Home| Your Rights | Editorials | Postal Resources| Links| About | What's New | Shopping| Editor

Postal News - June 2005

Senate Committee Passes Postal Reform Bill-The Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs passed the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2005 out of committee by a 15-1 vote . The legislation was similar to the bill introduced March 17 by Sen. Susan Collins, R-ME, chairwoman of the committee, and committee member Sen. Thomas Carper, D-DE. It must now be considered by the Senate, but no date has been set. The House Government Reform Committee is expected to mark up its postal reform measure after the July 4 recess, according to postal insiders. Postal Measure Clears Senate Panel; Floor Action Uncertain - Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla. argued the bill does not do enough to reduce healthcare costs for postal employees. Health benefits are negotiated through collective bargaining.|

- Mailers Laud Senate Bill OK, Unsure of Prospects

- Press Release on Senate Committee approval of  S.662
- Senate Postal Reform Bill Passes Out of Committee

Senator Keeps Focus on Financial Management at Postal Service (pdf)-"Senator Chuck Grassley is keeping pressure on the Postal Service by asking for reports on how the Service is improving financial management following recent news of a possible postal rate increase and excessive payments by the Service when its employees relocate. Grassley said he wants to shine the spotlight on the Postal Service to make sure any increase in the cost of stamps is not wasted by poor management." |

- Senator Wants Report on USPS Financial Management

The Postman Cometh, UPS and FedEx-"Fool me once with DHL. Don't fool me twice with the USPS. Last holiday season, I, along with a lot of other enthusiasts for UPS and FedEx , missed the incredibly aggressive attempt by DHL to take share from the two warhorses. This morning's fantastic piece of research from Morgan Stanley about the newfound prowess, including pricing prowess, of the U.S. Postal Service worries me just like the DHL threat should have worried me. I believe that we have to watch these stocks very carefully because of USPS. How bad is the threat? If I were Fred Smith, who owns some of the Republican Party I would call President Bush, FedEx him the report and say, "Come on, shut down the postal service, privatize it or at least make it uncompetitive." In the nutty world we are in, that could happen. But not fast enough to save the quarters of FedEx and UPS. " (source: Commentary by James Cramer via theStreet) |

- UPS Shares Lower After Analyst Downgrade

USPS Net Income $1.4 Billion Over Budget
USPS net income was $1.4 billion over budget and revenue totaled $47.4 billion, which was $1.1 billion better than planned and up 1.5 percent from the year-ago period. Total year-to-date mail volume of 142.8 billion pieces was a 3 percent rise from the year-ago period. The most significant volume increase was in Standard, which jumped 6.1 percent. The category with the next-largest increase was Priority Mail, up 4.2 percent   |

- USPS Financial & Operating Statements May 2005 (PDF)

- Getting a Read on the USPS May Financial Report

Burrus: Effort to Drop Proposal for Labor Seat on Postal Board Could Fracture Coalition- APWU expects that the final bill reforming the Postal Service will include a provision for a labor representative on the Board of Governors and we expect it to be included, as well as other provisions for which we have fought so hard. Removing the provision at this late date would be a breach of the trust built up over months of painstaking negotiations. |

- House Chairman Plans to Leave Labor Provision in Postal Bill
- National Taxpayers Union Group Opposes Labor Inclusion on BOG

- NALC Bulletin: 'Crunch time on postal reform is nearly here.'

Conservatives still waiting for response to concerns on postal overhaul-Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind., chairman of the conservative Republican Study Committee, and Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, are still waiting for a response from House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., and Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, on a letter they sent three weeks ago that lambasted postal overhaul legislation sponsored by House Government Reform Committee Chairman Tom Davis, R-Va., for worsening the deficit.

Donahoe takes oath as Deputy PMG/COO-Pat Donahoe, the Postal Service’s 19th Deputy Postmaster General and Chief Operating Officer (COO), took the oath of office today, thanking employees throughout the country and pledging to continue leading USPS transformation efforts.|

PMG Visits Michigan Mail Processing Facilities-Postmaster General Jack Potter took time to visit three Michigan mail processing facilities last week — Troy Automation Facility, and Royal Oak and Detroit Processing and Distribution Centers. Potter thanked employees for their hard work and customer service. In Detroit, the PMG also held a town hall meeting with employees and made recommendation to improve plant efficiency by removing old hardware and out-of-date sack sorters. |

APWU Rank and File Bargaining Advisory Committee Holds Initial Meeting-APWU’s Rank and File Bargaining Advisory Committee  must approve any tentative extension agreement before it can be sent to members for a ratification vote. Initially, the union and management discussed creating positions that would be reserved for retirees, who would continue to draw their annuities. But union and management representatives were notified by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) that such an arrangement could not be approved. |

APWU, USPS Considering Contract Extension-"APWU President William Burrus announced June 20 that the union and management have reached "an agreement on a framework" for a one-year extension of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, with specific details still under discussion. “It will include a raise, along with two cost-of-living adjustments, and upgrades of some positions in the clerk, maintenance, and motor vehicle crafts. ”In addition to a contract extension, the parties are also exploring an entirely new concept: the creation of Retail Sales Assistants who would work in grocery stores, malls, and other venues that are easily accessible to the public, the union president said. These positions would be reserved for retired postal employees, who would continue to draw their retirement annuities."  |

Another Postmaster Reassigned-USPS says Madera (Calif.) Postmaster Paul Deleon is reassigned because of "personal problems". But the word from insiders is that this is the result of intense scrutiny from postal inspectors after a CBS 47 TV report. The Postmaster who some workers claim harassed them and forced them to deliver the mail late, is suddenly gone. |

USPS Releases May 2005 Financial Statement
Total Mail Volume for May, FY 2005 was 800 million pieces or 5.1% over SPLY. First-Class Mail volume improved by 186 million pieces or 2.5%, and Priority Mail grew by 10 million pieces or 16.1% compared to the previous year. Standard Mail volumes . were 503 million pieces or 6.9% over SPLY.|

- USPS respond  to reports of additional cash (pdf)

Former Postal Manager Admits Stealing $163,000-"David Summers, a former Kansas City, Kansas, post office manager, has admitted stealing nearly $163,000 from his employer, U.S. Attorney Eric Melgren said Tuesday. Summers was a customer service manager at the Civic Center Station in Kansas City, Kansas. The embezzlement was concealed by manipulation of the postal service's accounting system. He faces a maximum of five years in federal prison, a $250,000 fine and restitution, Melgren said." |

House Bill Includes No USPS Emergency Preparedness Funds-USPS received no emergency preparedness funding in the $66.9 billion fiscal year 2006 Transportation, Treasury, Housing, and Urban Development bill that the House Appropriations Committee passed Tuesday. Potter said the USPS currently spends about $800,000 of its own funds monthly to irradiate mail destined for Congress, the White House and federal government agencies in Washington.|

USPS OIG Semi-Annual Report to Congress 2005-The report  covers:  Enhance Customer Service Operations, Improve Delivery Operations, Letter Carrier Compensation Models, Workers’ Compensation Costs, Enhance Workplace Environment and much more.   |

-USPS Orders hybrid electric vehicles -Azure will follow on this delivery with a prototype diesel parallel hybrid drive for a two-ton step van that will also be used by USPS for in-service demonstration and monitoring. The scope of the program is to determine the relative economics of both the series and parallel hybrid powertrains compared to current fleet vehicles and to establish cost-benefit parameters. Azure expects to deliver the parallel hybrid delivery vehicle to USPS in October of 2005. USPS operates approximately 10,000 two-ton step vans. USPS already operates 30 all-electric Azure Citivans in the state of New York. 22 Azure Citivans have been servicing Manhattan dating back to 1998 while eight more were added to the fleet in 2004 to service the Bronx. Two additional vehicles will start servicing Queens in June 2005.

Dismount order reversed-Gilroy - Postmaster Penny Yates has ordered her letter carriers to get out of their vehicles and deliver mail to curbside boxes that are temporarily blocked by parked cars or trash receptacles. “I said ‘guys, we made the newspaper,’” she said of her conversation with her staff. “‘You should be making safe dismount deliveries.’ As long as we can walk up to the box, they should follow safety procedures and ensure delivery.” Yates called a May 28 Dispatch story highlighting the difficulties some Gilroy residents have receiving their mail a “negative attack.” But after the story ran, the postmaster asked to view unpublished pictures of carrier Patricia Finley, who was photographed by the Dispatch while she used her truck to push trash bins out her way so she wouldn’t have to dismount. Postal workers invoke response |

- Victim of 'do not dismount' policy speaks out

Do Dismount - and Deliver the Mail-"Residents in some Gilroy neighborhoods are understandably upset with Gilroy Postmaster Penny Yates, who has told her carriers not to leave their vehicles to deliver mail to curbside mailboxes that are blocked by a parked car. Why is Yates’ “do not dismount” order a bad idea? Let us count the ways."  |

- ‘Do Not Dismount’

- Postal Service Attitude Adjustment

No discipline for Gilroy postal worker -Patricia Finley, the Gilroy letter carrier photographed using her mail truck to push trash receptacles out of the way of mailboxes will not be disciplined. Gilroy postmistress Penny Yates had previously said Finley was facing punishment potentially as severe as termination. “Patricia’s off the hook,” said union shop steward Debra Masten. “We really do have a good relationship with management.” Under union rules, the deadline to discipline Finley expired Monday, two weeks after Yates discussed the matter with her. Yates could not be reached for comment. |

Drive for Quick USPS Rate Settlement Questioned-By the postal service's own estimate, under its proposed rate increase, the markup on Standard Enhanced Carrier Route, or ECR, mail would be 144 percent, Valpak attorney  William Olson said. It would have the highest markup of any class of mail. Olson said the rate case appears to violate the law. It marks up some mail classes too much while allowing other classes to avoid carrying their share of the burden, he said.|

Reports: USPS Denies Rate Case Withdrawal-The U.S. Postal Service is denying reports that it might be considering a withdrawal of the current rate case. ""I don't know what happened behind closed doors but as far as I know the rate case is going forward," said USPS spokesman Jerry McKiernan  |

Postal Workers Cautiously Optimistic About Manager's Reassignment -

- No one's popping champagne corks and throwing confetti yet, but the announcement that Brenda Holmes was being re-assigned to the Gary Post Office was welcome news to the letter carriers and clerks in Michigan City (Indiana). Even though the re-assignment is billed as temporary by Postal Service bureaucrats, any respite from Holmes' dictatorial management style is cause for celebration. Things got so bad the Postal Service brought in an intervention team because of the astronomical number of grievances (anywhere from 250 to more than 400 in the less than four years since Holmes arrival) .Letter carriers were being pushed to the limit and if they complained about 12-hour or longer days, they were reprimanded. |

Georgia Letter Carrier Shot by Man on Delivery Route- Witnesses told police that the carrier was delivering mail when a resident of the neighborhood approached him and opened fire. The victim managed to get back into his truck and drive away but apparently stopped the truck and collapsed.  A resident called emergency workers as the suspect fled from the scene and drove to the police department  |  -

Postman shot on job has second surgery

Homeowner shoots mailman `to make a statement'

Postal Workers Allowed to Wear Z-coil Shoes in Some Districts- After USPS banned Z-Coil footwear in the workplace last year , some postal workers were unhappy.  Fortunately postal workers in some districts are now allowed to wear Z-Coil shoes with a doctor's prescription and a few other restrictions.|

 Azeezaly Jaffer: Don't Believe the Mythmaker-"I recently came across the commentary that appeared in the May 8 Press-Republican, headlined "Dispelling the Myths of the USPS." It was written by a Sam Ryan but the name Paul Harvey kept coming to mind, since I thought a more appropriate heading might have been "The Rest of the Story." I've seen some articles Mr. Ryan has written before and his pattern is always the same: a half truth, a conclusion, and then move on. So I would caution, don't believe Ryan the mythmaker; he misleads" . |

 Deadline Up for Postal Workers to Pay Off City Payroll Tax - (Paducah, Kentucky) 200 Postal Workers face prosecution over non-payment- Tuesday was the last day that Paducah postal workers could pay off payroll taxes they owed dating back to 2000 . Because Paducah has less than 500 Federal employees-- Federal agencies are exempted by law from withholding Paducah payroll taxes. According to one clerk," the local newspaper and TV reports made us all look like a bunch of "crooks & cheat's"! They are expecting us (Postal employee's) pay upon short notice." The local APWU has hired an attorney and may work out some agreement with the city. (6/4)|

- Postmaster Mark Hulme: "no one's exempt from paying taxes"

Waltham post office to try new hybrid vehicle-Post offices in New York currently operate 30 all-electric vehicles is made by Azure Dynamics, but Waltham's new addition is the first of its kind for USPS. The 14,000-pound truck runs on a combination of diesel fuel and electricity and is expected to use 50 percent less fuel than the 11,000-pound truck it replaces. Azure delivered the truck to the USPS earlier this month, and Waltham received it yesterday. It will be kept at the Smith Street Annex station and used to retrieve mail from colleges and large businesses. |

EBay crowd goes postal over PMG guest appearance-How do we love thee, post office . . .Five bucks says you can't name the postmaster general of the U.S. Postal Service. But for a few brief moments last week, John E. Potter was like a rock star in San Jose. Potter appeared on stage before a packed HP Pavilion during eBay Live, the San Jose company's annual gathering of eBay members and employees. EBay Chief Executive Meg Whitman invited Potter onstage to discuss new shipping services available to eBay sellers. To most people, mailing a package is about as interesting as running a load of laundry. To eBay sellers, mailing is their life. And anything anyone can do to make the chore easier is greeted with wild enthusiasm. So when Potter took the stage, the crowd gave him a hearty ovation. And when Whitman asked the crowd after his talk, ``How much do we love the Postal Service?'' eBayers let it rip. |

-EEOC: Employee Can File Complaint Over Removal From Overtime Work, Desired List – Employee alleged discrimination when he was passed over for overtime assignments and ultimately removed from the Overtime Desired List. USPS dismissed the complaint, finding that it did not state an actionable claim. The EEOC found that assignment of overtime work was clearly a "term, condition or privilege" of the employee’s employment. Therefore, the EEOC concluded that USPS' failure to select him from the ODL to perform overtime work, or removing him from that list, rendered the employee aggrieved and remanded the case for further processing. Parker v. Potter |

Motor Vehicle Service Driver Wins Reinstatement-In Robert Boots was removed from his position in the USPS as a Tractor-Trailer Operator for taking an anti-seizure medication that was disclosed when he was hired in 1998. A Special Panel said DOT regulations adopted voluntarily by the USPS do not override EEO rules with regard to disability discrimination.  The Special Panel directed the MSPB to order the appellant’s restoration to duty and the back pay and benefits that go with it. This case illustrates how worker unfriendly the MSPB has become and how long cases can drag out. |

eBay Business Is Booming at Post Offices
. eBayers have increased the volume of parcels in post offices all over the country, from tiny rural sites to metropolitan offices. According to eWeek Enterprise News & Reviews, the popularity of Internet communication put a dent in first-class mail handled by USPS. However, the rise in eBay commerce picked up that decline in volume. The Postal Service handled 90.1 billion pieces of mail in 2000, then only 87.2 billion pieces in 2002. In 2004, the volume dramatically increased, to 95.6 billion pieces, eWeek reported.|

Federal authorities charge four former postal workers-"Four former postal service employees were charged Friday with thefts from the mail and Postal Service coffers in the New Orleans area, including one implicated in an alleged scheme involving the theft and cashing of $34,000 in U.S. Treasury checks." PRESS RELEASE

 House to Vote on Postal Overhaul Bill-House leaders plan to move a long-awaited postal overhaul measure to the floor this month or early July despite objections from the administration and mounting opposition from conservatives concerned about its budgetary impact. A GOP aide said some conservatives share the administration's view on the military pensions and have lambasted the measure for not doing enough to cut down on labor costs.|

Judge rejects guilty plea attempt by former Estero postmaster-Estero's former postmaster tried to plead guilty Tuesday to embezzling a portion of the more than $250,000 federal prosecutors contend she pocketed from selling stamps to Publix Supermarkets. But U.S. Magistrate Judge Douglas N. Frazier told Ida Lamb Rasnake that she has to admit to taking every penny of the $254,940 charged in her indictment, not the $90,160 her lawyer says she will admit to taking. Otherwise, Frazier said, he can't accept her plea. |

UPS Loses Personal Data for 3.9 Million Customers -Citigroup Inc, the world's largest bank, on Monday said account and payment history data on 3.9 million of its customers were lost in transit by United Parcel Service Inc. . Citigroup said the data were stored on computer tapes, and lost while UPS was shipping them to an Experian credit bureau in Texas. The tapes, which also contained Social Security numbers, covered CitiFinancial Branch Network customers and about 50,000 customers with closed accounts from CitiFinancial Retail Services. |  

Final Rule: Premium Forwarding Service Experiment Effective August 7 - The U.S. Postal Service has published a final rule, effective August 7, 2005, that sets forth the standards adopted by the Postal Service to implement the Premium Forwarding Service (PFS) experiment.  The Postal Service is conducting the PFS experiment to measure interest in a new service that forwards mail to residential customers who are temporarily away from their primary address.  With PFS, your local Post Office will ship mail to your temporary address once a week via Priority Mail.  Customers can submit a temporary forwarding request for their First-Class Mail and Periodicals mail. Customers also can have their mail held at the Post Office for short periods of time.  Premium Forwarding Service (PFS) is a two-year, nationwide experiment that reships all of a customer's mail on a weekly basis.

Post Office Gets $75M in World Trade Center Suit-A property insurer has agreed to pay the U.S. Postal Service $75 million for damage to the historic Church St. post office incurred on 9/11, Manhattan U.S. Attorney David Kelley announced yesterday. The agreement settles a lawsuit the Postal Service brought against Factory Mutual Insurance Co. in Manhattan Federal Court, said Kelley. The Church St. station, at 90 Church St., suffered extensive damage in the terror attacks. The post office, which is on the National Registry of Historic Places, reopened last year.

-Bethesda, Maryland' s first Black female postmaster sworn in-A native Washingtonian, Deitrice Willard-Ruffin, called "DeeDee" by those who know her, became the first female African-American postmaster for the city of Bethesda, Md. There are 24,767 postmasters across the country, a USPS spokesman said. Approximately 1,064 are African-American and over half of those, 621, are women, comprising a little over 4 percent of the USPS' 14,516 women postmasters. Willard-Ruffin has been a USPS employee since 1986, starting as a letter carrier in Arlington, Va., and quickly moving up the postal hierarchy from a supervisor and manager of customer services in Arlington to the position of manager of customer services for the Bethesda post office in 2000

Animal Welfare agency to look into bird removal complaints at post office-An animal welfare agency is looking into complaints that a company hired by the Brick post office to remove birds may have violated animal cruelty statutes, officials said .The incident began after the post office hired Ecolab, a commercial cleaning and pest removal company with offices in Sayreville, to remove bird nests that were located under eaves in the back of the building, said George Flood, a spokesman for the postal service in New Jersey. He said the post office received complaints about bird droppings by employees.

More than a letter carrier-Employees, residents often bond at mailbox
The strong bonds forged by rural carriers are in no danger of being severed. Although the boondocks are rapidly disappearing as Florida continues to grow at breakneck speed, postal officials say the need for rural carriers is actually growing. Allan Jones, state steward for the Florida Rural Letter Carriers Association, said urban areas are as likely to be serviced by rural carriers today as city carriers.|

Close encounters of the fluttering kind: a rise in bird attacks-Mail carrier attacked by six mockingbirds - Postal carrier Keith Cooper is used to dogs sneering from behind metal gates. He's used to uncivil people who expect to find something in their mailbox and then don't. But this week he ran into a new problem: rambunctious birds. "I was ducking this way, then ducking that way, trying to get away," Mr. Cooper says, recalling a few frenzied seconds where beaks flashed like tiny daggers. "I had no idea what was going on. |

 Mail Delivery Halted at Home of  6 pound Scratching Cat-The postal service said it won't resume delivery until owner restrains the cat named Denver indoors .A spokesman for the postal service said it has a right to discontinue delivery if delivery men and women feel threatened. The postal service said the cat has scratched at least one of the carriers several times.

Postal Reform Votes Likely Within Weeks-"Expectations are high that the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs will vote to recommend the Senate's postal reform bill this month, before the July 4 recess, said Bob McLean, executive director of the Mailers Council. Also, the House of Representatives bill, which has passed out of its committee, could get a vote from the full House this month or in July. |

 E-NAPUS Legislative Newsletter: Collins Sets Date for S. 662 (pdf)

Question From Postal Reporter Reader : "We are currently scheduled for a BDS (Biohazard Detection System) drill in July.  There is a rumor that we will be required to go through decontamination (strip and shower) for this drill.  That in fact this has already happened at other offices.  Is there any truth to this?  Haven't been able to get any information about these "drills" anywhere else.  Thanks, clerk. |

The Offer's in the Mail-To reach consumers, marketers turn to old standby-Companies faced with government crackdowns on e-mail spam and telemarketing calls are turning to a tried-and-true method to reach consumers: the mailbox. Direct mail, or so-called junk mail, is on the rise. With hundreds of television channels and dwindling newspaper circulations, marketers say snail mail is one of the last frontiers where they know they can find consumers in an increasingly fragmented media market. But one of the biggest beneficiaries may be the US Postal Service, which generated upwards of $60 billion in revenue from direct mail over the past four years  "
- There ought to be a law against junk mail

USPS Financial Situation Better Than Original Estimates

According to Postcom.org: "Insider gossip aside, the Postal Service's financial situation is better than its original estimates when it filed the rate case in early April and much better than when it filed its operating budget last year. Postal Service Witness Maura Robinson has filed an errata to her R2005-1 testimony to indicate that the Postal Service now projects its after-rates net income in the test year (2006) to be $281 million, up from the original projection of $112 million." |

Senate Committee Cuts Funding For USPS Cost to Compact Countries-The US Senate Appropriations Committee concurred with the House report to continue $1,000,000 funding of a health program for the populations of Marshall Islands atolls where Cold War nuclear testing occurred. Also clearing the Committee last Thursday was $800,000 for distribution to Prior Service Trust Fund enrollees of the region. In departmental budgeting for the Compact, however, the Committee recommended $500,000 less than the House allowance, which is $588,000 less than FY2005. The decrease includes a cut in Federal Services Assistance which provides funding for U.S. Postal service to reimburse cost of postal service to Compact countries

Postal Service's Web Site Voted Best Among Government Agencies - The WiredSafety Group, an independent organization, has cited the United States Postal Service as having the most consumer-friendly website of those agencies considered for The Best of the Web-Government Award. WiredKids.com, a part of the WiredSafety Group, also gave the Postal Inspection Service the Wired Cops Award for its efforts in the successful recovery of a kidnapped child.

The Burrus Book' available online "The Burrus Book – a collection of documents spanning more than two decades that includes national grievance settlements, memos of understanding, and court decisions addressing matters of contract interpretation – is now available online."

APWU Rank and File Bargaining Advisory Committee Holds Initial Meeting-APWU’s Rank and File Bargaining Advisory Committee  must approve any tentative extension agreement before it can be sent to members for a ratification vote. Initially, the union and management discussed creating positions that would be reserved for retirees, who would continue to draw their annuities. But union and management representatives were notified by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) that such an arrangement could not be approved. |

N.J. Postal Workers Intercept Anthrax Hoax Letters-- Postal workers in Asbury Park have intercepted several letters that contained the word "anthrax" on a single sheet of paper inside. The FBI in Newark said the letters were mailed to schools, government agencies and private businesses. None of the letters tested positive for the biological agent. The FBI isn't saying to whom the letters were addressed for fear of causing a copycat situation.

Mail Carried Once Again by US Airways and American Airlines-The  Postal Service suspended the mail-carrying contracts with both airlines in February. US Airways started carrying mail again in April, said David Castelveter, airline spokesman. The mail runs resumed about the same time for American, said Jim Quirk, a spokesman with the Postal Service. The contracts had been suspended because first-class mail the two airlines carried had been consistently late for about five months. |

 Former Postal Technician sentenced in password cracking case - A former electrical technician with the Postal Service in Sioux Falls won't go to jail for tampering with a computer. But Arlin Vande Kamp will be on probation for a year, pay a $500 fine and pay back more than $3,900.He was sentenced in federal court after earlier pleading guilty to unauthorized access of a government computer. The U.S. Attorney's office says Vande Kamp used a restricted computer at the Sioux Falls distribution center in July 2003 to try to load password-cracking software onto the system. Administrators detected it and kept him from getting full access. |

Court Upholds MSPB Decision to Remove Letter Carrier for Working Second Job While on Paid Sick Leave -USPS removed the Letter Carrier from his position based on a charge of improper conduct.  MSPB sustained the charge and affirmed the penalty of removal. An Appeals Court found that the employee should have been aware of the impropriety of working a second job while on paid sick leave. On appeal, the employee claimed that he lacked knowledge of the relevant ELM leave regulations. The Postal Service responded by arguing that the carrier should have known the pertinent regulations based on his nine years of service and the fact that he served as a union representative. |

Letter Carrier Acquitted of Kicking Dog-"A Shreveport mail carrier has been acquitted of animal cruelty and assault charges involving a dog on his route. Tom Lewis was accused of kicking and pepper spraying a barking dog in front of its home on Topeka Street in Highland last fall. Lewis was also accused of threatening to spray neighborhood boys who said the mailman was the aggressor. But Lewis claimed the dog bit him first. Caddo District Judge John Mosely agreed that Lewis acted within reason and found him not guilty." |

House Reps. Pence-Hensarling-Flake Stamp Tax (pdf)- E-NAPUS Legislative Newsletter: "This week, three House Republicans – Reps. Mike Pence (R-IN), Jeb Hensarling (R-TX), and Jeff Flake (R-AZ) – voiced opposition to H.R. 22, the Postal Enhancement and Accountability Act, in a memo to conservative colleagues. (In May, Pence wrote Speaker Hastert opposing the bill.) In effect, the trio favors a 5.4% stamp tax that would unfairly burden 140 million American households and businesses, including every one of their constituents. The 3 Congressmen belong to the 89-member Republican Study Committee (RSC), a group organized to further a conservative social and economic legislative agenda." The Stamp Tax Trio starts from a suspect position, disingenuously alleging that the 2003 correction of the CSRS postal overpayment “cost taxpayers $7.1 billion.” (Ironically, on April 8, 2003, the Trio voted in favor of correcting the error). |

What Every Conservative Needs to Know About Postal Reform (pdf) -The number one problem facing the United States Postal Service (USPS) is a complete inability to control costs. Labor costs consume 80% of USPS' revenue whereas UPS and FedEx spend only 56% and 42% of their revenues on labor. USPS is currently providing its workers roughly $870 million more in benefits than federal workers receive as a result of lucrative health and life insurance benefits. And a postal worker in Anchorage, Alaska receives the same salary as his counterpart in New York City despite different cost-of-living. |

Meningitis ‘delivery’ costs US Postal Service-An Aptos family has settled a lawsuit against the U.S. Postal Service that claimed the agency bungled a shipment of meningitis that was sent to a research laboratory in Berkeley but ended up in a shipment of their daughter’s clothing. Although Serena Lewis and her family did not contract the disease, they were required to endure a regimen of powerful antibiotics that left them violently ill, according to their lawsuit, filed last September in U.S. District Court in San Francisco.

Jewelers Mutual Partners With USPS for Safest Shipping -Experienced jewelry industry shippers have always said the safest way to send valuable packages is through the U.S. Postal Service. In fact, says Jewelers Mutual Insurance Co.'s president and COO Darin Kath: "since 2001, when we started offering USPS coverages on policies, the claims reported for shipments support the fact that [the USPS] is the safest and most secure way to ship jewelry." As a result, Jewelers Mutual announced on June 5 that its policyholders now receive automatic limits of $50,000 for Registered Mail and $25,000 for Express Mail to ship packages through USPS. There's also no premium and no deductible, says the insurer

-USPS Engages Servigistics To Transform Service Parts Operations
Servigistics announced today that USPS will implement the Servigistics solution to manage its nationwide service parts network, as part of the company's new Enhanced Spare Parts Initiative ("eSPIN Initiative"). With more than $350 million in service parts inventory supporting approximately 500 field stocking locations around the country, the USPS is replacing its first-generation service parts planning software with the Servigisitcs Service Parts Management Solution to maintain its high rate of mail processing equipment uptime, critical for the movement of postal mail product, while reducing excess inventory, increasing inventory turns, lowering costs and improving visibility across its service parts network. With the Servigistics solution, the USPS will also avoid new purchases for service parts, while increasing forecast accuracy and parts availability nationwide

APWU Confirms USPS Contract Extension Offer-According to Randy Zelznick at 21cpw.com: "National APWU Director of Industrial Relations, Greg Bell, swore in the newly elected Philadelphia Area Local Officers tonight at our union meeting. Greg confirmed that the USPS did contact the APWU about a contract extension. Greg said the USPS was interested in a one year contract extension so that all postal unions would be negotiating at the same time in 2006. He didn't give any other details about the USPS's offer." |

Azeezaly Jaffer: Don't Believe the Mythmaker-"I recently came across the commentary that appeared in the May 8 Press-Republican, headlined "Dispelling the Myths of the USPS." It was written by a Sam Ryan but the name Paul Harvey kept coming to mind, since I thought a more appropriate heading might have been "The Rest of the Story." I've seen some articles Mr. Ryan has written before and his pattern is always the same: a half truth, a conclusion, and then move on. So I would caution, don't believe Ryan the mythmaker; he misleads" . |

Mom wants to bend rules on food mailed to troops-When a woman tried to air-mail cabbage rolls to son in Iraq she was shot down by U.S. Postal Service regulations banning dry ice on flights overseas, for safety reasons. (The "ice" is frozen carbon dioxide, which can build up enough pressure to explode.)

Former Postal Worker Subdued After Four-Hour Standoff
"A former postal worker, armed with a handgun, refused to leave his condominium, leading to a four-hour standoff Friday afternoon. Daniel Zeigler, 60, was visited earlier in the day by two U.S. Postal Service inspectors, investigating allegations that the man had made threatening calls to his former co-workers over the past several days, according to Sgt. Erik Raney from the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department. The subject allegedly brandished a handgun, causing the two postal inspectors to leave and contact law enforcement." 

 Bill Takes Aim at Delivery of Tax-Free Cigarettes in Mail-Amid growing criticism of the Postal Service's role in shipping tax-free cigarettes bought illegally over the Internet, a bill was introduced on Wednesday in the House of Representatives that would ban delivery of cigarettes and other tobacco products through the mail. The legislation, which was sponsored by Representative John M. McHugh, a Republican who represents upstate New York and who serves as a chairman of the House's Special Panel on Postal Reform and Oversight, would declare cigarettes "nonmailable."

- McHugh Bill Would Ban Cigarettes by Mail

After a Shower of Anthrax, an Illness and a Mystery-During the anthrax mail attacks in 2001, Bill Paliscak, a gung-ho, hockey-playing postal investigator who had missed 3 days of work in 11 years, removed a filthy filter above a mail-sorting machine to preserve it as evidence. Anthrax-laden dust showered down on him.

Two Vista letter carriers to forge lifelong bond-Roman Sagan and Art Konold are coworkers who have a lot in common ---- both are letter carriers for the Vista Post Office, both are married with two children, both are likeable middle-aged guys with laid-back smiles. But Konold is healthy and Sagan is sick with a congenital disease that has destroyed his kidneys. For the past 18 months, he has undergone painful dialysis treatments three times a week while he waits for a life-saving transplant. To Konold, that just didn't seem right. On Wednesday, the wait will be over. Konold is donating a kidney to Sagan in a six-hour surgery at UCSD Medical Center.

Retired Mailman Reflects in New Book "Snail Mail Versus Email"-France Bozeman was a mailman in Albany for 33 years. He started in the 1940's when postal workers were paid about 75 cents an hour and a first-class stamp cost 3 cents. In his book called "Snail Mail versus Email", Bozeman shares decades of his adventures as a mailman and reflects on the differences between those days and today's technologies

USPS PERFORMANCE CLUSTER GETS NEW NAME- The Postal Service’s Royal Oak Performance Cluster has a new name — Southeast Michigan Performance Cluster. The district covers southern Michigan, extending east into “Michigan’s thumb.” More than 7,700 employees at five mail processing facilities and 150-plus Post Offices, stations and branches in the Southeast Michigan Performance Cluster delivered 1.8 billion pieces of mail to about 1.3 million addresses last year.

Snag at Post Office Leaves Mail Piling Up -"Checks and bills sent to Southwest Florida winter residents are piling up in Fort Myers because of a snag at the post office. Forwarded mail is backlogged by about two weeks, postal officials said. An additional shift of 23 employees was sent from Tampa to Fort Myers on Tuesday and the delay should be cleared by the end of the week, said Gary Sawtelle, a spokesman for USPS in Tampa."|

Facing a European postal future-Postal unions looked into the future at their conference in Oslo - to a European postal regime where traditional operators have to face competitive all comers and where someone, somewhere has to pay for a universal postal service

Legionnaires' Disease Strikes Two Norfolk Postal Workers-(Virginia) Health officials are investigating after two workers at the main Norfolk postal facility recently contracted Legionnaires' Disease. The conditions of the two workers is not known. Infection comes when humans breathe the mist that comes from a water source like an air conditioning system, hot tub or shower that has been contaminated with the Legionella bacteria |

Postal worker recovering from Legionnaires' Disease

More Norfolk postal workers to be tested for Legionnaires'

 Appeals Court Upholds DOL's New Union Financial Disclosure Rule- A U.S. Appeals Court in a 3-0 decision on May 31 upheld a new set of regulations issued by the Department of Labor that required unions to spell out in greater detail how they spend their money. The court, in effect, rejected the claim by the AFL-CIO that Labor Secretary Elaine Chao had exceeded her authority in establishing the new rules. The court emphasized that the rules had been based on sound law and economics. When union members pay dues, the court said, they should get a clear idea of where all that money is going. However, in a separate 2-1 ruling, the D.C. Circuit Court also concluded that revised reporting requirements don't apply to trusts in which a union has an interest.

AFL-CIO vs. Chao (pdf) |

 Stamp Theft May Lead to Security Changes at Postal Store-(Virginia) .."someone walked in and stole an unspecified amount of stamps from the (Roanke) postal store. The crime captured on a surveillance camera shows a male suspect walk in, pick up the stamps, walk over to the mailboxes and then a few moments later leave the post office. The postal service plans to make security changes at that downtown branch in response to this crime." |

Mailman Leaves Stamp on Route after 60 yrs. -He has been questioned in a suspected murder, quizzed about a plot against the government and bitten by dogs of all sizes. A letter carrier can rack up lots of experiences in 60 years on the job - even if they're all spent on the same route. East Rockaway postal worker John Cook hung up his mail sack for the last time yesterday, but not before walking enough miles to circle the globe six times during the last six decades. Cook, 77, started work out of the East Rockaway Post Office at 17, before briefly serving in the Navy during World War  |

 Postmaster Pay Consultations to Begin June 23 -between USPS Headquarters and NAPUS and the League of Postmasters. The current pay for performance program runs through Fiscal Year 2005, which concludes on September 30, 2005. "We are optimistic that the summer meetings between postal officials and the two Postmaster associations will provide a pay system that is fair and equitable to all parties." |

 Pitney Bowes Helps Endow a Chair for Postal Economics Research--Pitney Bowes Inc. pledged $100,000 toward the endowment of a Chair in Postal Economics at Rutgers University's Center for Research on Regulated Industries (CRRI) at a dinner last night at the annual Conference on Postal and Delivery Economics at Astrid Park Plaza, Antwerp, Belgium. Mr. Jimenez presented a check for $100,000 on behalf of Pitney Bowes Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Michael J. Critelli. In an accompanying letter, Mr. Critelli said: "This pledge is to help you endow a Chair to conduct research in Postal Economics and continue to organize annual conferences in this field. All of us at Pitney Bowes have been very impressed with CRRI's accomplishments in the past years to help us better understand the economics of the mailing industry.

 Canada Post balks at scaling 12-inch step-Canada Post may have put the wrong "foot" forward after it told a woman in Ottawa that her 30-cm — or 12-inch — front step was too high for its carrier to climb to deliver mail

Social Security Reform in Limbo -House Republican leaders are aiming to pass many bills this summer, but Social Security reform is not one of them. In an e-mail sent to GOP aides and lobbyists late last week, House Majority Whip Roy Blunt’s (R-Mo.) office outlined its list of “priority legislation” on the post-Memorial Day calendar. The list includes gun-manufacturer liability, postal reform and the Central America Free Trade Agreement. Social Security reform was notably absent from the detailed list of legislative items. Senator Grassley is pressing to pass legislation out of his committee, but conservatives have argued that a compromise measure will fall short of their intended goals. |

Postman Delivers Mail Driving Hearse-It's the perfect dead-letter vehicle. Every day since January, David Mata has used his off-white hearse to deliver mail to more than 600 homes in subdivisions along Atlas and Atherton roads. And people have noticed. One woman complained to the Postal Service that the vehicle might scare her grandchildren, but most of Mata's customers have gotten used to it. Mata, 38, has used a host of his own vehicles during his 11 years on the 30-mile route and said he opted for the roomy hearse out of necessity instead of morbid intent.|

• Endica Increases Competition in U.S. Personalized Postage Market
• Postal heroes honored for public service and heroism
• Firstlogic Offers Updates on Street Name Changes

• Mom wants to bend rules on food mailed to troops-When a woman tried to air-mail cabbage rolls to son in Iraq she was shot down by U.S. Postal Service regulations banning dry ice on flights overseas, for safety reasons. (The "ice" is frozen carbon dioxide, which can build up enough pressure to explode.)

• USPS carriers seek help after dog attacks

• Mail's route a mystery

• Mailman gets prison for stealing

06/10/05

• Postal Reform Votes Likely Within Weeks |

- E-NAPUS Legislative Newsletter: Collins Sets Date for S. 662 (pdf)

• Final Rule: Premium Forwarding Service Experiment Effective August 7

• Post Office Gets $75million in WTC Suit
• More than a letter carrier-- Employees, residents often bond at mailbox

• Officials look at value of postal site in Oregon

• Animal Welfare agency investigates bird removal complaints at PO
• Long-time postmaster retires
• Lost Boy Found by Postal Worker
• Postal officials may stop Milford's purchase plan

• Order up: Mail with a side of beef
• Fatal Accident In Oklahoma Affects Mail Service For Some

• New York Mail Handler killed in fall between subway cars

• McHugh Bill Would Ban Cigarettes by Mail | 

• Bill Takes Aim at Delivery of Tax-Free Cigarettes in Mail

• Signed, sealed, delivered

• Mikula steps in as Sand Creek Postmaster
• Crucial moment for Japanese postal unions
• Postal equipment will detect anthrax
• Lake Geneva mail jumpers try not to slip up

• Postal Bulletin 6/9/05: Check Acceptance Policy, Rural Route Evaluation Worksheet...more

06/08/05

• Postal officials mull Snohomish anthrax plans
• Postal worker injured in accident

06/07/05

• USPS to Move St. Paul Mail Facility to Eagan  |

• Letter carriers collect record 71.3 million pounds in food drive
• More Norfolk postal workers to be tested for Legionnaires'

• Retired Mailman Reflects in New Book "Snail Mail Versus Email"

• Board of Governors to Meet June 14, 2005 in Washington, D.C.

• After a Shower of Anthrax, an Illness and a Mystery for Postal Inspector

• Class action lawsuits launched against AuthentiDate following USPS warning

• Postal Carrier Attacked by Pit Bull

• Postal worker still recovering from pit bull attack one year later

• Retired Postal Mail Handler dies after car goes off road

• Mailboxes headed for cancellation in Bethlehem

• USPS PERFORMANCE CLUSTER GETS NEW NAME- The Postal Service’s Royal Oak Performance Cluster has a new name — Southeast Michigan Performance Cluster. The district covers southern Michigan, extending east into “Michigan’s thumb.” More than 7,700 employees at five mail processing facilities and 150-plus Post Offices, stations and branches in the Southeast Michigan Performance Cluster delivered 1.8 billion pieces of mail to about 1.3 million addresses last year.

• Postal worker recovering from Legionnaires' Disease

• Popular area postman to deliver cool guitar licks instead of mail

• OPM’s Blair: I Never Proposed the USPS Pay Military Retiree Costs

• Invaluable works of Postal ART

• Washington State switches to mail-in voting

06/04/05

• Ex-postmaster admits to stealing |

• Riders to deliver mail straight from horses mouth

• Federal authorities charge four former postal workers

• Post Office requests 125 mailboxes moved to the curb
• No special delivery for moved mailbox
• Postman credited with saving man from dogs

• City gets new postal station
• Mail bags fall off truck

• Company Files Class Action Suit against AuthentiDate Holding Corp

06/03/05

• Seattle Girl Dies After Being Struck By Postal Truck
• Postal Service gets in gear with 'Sporty Cars of the '50s' stamps

• It's Letter Perfect

• New postmaster takes over in Rocky Mount

• Postal Service demands city return boxes

• SC Postal employee sentenced for discarding mail

06/02/05

• News: John E. Murphy  age 49 of Haverhill, Mass.  died May 23 after suffering a heart attack while delivering mail. Murphy worked for USPS in the Georgetown office for 10 years.

• The Billion Dollar TSP Question

• Motorcyclist dies in crash with postal vehicle
• Long Grove gets new postmaster

• New postmaster weathers storms, comes out singing
• Post office clears up confusion about curbside mailboxes letter
• Unions Struggle as Communications Industry Shifts
• Post office taking steps to protect mail carriers from dogs
• Mailbox vandalism raises identity theft fears

06/01/05

• Retired Postal Worker wins $1.3M lottery on day of father's death

• USPS aims to stamp out breast cancer

• Officials cut ribbon at Post Office Destroyed by Hurricane Floyd
• Gold Thief case gets priority by Postal Inspectors

• New postmaster plans to bring contract station back to town

• USPS may drop AuthentiDate if revenue doesn't rise

 © Copyright PostalReporter.com 2001-present All rights reserved.