"...At the time, pay raises for postal workers were almost unheard of: After 21 years on the job, noted The New York Times, a letter carrier would only earn $2,266 more than their starting salary. Though unionized, postal workers were forbidden from negotiating for pay raises due to cost of living. There was no chance to earn overtime, and many workers had to find a second job to make ends meet..."
"...Amazon regularly uses the Postal Service to complete what’s called the “last mile” of delivery, with letter carriers dropping off packages at some 150 million residences and businesses daily. It has a network of more than 20 “sort centers” where customer packages are sorted by zip code, stacked on pallets and delivered to post offices for the final leg of delivery. While full details of the agreement between Amazon and the Postal Service are unknown -- the mail service is independently operated and strikes confidential deals with retailers..."
"...UPS had to supplement those workers this year by calling in employees from various desk jobs with little notice. Some are delivering packages using their personal vehicles. A shift to online shopping coupled with a tight market for seasonal workers left gaps in manpower across the delivery network..."
"...Police say a naked United States Postal Service employee shot a supervisor to death early Saturday morning at a post office before attacking and killing another supervisor at her home..."
"...Shipping giant UPS announced this morning that it has pre-ordered 125 all-electric Tesla Semi trucks. The order is the largest yet for the truck, trumping last week’s order of 100 vehicles from PepsiCo. It adds to a growing list of big-name companies who have signed on for the truck..."
"...Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) acknowledged that the Republican drive to cut taxes for the wealthy is the prelude to a larger attack on Social Security and Medicare. On Wednesday, he told a group of lobbyists that hiking the deficit with the GOP tax bill is the first step in dismantling the programs. Responding to a question from Politico interviewers about how to address the federal deficit, he replied, “We have to do two things. We have to generate economic growth which generates revenue, while reducing spending. That will mean instituting structural changes to Social Security and Medicare for the future...Sen. Rubio may have just told a secret that he was not supposed to spill,” said Joseph Peters, Jr., Secretary-Treasurer of the Alliance. “The GOP strategy of increasing the debt and then saying we need to cut Social Security and Medicare usually flies under the radar..."
"...United States Postal Services worker died after being shot in the head Monday night, Channel 2 Action News reported. The shooting occurred outside a post office..."
"...Specifically, Amazon officials have told several food brands that the USPS had delivered an unreliable experience to customers with too many late or missed deliveries, according to people familiar with the discussions. With no other good delivery options for fresh food in these areas, Amazon decided to shut down the service..."
"...almost impossible not to be amazed at how cheaply China-based merchants are selling products for: xlr cables for $.99, a necklace for $.78, 10 watch batteries for $.78 -- all with postage included. Perhaps you may feel a little suspicious or even a touch indignant about these low prices, as you know that ..."
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| NLRB charge |
"...Each year, Veterans' Day is celebrated on Nov. 11. For 2017, the holiday falls on a Saturday. There has been some confusion about when the Postal Service will observe the holiday because it has a six “business” day week. For clarification, USPS Retail and Delivery will be closed on Saturday, November 11, 2017. It will be business as usual on Friday, November 10, 2017...UPDATE: Veterans’ Day is not one of the negotiated holidays PSEs receive pay for..."
"...The nearly two-thirds of enrollees covered by a Blue Cross/Blue Shield plan will pay $7.17 more per biweekly pay period next year than last year for self-only coverage; $17.04 more for self plus one other person and $17.72 for self and family coverage..."
"...elimination of supplemental payments to employees who retire before age 62; A switch to a defined contribution pension plan for new federal employees; reduce the G fund’s rate of return..."
"...The family of mail carrier Ed McDaniel, who was shot in West Charlotte on August 31st while just doing his job..."
"...In accordance with the 2015-2018 Collective Bargaining Agreement, career employees represented by the APWU will receive a 13 cents per hour cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) effective September 2. The increase is the result of an increase in the Consumer Price Index (CPI-W). The increase will appear in paychecks dated September 22, 2017 (Pay Period 19-2017), and will total $270.00 per year..."
"...A two-cent cut in the price of a first-class stamp, which cut Postal Service revenue by $500 million in the last three months and $1.5 billion in the first nine months of its current fiscal year, put USPS back in the red so far this fiscal year, a top postal union leader says. Had the cut not slid through, due to inaction by postal management last year, the service would have earned almost $1.4 billion through the first three quarters of the year, rather than losing $55 million in that time, adds National Association of Letter Carriers (link is external) President Fredric Rolando..."
"...To enhance FDA's ability to detect opioid analgesics illegally entering the country via the mail, the agency is deploying roughly three dozen employees to international mail facilities run by the U.S. Postal Service, according to FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb's recent internal remarks..."
"...As anticipated, the 2018 House Budget is in the same mold as the White House budget – it punishes workers and the working-class, while giving big payouts to the rich. The resolution instructs the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee (which has jurisdiction over the Postal Service and postal/federal employee annuity benefits) to cut $32 billion in the programs and agencies they oversee during ten years. Like the White House proposal, the House budget recommends big pay cuts to postal workers through increased Federal Employee Retirement System pension contributions and eliminating the special retirement supplement (which helps federal retirees who retire before they are eligible for Social Security benefits). These two proposals alone will take thousands of dollars out of the pockets of postal workers and retirees. Even more egregious, the House plan calls for replacing guaranteed pension benefits..."
"...Postal Service has stopped delivering mail to a neighborhood in Glassell Park once considered among the most dangerous in Los Angeles after a carrier was nearly shot there last month, a USPS official said. “Our primary goal is to ensure the safety of our employees..."
"...New Orleans detectives have recovered a U.S. Postal Service truck and five other stolen vehicles at a "chop shop" where thieves disassemble stolen cars for parts..."