Postal Service Board of Governors, TSP, Chicago Postal

Feb. 1, 2008:   TSP Current Returns   "... These returns are net of the effect of accrued administrative expenses and investment expenses/costs. The performance data shown represent past performance, which is not a guarantee of future results. Investment returns and principal value will fluctuate, so that investors' shares, when sold, may be worth more or less than their original cost. ..."    [Reference: www.tsp.gov]



Feb. 1, 2008:   Chicago mail service improving, but overnight service still among worst in U.S.   "... while the improvements narrowed the gap between Chicago and other regions, the overnight delivery rate continued to lag behind most of the markets ..."    [Reference: www.chicagotribune.com]



Feb. 1, 2008:   Alan Kessler Elected Chairman, Postal Service Board of Governors   "... substantial experience in the defense of class-action litigation, including securities, antitrust, toxic tort and civil rights cases as well as a government relations and counseling practice. ..."    [Reference: www.webwire.com]

the USPS is composed mainly of relatively low-paid "...clerks and letter carriers, its officer corps does fine."

Here is a very enlightening article by Mike Causey over at Federal News Radio: Don't Go Postal Over This. The article details the pay disparity between USPS hierarchy and the blue collar workforce.
Posted by: Technorati Profile

Postal News

Jan. 29, 2008:   Teens' explosive device injures postal worker   "... The postal worker found a second device inside the home's mailbox Saturday and suffered minor chemical burns and an inhalation injury, police said. The Clayton County police bomb squad detonated the device, and no other injuries were reported. ..."    [Reference: www.ajc.com]



Jan. 29, 2008:   Teen Accused of Shooting Postal Worker In Court   "... Omaha, NE - A teen accused of shooting at a postal worker last August asked a judge to transfer his case to juvenile court today. ..."    [Reference: www.action3news.com]



Jan. 29, 2008:   Nigeria: Union Members Kick Against Postal Reform Bill   "... The union members who are angry with the dwindling fortune of the Nigerian Telecommunication Limited (NITEL), and the Nigerian Mobiletelecommunication (MTEL) since they were sold to Transnational Corporation (Transcorp), urged the federal government to put the postal reform bill in abeyance ..."    [Reference: allafrica.com]

Mail Handler Pay Increase Reminder

February 16, 2008 (PP05-2008), is the date and pay period for the next general wage increase scheduled to be added to base wages for the Mail Handler craft. This pay raise was negotiated by the National Postal Mail Handlers Union (NPMHU).

The future of buyouts

The U.S. auto market has typically been a pacesetter when it comes to union contract negotiations, collective bargaining agreements, and now ...buyouts. It is a fact that America's large unions keep their eye on the auto industry when it comes to comparative analysis for the purpose of wage, benefit, and buyout negotiations. UAW and Ford have set the stage for future buyouts in labor intensive industries where automation, subcontracting, illegal immigration, and foreign competition have taken a heavy toll on the U.S. blue-collar worker. Large unions that represent America's postal workers, like the American Postal Workers Union and the National Postal Mail Handlers Union, continuously monitor the labor climate during these troubled times to garner equal or greater results. As the country snowballs into a recession, the auto industry, led by Ford and the UAW, are taking proactive steps to re-take the competitive lead in the global auto market by offering buyouts to each and every worker. The Detroit Free Press reports the buyout offer will look like this:

Elements:

• Under a special termination-of-employment program, retirement-eligible workers who volunteer to leave the company and forgo all benefits except accrued pension can receive a $140,000 buyout.



• For workers who have at least one year of employment with Ford, the special termination program calls for a payout of $100,000, with the worker forgoing all benefits except accrued pension.



• Under an educational opportunity program, workers with one year of service are eligible to receive up to $15,000 in college tuition for up to four years. Workers who take part in this program can receive medical benefits and half of their regular pay while enrolled in school.
  
  
• Workers also could opt to set aside $100,000 in a family scholarship program to be used for an educational program for spouses, children or grandchildren.



• Workers 55 and older who have 30 or more years of service are eligible to receive a $35,000 check and begin retirement immediately with full benefits.



• Workers 55 and older with 10 or more years of service will be provided a fixed level of income for life, which varies according to each employee's service with the company.



• Workers with at least 28 years of service are eligible to take a leave for two years until they reach 30 years of service, when they can retire as normal. During their leave, the workers will receive 85% of their pay.

File under "postal buyout" for reference

Thrift Savings Plan, FERS, APWU Suit, Postal

Jan. 19, 2008:   APWU, NALC Sue USPS and Inspector General
Over Invasion of Medical-Records Privacy   "... The suit alleges that the OIG has routinely instructed medical providers that they must submit records to the OIG and that they should refrain from notifying affected employees that the records have been requested by the OIG. ..."    [Reference: www.apwu.org]



Jan. 19, 2008:   [Thrift Savings Plan] Can You Risk Playing It Safe?   "... "FERS employees (the majority of people now working for Uncle Sam) have the most difficult situation," he said. Because they have smaller civil service retirement benefits, and get diet-COLAs which don't kick in until age 62 ..."    [Reference: www.federalnewsradio.com]



Jan. 19, 2008:   Study Finds Postal Service Gets No Edge   "... Indeed, federally imposed restraints on the post office's operations increase its costs to provide competitive products by an estimated $330 million to $782 million a year, the FTC said. ..."    [Reference: ap.google.com]

PostalPeople, FEEA Scholarship

Jan. 16, 2008:   [PostalPeople] USPS consolidates HR systems   "... Officials say the new platform, which was completed in October, will help employees and HR managers. Employees can access HR information and apply for USPS jobs online, and supervisors can use new online management and administrative tools. ..."    [Reference: www.fcw.com]




Jan. 16, 2008:   FEEA 2008-09 Scholarship Application
available now!   "... FEEA Scholarship Program is an annual, merit-based contest open to civilian federal and postal
employees, their spouses and college-age children. Awards range from $500-$2,500 for one year.
Applications are available January - March each year. ..."    [Reference: www.feea.org]

More Postal News: Are you overpaid? ...and more articles

Jan. 11, 2008:   Are You Overpaid?   "... At least three presidents - Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton - thought so. They believed federal pay was out of line because the value of perks like retirements, holidays, and cradle-to-grave health insurance weren't considered as part of compensation. ..."    [Reference: www.federalnewsradio.com]



Jan. 11, 2008:   [Alaska] Former Kipnuk postmaster faces charges for assaulting workers   "... a postal employee in Kipnuk since December 2000, and became the officer in charge in September 2007. ..."    [Reference: www.adn.com]



Jan. 11, 2008:   U.S. Postal Service Gets Scientific With New Stamps   "... Due for self-adhesive glory are physicist John Bardeen, inventor of the transistor; astronomer Edwin Hubble ..."    [Reference: blog.wired.com]

2008 Federal Pay Scales, New Stamps, and TSP Investing...

Jan. 7, 2007:    2008 Federal Salary Tables and Related Information   "... General Schedule and Locality Pay Tables, 2008 Locality Payments and Total Pay Increases for General Schedule Employees, Senior Executive Service, Special Salary Rate Tables ..."    [Reference: www.opm.gov]



Jan. 7, 2007:   [TSP] Investing: How Safe Is Playing It Safe?   "... Last year (2007) the value of a single share of the international stock index fund, the I-fund, went up $2.32. That may not sound like much unless you have a lot of shares, or unless you compare it with the performance of the super-safe treasury securities G-fund. The value of a G-fund share you had in January of last year went up only 56 cents by the end of the year. ..."    [Reference: www.federalnewsradio.com]



Jan. 7, 2007:   New Stamp Series Will Observe Chinese New Year   "... In observance of the Chinese New Year, the U.S. Postal Service will
debut a new stamp series for the 12 different animals in the Chinese calendar.
The series will continue through 2019. The first stamp in the series is for
the Year of the Rat, which begins Feb. 7, 2008 and ends Jan. 25, 2009. ..."    [Reference: www.reuters.com]

Postal Service inspection office moves from Birmingham to Hoover

"...terrorist acts and an increasing number of identity theft crimes committed using the U.S. mail have changed the "silent service" to one that is more vocal, said Tony Robinson, a spokesman for the Alabama Postal Inspection Service Office. Around Thanksgiving, the office moved to 100 Corporate Parkway, off U.S. 280 in Hoover's Meadow Brook Corporate Park..."    

This Article is From: www.al.com

Read our latest posts!

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December 31, 2007 ...buyout rumors for CSRS, etc

December 31, 2007:   Let the Rumors Begin   "... chances are you will be getting bogus reports - typically via e-mail and often disguised as a "news" story - saying the super buyout of CSRS folks is in the works. It isn't! ..."    [Reference: www.federalnewsradio.com]














December 31, 2007:   House ‘Mail Network Protection Act’ Gains
Seven Co-Sponsors Prior to Holiday Break   "... asked union activists to make the bill a priority. “It is imperative that union members contact their representatives and let them know that this legislation is important to the future of the Postal Service and to postal workers,” Burrus said. ..."    [Reference: www.apwu.org]



December 31, 2007:   USPS seeks comment on proposed uses of Intelligent Mail barcodes   "... The notice is expected to be published in the Federal Register sometime in January. Once published, a 45-day comment period will begin. ..."    [Reference: www.dmnews.com]

December 26, 2007

December 26, 2007:   New surveillance video released of postal service robbery   "... hid under the truck as he waited for the postal employee to return from his fourth pick-up of money ..."    [Reference: www3.whdh.com]



December 26, 2007:   Letters to Santa ... Merry Christmas   "... Leesville main USPS branch Sales and Service Associate, as she sorts letters headed to the North Pole. ..."    [Reference: www.leesvilledailyleader.com]



December 26, 2007:   How does your mail get from here to there?   "... FAMOUS POSTAL EMPLOYEES,

Benjamin Franklin,

Abraham Lincoln,

Harry Truman,

Bing Crosby,

Walt Disney,

Rock Hudson,

Charles Lindbergh,

Knute Rockne,

Noah Webster,

William Faulkner. ..."    [Reference: www.cantonrep.com]

December 21, 2007

December 21, 2007:    Postal truck hijacked, looted in Roxbury   "... The postal driver had stopped at the Roxbury Post Office on Malcolm X Boulevard about 7:30 p.m. and was walking toward his truck when a man appeared from underneath the trailer, grabbed him and pulled him into the cab. ..."    [Reference: www.bostonherald.com]



December 21, 2007:   A day in the life: U.S. Postal Service carrier   "... mainly I do it because people don't expect it," he said. "Their package is unexpected, and they give an unexpected smile. That's what makes it worthwhile. ..."    [Reference: www.pegasusnews.com]



December 21, 2007:   Postal Service removing stamp machines   "... “It was a decision made at the national level,” Field said. “The vending equipment is old, and they decided to go with the alternative of selling stamps at the convenience counters of retail outlets.” ..."    [Reference: www.timesnews.net]

December 17, 2007

December 17, 2007:    CHARLIE LANGFORD: Some trivia, facts and figures for the holiday season   "... The USPS is the only delivery service that claims to deliver to every address in the nation, 146 million homes and businesses, six days a week. The Postal Service also delivers almost half the world's mail. ..."    [Reference: www.djournal.com]



December 17, 2007:   Thousands Of Postal Workers Not Paid   "... The United States Postal Service says 14 thousand rural route mail carriers across the country did not get a paycheck this week because of a glitch in the payroll system. ..."    [Reference: www.wcsh6.com]



December 17, 2007:   GAO to USPS: Address database errors   "... USPS developed the FDB in 2003 to capture and maintain data on the agency’s 34000 facilities nationwide, but five years later, the database is still not the ..."    [Reference: www.fcw.com]

December 10, 2007

۞ Dec. 10, 2007:   President Bush Delivers December 24 as a Day Off for Federal Employees   "... The day off does not affect Postal Service workers, nor does it include Executive Branch employees whose agencies determine they cannot be excused for reasons of national security, defense or other essential public need. ..."    [Reference: opm.gov]



۞ Dec. 10, 2007:   
USAJOBS Connects with Major Search Engines
Initiative raises visibility of Federal job postings   "... For example, someone who types in a job title on Google or other engines, such as "IT Specialist" or "Electrical Engineer", will now also see links to Federal vacancy announcements in those fields. ..."    [Reference: opm.gov]



۞ Dec. 10, 2007:   Netflix Deals with Ultimatum from U.S. Postal Service   "... Although the issue hasn’t been discussed by any of the Postal Service officials, Steve Swasey, a Netflix representative, stated: “"We're in full compliance with U.S. Postal Service regulations and specifications […] If the specifications of the post office were to change, we would change the mailer as necessary. We've already gone through 40 to 50 iterations of the mailer since Netflix started shipping DVDs a decade ago.” He also added: “We save them about $100 million a year. We pick up the returns from the post office. They are not delivered to Netflix, even though we're paying for it.” ..."    [Reference: www.efluxmedia.com]



۞ Dec. 10, 2007:   PTFs in Large Offices Eliminated as of Dec. 1
New Limits on Numbers of Casuals Also Go Into Effect

(APWU)   "... “Dec. 1, 2007, will be a historic day for postal labor,” APWU President William Burrus declared this week. “It marks the elimination of part-time flexible employment for the Clerk Craft in large offices. ..."    [Reference: www.apwu.org]

December 6, 2007

U.S. Postal Service to Netflix: You’re killing us on labor "... It’s a safe bet that Netflix will redesign its mailers ..." [Reference: zdnet.com]

Dec. 3, 2007: New security worries after Clinton hostage scare

New security worries after Clinton hostage scare:



The increased surveillance was ordered after workers in Democratic hopeful Hillary Clinton's New Hampshire office were terrorized Friday by a disturbed man who held them for several hours before turning himself over to police.

[Reference: www.newsday.com]

November 30, 2007

Nov. 30, 2007:   Royal Oak postal employee robbed at gunpoint   "... The two men popped up near the docking ramp in the back of the facility, located on West Second Street, and pointed guns at the man ..."    [Reference: www.candgnews.com]



Nov. 30, 2007:   
Is Netflix Costing the Post Office Millions?
A New Audit Suggests That the Postal Service Is Undercharging the DVD Service
  "... The mailers the customers use to return DVDs to the companies often jam in the Postal Service's automatic mail sorters. So instead, 70 percent or so of the DVDs need to be sorted by hand, costing the Postal Service roughly $21 million in extra labor costs each year. ..."    [Reference: abcnews.go.com]



Nov. 30, 2007:   RETURN TO SENDER: mail center complaints surface
Efficiency of LMU Mail Center in question.   "... USPS regarding his missing mail. "I have found documentation of them handing it over to LMU, but LMU says they have no records of it. I've done my research. I've called the head of the Westchester office and they have been more helpful than LMU," said Morales. ..."    [Reference: www.laloyolan.com]

Nov. 28, 2007: Santa Letters, APWU, USPS BlackBerry

۞ Nov. 28, 2007:   Postal Service has tips for sending letters to Santa   "... Many children eager for Christmas may have already written their letters to Santa. But where to send those letters? ..."    [Reference: www.bnd.com]



Nov. 28, 2007:   [APWU] Burrus Issues Stinging Rebuke
To USPS Inspector General:
Audit ‘Lacks Relevance, Ignores Legislative Mandate’ to Bargain   "... The APWU president also criticized the Inspector General for the OIG’s failure to address billions of dollars granted to major mailers in excessive worksharing discounts. “Despite the enormity of this loss of revenue, your office has failed to document and analyze this egregious violation of the integrity and accountability of the Postal Service.” ..."    [Reference: www.apwu.org]



Nov. 28, 2007:    AT&T Delivers 5,400 BlackBerry's to USPS Employees  "... deploying 5,400 BlackBerry devices, equipped with specialized mobile applications, to United States Postal Service (USPS) employees. ..."    [Reference: www.tmcnet.com]

November 22, 2007

Nov. 22, 2007:   Lawyers prompt Postal Service to tighten its Santa letter rules   "... On the advice of his legal counsel, Santa Claus is changing the way he does business. ..."    [Reference: www.tucsoncitizen.com]



Nov. 22, 2007:   Postal services   "... The US Postal Service is offering an online card and postage service enabling customers to purchase and send holiday cards from their home computer ..."    [Reference: www.sun-sentinel.com]



Nov. 22, 2007:   NCED by the numbers   "... 1969 — USPS began training operations in Norman on top two floors of OU’s Couch Tower with a staff of 50. They served 7,000 students in three training programs with a $4 million budget. ..."    [Reference:www.normantranscript.com ]