"...The incomes of typical Americans rose in 2015 by 5.2 percent, the first significant boost to middle-class pay since the end of the Great Recession and the fastest increase ever recorded by the federal government, the Census Bureau reported on Tuesday..."
"...The APWU won an important arbitration case on Aug. 18, when Arbitrator Shyam Das ruled that the Postal Service violated the Collective Bargaining Agreement by notifying the union of subcontracting awards after they have been let. Arbitrator Das ordered the Postal Service to cease and desist from such violations and to comply with provisions of Article 32.2.B before renewing Highway Contract Routes (HCRs). He also instructed the USPS to convert the 110 routes that remain in service to Postal Vehicle Service (PVS)..."
"...For UPS and FedEx, Amazon's been great for business. Now it's taking business away from them..."
"...the most fragile of all parcels, children, were mailed, with appropriate postage stamps on their outer clothing. Most times the journey was short, as in the instance of an infant delivered to an address about a mile or so from home. But for longer distances, it was much cheaper to use parcel post (just a few cents) than to buy a seat on a passenger train..."
"...The United States Postal Service has filed a lawsuit against Berkeley, contending that the city passed the Civic Center Overlay ordinance just to thwart the government’s sale of the building..."
"...The acting manager of two D.C. post offices and two of his employees took bribes in exchange for illegally delivering packages of marijuana, according to an indictment filed Thursday in D.C. federal court..."
"...President Barack Obama’s deputies will insert a rule in federal regulations on Friday to prevent federal facilities from operating single-sex bathrooms..."
"...Career employees represented by the APWU will receive a one-cent per hour cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) effective Sept. 3, in accordance with the 2015-2018 Collective Bargaining Agreement. The increase is the result of a slight increase in the Consumer Price Index (CPI-W). The increase will appear in paychecks dated Sept. 23 (Pay Period 19-2016), and will total $21 per year..."
"...Excluding a change in accounting estimate recorded during the quarter, the U.S. Postal Service reported operating revenue of $16.6 billion for the third quarter of fiscal year 2016 (April 1, 2016 - June 30, 2016), an increase of $117 million, or 0.7 percent, over the same period last year ..."
"...Reece said, “The package in question has been deemed ‘suspicious’ because it appeared to be damaged and was leaking some form of liquid that burned a postal worker.”..."
"...'We have gained many positive results in these difficult times,' APWU President and lead negotiator Mark Dimondstein said. 'We, as a union, should be proud of the results. We made some real progress on most of our major goals. We gained an all-career workforce in our Maintenance and Motor Vehicle Crafts. We secured real general wage increases. We preserved our COLA and no lay-off protections. We strengthened conversion opportunities for PSEs and improved PSE wages and benefits. We strengthened job security by limiting subcontracting, particularly in relation to MVS. We achieved a temporary moratorium on new plant closings and consolidations. We laid the basis for better protecting retail services and for expanding postal services. While we were unable to stop management’s demand that employees pay a greater share of health insurance premiums, we successfully fought back the main concessionary demands of postal management-- for increased percentages of non-career employees, a new tier of lower- paid career employees, the elimination of COLA and the weakening of our no layoff protection.'..."
"...The APWU expects a decision from Arbitrator Stephen B. Goldberg by mid-July, reports President Mark Dimondstein. “We had hoped to have a ruling by now, but Arbitrator Goldberg has informed the union and management that he is still working on his decision,” Dimondstein said..."
"...OSHA issued rules that mandate transgender employees be allowed to use restrooms associate with their declared gender. It says: 'a person who identifies as a man should be permitted to use the men’s restroom and a person who identifies as a woman should be permitted to use the women’s restroom.' None of the postal employees..."
"...Earlier this year, FOX 2 reported on some employees' growing fear that the air inside the U.S. Postal Service Michigan Metroplex Procession and Distribution Center in Pontiac was not safe. Five postal workers at the facility all died within about a year of each other. According to a report by the U.S. Postal Services Inspector General, the methane detection system had problems, which may have caused these deaths..."
"...This is a powerful example of how the demands of postal workers reflect the people’s demand for good postal service. “But it is just the first step in a long process,” Dimondstein said. The full House must approve the Financial Services Appropriations bill and the Senate also must approve a similar provision in a final appropriations bill before it can become law. A similar measure passed the House committee last year but never made its way through the Senate..."
"...Continuing to allow workers to be exposed to the hazards of falling concrete without following through on an actionable plan to eliminate hazards is unacceptable,” said Vanessa Martin, OSHA’s area director in Indianapolis. “The employees of this facility deserve to be protected from injury on the job...."
"...in discussing buying anything from computer cables to other small to medium items, “If I buy that from a manufacturer across town, or across state, I’ll pay First Class postage … generally speaking, somewhere between $9 and $15 in shipping costs. If I buy that same package from China, I’ll pay 94 cents.” He goes on to explain that so called free shopping is a myth and manufactures must build it into their pricing, while the sweetheart deal for China helps to gut American businesses and manufacturers..."
"...case is highly unusual because the 26-year U.S. Postal Service employee didn't steal anything of inherent value — such as birthday cards with cash or packages with valuable products inside. Rather, she swiped only coupons..."
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| Neither Snow nor Rain |
, the true story of how America has delivered its mail through the centuries, rambles, rattles, digresses (but never dawdles) as it serves up a colorful array of visionaries, hucksters, daredevils and crackpots to keep the narrative humming — and, at times, roaring — along..."
"...Cecil Thomas began his career with the Postal Service following his honorable discharge from the Army in 1966..."