NPMHU Contract Arbitration Completed

Mail Handler Contract Update #15

"...Hearings in the ongoing interest arbitration proceedings to determine the terms of the 2011 National Agreement between the NPMHU and the Postal Service are now complete, with the final hearing held on Friday, February 1, 2013. Although the record officially remains open for additional submissions that might be needed by the three-member arbitration panel, the formal hearing process is over, and a final award should be issued soon. ..."    

This Article is From: www.npmhu.org Read our latest posts! .

USPS lacks the statutory authority to reduce mail service to 5-days

USPS fails to deliver real plan

"...“Logic dictates that when USPS and the Administration repeatedly request that Congress explicitly provide USPS the authority to reduce mail service from 6-days to 5-days, it is clear acknowledgement that, absent Congressional action, USPS lacks the statutory authority to do so,” Reps. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) and Sam Graves (R-Mo.) wrote in a letter to the nation’s postmaster general...."    

This Article is From: www.irontontribune.com Read our latest posts! .

More Postal Service buyout offers potentially on the way

USPS employees to see less overtime, more buyouts under 5-day delivery plan

"..."We think by eliminating overtime and by looking at some of the flexibilities we have with the part-time workforce, and potentially working with the unions on some buyouts, we'll easily hit that." USPS already has cut its workforce by 306,000 people over the last 13 years, so Donahoe said they have been preparing for this eventual cut back in service. ..."    

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Elimination of Saturday Mail Service!

Postal Services will end Saturday mail delivery

"...The Postal Service plans to drop Saturday delivery of first-class mail by August in its latest effort to cut costs after losing nearly $16 billion last fiscal year, the cash-strapped mail agency said on Wednesday...."    

This Article is From: Reuters Read our latest posts! .

No suprise. Postal Service Claims It's Above the Law

"..."In providing mail service across the country, the Postal Service attempts to work within local and state laws and regulations, when feasible," Breslin wrote in response to a summons for payment. "However, as you are probably aware, the Postal Service enjoys federal immunity from state and local regulation." The USPS Employee Safety Guide states employees will "receive no special privileges or rights as a postal driver."..."    

This Article is From: www.usatoday.com Read our latest posts! .

Huntsville Police say 43 pounds of marijuana found in mail

K-9 finds marijuana in mail

"...HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WAAY) - Police say a K-9 unit helped them find dozens of pounds of pot traveling through the U.S. postal system in January...."    

This Article is From: www.waaytv.com Read our latest posts! .

The Postal Service must accommodate diabetic employees

Union, Management Clarify Diabetes Policy

"...Many individuals with diabetes work with few or no accommodations. However, some workers need an adjustment in the workplace to better manage and control their condition. Most of the accommodations requested by employees with diabetes, such as regular work schedules, meal breaks, a place to test their blood sugar levels, or a rest area, do not cost employers anything...."    

This Article is From: www.apwu.org Read our latest posts! .

Time capsule found at Hawaii post office site

Time capsule found at Maui post office site

"...Demolition crews working at the site of the old Wailuku Post Office-Federal Building Tuesday morning discovered a time capsule dating back to 1959. ..."    

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Florida Postal Employment

USPS hiring information -

"...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.com Read our latest posts! .

Postal Service travel expense fraud continues

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 ..."    

This Article is From: chicagotribune.com Read our latest posts! .

Social media: discussing work conditions protected

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 says BOG order to accelerate cost-cutting measures not related to USPS order to accelerate shutdown of mail processing operations

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...."    

This Article is From: federaltimes.com Read our latest posts! .

Rural Alaska towns paying the price for USPS closures

Postal Service cuts pinch small Alaska towns

"... 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...."    

This Article is From: www.alaskadispatch.com Read our latest posts! .

Postal Service pallet thieves arrested

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...."    

This Article is From: latimes.com thieves Read our latest posts! .

USPS paid more than $30 million to sponsor the cycling team

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. ..."    

This Article is From: money.cnn.com Read our latest posts! .

NALC National Contract Arbitration Award Issued

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..."    

This Article is From: www.nalc.org Read our latest posts! .

Pick up chicks at the post office!

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.com Read our latest posts! .

Senior level managers detailed to ND instead of workers

Postal Service eyes operations in ND Oil Patch

"...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...."    

This Article is From: www.thedickinsonpress.com Read our latest posts! .

Postal Service still processing flats under cost

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...."    

This Article is From: postandparcel.info Read our latest posts! .

Why study privatizing Postal Service's most profitable areas of business?

Study to examine USPS partial-privatization

"...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."    

This Article is From: www.cbsnews.com Read our latest posts! .