Postal News



			April 30, 2010 Inside Edition investigation includes registered sex offenders in Texas working for the USPS - Public records in Texas led us to the discovery of registered sex offenders working in the US Postal Service, delivering mail, unsupervised, into neighborhoods, schools and even an amusement park. On Monday’s show I confront these mail carriers and ask whether or not it’s safe for sex offenders to deliver mail right to your front door. Wait until you see the official response we got from the Postal Service. USPS Statement On Sex Offenders Delivering Mail \| Inside Edition Investigates Postal Sex Offenders \| More than 20 Texas-area postmen are on sex offenders list \| • APWU: Saving Saturday Service • Post office cuts could hurt mail • Michigan: Bangor Post Office Robbed • Tampa police officer in crash with postal tractor-trailer • Smart Post - What Does its Success Suggest for Letter and Flat Mailers? Courier, Express, and Postal Observer
			April 29, 2010 Postal Service Angered By Regulator Review Schedule The U.S. Postal Service said Thursday it is disappointed with the schedule put forth by postal regulators to consider proposed changes to Saturday mail delivery, arguing the Postal Regulatory Commission needs to move faster to help the mail agency avoid financial insolvency. In a statement, Postal Service spokesman Gerald McKiernan said "We are very disappointed to learn that the Commission has been unable to develop a more expeditious schedule," adding later that "This is a matter of considerable urgency for the Postal Service as our financial condition continues to deteriorate. It's critical that the Congress have an opportunity to review this matter some time this year." Sen. Carper Reacts to PRC’s Planned 6 Month Review of Postal Proposal to End Saturday Delivery \| PRC Sets Schedule to Review Proposal to End Saturday Mail Delivery \| • USPS Puts AMP Study For Two Facilities On Hold • Is There a Problem With RPW Parcel Select Volumes? • Mojave Post Office Mail Processing Operations Moving To Bakersfield • Letter: Postal employee opposes privatization • Declining newspaper circulations contribute to financial woes of Postal Service
			April 28, 2010 OIG Audit Report On USPS Overtime Workhours Overall Function 4 overtime workhours decreased from 17.5 million in fiscal year (FY) 2008 to 9.2 million in FY 2009. However, unauthorized overtime workhours as a percentage of total overtime workhours increased from FY 2008 to FY 2009. Management should strengthen time and attendance procedures to reduce Function 4 unauthorized overtime costs. We estimated that in FYs 2008 and 2009, the Postal Service incurred unrecoverable unsupported questioned costs totaling $79.6 million for unauthorized overtime workhours. OIG recommends: prevent employees from clocking in before their official workhours begin and clocking out late. \| More injured post office employees taken off the job Despite calls for overtime at the Carol Stream Processing and Distribution Center, employees with job-related injuries still are getting locked out, said Jackie Engelhart, president of the American Postal Workers Union’s Northwest Illinois Area Local chapter. \| Senator, Congressman Introduce Bills To Address Postal Managers Unreasonable Workload - “Senator Akaka (D HI) and Congressman Gerald Connolly (D VA) have both introduced a bill that would add language to title 39 that puts into law that postmasters and other supervisory personnel shall have a reasonable and sustainable workload and schedule. \| Aspen's Acting Postmaster Stays In $175 a Night Hotel Room 7NEWS checked and found the city's acting postmaster is staying at the St. Regis in Aspen. Rooms there run $1,800 a night, but the U.S. Postal Service is getting a deal -- a “super discounted rate” of $175 a night and is the only option for now, said Al DeSarro, U.S. Postal Service Western Region spokesman. \| Postal Retirees Not Paid – Get Busy Signal When Calling OPM Toll-Free Number - Many APWU members who retired in October have reported that they still have not received regular annuity checks. We also have heard that many retirees receive a busy signal every time they call the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) on the agency’s toll-free number. \| APWU: Noncompliance with Das MS-47 National Award and Settlement on Custodial Staffing - This is a summary of Regular Panel Arbitrator Kathy Durham regarding the Postal Service’s non-compliance with the national settlement agreement which resulted from National Award of Shyam Das’ decision involving custodial staffing. \| Postal Service Honors Thirteen Suppliers for Leading Practices Thirteen companies were recognized by the U.S. Postal Service for superior supply chain performance and delivering best-value solutions that reduce costs, enhance performance, maintain high levels of service and collaborate to grow the business. \| • PRC Sets Schedule to Review Proposal to End Saturday Mail Delivery • USPS: Full Service Resumes for International Mail to Europe • Congresswomen Introduce Bill To Honor Two Postal Employees Who Died In Anthrax Attack • Ohio businessman pleads guilty in Postal Service bribery case • Netflix Streams Success -"For the first time, the company says more people streamed movies than got them through the mail." • Washington Post's New Magazine Will Bypass USPS - Dead Tree Edition
			April 27, 2010 • USPS Board Of Governors To Meet on May 5-6th • Postal Supervisor Arrested For Felony Drug Abuse • Postal worker saves couple from house fire • Contract employee accused of stealing almost $30k from postal station • Daytona Beach: Postal Service postpones study on consolidation • Postal workers protest possible cuts to service • LaSalle Road Post Office Branch Likely to Close • PRC to Meet May 5th (PDF)
			April 26, 2010 USPS Granted Extension to Comply With EEOC Order in National Reassessment Process class action complaint APWU - All employees who meet the definition of the class should automatically be included, even if they did not file EEOC complaints. In the interim, employees who feel discriminated against because of NRP activity can still file an EEOC complaint within 45 days of the discriminatory action. Filing will ensure that they are not overlooked and that their entitlement does not lapse if their fact circumstances differ from those specified in the EEOC case. Update: EEO Class Action For Postal Employees Placed Under National Reassessment Process \| • National Veterans Outreach Program Wins USPS Contract For Mail Trays • Postal workers rally in Poughkeepsie • Dead Tree Edition: Flats Sequencing Map • USPS OIG - The Great Debate • Rural mail carrier retiring after 30 years • Coast community regains its post office • Postal worker saves couple from house fire • Paw Paw Postmaster to Retire After 41 Years • US seeks life sentence in Wytheville post office hostage drama • Direct Marketing Assn Spent $250K Lobbying in 1Q • Letter carrier delivers in a heroic way
			April 25, 2010 Letter Carrier Caught On Tape Smoking Pot Sues TV Station For $500,000 Aldo Lamberti was among three postal workers included in a Fox 25 piece that alleged the trio were smoking pot and trespassing on school property, according Lamberti’s lawsuit, filed in Middlesex Superior Court. \| Documentary on postal rampages warns of the perils of the workplace A wide-angle look at American workplace violence through a documentary filmmaker's lens will zoom in on the shooting rampage at the Royal Oak Post Office Nov. 14, 1991.It appears filmmaker Emil Chiaberi's film, "Murder by Proxy: How America Went Postal," achieves some balance as it looks into the reasons why Tom McIlvane, a fired postal worker, took a rifle into the downtown Royal Oak building. When he was done, he had shot and killed four workers, injured others and taken his own life. \| • Push to stop Saturday mail delivery would impact local businesses • His career was letter perfect: Letter carrier goes out with grace • USPS: Catalog Visibility at All-Time High
			April 24, 2010 Postal Service Notifies NRLCA That it Will Be Placing Video Cameras in LLVs and POVs to Collect Data in Preparation for Negotiations - The Postal Service notified the NRLCA that it would be placing video cameras in some LLV’s and POV’s on rural routes in order to collect information/data for use in negotiations and possible interest arbitration. Over the last several days we have received numerous reports from rural carriers confirming that the Postal Service is now placing the video cameras on select routes. To date, the Postal Service has refused to advise the Union which standards are being studied. The Postal Service has indicated that rural carrier cooperation is mandatory and that it may discipline any carrier who refuses to permit a video camera to be placed in his or her vehicle. \| • Letter writing: A Lost Art
			April 23, 2010 What Is The True Cost Of USPS Labor? The refrain that “80 percent of postal costs are labor” is repeated often and is used to justify calls to reduce wages and benefits. However, the commentators who reiterate the claim often overlook several important factors: They fail to mention that the “wages and benefits” they refer to include compensation for all postal employees — casuals, supervisors, managers, and the entire executive staff, including the postmaster general. \| PMG Tells Senate Subcommittee Postal Service Moving Forward Still Needs Help - Potter said that while favorable consideration of the IG’s report would not eliminate the cost-cutting steps the Postal Service needs to take, “it would lessen the immediate financial crisis.” Potter also told the subcommittee that the agency’s Action Plan for the Future was generating growth opportunities. He cited a current product test with Hallmark for Postal Paid Greetings, an initiative to increase the number of Post Office Boxes available for rent and the expansion of sites where passport transactions can be conducted. USPS move to five-day delivery isn't a done deal \| • Portland OR police investigating postal worker connection to home burglaries
			April 22, 2010 APWU: Burrus Responds to Member's Socialism Charge you have endorsed a program that 65 percent of the American people did not want. You are rejoicing in a system that allows government to dictate my health care. \| PRC Chairman Urges Caution before Nation Cuts Mail Service Postal Regulatory Commission Chairman Ruth Y. Goldway today cautioned against deciding on major cuts in universal mail service until Congress considers possible changes to Postal Service funding of employee pensions and future retiree health benefits. \| • USPS Tightens Policy On Non-Postal Collection Box Use ‎• USPS Responds to Questions On Proposed Direct Mail Solution Initiative • Mail Service Providers, Beware • Ag inspection time change called retaliation for postal comments • Netflix First-Quarter Profit Jumps 44% on New Users • As Stamps Lose Hold as a Hobby, These Philatelists Push the Envelope • Mail truck catches fire; carrier saves mail • Rural mail delivery as hazardous as ever • Fremont's Niles post office to remain open
			April 21, 2010 Acting Supervisor Charged With Stealing Over 1,200 Gift Cards From Mail Working with victims whose mail had been rifled and the contents stolen, investigators were able to identify gift cards which had been stolen and used. Investigators were able to connect some of those cards to Andrew Walsh, a Postal Service maintenance mechanic, who is currently an Acting Supervisor at the Baltimore Processing and Distribution Center. \| • OPM Proposes Changing FEHBP Open Season To Month of November • Free PDF Copy of Beyond Going Postal, by Stephen Musacco, Ph.D. • USPS: Service Impacts Continue for International Mail to Europe • Volcano: Service Impacts Continue for International Mail to Europe • New Book and Stamped Postal Cards Honor America’s National Parks • Postal Service Launches Green Newsroom • Pearl City Woman Charged with 17 Counts of Fraud • Soapbox: Story about Salinas postal worker failed to mention his expungement • Decision nears on moving mail processing from Kalamazoo to Grand Rapids • Not anti-dog, but pro-carrier • 'Confidential' Letter Shows Postal Service’s Inefficiency • Bob Cannon, WUMB host, Postal Service spokesman • Kudos to postal workers for work during flooding
			April 20, 2010 • APWU: Grievance Time Limits Extended During National Convention • Suspicious Package Detonated at Pennsylvania Post Office • Former Postal Service worker admits dumping mail along SE Missouri river • How the Ash Cloud Will Hasten the Death of Postal Delivery • Does the Postal Service Need to Re-examine Its Delivery Service Standards? • Print CEO: Highlights of National Postal Forum • Valpak Helps NALC Stamp Out Hunger on May 8
			April 19, 2010 APWU: Arbitrator Overturns Advance Sick Leave Denial This is a summary of Regular Panel Arbitrator Timothy Buckalew’s decision regarding the Postal Service’s decision to deny an employee’s request for advance sick leave based solely on the grievant’s low sick leave balance. The arbitrator sustained the Union’s grievance; he ruled the Postal Service violated Article 19 of the contract because there was not a rational basis for the decision to deny the grievant's request for advanced sick leave under ELM Section 513.511. \| Cleveland postal workers sentenced on drug charges Seven of the eight arrested worked at the mail distribution center at 2400 Orange Ave., where agents confiscated crack, PCP, prescription painkillers, marijuana and a loaded handgun in June. \| • Health care overcharges are unjust burden for USPS • Saving the Postal Service - Federal Times - Letter from a Retired Carrier • Ex-postal worker in Mobile, AL pleads guilty to trashing, hiding mail on 'overloaded' route • Hallmark Announces First Postage-Paid Postcards • 10,000 Activists Call for USPS to Honor Dean Martin with Postage Stamp • Outlook grim for Postal Service as revenue • Flag looks fine but Nevada stamp riles native plant fans • Live From the National Catalog Forum: Prospect or Die.
			April 18, 2010 MSPB Threatens To Withhold Postal Official’s Pay Until USPS Compliance With Order- The postal worker filed a complaint with MSPB stating USPS had failed to pay him back pay for the constructive suspension period. USPS argued that the postal worker was not entitled to back pay for the period in question because he was not ready, willing, and able to work during the period. The administrative judge found USPS' argument without merit and ordered them to pay. MSPB identified the postal official responsible for compliance and stated that, "if the agency fails to demonstrate compliance, the Board may seek the withholding of the responsible agency official’s pay until the agency demonstrates compliance." Accordingly, we have determined that Linda J Welch, Acting Vice President, Southeast Area Operations, is the agency official responsible for compliance \| • Mail Handler and Letter Carrier Charged With Mail Theft • Four Arrested for Theft from the Postal Service
			April 17, 2010 OIG Report: Postal Execs Pay In Compliance With Postal Reform Act The Postal Service complied with the compensation limits stated in the Postal Act of 2006. Further, while we reviewed deferred compensation as a part of the overall scope, it does not apply to compensation caps. We noted that six of 44 officers were allocated a total of $502,395 in deferred compensation3 during calendar year 2009. Officers may be granted deferred compensation that is distributed after employment ends, or in a year when the payment of previously deferred compensation does not exceed the cap. Title 39 does not limit the Postal Service from devising and implementing deferred compensation provided it does not conflict with either the Federal Employees’ Retirement System or Civil Service Retirement System. \| • Analysis: Change the role of the Postal Service to keep it viable Interview with GAO's Phillip Herr via Federal News Radio • Man who coined 'ZIP code,' dies at 84 • Screening planned for 'Murder by Proxy: How America Went Postal' • Postal worker accused of viewing child porn at Utica office • Going Postal in the Digital Age • USPS and Congress trade barbs • Mail cull: Debating a proposal for limiting unsolicited direct mail
			April 16, 2010 Rationale for Five-Day Delivery Shattered at House Hearing A USPS myth was demolished at House hearing April 15 — a myth that serves as the Postal Service’s rationale for eliminating Saturday mail delivery. In response to questions by Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA), Postmaster General John E. Potter admitted that predictions that the Postal Service would amass losses of $238 billion by the year 2020 were “theoretical.” The exchange confirms allegations made by the APWU that the USPS forecast is wildly exaggerated, outlandish and unsupported. eNAPUS: House Hearing Raises Questions About Postal Plans and Number (PDF) \| USPS Retail Survey Lacks Privacy Act Safeguards? It appears USPS Headquarters has developed a retail survey for PS-07 Lead Sales and Service Associates (LSSA) , Clerk Finance Station, and Window Service Technicians. Some concerns are being raised about survey including a lack of Privacy Act notice on the website. The notice to LSSAs said "This initiative is also in partnership with National APWU." \| Former Postmaster Convicted of Plotting to Kill His Rural Carrier Ex-Wife Over Pension Loses Appeal - This case revolved around Willis' plot to kill his ex-wife. At trial, the Government played Willis' incriminating recorded statements made to a confidential informant. The most important evidence at trial came from Willis' own statements. The key conversation between Willis and the informant Parker took place inside Willis' truck. During the October 2007 conversation, Willis indicated that he planned to kill his ex-wife to avoid sharing his pension from the United States Postal Service. \| *• Memorial service set for postal* worker • Texas: two postal service employees indicted by federal grand jury • Postal Service 800 number gives callers wrong tax deadline • Oklahoma postmaster guilty of federal felony • Postal Service prodded -- once again -- to do more with less • Leaving the Mailstream: Saturation Advertising • Insights from the DMA's Jerry Cerasale and Nonprofit Mailers's Tony Conway • South Carolina Postal Clerk Charged With Stealing $46,000 From Stamp Machines**
			April 15, 2010 Federal Employee Issues Take Center Stage at Postal Service Hearing Rep. Darrell Issa, the ranking member on the House Oversight and Government Reform, went after the size of the federal workforce.. He claimed that the Postal Service has "more or less" a third more workers than it actually needs.. Postmaster general says USPS could cut its workforce \| Testimony of USPS Inspector General David C. Williams \| Testimony of PRC Chairman Ruth Y. Goldway \| Opening Statement of Chairman Edolphus Towns, House Oversight Committee PMG Jack Potter \| Kevin Kosar, Congressional Research \| GAO's Phillip Herr \| OPM's John O'Brien \| 57% of 82,000 USPS Employees Responded to VOE Survey Of those who responded to the survey, 61.9 percent replied favorably to the dimensions. A majority of employees say they are proud to work for the Postal Service. Seventy-nine percent understand the Postal Service’s strategic direction and how their work affects the organization’s success. The same percentage believes they have been properly trained to do their jobs. note: Is VOE survey mandatory? One reader said she was instructed by postmaster to fill out VOE survey online. \| Mailman unwelcome at tea party Letter Carrier runs into problems trying to deliver mail \| • USPS To Mailers: Shipping Is the Key To Our Future • Ohio Postal Clerk Charged With Theft of 2,050 Pieces of Mail • Pennsylvania Postal Clerk Charged With Taking $5.00 Cash, Lottery Tickets • Last-minute tax filers face fewer postal options • USPS OIG Audit Report: Color Coding of Standard Mail and Mail Condition Reporting at Albany P&DC (PDF) • Legal Challenge Likely for Exigent Rate Increase • Ex-postal worker’s theft charge dropped • Deputy PMG Wants Action for Catalogers • Saving the Public Enterprise Model - Who Pays? • Exhibition tells Holocaust story through mail • Catalogs Must Communicate With Congress • Rural Letter Carriers' Union letter to PMG on Concerns About 5 Day Delivery • Saving The Public Enterprise Model - Who Pays? • TSP Millionaires & Record Rollovers • Postal employee retires with a “million” – miles, that is • Postal gaffe led to lost NY pension check
			April 14, 2010 NALC: GAO report attacks postal labor, stiffs Congress The Government Accountability Office issued its long-awaited report on potential changes in the Postal Service’s business model. NALC President Fred Rolando expressed the union’s deep disappointment in the report’s content. Citing the GAO’s failure to deliver what Congress asked for, Rolando criticized GAO for instead producing what he called “a full-throated attack on collective bargaining." \| • Arroweye Solutions Recognized by U.S. Postal Service with Business Achievement Award • OtterBox Receives USPS Creative Business Solutions Award • USPS official discusses GAO report, focusing on small businesses • Editorial: Mail plant in Bowling Green has scored a victory • Postal workers indicted in thefts • Mail truck hits Torrington CT home • Postal Policy: Now its Congress's Turn
			April 13, 2010 GAO Suggests Plant Closings, Two-Tiered Wage Structure for USPS To rein in wages and benefits, which make up about 80% of its costs, the Postal Service should consider "a two-tier pay system that would pay new hires lower wages, while 'grandfathering' current employees under the current pay structure," the report says. In the labor movement, that is often called "eating your young" -- trading away future employees' pay in return for protecting the compensation and job security of current union members. \| Keynote Address by PMG Potter at National Postal Forum The Postal Service will also focus on the cost aspect of value. Pat Donahoe and his team will continue to aggressively manage costs to help close over half of the $33 billion 2020 gap that I spoke about. How are they going to do it? Through network adjustments, use of Six Sigma tools, and deployment of new equipment like the flats sequencer. McKinsey also recommended several other items that are included in our plan such as achieve greater workforce flexibility though the elimination of outdated work rules to assure labor costs are in line with our ability to pay. \| Injured Letter Carrier Fired For Failing To Report Income From Rock Band Suit Against USPS and NALC dismissed- The injured on duty Letter Carrier was earning money playing bass guitar for a rock band called BANG!. When the Postal Service discover John Grace NALC Branch #825 claiming that the Service breached the collective bargaining agreement by firing him without just cause and that the union breached its duty of fair representation. The letter carrier's suit came to an end when the district court granted the defendants' motion for summary judgment. \| • National Newspaper Association Continues Support For Six-Day Mail Delivery • Stamps.com Extends Offer of Free Service to eBay Sellers • USPS OIG: Is It Time to Re-evaluate the Retail Network? • Fort Smith residents traveling to get mail
			April 12, 2010 GAO report endorses cuts in U.S. Postal Service The U.S. Postal Service's current business model "is not viable," and the mail agency should make deeper job and wage cuts, hire more part-time staff and consider outsourcing some operations, according to a draft of a government audit acquired by The Washington Post .The Postal Service should provide more lucrative incentive packages to potential retirees in efforts to accelerate attrition, auditors said. They also recommended that USPS consider outsourcing more delivery routes and mail services to contractors, as well as concessions on wages and benefits from its labor unions during negotiations later this year. GAO: Highlights of Report (PDF) \| Full Report (PDF) \| Postal Employees April 16th Earnings Statements Already Available on Liteblue - submitted by Don Cheney- Postal employees who utilize direct deposit of their biweekly net-to-bank earnings can access their April 16th earnings statements today on Liteblue rather than waiting until Friday. (4/12) \| PRC Notice: Nationwide Change in Frequency of Postal Delivery This notice addresses related preliminary procedural steps and announces the Commission's intention to hold some hearings outside of the Washington, DC area. “The Postal Service emphasizes that the proposed changes do not affect retail operations.” The change will not take place before October 1, 2010. Interventions are due April 26, 2010. Video: PRC Chairman Goldway Says Decision to Cut Mail Deliveries Not Final \| National Newspaper Association Continues Support For Six-Day Mail Delivery \| • Live From National Postal Forum • FEHBP Dodges Risk Pool Bullet
			April 11, 2010 House Oversight Committee Will Hold Hearing To Examine Financial Viability of the Postal Service - the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform will hold a hearing on Thursday, April 15, 2010, to examine the status of the Postal Service and recent reports on short and long-term strategies for the financial viability and stability of the United States Postal Service (USPS). The hearing titled: “Continuing to Deliver: An Examination of the Postal Service’s Current Financial Crisis and its Future Viability”. At the hearing, the Committee will examine three recent reports on the future of the Postal Service. \| The Onion: Post Office Extends Hours to 3 A.M. On the lighter side of postal news- In an effort to reach out to a previously untapped customer base, the struggling United States Postal Service announced Tuesday that it would extend its business hours to 3 a.m. to meet America's late-night mailing demands. \| • 2010 National Postal Forum Takes Stage in Nashville • Letter carrier delivers much more than mail
			April 10, 2010 • Family: Post Office Lost Veteran’s Remains • Rural Carrier Stole Mail • North Dakota: Postmaster charged with stealing money orders • You've Got Boat Mail • Postal worker pleads guilty to mail theft • Man pleads not guilty to calling 911 to threaten postal workers • USPS Just Doesn’t Get It - 8125s and Bills of Lading
			April 8, 2010 Update: USPS To Offer Early Out Retirement To Employees In San Francisco and Bay-Valley Districts - Update to Update: It appears the VER offer is official. USPS has announced that it is offering early out retirement only to employees in selected offices located in the Bay Valley (Oakland and San Jose) and San Francisco California Districts. The Sacramento District may have received the VER offer but I have no verification as yet. Repeat it is not only in the San Francisco District. Click on the link above to see which offices in the Bay-Valley District are affected. The offices on list are targeted for possible upcoming involuntary reassignment (excessing). Postal facilities on the list have been notified and will schedule a stand-up very soon with employees. VER is being offered to Clerks, Mail Handlers, Custodians, Maintenance Operations Support Clerks and EAS employees in Select Offices employees. VER retirement application deadline and irrevocable date will be May 21, 2010. The effective date is June 2010. There are no incentives with this early out retirement offer. UPDATE: USPS VER Offer Package Is In The Mail to Select BV & SF District Employees \| San Francisco District VER page with links \| Appeals Court Upholds Demotion of Postal Supervisor For Unacceptable Conduct- A Sacramento Postal Supervisor was demoted after an incident involving a window clerk. The individuals met in a Manager's office to discuss the incident and that is when things went awfully wrong. The Supervisor yelled, pointed his finger at the window clerk, and blocked her attempt to leave the office. Although the Supervisor denied blocking window clerk from leaving the room -- MSPB found the window clerk more creditable. As part of his argument that demotion was too harsh, the postal supervisor maintained "that two supervisors in the Sacramento District retained their positions after one allegedly hit an employee and another allegedly hit an employee and used a racial epithet." The Federal Court of Appeals upheld the demotion from Supervisor, Customer Service, to Part Time Flexible City Carrier. The supervisor was initially charged with "Unacceptable Conduct / Violation of the Joint Statement on Violence and Behavior in the Workplace / Failure to Follow Instructions," as well as violations of a Zero Tolerance Policy Statement and various provisions of the Employee Labor Manual (ELM)." But with the help of his Rep it was reduced to a much lesser charge. Here is what happened to Supervisor's Rep: Appeals Court Upholds Demotion of California Postmaster \| • What happens when mail burns? • Masked, armed men rob Pasadena post office • California: Ex-postal worker indicted by federal grand jury
			April 8, 2010 Early Retirement Rumors: Again, APWU Says: Don't Go! There have been no discussions with postal management about offering new monetary incentives as an enticement for retiring. If incentives are contemplated at some future date, the law says they must be negotiated with the union. Any rumor that monetary incentives are under consideration is false. \| • Postal Service Expands Prescription Mail Back • Union says no Saturday mail may cut 300 WNY postal jobs • Commentary: Postal service is not forthcoming on Saturday delivery issue • East Texans feel relief after mailbox bomb arrest • Carrier: I Stole Mail To Buy Groceries • Postal Worker Sentenced To 37 Months In Prison • Mail destroyed in Pennsylvania tractor trailer crash • Dog pack threatens mailman • NY rural carrier admits to stealing $60,000 from workers comp • Prescription narcotics vanish from Sacramento post office • SUV plows into Houston post office, injuring 5
			April 7, 2010 APWU: Postal Management Makes an Important Discovery - USPS Must Help Generate Mail on March 30 the USPS announced that it is “conducting market information research to identify interested organizations with the capacity to partner with the USPS to develop; host; and market a go-to-market strategy.” The goal is to use the Postal Service’s marketing capability to generate advertising mail from small- and medium-sized businesses. This is really good news. It means that instead of waiting patiently for others to generate mail, postal management intends to engage in efforts to increase volume. \| • Chaffetz: Don't ditch Saturday delivery • Eye Opener: Learning how to drive a mail truck • Delivering mail no easy job in Alaska • Last licks for local post office • Postal Service as Giant Battery? A Plan for Cashing In • Postal union workers launch lunchtime protest • Charges filed against Dearborn Heights letter carrier • What is the Context for 5-day Delivery?
			April 6, 2010 USPS To Offer Early Out Retirement To Some Employees Update to Update: It appears the VER offer is official. But no document with an official USPS logo has been posted tol date. In addition, management did not bother to notify the APWU Presidents covering offices listed in this notice. USPS has announced that it is offering early out retirement only to employees in selected offices. Postal facilities on the list have been notified and will schedule a stand-up very soon with employees. VER is being offered to Clerks, Mail Handlers, Custodians and EAS employees. VER retirement application deadline and irrevocable date will be May 21, 2010. The effective date is June 2010. There is no incentive with this early out retirement offer \| End to Saturday mail faces resistance Two key lawmakers overseeing the U.S. Postal Service said they do not support the cash-strapped agency's plan to cut Saturday mail deliveries in hopes of saving more than $3 billion." While I understand the seriousness of the Postal Service's fiscal issues, I remain supportive of a six-day delivery schedule," said House Financial Services Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Jose Serrano, D-N.Y., whose panel controls funding for the Postal Service. "I will be in conversations in coming weeks with the senior postal leadership and the postal unions in an effort to avoid service cuts." The Upside of Cutting Saturday Mail Delivery \| USPS Will Lose More Postage Revenue As OPM Turns To Electronic Statements For Federal Employees -- "64 percent of Federal employees still receive paper Statements of Earnings and Leave (SEL) through postal mail delivery. In response, the Federal government is taking action to make electronic statements the default option to increase the percentage of Federal employees who use this convenient, low-cost approach. Effective this fiscal year, OMB is directing the National Finance Center (NFC) to default all serviced employees of Executive Branch organizations to electronic delivery (no paper statements produced and mailed) of SELs." \| • MFSA Responds to USPS Direct Mail Solicitation • Move of postal distribution center from Jackson MI to Lansing to start April 19 • Easton MD mail hub eyed for consolidation • Here's Why Stamps are a National Treasure • No First-Class Postage Increase This Year But May Will Be A Very Busy Month At Post Offices • Puget Sound-area post offices for sale • Letter Carriers’ Annual Food Drive Set for May 8 Throughout Nation • USPS continues investigation on hiring of registered sex offender • Mail was delivered on Sundays a century ago • Mail box mess - It's a stand off in Staten Island between a family who's not getting their mail and the post office who says it refuses to walk up 12 steps to drop the mail in the box. It sounds crazy but it's true
			April 5, 2010 Put out the fire, then build Postal Service back up NAPS President Ted Keating in the Federal Times - Congress should substantially correct the postal pension overcharge and responsibly credit the overpaid pension funds back to the Postal Service for payment of its future retiree health benefit obligations. That will put out the Postal Service's financial fire. Then Congress should do what needs to be done to update the wiring and the design of the Postal Service's business model. This will involve finding new ways to increase revenues and cut costs. But reducing delivery days immediately, when other steps are available, will only degrade the value of mail for households and the mailing industry, which use and rely upon the Postal Service. Reducing mail delivery days should be the last resort, not the first. \| USPS custodian angry after being banned from wearing protective face mask An ailing 9/11 first responder who now works as a custodian at a busy Long Island post office has been forbidden to wear a protective face mask when he scrubs the mailroom floors -- even though the stressed tiles contain potentially cancer-causing asbestos. \| Postal Employee Gets 30-day Suspension for Hatch Act Violation The complaint charged a Rural Carrier Associate with engaging in prohibited political activity in violation of the Hatch Act by being a candidate for election to a partisan political office. \| • FEC Dismisses Complaint Against Mail Handler’s Union Over Diversion of Membership Dues To PAC Fund • 41 years later, Whittier residents receive GI's mail from Vietnam April 4, 2010 Big mailers oppose 5-day delivery If the U.S. Postal Service gets its wish, there will be no Saturday mail delivery at this time next year — but the agency needs to sell the plan to its biggest customers, many of whom are skeptical about the switch. \| Bizarre USPS Mural Photo Rules Can The USPS Really Restrict What You Do With Photographs Of WPA Murals? USPS owns over 1,000 murals that were all commissioned by the Treasury Department between the years of 1934 and 1943. You would think, therefore, they should be in the public domain. Not quite. While you can take photos, the USPS says that photos may only be low resolution. \| • Postal worker gets wheelchair for boy, 10 • Postal service cutbacks started long ago April 1, 2010 Injured post office employees taken off the job Last week, Rick Larson said he was one of several Carol Stream post office employees with job-related injuries who were told there no longer was work available for them. After the announcement, Larson said he and several other employees were escorted out of the building. Jackie Engelhart, APWU Northwest Illinois Area Local chapter, said the employees were walked out like they were criminals. \|