"...The homeowner, who doesn’t want to be identified, told us this has been going on for a while. She initially noticed her parcels were ending up in strange places months ago. “They would be in the middle of the driveway, right by the rain gutter, leaning against the garage and I thought that was really odd because normally packages are delivered to our porch,” she said. So, she started checking her camera footage. ... "
"On behalf of our 200,000 members, I salute and congratulate the 340,000 Teamsters who work for UPS on the ratification of their solid new union contract, which delivers much-needed gains for these workers within the same industry as APWU members. ..."
Re: Retroactive Salary Adjustments Delayed (pdf)
We were just notified that there will be a delay with retroactive salary adjustments in connection with the implementation of the 2022 National Agreement.
As a result of the ratification of the 2022 National Agreement, there was a 1.3% GWI effective November 19, 2022. That wage rate was implemented at the start of PP09-23 (April 8, 2023). Accordingly, the retroactive payment is due for the time period from 11/19/22 to 4/7/23. There is also a retroactive payment due for the March COLA for the time period from March 11, 2023 (when the COLA was effective) until April 7, 2023. Like the November 19, 2022 GWI, the March COLA was implemented at the start of PP09-23 (April 8, 2023).
These retroactive payments were to be included in PP19-23 paychecks. The Postal Service has now stated that they will be delayed. The USPS claims the reason for this delay is due to EAGAN programing issues. They hope to resolve these issues soon. As soon as we receive an update from EAGAN, we will let you know.
For information purposes only, the amount of the retroactive pay for a top step Mail Handler who worked full time (without consideration of any changes to pay, e.g., leave without pay or overtime) is estimated as follows:
- Level 4: $364.08
- Level 5: $369.85
The $978 COLA scheduled for PP19-23 will continue to be implemented in PP19-23.
"As set forth in the attached letter, the Postal Service has determined that all jurisdictional assignments on the HOPS will be awarded to the Mail Handler craft except for..."
"Mail theft victim Joe Croce says it was infuriating watching the same thieves open up his neighborhood postal relay box and make off with huge bags of mail, including credit cards, bank statements and government checks. "Broad daylight every time," Croce said. "I couldn't believe it at first and then you start to believe it after the 10th time that, you know, it just keeps happening."..."
Soon after the 2010 contract was signed, the Union and the Postal Service disagreed over what the 600 PVS routes meant. The Postal Service took the position that the contract required it to provide 600 duty assignments made from work contracted out to HCR operators. The APWU disagreed, believing that the bargain was for the Postal Service to insource 600 HCR routes or contracts which was likely to generate at least but probably more than 600 PVS jobs. The APWU initiated a dispute which was arbitrated last year over three days of hearing before Arbitrator Brent. In his Award, Arbitrator Brent ruled in favor of the APWU, finding that the Union advanced the “more persuasive interpretation” of the term “PVS routes. Read the full award online here.
"U.S. Postal Inspector Patricia Mendoza said on Tuesday that an investigation is underway on the sticky substance that had been applied to the inside of the mail collection boxes. When mail cannot fully drop inside the box it could potentially be pulled back out by those wanting to steal mail, authorities have said. ..."
"in its Second Year Progress Report on the Delivering for America plan, the Postal Service explains that it’s “modernizing” the national network, “region by region.” That’s not a general remark about proceeding gradually, first one part of the country, then another, rather than doing the whole network all at once. It’s a specific reference to the new regional configuration of the processing-and-distribution network. In the new network, the country is divided into..."
Effective August 26, 2023 (Pay Period 19-2023), all career Mail Handler craft employees are scheduled to receive a cost-of-living (COLA) adjustment as outlined in Article 9.3 of the 2022 National Agreement. This is the second of six possible COLA increases under the terms of the current agreement. This COLA increase is based on the upward change in the relevant Consumer Price Index (CPI) following release of the July 2023 Index, using the July 2022 CPI index as a base. The resulting calculation provides an annual increase of $978 for all Steps in Table 1 and for Step P of Table 2. The remaining Steps in Table 2 will receive the proportional COLA increase percentages as outlined in Article 9.3 of the National Agreement.
Reference: NPMHU via NPMHU Local 317
"The whole thing was caught on camera, but that employee is still on the job. He works the front desk at a post office in Orange County. The postal worker, Pedro Camacho, has already appeared in court. So how is he still allowed to interact with customers at USPS?..."
"...PostNet is launching a robot delivery service in Northlake, Texas, alongside autonomous delivery provider Clevon. ... Clevon will provide its Autonomous Robot Carriers (ARCs) to deliver parcels to PostNet customers in Northlake, following successful tests of the service over a few weeks. ..."
"The amount of money a postal worker makes in retirement depends on their age and how long they worked as a postal worker or government employee. A postal worker who retired in 2023 with 25 years of service would make a monthly basic annuity between $1,447-$1,478. ..."
"A U.S. Postal Service plan to insource all line hauling of mail and parcels between hubs and local delivery units, which had been handled by contractors, will be completely phased in by 2025, according to a source with knowledge of meetings with USPS officials. As part of the 10-year Delivering for America network overhaul plan..."
"...Maryland – Breanna Lee Cartledge, age 28, of Clinton, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and wire fraud, in connection with a scheme to defraud financial institutions by creating fake checks using information Cartledge intercepted as a Clerk with the U.S. Postal Service (USPS). The guilty plea was announced by Erek L. Barron, United States Attorney for the District of Maryland and Acting Special Agent in Charge Peter Brown of the U.S. Postal Service – Office of Inspector General (USPS-OIG). According to her guilty plea, Cartledge utilized her position as a USPS employee to wrongfully access USPS money orders and individual mail...Cartledge admitted that she abused her position as a USPS Clerk to facilitate the commission or concealment of the offense. "
"...Cedric Lodge, manager of the school’s morgue, allegedly took body parts home as well as allowed others into the morgue before working to sell parts of the cadavers online and in person through Maclean's store, Kat's Creepy Creations in Salem, Massachusetts. ...The Harvard thefts are connected by a mutual buyer to another similar scheme perpetrated by Candace Chapman Scott, who is also alleged to have stolen and sold remains from a Little Rock, Arkansas, mortuary and crematorium before she was indicted in the Eastern District of Arkansas."
"The Postal Inspection Service has signed on to the 30×30 Initiative, a nationwide effort to advance gender equity in law enforcement. The initiative aims to increase the number of women in police recruitment..."
"...As part of the Delivering for America plan, USPS has committed to invest $40 billion to refurbish facilities and design a new operational model. “The network we are now building will rival that of our most sophisticated competitors,” Postmaster General Louis DeJoy says in the publication. The new network is a system of connected nodes that will manage the flow of mail and packages. Sixty regional processing and distribution centers (RPDCs) will eventually be created as the primary nodes across the nation. The first RPDCs have been built near Atlanta; Charlotte, NC; and Indianapolis. Retrofitting or groundbreaking has started at more sites. ..."
Dear Brothers and Sisters:
Please find enclosed a copy of the above-reference USPS issues updates for User Guide and FAQs to Enroll and Sign in to LiteBlue with Multifactor Authentication (MFA)
According to the Postal Service, maintaining the privacy of the employees' personal data is a shared priority of the Postal Service. Your private information stored online is a target for criminals who seek to compromise this data for their financial gain. As an additional safety measure, the Postal Service has deployed multifactor authentication (MFA) on LiteBlue.
This means that, in addition to providing your Employee Identification Number (EIN) and Password, you will be required to provide a second security factor (MFA), such as Push Notification approval from Okta Verify, Google Authenticator, One-Time Passcode (OTP) SMS Text, One-Time Passcode (OTP) Phone call or E-mail verification (default).
After January 15, 2023, employees are required to set up MFA to access LiteBlue.
After March 20, 2023, employees must have MFA enabled to access LiteBlue and their Self Service Profile (SSP).