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Postal News - January 2005

USPS to continue down server consolidation path-The Postal Service replaced all of its technology two years ago, reducing the number of servers to less than 4,000 from about 20,000. But now USPS chief technology officer Robert Otto wants to consolidate even further

Consumer-Grade Surveillance at the Post Office? "In an interesting turn, consumer electronics company Hop-on.com, which produces "disposable" cell phones and low-end cell phone accessories including a cell phone holder designed to look like thong underwear, has landed an order for its consumer surveillance systems with the USPS. This wireless system (model 2145), which has a small IR-system on the camera for night-time views, is decidedly consumer grade, the kind of thing that a paranoid homeowner might set up in his/her own home. In summary, SIW thinks that this system would be perfect for a homeowner who wants to see what that "bump-in-the-night" coming from their living room is, but as far as corporate security at a USPS facility, we simply have to ask what's really going on here? " |

Proposed Discount for Large mailers Provokes Union Ire- APWU rips labor rules in Bush Reform proposal "In a memo outlining priorities for new legislation, administration officials are advocating greater flexibility in negotiating worksharing agreements, which allow the agency to offer discounts to large mailers for presorting mail and other tasks normally done by postal workers."|

New Jersey postal worker dies after truck crash -A USPS driver was pronounced dead shortly after he crashed a mail truck into a row of hedges. While the fatal accident remains under investigation, police believe the victim experienced a medical problem just prior to driving the postal service truck off the road, police said

Home delivery encouraged in Guam-U.S. Postal Service is encouraging the community to take advantage of the free home delivery services it has offered since the 1970s, said Guam Postmaster General Tony San Nicolas. The Postal Service is expanding its home delivery service to most of the villages on the island. Exceptions include a few central and southern villages, in which mail is delivered by a contracted carrier to cluster-boxes stationed around those villages.

Mail Carrier Sometimes a Lifesaver-15 postal employees honored yesterday in the U.S. Postal Service's annual Heroes & Hard Workers awards presented during a luncheon at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium. Winners were selected from the 10,300 employees in the postal district that covers Kentucky and Southern Indiana, with awards based on attendance, attitude, appearance, performance, customer relations and safety. Recipients got a certificate and a star-shaped trophy |

Congressional shuffle could affect federal workers' interests-Both the House and Senate are in the midst of reorganizing committee structures to reflect the priorities established when Congress passed last year's massive overhaul of the U.S. intelligence community. In the House, Northern Virginia's Rep. Tom Davis will return as chairman of the powerful Government Reform Committee. Davis indicated that his committee would tackle areas such as postal reform, executive-branch reorganization authority, the presidential appointment process, streamlining federal law enforcement pay and classification reform

Seattle Postal Carrier Brutally Attacked While Delivering Mail-Police say a group of five to seven teenagers kicked, punched and beat the letter carrier. Good Samaritans helped the man make it to the hospital which was just a block away. By Friday, the injured postal carrier is still at home unable to return to work. |

Mail Carrier, FedEx courier friendly bet on wearing shorts in winter-For the last two years, U.S. Postal Service mail carrier Don Axe and FedEx courier Pat Marino have had a gentleman's bet: Who could weather the West Michigan winter the longest -- in shorts

Reward offered in Postal Clerk's Hijacking, Robbery-The Postal Service is offering a $25,000 reward for information leading to the conviction of a man police say hijacked, robbed a postal clerk at gun point  as he walked to his minivan in the parking lot.. A man approached the clerk, displayed a small semi-automatic handgun and demanded his car keys. When the clerk attempted to close the door of the van the man struck him in the left eye with the gun and entered the vehicle. The man also took $30 from the victim. At the time of hijacking, the postal clerk had in the minivan $710 in post office funds intended for deposit, and $2,000 in stamps belonging to the Postal Service. Those items have not been recovered. |

Toddler Found Wandering In The Cold by Postal Worker-a little boy was found wandering near an wearing nothing but a t-shirt, diaper and no shoes. Harold Billings, a postal worker, spotted the child on his way to work. He says the child was crying, shivering and too young to speak. Knowing something was wrong, Billings took the child inside to get warm. He then called police and CBS 6

DMA Statement: Rate Increase Rumors Just Speculation -DMA issued statement clarifying clarifies rate increase rumors.

DMA: Rate increase 'may be as low as 6 percent'-"Jerry Cerasale, the DMA's senior VP-government affairs, said the USPS in March might request a 6 percent across-the-board rate increase with implementation on Jan 1, 2006. "By the end of December, the USPS was $700 million above plan in net income. The greatest generator of that was a 14% increase in standard mail volume," Cerasale wrote. The USPS may have a $1 billion surplus as a result of the revenue boost, he said." |

USPS Transformation Efforts and Long-Term Outlook Still on GAO High-Risk List-In this 2005 update for the 109th Congress, GAO presents the status of 25 high-risk areas identified in 2003  warranting attention by the Congress and the Bush administration. The report concludes that although USPS has taken steps to address its problems -- underlying conditions that led to the high-risk designation continue to exist. The report further states: " The Service has recently cut costs and improved productivity, but it is not clear how the Service will realign its outdated infrastructure and modernize its workforce policies and practices to achieve additional long-term productivity gains. "  Highlights of GAO Report-PDF|| GAO Report-PDF |

 GAO puts 25 programs on high-risk list

Commentary: Stop the US Mail! "When we end the Postal Service's government-backed monopoly, private carriers will deliver better alternatives..."the USPS raked in a $3 billion profit in fiscal 2004 (untaxed) and plans to raise its rates, again, in 2006. The price hike is needed to cover the rising labor costs that make up a majority of their $65 billion in operating expenses. "The Ludditious American Postal Workers Union has time and again fought labor-saving technologies that would increase efficiency. And postal workers' wages seem to stay above those of average factory employees. The USPS monopoly means no shareholders to complain, and no lawyers to file class actions against it." |

NALC: Management Bonuses a Factor in Cancellation of Route Inspection Memos (pdf)-"Blinded by flawed technology and cowed by hard-core regional renegades, the Postal Service unilaterally canceled the USPS-NALC"  route inspection MOU that enabled local management and union leaders to work out effective, innovative agreements on route inspections.  Young asserted that "Management bonuses may be at the heart of the decision to scuttle the route inspection memos." USPS Headquarters officials want to capture potential “savings” spotted by the badly distorted Delivery Operations Information System (DOIS). They are convinced 2,000 routes can be eliminated by reaping DOIS “undertime.” “We know DOIS data is flawed and is routinely manipulated,” Instead, the chief operating officer of the Postal Service asserted that no route should have more than two hours office time, given the Service’s gains in DPS percentage other efficiencies now available to carriers." |

 University of Phoenix Partners with USPS   -In September 2004  the University of Phoenix, a for profit company, paid the US Dept. of Education a $9.8 million fine the largest of its kind for hard sell recruiting tactics that a 45 page report by DOE said ranged from illegal to unethical. Also in two other cases UOP settled with DOL for $6m  for unpaid overtime and $4m to settle a long-running audit. |

- University of Phoenix USPS degree program

- Student-recruitment tactics at University of Phoenix blasted by feds

Postal Inspector Sentenced for Mail Fraud-A U.S. postal inspector has been sentenced in Camden, N.J., for a mail fraud scheme involving credit cards, the Justice Department said Friday. The inspector, Frank Aversa of Ridgewood, N.J., was sentenced to 10 months in prison, fined $10,000 and ordered to pay $16,000 in restitution for his guilty plea in August 2004 to a charge of defrauding the United States. |

USPS Must Post OSHA Injury/Illness Summaries on Feb 1st-"Beginning February 1 employers must post a summary of the total number of job-related injuries and illnesses that occurred last year.. The summary must list the total numbers of job-related injuries and illnesses that occurred in 2004 . The form is to be displayed in a common area wherever notices to employees are usually posted. Employers must make a copy of the summary available to employees who move from worksite to worksite and employees who do not report to any fixed establishment on a regular basis |

- ELM: USPS form used in lieu of OSHA's

- Commentary: Workers, watch out: new OSHA chief has a slippery record

Tracking Postal trucks -U.S. Postal Service officials have awarded a three-year $4million contract to I.D. Systems to provide wireless location-tracking of USPS' vehicle fleet. Unisys will provide help-desk services and user support as a subcontractor. Over the duration of the three-year contract, the USPS could deploy the system at up to 460 facilities of varying sizes.  Postal Service Vice President Thomas G. Day said “This wireless system provides real-time information for managing our vehicle fleet in a safe, efficient and cost effective strategy. The results from this system will aid postal managers in increasing operational efficiency while sustaining a safe work environment, which are goals in our blueprint for the future, the Transformation Plan.” |

- ID Systems Press Release

U.S. Postal Service to suspend operations at Hazard (Neb) Post Office-- "The post office will be closed indefinitely after Friday because a qualified worker has not been found to fill the vacant position, U.S. Postal Service officials said. Residents were told about the pending closure about two weeks ago. Several people in the community of about 65 residents 28 miles north of Kearney are fighting the suspension, fearing it will lead to the office being closed permanently. At an informational meeting Tuesday night, the postal service's Edward Goforth said suspensions periodically occur when there is no staff available to cover an office. For now, residents must put up their own mailboxes by Saturday."

Corporate America Pays Bush's Inaugural Party Bill-Rival express deliverers, FedEx Corp. and UPS Inc. , each donated $250,000 to the inaugural committee. UPS says it has given generously to inaugurals before and spokesman David Bolger said the company is showing a bipartisan spirit. But UPS and FedEx have strong interests in trade, security and regulatory policies, like new shipping routes, overseas competition and the overhaul of the U.S. Postal Service.  |

- see list of other donors

Princeton NJ REC to Close July 8th-According to a APWU Steward at the Princeton, NJ Remote Encoding Center, " We also are slated to close on July 8th, with most of our careers moving out as early as March 5, 2005. There are 77 careers, myself included, who will be losing their jobs in this "postal downsizing" not to mention the TE's who will be also jobless. Good luck to all those in Duluth (MN) & the other REC sites who may be announced to close in July. " |

Jury says postal workers must share lottery prize -A jury has found that a Mega Million lottery winner must split the $175,000 prize with 20 fellow postal employees who accused him of cheating them out of their share. Only six Olmsted Falls postal workers sued Stephen Kyle for a piece of a $175,000 winning lottery ticket. If all 20 stake a claim, each will be eligible to receive $8,750, before taxes. Three of the pool members who testified on Kyle's behalf during the two-day trial said they weren't interested in the money. But they may change their minds now that a jury has ordered Kyle to slice up the cash pie.

 Executive Appointment:. Susan LaChance has been appointed Acting Vice President, Diversity Development, replacing Murry Weatherall, who retired from the Postal Service Jan. 3. LaChance, who is Selection, Evaluation and Recognition Manager, has been responsible for national implementation of several key programs -Pay for Performance, Voice of the Employee Survey and new entry-level selection criteria. (source: USPS)

Lessons Learned: Letter Carrier Fired After Falsifying Delivery of Registered Mail (pdf) -USPS removed the employee for improper conduct after he lost a registered letter then falsified an address and forged a signature to show that he had in fact delivered the registered letter. In a letter of decision, dated March 3, 2003, the agency concluded that "Honesty is an essential requirement of your position. Failure to be honest has a negative effect on the efficiency of operations. The Postal Service requires an honest and efficient work force. You have failed to meet this very basic requirement." The MSPB declined his petition for review. The District Court found that the postal service proved that the employee lost the registered letter and falsified the record regarding the disappearance of the letter. Therefore, the Court affirmed the removal. |

Familiar Postal Routes May Detour -Rural Mail Carriers Face Changes in a Potential Overhaul of USPS
Things in rural America -- including how people get their mail -- may work a bit differently than elsewhere in the country, but even the nation's back roads cannot escape the economic and cultural impact of changes that may come from a possible overhaul of the U.S. Postal Service that is being considered in Congress. For a decade, the USPS has been closing post offices to consolidate the sorting of mail at regional hubs and adding technology to the way workers handle mail to save the agency money. Those changes alone have already had lasting effects on rural mail service. |

Marina del Rey postal center slated for closure-In a move it says few costumers will notice, the U.S. Postal Service has finalized plans to close its large Marina del Rey processing center and move operations to a facility in South Los Angeles. No jobs will be lost in the move, which is expected to be completed by early summer. The 900 employees from the Marina del Rey plant will be relocated, officials said. |

- previous articles on closure

  Postal Inspectors Protect Mail by Eluding Public Eye -"They are armed, drive cars with sirens and have been instrumental in some of New York's most high-profile cases, including the arrests of junk bond king Michael Milken on insider trading charges and TV evangelist Jimmy Bakker on fraud and conspiracy charges. Members of the oldest federal law enforcement agency in the country, postal police and inspectors remain largely anonymous on purpose. They are the post office's own little FBI." |

USPS Hits Pickup, Service Milestones-"The U.S. Postal Service posted a record monthly package volume of 4 million pieces generated by the carrier pickup online notification program. The other milestone was reaching $100 million in revenue generated by the 2,500 Automated Postal Center machines installed nationwide last year." |

 USPS Approves ON-CARD, a Reverse Telemarketing Solution |

APWU: AFL-CIO Plans Aggressive Agenda for 2005 - AFL-CIO has begun to outline an ambitious agenda for 2005. Activity will focus on three major issues: the fight against the privatization of Social Security, which Bush has identified as his highest domestic priority this year |

- Debate Over Restructuring AFL-CIO - Burrus Update

- Debate Over Privatization of Social Security Begins-Democratic leaders and their political allies, including labor unions and the AARP, already have begun their offensive against Bush's proposal.

Four Santa Ana Postal Clerks Placed on Leave After Audit-"Four postal workers at the Spurgeon station in Santa Ana (CA)  were placed on administrative leave Thursday after auditors found procedural errors in the handling of postal funds, officials said. The four counter employees were "walked off the floor" said Rick Maher, spokesman for the postal service. The action was the result of a routine audit, he said. "All of these employees handle postal funds," he said. Postal inspectors were at the station and determined that no crime had been committed, he said. He did not know whether money was missing. The placing of the workers on leave will not affect station operations, he said." OC Register |

 2 Former Maryland Postal Workers Sue Lawyers for Failed Claims Against USPS- Two Postal Workers are accusing a Maryland law firm of legal malpractice in handling their federal claims against the Frederick branch of USPS. |

USPS Chooses WageWorks to Provide Commuter Program to All Postal Employees--Wageworks announced today that USPS is working with to provide a commuter program to its entire career workforce. The WageWorks Commuter Program saves employees up to 40 percent on commuting costs by giving them a convenient way to pay for public transportation, parking and vanpool expenses with pre-tax income. Over 700,000 USPS career employees across the country will be eligible to participate in the program when the phased implementation is completed.| 

APWU Clarifies Tax-Break ‘Commuter Program-" APWU has received numerous inquiries about the USPS-Wageworks timetable. The initial phase began last fall and has been limited to management employees working at USPS headquarters in Washington. Phase Two, now expected to launch in February, will include all career employees in the Capital Metro Area, comprising the Washington and Baltimore metropolitan areas as well as Richmond, VA. USPS and Wageworks officials hope that all career employees will be eligible by the end of the summer."(1/11) | 

The Next American Idol-Fla. Rural Carrier Associate  Vonzell “Baby V” Solomon hopes to go from delivering letters to delivering a winning performance in this year’s edition of American Idol -the nationally broadcast television program that features performers from around the country vying for the honor of being selected as the “American Idol.” | 

APWU: Postal Service to Increase Employee Identity Security-"In another step taken by the Postal Service to increase employee identity security, the eRMS IVR system and Call Center Agents will no longer take your Social Security Number when you call to request an unscheduled absence. Effective January 23, 2005, the IVR system and Call Center Agents will begin accepting your Employee ID instead of your SSN when you call to request an unscheduled absence. If you do not know your Employee ID, it can be found on your earnings statement each payday. It is the third entry from the left of the statement on the top line. This is an important identification number for Postal Employees to remember, as it is used to access other self-service systems, such as PostalEase."  |

Pittsburgh region post offices putting up 'no cell phone' signs-"The bottom line is service. How can you serve your customers effectively if you have to make 10 people wait while someone's talking on their cell?" said Diana Svoboda, spokeswoman for the Pittsburgh region of the U.S. Postal Service, where a smattering of branches have decided to put up "no cell phone" signs. "When a customer on a cell phone says, 'Wait a minute, wait a minute,' it detracts from the customers in line behind them," she added.  |

 UPS, FedEx, DHL Raise Rates -Rate increases for United Parcel Service Inc. and FedEx Corp. will take effect today. Rates for UPS Ground, UPS Next Day Air, UPS 2nd Day Air, UPS 3 Day Select and international services will rise 2.9 percent. UPS Hundredweight Service, an alternative to services offered by less-than-truckload carriers, will rise 5.9 percent.|

Postal Surveillance Cameras Swiped-The two new cameras, one inside the post office and another on the loading dock area, were stolen two days before Christmas and had yet to be activated.|

Postal payroll checks lost in the mail

Question from reader : Did any postal employee receive their paystubs? |

How to Protect the Aging Work Force-In part one of her series, ergonomics expert Cynthia Roth examines the physical changes facing aging workers and their impact on the workplace Example: Employees who must work outdoors may also face exposure to the cold. Prolonged exposure to freezing temperatures can result in health problems as serious as trench foot, frostbite and hypothermia. Workers in such industries as the postal service, etc. need to be especially mindful of the weather, its effects on the body, proper prevention techniques and treatment of cold-related disorders. |

Mailman stops fleeing offender-A Man on trial sprinted out of the court room and ran into mailman Ed Smith, who was delivering mail to the upstairs offices. “I dropped my tub of mail and I grabbed hold of him. I was still able to protect the mail,” Smith said. “After that I proceeded with my duties. Nor rain, sleet or any escaped convict will stop the mail.” |

Snow may not  keep mail carriers from their appointed rounds-but  howling winds and blinding snow just might. - Snowstorms that are blasting the  Northeast, Midwest, Northern Nevada and other parts of the US does not make it easier or safer for mail delivery. Travel was slowed to a crawl at best across wide areas of the Northeast as a huge snowstorm whipped up blizzard conditions with wind gusting to 60 mph

- Through rain and sleet (but not big snow piles)

- USPS: Delivery Should Return to Normal Today -"Despite severe weekend snowstorms that closed airports and caused flight delays in much of the Northeast, a U.S. Postal Service official said yesterday that mail delivery should be back on track today."

Calif. Evangelist says donations lost in mail-A national evangelical group in Orange County (CA) says several months of donations were thrown away because of a post office error, but officials dispute the ministry's claims. According to the evangelist 'novice' postal employees in Rancho Santa Margarita accidentally routed Christian Research Institute envelopes with contributions and requests for materials to the wrong post office box.|

Canadian postal workers challenge NAFTA -A challenge to the North American Free Trade Agreement gets underway in an Ontario court Monday, with plaintiffs arguing they are trying to protect Canada's public services. The challenge, launched by the Council of Canadians and Canadian Union of Postal Workers, arises from a $200-million claim against Ottawa by giant U.S.-based  UPS |

Your Turn: U.S. Postal Service does their job-"While I support Julia Bourque's crusade to save the environment, she should watch who she flings accusations at and blames when doing so. In her article "Wrapped Up in Excess" she called the Postal Service a company guilty of "wasteful packaging." I find it hard to believe that such a well-established company could be as big, bad and wasteful as she leads. So, I did a little research and, I think that the USPS (United States Postal Service) said it best itself." From electric vehicles to windmills, from straw buildings to environmentally benign adhesives, we're serious about protecting the environment...We operate more than 20,000 recycling centers, and we're the nation's largest user of recycled motor oil and retreaded tires. Our stringent purchasing requirements resulted in the purchase of more than $200 million worth of products with recycled content-items we use every day in processing the mail, like pallets and trays, and things our customers use every day, like stamp products and mailing envelopes...We're also proud to drive the nation's largest fleet of alternative-fuel vehicles (AFVs) that operate on clean-burning compressed natural gas or electricity. More than 7,500 Postal Service vehicles have been converted to compressed natural gas, and we've purchased 21,275 flexible fuel vehicles that can run on ethanol or gasoline." "I again applaud Bourque's passion for the environment and agree with her that things need to change, but let us not make enemies with companies that already are doing their part."

UPS Fades as Global Rivals Deliver -Investors will be listening closely to decipher whether Brown's poor 4th quarter was a blip, or a sign it is being outflanked by its rivals. Shares in UPS have dropped nearly 10 per cent since the warning. UPS blamed bad weather in the US during the peak Christmas season and a sharper than expected drop in business following the holiday. But when FedEx boasted of a "strong holiday season" and reaffirmed its bullish financial targets, analysts warned that Brown's problems could be more deep-rooted.  

UPS 4th Quarter Shows 10% Revenue Gain.-UPS Inc.  reported a slim 1.3 percent increase in its fourth quarter profit, saying it was disappointed with its domestic ground volume for the last three months of the year but was heartened by strong overall sales

UPS looks beyond rocky Q4 operations |

Oklahoma Mailman dodges bullets, delivers mail-Jan. is a big month for mail and Mike Rigdon has been really busy lately. So busy, in fact, he was running late last week. And, by chance, he witnessed a crime in progress and went after the criminal. Rigdon chased the crooks until they started shooting at him. |

Mailman Ends 33-year Postal Career Wearing Tuxedo-After 33 years of delivering mail, Joe Davidyock waltzed out in classic fashion. He wore a tuxedo to celebrate his last day of deliveries recently, impressing scores of Bay Street shop owners before bowing out to an eagerly awaited retirement. |

Elimination of the TSP Open Seasons: July 1, 2005-Public Law 108-469, which was signed into law on December 21, 2004, eliminates the Thrift Savings Plan open seasons and the restrictions on contribution elections which are tied to open seasons. The Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board will implement this law on July 1, 2005. After the close of the current TSP open season (December 31, 2004), there will be one more open season, April 15 through June 30, 2005. This means that participants may file contribution elections with their agencies or uniformed services at any time beginning April 15. Through June 30, these elections will be processed under the current rules. Beginning July 1, contribution elections will be processed under the new rules — that is, the elections must be made effective no later than the first full pay period after they are filed.

-Defeating the darkness: Postal worker addresses loss of vision with aplomb-Thirty years ago, a doctor told Frank Facio he had retinitis pigmentosa (RP), a hereditary eye disease that would eventually take his eyesight. Since then, he's gone from having bad peripheral vision to not being able to see figures at night to now having almost no vision at all. But despite not being able to see, Facio hasn't quit his job at the Post Office in Carmel Valley, CA. As the automatic sorter fills the machines with letters, Facio takes them out and places the mail in plastic bins behind him. He keeps his work area labeled with braille numbers so he knows exactly what goes where.

Digital Printing: Survival of the Postal Stream Study-Many printers believe that digital color printing experiences more damage than other printed matter. Since USPS equipment cannot differentiate between digitally printed pieces and printing produced by other processes, manufacturers of digital color printing equipment and printers have developed coating strategies to give such pieces more protection. In response to this concern, USPS is working with PIA/GATF (Printing Industries of America/Graphic Arts Technical Foundation) to evaluate the success of these protective coatings in preventing damage in the U.S. mail stream. USPS “Confirm” barcodes will be used to track the path of digital color mail to PIA/GATF headquarters using nine different digital and direct imaging suppliers and various coating technology solutions. The results of the study will be presented at the 2005 Tech Alert Conference, February 6–8, at the Hyatt Regency Pittsburgh International Airport in Pittsburgh, PA.

Membership in Unions Drops Again -In 2004, 12.5 percent of wage and salary workers were union members, down from 12.9 percent in 2003, the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics reported.. The union membership rate has steadily declined from a high of 20.1 percent in 1983, the first year for which comparable union data are available

Newsblurb: Palo Alto (Calif.) artist Samuel Yates plans to follow a postal worker around the city for a year, photographing every house. He will then digitally synthesize the photos and produce "the color of Palo Alto.

 Postmaster General Seeks Employees' Aid to South Asia Victims-"U.S. Postmaster General John E. Potter today called upon the more than 700,000 Postal Service employees nationwide to support disaster relief efforts for earthquake and tsunami survivors in South Asia."|
- USAID: Relief Organizations Working in the Disaster Area

The Postal Service has a novel approach for undeliverable books-That brand-new copy of the latest Janet Evanovich best seller you eagerly snatched off the public library shelf may have been destined for the dump. Thousands of books on library shelves in South Hampton Roads were actually rescued from the trash. They were mail-ordered by local residents from book clubs and Web sites but for various reasons were undeliverable by the post office. The senders prefer to have them tossed out rather than pay return postage. In a single day, the regional post office in Norfolk can amass up to 500 books addressed to homes and businesses from Virginia Beach to Williamsburg. So the post office donates them. Most go to the local libraries. Some go to other nonprofits, such as homeless shelters, the veteran’s hospital and churches

 Postal REC to Close-"Just before their shift began Friday night at the U.S. Postal Service remote encoding center in West Duluth, Sue Johnstone and Clarice Peterson caught the sad news first on TV. By this summer, the facility would be closed and their well-paying part-time jobs would be gone. "|
- U.S. Postal Service to close Duluth REC Center

APWU: Senate Democrats Lose Committee Assignments -

Changes to the newly renamed Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee could be significant for postal workers.  |

Port of Friday Harbor mail may be in first-class trouble -Methow Aviation of Burlington has a contract with USPS to deliver all first-class mail to Friday Harbor. It hasn’t paid its monthly rent since August. Normally, first-class mail is trucked from the Everett distribution center to the Skagit Regional Airport, where it’s loaded on the plane for the 20-minute run to San Juan Island

Russian Postal Workers Allowed to Carry Weapons - Russia's Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov has signed a resolution allowing postal workers to carry and use weapons, reports the national Government's press center. The Russian Information Technologies and Communications Ministry has been ordered to endorse the relevant instructions and personnel-training programs. The Ministry would also be expected to help prepare postal workers for the use of their standard weapons and non-lethal weapons.

01/11/05

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