71-08, July 28, 2008

"...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...."    

This Article is From: www.apwu.org

Read our latest posts!

.

Reports: Possible pipe bombs found at two Ohio post offices

"...WBNS-TV says the devices were found at postal facilities in Guysville and Stewart..."    

This Article is From: usatoday.com

Read our latest posts!

.