Postal News- May 2005

2005: Jan| Feb| Apr| Jun| July| Aug| Sept.| Oct| Nov| Dec

2004: Jan| Feb| Mar| Apr| May| Jun| Jul | Aug |Sept| Oct| Nov | Dec

2003: Jan-June 2003| July-Dec. 2003

Postal Service Defends Practice of Allowing Executives to Keep Leftover Moving Expenses-The Postal Service gives its executives moving expenses of $10,000 or $25,000 without requiring receipts, allowing employees to pocket any leftover money. One senior vice president received $75,000-- $25,000 each for three moves from June 1998 to February 2001. USPS gave 265 executives $10,000 each and 10 others $25,000 each in the past two years, according to information gathered by Senate Finance Committee investigators. The Postal Service defends the practice, saying Congress wanted it to operate like private business where salaries may be higher. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, isn't buying the argument.|

- Senator chastises Postal Service on executive relocation payments

USPS Releases April 2005 Financial Operating Statement-For April, USPS reported a net income of $60.3 million on total revenues of $5.76 billion for the month of April. Total revenues were down 1.5%, and total expenses increased by 4.0%, compared to the same period last year.|

GAO: Cut Postal Excess -"USPS' nationwide mail processing and distribution system has too much capacity because technology has replaced human work, but Postal officials have no clear strategy for closing facilities or cutting jobs no longer needed. (FCW) |

- GAO: Postal Service Must Revamp Operations to Stay Solvent (Govexec)
- Davis, McHugh Announce GAO Report | GAO Report (PDF) | GAO Highlights (html)

- GAO: USPS Needs Better Realignment Planning, Transparency (DMNews)

Burrus: GAO Study On USPS Network Consolidation Strategy Flawed
“The report fails to consider that service to the American public is the primary mission of the USPS network. They operated on the sole premise that if mail volume is stagnant, the network should be reduced. “GAO’s failure to consider expansion of the Postal Service’s delivery obligation stands in stark contrast to their support for postal reform,” Burrus observed. “When GAO officials advocate postal reform, they always cite USPS’ growing delivery responsibilities as justification.” “This has long been an objective of the major mailers, whose goal is reducing their postage costs. With this report, GAO is echoing the mailers’ complaints |

Denton: Postal Reform Affects Nonprofits, Too-Nonprofit mailers must learn about postal reform because it definitely will affect their postal costs, Neal Denton, executive director of the Alliance of Nonprofit Mailers, said yesterday. Postal costs generally rank among the top expenses for nonprofit groups, said Denton, speaking at a meeting of the Direct Marketing Fundraisers Association here at Amnesty International USA.

Chicago mail carrier struck by lightning dies -Hanif Elliston was walking to work May 11 about 7:15 a.m. as his son Jamir and the boy's mother were walking to school during a thunderstorm. Three houses away from their home Hanif Elliston was struck by lightning in the back of the neck.He died early Wednesday at Loyola Medical Center in Maywood. Hanif Elliston, described as a free spirit, was en route to a job he loved at the John Buchanan Post Office in the South Chicago community, said his brother. Hanif Elliston had been a letter carrier for about two years

PMG Announces Headquarters Hiring Freeze (pdf)-– In a letter to all USPS Headquarters personnel via Postcom.org, Postmaster General John Potter wrote , “The 2006 budget will be very challenging. The Postal Service has launched many new program initiatives over the past few years. I am sure that not all have been successful. Those that have not met your expectations should be eliminated as soon as possible. I believe there are opportunities to streamline our personnel costs, particularly the use of contract employees. Today there are over 1,000 contractors reporting to work at Headquarters. I expect an aggressive review of the use of contract employees at Headquarters” |

Postal Inspector Fatally Shoots Himself in Post Office Parking Lot -A Postal Inspector fatally shot himself in the post office's parking lot on May 10th. "Police were called at about 3 p.m. on a shooting report. Officers found Steven Ice 48, (a.k.a "Ice Man") , of Palm Desert lying next to a Pontiac in the employee parking lot behind the post office, officials said. Investigators tried to cover the man's remains from fellow co-workers who were met with police cars and investigators as they arrived or left. A few who watched from a safe distance stood with somber faces and declined to comment, stating the Postal Service had instructed them not to speak to anyone about the incident. An investigation will continue into the death. Any witnesses to the shooting are asked to call San Bernardino police Detective Mike Vasilis (909) 384-5636. " |

Postal Service Confirms Investigation of Milwaukee Plant Manager-The U.S. Postal Service's Office of Inspector General is investigating Elizabeth Brown, plant manager of the Milwaukee post office, a spokeswoman confirmed. Agapi Doulaveris, spokeswoman for the Washington D.C.-area Office of Inspector General, would not offer details of the investigation, nor would she say which postal service policies Brown is alleged to have violated. Doulaveris did say, however, that rumors of Brown's removal from the facility in handcuffs last week were not true. JoAnne Blackburn, spokeswoman for the Lakeland District of the postal service, which includes Milwaukee, would say only that Brown is "on vacation."|

Playing it Cool at the Post Office-Hip image pervades TV, music, movies- "First, there were commercials, then cameos on reality shows, then talk shows, then movies. And some time in there, the U.S. Postal Service delivered the mail, too. The government's communication delivery arm is enjoying the pop culture ubiquity once reserved for soft drinks and teen stars. Other than commercials, it recently garnered attention because of television's American Idol and Project Runway, the movie Robots and a band bearing the same name. Talk show host Ellen DeGeneres visited the post office on her show last week. "It wasn't this major orchestrated game plan," says Azeezaly Jaffer, USPS VP for public affairs and communications. |

-NALC-USPS hold DOIS talks-NALC President William H. Young and Director of City Delivery Fred Rolando met with officials of the U.S. Postal Service May 12 over use by the Service of the Delivery Operations Information System (DOIS) for route adjustments. Young described the session as “forthcoming ... honest and open.” Young said he and Rolando gave postal management a list of the violations of postal handbooks and manuals that have occurred in their use of DOIS and management said it would examine the situation. |

PhotoStamps Re-Launch Personalized Postage Program

-A market test for the product begins May 17and is expected to last one year. |

Police Seek Suspects in Oakland (Calif.) Postal Attack
"Police are trying to find the people who attacked a postal employee in Oakland. The incident was caught on a security camera. It shows an employee being assaulted Friday as she arrived for work at a post office. |

Akron, Peoria Remote Encoding Centers to Close in 2006-Nearly 700 To Lose Jobs, Reassigned-More than 400 workers at an Akron, Ohio Remote Encoding Center were told that they will be out of the job by February 2006. Also approximately 250 postal workers at the Peoria, Ill. REC are slated to lose their jobs next year. Only 13 Remote Encoding Centers will remain once the Bartonville center, Akron, Duluth and Princeton facilities are closed. The Postal Service expects to save about $3.6 million a year by closing those two centers--overall, consolidation of the REC sites will save $59 million |

- Akron REC to Close | Outmoded postal center in Akron to close in '06

- Peoria REC To Shut Down | Congressman (R-Peoria) : 'It was handled very rudely'
- Duluth, Minn. REC to Close | Princeton NJ REC to Close July 8th

Illinois U.S. Reps. Senators "Demanding Answers" from USPS for Peoria REC Closure-Peoria's remote encoding center was consistently one of the most productive in the country, Bob Gunter, Local APWU president said Tuesday. Gunter, said productivity was the chief criteria USPS said it would use when deciding which remote encoding centers to keep open. The productivity factor is one of the reasons why U.S. Rep. Ray LaHood, R-Peoria, and U.S. Sens. Barack Obama and Dick Durbin, both Illinois Democrats, are demanding answers from the Postal Service as to why the Peoria center is being closed. |

- Previous News on Duluth, Princeton, Peoria and Akron REC Closures

Hundreds of Companies or Organizations Lobbied Federal Government on Postal Issues- Since 1998, 404 companies or organizations lobbied the federal government on postal issues or hired one of 130 outside firms to do so on their behalf. In 2003, the last full year for which data is available, 97 companies and organizations lobbied the federal government or hired one of 56 firms to do so on their behalf. |

- Nearly 300 companies push their agendas with GAO, FEC and OGE-according to a study of federal lobbying records by the Center for Public Integrity. NAPUS and UPS are among the list.

APWU Retirees Director Retires-Rumor Confirmed: John R. Smith, director of the APWU Retirees Department since its creation in 1993, retired May 7. Replacing him will be Douglas C. Holbrook, the union’s Secretary-Treasurer from 1981 to 1998, APWU President William Burrus announced. Holbrook serves as an APWU presidential appointment. Beginning in 2007, the retirees department director will be elected, as required by the APWU Constitution and Bylaws |

APWU VP Guffey: The Postal Service’s Biggest Blunders

Postal management determined in the early 1970s that it was a good idea to get in the “overnight delivery” business. But instead of upgrading its well established system, Special Delivery , postal management’s solution was to get rid of Special Delivery and create “Express Mail.” Then, in April 1973, the Board of Governors excluded “urgent letters” from USPS monopoly on letters, giving Federal Express (and others) the opportunity to enter the market. |

Op/Ed: Hypocrisy Is in the Eye of the Beholder-

Re: Burrus: Hypocrisy Reigns in Discount Debate-"The gist of his communication involved the long history of the APWU’s opposition to postal work-sharing discounts. ...APWU feels that many of these discounts should be done away with. Left unsaid by the union is that eliminating these discounts undoubtedly would lead to hiring more postal workers, most of whom would become APWU members. The greatest effect of automation and work sharing on the APWU has been to reduce its membership. |

PMG Potter: No Discipline for Carrier Who Caught Burglar-In an email to PMG Potter, Auburn Wash. postal employee Don Cheney stated: "I am outraged. This letter carrier should be regarded as a HERO." PMG Potter replied: "Thanks for your note. I have been assured by the District Manager that no discipline will be taken. I take pride, similar to all 700,000 postal employees, in the role the USPS plays in communities throughout the country."|
- Mailman and his pal nab burglary suspect

Mailman Chases Down Burglary Suspect -- Gets Disciplinary Action - (New Jersey) "Hillside letter carrier Dajuan Weems had just completed deliveries on a block when he saw a friend and crossed the street to chat. While talking, he noticed a couple who live on his route park and go inside their home. Within seconds he heard screams. As the couple ran out the front door, Weems saw a man run out the back. He and his friend instinctively gave chase. The pursuit Weems estimated lasted three minutes went through back yards and over fences, with the suspect at one point jumping from the roof of a 1 1/2-story structure. " "My union representative supported what I did, but the supervisor gave me a letter of warning". |

USPS Raises Rates on First Amendment Political Speech-"Under current rates, most non-profit organizations may mail bulk mailings for about eleven cents per letter, while political non-profit entities, e.g. candidates and candidate committees, must pay the same rate as businesses, about seventeen cents per letter. The USPS proposals would leave most non-profits at the eleven cents average cost and leave most personalized business mail at around seventeen cents, but boost personalized political mailings to the full First Class thirty-seven cents per letter rate." |
- Nonprofit Mailers Declares Victory

USPS Expands on Disclosures Permitted under Privacy Act.-Disciplinary records are maintained in Labor Relations computers until 10 years after separation. This is true even if the employee thinks the disciplinary records have been expunged. LR records are easily retrieved now that they are stored electronically. Employees should be forewarned and advised to save their own files until separation or later. -- Don Cheney |

- USPS updates Privacy Act record systems | Federal Register Notice

Next Rate Case Looms in '06-"The current postal rate case calling for a 5.4% across the board rate increase will likely be settled as a higher increase -- as large as 10% -- is probably in the offing for 2006, predicted Gene Del Polito, president of the Association for Postal Commerce." |

A Diet Social Security Check-Collecting a monthly Social Security benefit is a favorite, and important, pastime for most American senior citizens. But when the time comes for that monthly benefit to be signed, sealed and delivered, federal and postal retirees learn that not everybody is created, or at least treated, equally. And that comes as a shock to many feds

Postal Employee Indicted for Misappropriation of Postal Funds-A federal grand jury returned a one-count Indictment today against a post office window clerk for converting postal office funds to his own use. United States Attorney Michael Sullivan and Peter Zegarac, Acting Postal Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, announced today that ROBERT M. BERZON, age 51, of Melrose, Massachusetts, was named in a one- count Indictment charging him with misappropriating postal office funds. The Indictment alleges that in 2004, while on duty as a U.S. Postal Service window clerk in Cambridge, BERZON stole funds from the post office.

Cape May Dogs Have Bone to Pick with Postmaster-(New Jersey) Monday through Saturday, letter carrier Bob Knerr would stop on Stevens Street in West Cape May and throw the dog named Perry a bone, quite literally. Knerr was following a long tradition at the Cape May Post Office to give all the dogs on his route a special treat. "Twenty years and I've never been bitten," Knerr said. The biscuit giveaway ended this week, under the direction of a new Postmaster Harry Headrick who has decided to stick to the letter of the law.|

Ex-Postal Worker Settles SEC Insider-Trading Charges-A former U.S. postal worker agreed to pay more than $ 580,000 to settle charges that he made big profits in the late 1990s by illegally trading on information from Business Week magazine before it was delivered to subscribers. The Securities and Exchange Commission said Tuesday that Davi Thomas, the former postal worker, made almost $154,000 from tips in Business Week magazine. Thomas picked up the information while the magazine passed through a postal sorting facility in Mount Vernon, N.Y., the SEC said

USPS officer positions filled; Human Relations, Labor Relations realigned -Postmaster General Jack Potter has named five individuals to key officer positions in Human Resources and Operations. The PMG named Tony Vegliante, as Chief Human Resources Officer and Executive Vice President; Doug Tulino, as acting vice president, Labor Relations; Susan LaChance as HR vice president for Employee Development and Diversity; DeWitt Harris as vice president of Employee Resource Management; William Galligan as senior vice president of Operations; and Megan Brennan as Northeast Area Vice President

Postal Lobbyists Plot Next Round for Overhaul Legislation-

Now that postal overhaul legislation has passed the House Government Reform Committee, interest groups supporting the bill are broadening their lobbying efforts to the White House, congressional leaders and House conservatives. Meanwhile, labor groups are using their membership to show support. George Gould, political director for the National Association of Letter Carriers, said he is bringing postal workers to meet with their state delegations. | |

Can Postal Workers Park For Free? Target 11 Investigates Postal Workers Parking At No Cost-A Pittsburgh TV station investigation discovered that some postal workers were placing make-shift signs with the U.S. postal service in their personal cars and parking at expired meters. But they weren't delivering mail -- they were going to work. |

Union Wins Another ‘Sunday-Premium’ Pay Case -In a significant win for the union, an arbitrator has ruled that the Postal Service must grant Sunday premium pay to employees who work on Sunday, even if the work is the result of an employee’s request for a temporary change of schedule for the employee’s personal convenience. Previously, in a March 2004 pre-arbitration settlement, the union succeeded in payment of Sunday premium to employees in a continuation of pay (COP) status, or on court or military leave. |

Nonprofits, USPS Agree on Standard Mail Rule-After a year of lobbying by a coalition of nonprofit organizations, USPS has amended its new rule to allow the use of personal information in solicitations sent via Standard mail. The new rule, which goes into effect June 1, originally would have forced nonprofits to choose between including personal donor information in their communications and mailing at expensive first-class rates, or distributing generic materials at the cheaper standard mail rate|

Customer Support Ruling | USPS Issues Expected Ruling on Personalization

Can you sue the post office? A woman's claim that she was injured tripping over mail left on her doorstep is headed for the Supreme Court. However, the high court will not decide how much Barbara Dolan can collect for her injuries, but whether she can sue USPS in the first place. Though the case lacks the drama of Bush v. Gore or the Terri Schiavo case, it will be watched not only by mail carriers but also by private services such as FedEx and UPS. It also highlights the hidden perils of home mail delivery.|

Old Post Offices Aid Revitalization Efforts-USPS considers alternative uses for buildings- With 38,000 postal facilities in operation, USPS owns some of the nation's most desirable real estate in premium downtown locations. At the same time, many postal facilities have a surplus of space because of improving technology, a Congressional mandate to increase efficiency, and greater competition from e-mail and private package carriers.

under-used postal facilities (as of 2002-pdf) . |

Automated Postal Center Sites and Associated Revenue -In a letter dated April 5, 2005, USPS provided APWU with list of Automated Postal Center sites and associated revenue. As of March 24, 2005: Total Revenue To Date = $170,462,097.78|

Drill to Test Post Offices' Bioterrorism Defenses-(Wheaton, Ill.) "A simulated disease will be sent through the mail in late May to train DuPage County's two regional post offices for the threat of bioterrorism.".. The exercise will test biohazard alarm systems and emergency response at a surprise time and at an undisclosed location, he said. Staff members from the Health Department will then set up a site to dispense medication for the mock victims. |

OPM in race against time to fix retirement systems program-Office of Personnel Management officials are trying to modernize the federal retirement system for more than 2 million workers. But it’s a major challenge that involves billions of dollars in retiree assets. Plagued by problems ranging from inaccurate account totals to faulty monthly checks, OPM officials face growing pressure from lawmakers to complete the Retirement Systems Modernization program.

Seattle Postal Employees lauded for participation in donor program-Thumbs up for Seattle-area postal employees, who took part in a campaign to add their names to the National Marrow Donor Program's registry of unrelated marrow and blood cell donors. The employees participated in a blood drive April 26 to increase the number of ethnically diverse donors to the registry's database. Eighty thousand Americans are waiting for organ transplants

Walking in 'Milk Bone Pants'-

-"Letter Carrier Jay Arthur, 53, refers to his New Chicago walking route as "the kennel club." There's a dog barking at the front door, in the back yard or just beyond a fence at nearly every home. He has been bitten nine times and said his fear of free-roaming dogs is renewed each spring and summer." |

Ex- Postal Worker Sentenced to Prison for Post Office Robberies - (Miami) A former 20+ year postal worker was sentenced Friday to 5 years in federal prison. Eugene Young was fired in 2003 for stealing mail on the job. Young was still on probation for his theft when he returned in 2004 to rob two post offices at gunpoint while wearing a Postal Service uniform.|

NALC Food Drive Hits Record Numbers

- This time, it was postal patrons who delivered

- Food by the Truckload | 23,113 pounds and counting

- Postal Service Driven to Collect Food

- Post office hauls tons of food for hunger drive |

South Carolina PMR, Mail Handler plead guilty to mail theft -While a mail handler at the Florence post office from June through September 2004, Stacy Carter stole controlled substances such as Percocet, OxyCodone and Darvocet, which had been mailed from the Department of Veteran’s Affairs to veterans. Rosa Taylor issued Postal Money Orders to herself while employed as a Postmaster Relief at the Society Hill Post Office without paying for the money order. To cover the money orders, Taylor underreported postage stamp sales and falsely adjusted her financial transaction reports. Taylor was caught when an audit revealed a stamp stock shortage of $1,684.94

Hospital locked down after treating postal worker for suspicious substance
- -Postal officials say substance in mail was wheat flour-The emergency room at Mercy Medical Center reopened Thursday morning after it was locked down after a postal worker who was exposed to something in the mail went to the hospital, officials said. Initial tests indicated the substance was not harmful, said Troy Raper with the Postal Inspection Service in Cedar Rapids.

Haz-mat Expert: Postal worker should not have rushed to hospital

Clock Rings’ Lawsuit Get Few Takers-Pursuant to the District Court’s January 18, 2005 Order, on February 23, 2005, a court-approved notice was sent to 32,323 individuals. In order to participate in the case "Affected Employees" were given until April 25, 2005 to submit their consent to join forms with the Court-approved escrow agent. As of May 6, 2005, 1769 consent to join forms had been filed.

NASCAR driver to honor two Concord (NH) letter carriers-David Green, driver of the #27 NASCAR car, will be on hand to recognize two letter carriers for safe driving. Mike Borghi and Jerry Sloop will be inducted into the National Safety Council’s Million Mile Club on Monday. Both have delivered mail for the last 30 years without being involved in a preventable motor accident. NASCAR Busch Series driver David Green will make the presentation. His #27 car is sponsored by the Postal Service and Kleenex. He will be joined by NASCAR motorsports hall of fame driver Benny Parson.

Staff shortages force Chandler (AZ) post offices to delay start of extended hours-Staff shortages are forcing Chandler post offices to delay the start of extended hours, which for many offices across the Valley began May 7 or 14. It's likely to be July before the Postal Service has hired and trained enough new employees to keep the city's three post offices open an extra hour on weekdays and later on Saturdays, Postmaster Kathryn Harris said.

-Stamp Collectors Mean Big Business to USPS-Like any good businessman, David Failor works hard to understand his customers and make sure he has a product they will want to buy — and maybe save. That's when his employer, the U.S. Postal Service, reaps a big profit. Stamps that are bought but not used mean $150 million to $200 million annually for the Postal Service. It's Failor's job, as director of stamp services, to make sure there is a ready supply of eye-appealing stamps on the market. |

- A look at rules for U.S. postage stamps

An Artist's Controversial Stamp Acts -CHICAGO Artist Michael Hernandez de Luna pushes the envelope-Here's what he does: He makes fake stamps, puts them on envelopes and drops the envelopes in the mail. About 40 percent of the time, according to Hernandez de Luna, the Postal Service cancels the stamps and delivers the mail. Federal authorities also launched an investigation into his work in October 2001 after he mailed a stamp that featured the word "anthrax" and a skull and crossbones on a bright yellow background. That stamp caused the main post office in Chicago to shut down for several hours. The Postal Service sent him a postcard announcing an investigation.

Mike Causey: Tax-Free Health Premiums-When most feds retire from their government jobs typically two things happen. First, their income is drastically reduced. Most people retiring today are under the old Civil Service Retirement System. After 30 years with Uncle Sam, they will get about 55 percent of their former salary in the form of an annuity. Feds who retire under the new Federal Employees Retirement System, which now covers most working civil servants, will get even smaller retirement checks. The second thing that happens, or will happen, when you retire is that you will lose an important tax break. It saves you $250 to $500 per year and many federal-postal workers don't even know they have it until they lose it. That's because, when the tax break was extended to working feds by the Clinton administration, employees automatically got it, unless they rejected it. Most people did nothing, meaning they got the tax break.

Contest Offers Public Chance for 'Postmaster For the Day'
"The contest was organized to give at least one resident a better understanding of how the post office works. The contest winner will learn how the mail enters and leaves the building and will observe the carriers as they prepare to deliver mail along their routes." |

- Student wins essay contest to be ‘Postmaster for a Day'

Virginia Letter Carrier Ends 40-year Career at Age 80-Virginia Beach, VA, Letter Carrier Felix “Mo” Maurizio public service career began when he joined the Navy in World War II. He served 22 years and then started as a Postal clerk in Norfolk, VA. His 80th birthday was celebrated by longtime customers, who decorated their mailboxes with balloons and gave him a birthday cupcake. “He keeps up with the younger guys; there’s no slowing him down.”|

Ten Gaylord (Michigan) postal employees to lose jobs-Within a month, second- and third-class mail will be sent from Grand Rapids to the U.S. Postal Service sorting plant , rather than to a plant in Gaylord. That will mean about 10 part-time postal employees in Gaylord will lose their jobs, said Susan Pfeifer, spokeswoman for the Greater Michigan District of the Postal Service. The Traverse City plant can process 2,000 pieces of mail each hour, compared to 700 in Gaylord. Full-time employees in Gaylord may experience some job description changes as a result, Pfeifer said, but they will retain their jobs.

Odor From Package Sickens 16 Postal Workers- Sixteen employees at a Los Alamitos post office complained of headaches and lightheadedness Saturday after a package began emitting a foul odor during processing. All of the workers were decontaminated, said Capt. Steve Miller of the Orange County Fire Authority, but none required medical assistance. The odor at the Reagan Street facility was identified as coming from "a beauty supply product used for acrylic nails," Miller said. |

Analysts: FedEx taking advantage of UPS pilots' strike vote-With a majority of UPS' pilots recently voting to strike, analysts say FedEx is taking advantage by offering its 4,300 pilots more than $500 million in raises and signing bonuses if they agree to work under their 1999 contract and cease negotiations.

DHL Reins In Ambitions In US Market -DHL, the package delivery arm of Deutsche Post, has described its U.S. plans as “realistic and modest,” and that it is not “setting out to create another UPS or FedEx.” DHL Express Chief Executive John Mullen said the company’s most urgent objective in the U.S. was to improve service quality, which he described as having been “horrendous” last year, according to the article. Once service improved, DHL would seek to increase prices closer to those of UPS and FedEx rather than cut them.,

05/19/05

• Mail carriers tell of dog bites

• Man Indicted for Postal Service Theft

• Postal Service Announces Release Of Henry Fonda Stamp
• Post office surveillance camera captures woman's murder

• Reconsidering the USPS Business Model

05/18/05

• Letter carrier works outside the envelope

• Vonzell Should be in 'Idol' Top Two but..

• Trash crew picked up food for postal drive by mistake

• Walt Disney Hall to be Featured on Postage Stamp

• Former Canada Post chief under fire over unreceipted expenses

05/17/05

• USPS Publishes Accessibility Standards for Lobbies and Workroom areas-

• Brainerd (Minn.) post office parking slots scrapped

• Postal Inspection Service 2004 Annual Report of Investigations (pdf)

• Costs blamed for lack of Syracuse (Utah) post office
• Mail carrier delivers help to injured homeowner

05/16/05

• Letter Carriers Kick-off National Dog Bite Prevention Week

• USPS: Consumers Can Now File "Change of Address" by telephone

• Study: USPS one of the best among Delivery firms in Online Customer Service

• Greased pig one of first pick-ups for Maryland Rural Free Delivery service

• Sorry, wrong number for the post office

• Iowa Postal Worker receives awards for Work in Films

• UPS Inc. to Buy Trucking Company for About $1.25B

05/15/05

• IOU (Louisiana) indebted to Postal

• Company Announces Attention-Grabbing "Change of Address" postcards
• Postal money order scam takes $20,000 locally

05/14/05

• E-NAPUS Legislative Newsletter: Waiting for the White House (pdf)

• Alliston postmaster put the final stamp on 40-year career

• Postmaster retiring after 30-year career
• Letter carriers hurt in dog attacks

• Postal workers applauded for return of cash
• Retirement party marks 35 years of carrier kindness
• Man helps catch mail thief, waits for reward
• Former postal worker sentenced to 6 years for wife's disappearance

• Lawsuits could shed light on anthrax probe

05/13/05

• USPS looks for more flexibility on new procurement rules|

• Postal Bulletin - Handbooks: F-1, EL-312, EL-814 Revision, Goodyear Tire Sale

• Postal workers evacuated after air fills with anti-dog spray

• Student wins essay contest to be ‘Postmaster for a Day’

• USPS Still Delivering

• Letter Carriers Food Drive Scheduled For Tomorrow

• House panel approves $82.5 billion veterans bill

05/12/05

• Dakota district best in USPS

• Postal patrons like extended hours
• Postal Service seeks assurances with anthrax alert system

• UPS Pilots Union Votes Overwhelmingly to Authorize Strike |

05/11/05

• Chicago Postal Worker Hit By Lightning
• New mail forwarding option from the USPS

• FedEx drivers file class-action lawsuit on contractor status

• Post office robbery third in three weeks

• Powder, note threaten Connecticut postal facility
• Gene Del Polito: Big Wheels Keep on Turning on Postal Reform

• Retired PM: Crowded Garrisonville post office needs an update

• Northrop Grumman Advanced Information Systems Inc. won a $44.7 million contract from USPS for staffing of the postal service National Customer Support Center

05/10/05

• A last token of Saul Bellow's affection is lost in the mail

• Residents asked to move mailboxes

• Onion Powder Closes Jersey City Post Office

• Lawyer: Postmaster will plead guilty to stealing money from post office

05/09/05

• Put (Almost) Anything on a Stamp

• Accounting tricks should not be postal service's path
• Postal employee finds body outside Dallas post office

• Editorial: Stamp out USPS moving expenses now

• NALC National Food Drive May 14th (Saturday)
• NALC Updates Postal Reform Page

• Fate of Chelsea (Mich.) post office murals uncertain

• Mailmen deliver over 30 accident-free years