Senators balk at proposal to cut back mail delivery days
Senator Collins accused Potter of using the crisis "to unravel the intricate compromise of provisions, accommodations and protections that made up our landmark [2006] postal reform law. Its fundamental purpose was to look beyond short-term fixes and to implement long-term solutions." Collins opposes Potter's proposal to move away from six-day service, which she said would drive more customers away. "It's disheartening to hear you come forward and advocate the elimination of that requirement," Collins said. Hegarty Responds To Testimony From PMG | eNAPUS: Postal Apocalypse Now (PDF) | Young Responds to Potter Testimony | Burrus: PMG's Testimony Offers Little Insight |

Postal Carrier Found Not Guilty Of DWI |

Postal worker saves mail when his truck catches fire |

A smarter, smaller Postal Service? |

Skunk at the bottom of smelly postal situation in Summerville

Granite Falls man charged in sexual assault of postal carrier

Postal carrier likes meeting people

January 28, 2009

Postmaster General: Mail Days May Need To Be Cut

Massive deficits could force the post office to cut out one day of mail delivery, the postmaster general told Congress on Wednesday, in asking lawmakers to lift the requirement that the agency deliver mail six days a week. If the change happens, that doesn't necessarily mean an end to Saturday mail delivery. Previous post office studies have looked at the possibility of skipping some other day when mail flow is light, such as Tuesday. PMG Potter's Testimony | Key points in today's hearing | PRC Dan Blair Testimony (PDF) | GAO: Deteriorating Postal Finances (PDF) | Senate Hearing | Postal Service seeks end to Saturday delivery requirement |

USPS In Financial Crisis, PMG Potter Tells Congress

PMG Jack Potter today told a U.S. Senate subcommittee that worsening conditions in the economy now point to a further 12-15 billion mailpiece decline and a net financial loss of $6 billion or more in FY 2009. Among further cost-cutting actions already taken or under way, Potter cited: Salary freezes for officers and executives at 2008 levels; A reduction in staffing at Headquarters; Reductions in staffing at the nine Area Offices; Early retirements — USPS has accepted more than 14,000 to date. He said he would work with union leadership to “create needed levels of workforce flexibility” to ensure USPS viability and to protect jobs. |

Union, Postal Service differ on cutting job hours |

Seattle: USPS removing mailboxes to cut costs |

Geneva letter carrier donates bone marrow

Postal Supervisor pleads guilty to embezzling $57,000 |

January 27, 2009

PMG Potter to Address Worsening USPS Finances Wednesday

(NAPS) Rumors have been swirling throughout the Postal Service in recent weeks about big changes coming: significant plant consolidations, area and district staffing reductions, craft work-hour cutbacks, the list goes on. The Postal Service has remained mum about these rumors. Greater clarity should come about on Wednesday afternoon when Postmaster General Jack Potter appears before a Senate postal oversight panel to testify on the deteriorating financial health of the Postal Service and what can be done to stabilize the ship. |

Connecticut AG Warns Parents of Putting Children On Photo Stamps

It's a cute and clever idea from the United State Postal Service. You can upload your favorite picture and it will be made into a postage stamp. But combine a stamp with a return address and you might be attracting predators. |

Postal worker critical after falling on ice
San Gabriel Valley's postal hub could cut service

Possible post office closure a concern

Connecticut : Bridgeport Postal union opposes move

January 26, 2009

Postmaster General Names New CFO

Postmaster General Jack Potter today announced appointments to key leadership positions. Joseph Corbett has been named chief financial officer and executive vice president. Susan Plonkey has been named vice president, Sales. Corbett replaces H. Glen Walker. |

Next Contract COLA ZERO?

"There was no projected accumulation toward the fourth regular cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for" postal employees. |

CA: USPS To Study Consolidating Some Operations At Industry P&DC |

‘Magic Man’ postal clerk Ross retires after 57 years |
Steve Dick steps down after 32 years with post office

St. Louis inmate's 'legal mail' disgusts court clerk

Postal Service to offer same-day delivery of the Detroit News |

January 25, 2009

Will the USPS Ask for a Second Postage Increase?
The U.S. Postal Service is expected to say next month how much standard mail rates are increasing but there's growing doubt among some observers that the hike - or hikes - won't be as small as expected. They fear that the USPS could file an "exigent" rate case that would drive the rates up even more. |

APWU: Cutting Corners, Other USPS Plans

Many postal districts, if not all, are increasingly under pressure to slash costs, reduce their complement, and make budget, all while giving quality service to the American public. Far too often, managers make cuts at the expense of postal workers, and this means a lot of disruption, confusion, and uncertainty for them and their families. Yet, it is the postal worker who provides the service that helps the USPS rank as the federal agency most trusted by the public. note from PR: It appears postal employees nationwide are failing to complain about management performing craft work; working employees out of their jobs as bidded; requiring employees to provide medical documentation for absences of 3 days or less....why? |

USPS: New Rules, New Game, New Opportunities (PDF)

"The table is set for monumental change as never before" - Jack Potter - It won’t be the change of the game, nor the change in the rules people will resist. It’s the losses and the transitions. While to some, the new rules and the new game will be exciting news and experienced with enthusiasm, there will be some who will need to “grieve.” |

DMA, coalition of publishers and associations, urge postal relief

January 24, 2009

Post Office suspends some deliveries after birds' attacks on carriers - Nearly every day over the last five months, an average of 10 turkeys — led by a pair of male "ring leaders" — have been chasing and attempting to peck a postal worker on his route." Last week, people had to intervene so (the mail carrier) could get back to his truck," Russell said yesterday. "He was trying to wave a bag full of mail at the turkeys as he ran when some folks pulled over to shoo the turkeys away." It was suggested arming the postal worker with an umbrella in order to show the turkeys who's the boss. |

It's curtains for the window envelope |

Authorities seek IDs of men who robbed postal employee

APWU Local Collects 8,000 Signatures In Support of Consolidation Fight in Florida

Postal workers union heads to court to try to prevent Bridgeport jobs from moving to Stamford

January 23, 2009

Significant Changes Expected; Sacrifices Must Be Shared, Burrus Says -Over the past several months I have attempted to alert APWU members to the financial crisis that is confronting the Postal Service, and the substantial impact it will have upon postal employees... Well, change is upon us: In the near future, the Postal Service will implement modifications to postal operations that are unprecedented in the 230-year history of this great institution. Change will take place, and the changes will affect employees. If postal executives want craft employees to understand the need for significant changes, the sacrifices must be shared by every segment of the postal community. " |

USPS Policy Charging Reservists For Non-Work Days Did Not Violate USERRA - An employee on reserve duty in the Army who alleged that the US Postal Service improperly charged him for missing days of work during his military leave for which he was not scheduled to work (e.g. Sundays and holidays) failed to assert a claim under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA), held the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals. |

Revisiting The Anthrax Attacks Of 2001

When anthrax was sent through the U.S. Postal Service in 2001, an overwhelming majority of postal workers elected not to be inoculated with the available vaccine because of confusion and distrust, according to a University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health study. Although the FBI officially closed the case on the attacks this year, lingering suspicion and uncertainty remain, say study authors, which could influence the public's reactions to future emergencies. According to the report, reactions from postal workers were shaped partially by fears of being experimental "guinea pigs..." |

Cher lobbying Postal Service for Sonny stamp |
Mail carrier had Wellesley neighborhood's stamp of approval

Mail carriers deliver million miles of safety

Ex-postal worker indicted for murder

Feds say mail carrier got too many discounts |

Overwhelmed mail carrier faces sentencing |

Postal Worker accused of killing pregnant girlfriend indicted

January 22, 2009

Mental treatment ordered for Postal Worker Guilty of OWCP Fraud |

Postal Service redraws routes in tough times |

Postal worker pleads guilty to stealing gift cards
Letter carriers want to correct 'injustice'

Man gets 2 years for assaulting pregnant mail carrier for pot package

Pitney Bowes is a bright spot in Calif. job scene

January 21, 2009

APWU Members Celebrate Inauguration

Zionsville Post Office closing its doors

Bella Vista Post Office: USPS says 'no' to Saturday

Working through the cold

Postal service moving jobs out of downtown Bridgeport post office

Postal contractor steals cash and DVD's from mail

January 20, 2009

Mail-hoarding carriers uncommon but embarrassing

Some of those who are supposed to endure snow, rain and gloom of night to deliver the mail have resorted to hiding tons of it in garages, a self-storage unit and the dark of their basements. Carriers from North Dakota to North Carolina have been hauled in recently for hoarding mail. Though the U.S. Postal Service says the offense is rare, it smacks at the agency's image. Postal carrier admits renting storage unit to hide mail |

Pot, Postal Service -- A Bad Combination

Woman turns junk mail into art

Biting cold doesn't chill this mailman

January 19, 2009

eNAPUS: Postal Stimulus Initiative (PDF)
NAPUS has been working closely with other postal employee groups to include H.R. 22 within the $825 billion "2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act", aka the economic stimulus package. On January 6, Reps. John McHugh (R-NY) and Danny Davis (D-IL) introduced H.R. 22; it is identical to legislation introduced in December. The bill would permit the USPS, for an 8-year period, to pay employee FEHBP premiums out of its Retiree Health Benefits Trust Fund." The postal community – employee groups and the mailing industry – believe that a provision protecting jobs in an industry that has been pummeled by the collapse of numerous sectors of the economy is worthy of inclusion in the stimulus legislation. |

League of Postmasters and Other Management Associations Meet With USPS on Pay Issues - We have been unsuccessfully trying, over the last few years, to engage the Postal Service in meaningful dialogue regarding PFP/NPA, however, at our meeting we may have turned the corner towards coming into compliance with Title 39 of the U.S. Code which states in part that the management associations will directly participate in the planning and development of programs affecting pay. |

Acting postmaster also manages Temple post office

Anthony Palomino, Temple postmaster, assumed the same role in Killeen last June when the original postmaster went on leave for an official assignment. |

Postal carrier helps cats, dogs seen on route

Pinkham’s job as a U.S. Postal Service carrier in Prairie du Chien may expose her to animals in jeopardy, but the devoted animal lover said she sees each encounter as an opportunity to help |

Opinion: Don't Bail Out the Mail |

Postal Hike Capped at 3.8 % Average

Postal workers conquer snow, ice and dangerous temperatures

Don’t Knock the Post Office

Man killed crossing highway to retrieve mail

January 18, 2009

Letter carrier to be sentenced for mail theft
Postal Service Cuts Off SRO Tenants; Defies State and Local Law

January 17, 2009

Postal costs to go up less than 4% -- maybe

Suspicious powder found in postal truck

It's a Plus: New Shipping Incentives Available Jan. 18th

January 16, 2009

Burrus Addresses Postal Rumors

Approximately 3,500 APWU-represented employees are exposed to the possibility of layoffs. The remaining APWU-represented employees are protected, but other changes will affect them, including relocations and reassignments. Part-time flexible and light-duty employees will experience work-hour reductions to a level that cannot support a family. The toleration for absences from work will be diminished, so that many absences will be challenged, requiring the application of the contractual “just cause” standard. Until mail volume returns to previous levels, postal employees should anticipate that many, many changes will be imposed. The union will apply the contractual standards to each change, but many will be beyond the contractual limitations. |

Post office says military vet owes $3,000 for time spent in service before he can retire - Vern Beasley didn't know that when he fought in Desert Storm and left home for U.S. Army training he would have to pay for it -- literally. The Flint postal carrier was all set to retire when he learned he owed almost $3,000 to buy back the year and two months he was called up as an Army reservist. When it came to his 25-year postal tenure, even time away at war didn't count. |

Ex-Postmaster Relief accused of embezzling money orders

Earth Class Mail wants online delivery to be part of Universal Service Obligation

January 15, 2009

Postal service to move sorting work out of Canton to Akron

January 14, 2009

Update: Letter Carrier's Notice of Removal Rescinded

The U.S. Postal Service says a worker who abandoned her mail truck to tend to her wounded fiancé will not be fired. Letter carrier loses job after going to shot fiancé's side -The Postal Service has notified Tammy Rochester that she will be out of a job after leaving her mail route following a Dec. 10 incident in which her fiancé was shot pursuing a bank robbery suspect. A notice of removal dated Jan. 8 by the Postal Service said Rochester failed to follow instructions, failed to properly perform duties and was absent without leave. |

Bring on the Rumors for USPS’ “Big Announcement” Friday

Rumors are flying about a “Big Announcement” from the United States Postal Service to be announced this Friday, January 16. On several blogs covering Postal Service issues, the topic is hot. Local postal workers near our offices know about the announcement and all have their own theories. A list of the leading possibilities :Postmaster General to resign; rate hikes; RIF, early out incentives |

How USPS Service Will Work on Inauguration Day

Federal employees who work in the District of Columbia, Montgomery or Prince George's Counties in Maryland, Arlington or Fairfax Counties in Virginia, or the cities of Alexandria or Falls Church in Virginia, are entitled to take Inauguration Day, January 20, as a holiday. But what about the USPS? The quasi-governmental agency doesn't get to take the day off, but at the same time, Secret Service measures will prevent mail carriers from delivering mail in parts of the city. |

Low-tech identity theft: it's in your mailbox
Federal workers delaying retirement because of economic crisis

APWU Takes Issue With Suggestions to E-Mail Greeting Cards

APWU Assists Veterans at 'Winterhaven Stand Down'

Rain, sleet may not stop mail; Internet, economy do

January 13, 2009

GAO Report: USPS Age and Disability Diversity in the Executive Service (PDF) -

The [Postal] Service’s senior executive rank, the PCES, has two levels. PCES II is composed of the Service’s most senior leadership—its officers—and includes the Postmaster General, the Deputy Postmaster General, and the Service’s vice presidents. PCES I includes all other executives in headquarters, area, and district locations. According to the Service and as we reported in April 2008, there were a total of 748 employees in the PCES as of the end of fiscal year 2007. Thirty-nine of the 748 PCES employees were officers (PCES II), while the remaining 709 executives were PCES I. USPS PCES Getting Older, Not Staying Longer |

Bulk Mail Entry Unit Facilities, Operations Upgraded

The Postal Service this year will dramatically revamp its Business Mail Entry Unit (BMEU) operations to improve customer service, standardize processes and improve efficiencies, according to Pritha Mehra, vice president, Business Mail Entry and Payment Technologies. |

Postal worker found stabbed to death in Brooklyn home

City Council to examine options after USPS Loses 6,500 Newsletters

Ardenvoir post office will remain

January 12, 2009

For sale: River Oaks post office

Retired Postal Worker Rescued After 5 Days Stuck in Bathtub

January 11, 2009

Technology, Availability Alter How Mail is Sent, Received
Swift changes have come in recent years to the ways people must send letters and packages to one another - affecting everything from pickup locations to lengths some locals must go to purchase postage stamps." It’s been especially acute for older residents forced to travel out of the way to handle mailing needs. |

Opinion: No mail on Saturdays

Bring On the 4-day workweek? Every year we hear how the U.S. Postal Service is going broke. I personally believe it is another case of mismanagement. Think of the millions of dollars that could be saved nationwide in fuel, vehicle maintenance, wages, benefits, etc., if mail were not delivered on Saturday. Postal workers could work four, 10-hour days, which would result in further savings. |

Postal Service may consolidate Wilkes-Barre, Scranton Sites

Some operations in the U.S. Postal Service’s processing and distribution center in Wilkes-Barre could be consolidated into a similar facility in Scranton as the system has seen a steepening decline in first-class mail. The Wilkes-Barre and Scranton hubs were chosen for the study — the only one being conducted in the central Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey and Delaware area — because of their proximity to one another. USPS Notification Letter |

Postal Worker Loses $5.5 Million Lawsuit |

Postal workers to share lottery winnings

For Many Former DHL Clients, USPS Delivers

Editorial: The delivery of the mail has always been special

January 10, 2009

Philadelphia Post Office Design Doesn't Deliver, Either |

Website charging for info on USPS jobs

CT: Businesses upset over postal changes |

Missing Social Security Checks a 'Wake-Up Call'

Post office feline sparks cat fight in Alabama town |

After 50 years with postal service, Grahn still going strong |

January 9, 2009

Postal Service will study consolidating Wilkes-Barre distribution facility

Mail carrier to thief: Take that, you dog |

Former postmaster indicted for embezzling $15,000

New postal delivery routes worry city business owners |

USPS, Capital One dispute remains in discovery

After 31 years managing the mail, Friedrich retires

January 8, 2009

Burrus : Declining Volume, Killing the Messenger, Excessive Discounts -The Postal Service response has been to "kill the messenger." Instead of maintaining a complement of employees sufficient to process, transport, and deliver the mail to the Philadelphia community, postal management contracted with a private, high-priced public relations firm that has sought to obscure the facts. And, after lengthy review and analysis, the Postal Service has documented postal employees sleeping in locker rooms during their lunch breaks. Give me a break. |

For the Post Office: Snow, Rain and Now Gloom of Recession

The retirees will not be replaced. These reductions are accelerating a trend: before they began, there were already 100,000 fewer postal workers than there were about seven years ago, with automated sorting technology picking up much of the slack. Meanwhile, part-time employees will be limited to working fewer hours, temp hiring will be cut back, and contract employees may be eliminated altogether. If those measures aren't enough to stop the bleeding, deeper cuts could follow. |

Postmaster Charged With Identity Theft

The former postmaster of Bethel is accused of stealing a former employee's identity. Jennifer Justice was indicted on October 22, 2008 for allegedly using someone else's information to obtain credit cards and magazine subscriptions. According to the Clermont County Prosecutor's office, Justice had the mail inquiries sent to a vacant home. |

USPS Seeks Vendors for Secured Destruction of Undeliverable As Addressed Mail - It has been the USPS practice to return all First Class Mail, which can not be delivered, to the original sender. This practice exacts a cost from the Postal Service for each piece of mail returned. The Major Mailers Association in conjunction with the USPS has agreed that a secured destruction process for First Class Mail which the sender does not want returned will not only provide cost savings to the USPS but also the MMA members that would normally be required to destroy the returned mail once received. The USPS is seeking a process that provides a verifiable custodial audit trail for the destruction of the documents and provides protection from identity theft for its customers. |

Mansfield post office again faces mail shift

Nevada man receives a thousand copies of magazine

California postal worker indicted for mail theft

Stamp's 'unknown musher' is quite well-known, actually

Former Relief Postmaster gets jail for taking $12,000 in funds

Unofficial Guide to Flats Sequencing

Postal carriers fight ice and snow

Goin' Postal CEO Goes Postal on Fire Marshal

Texas: Missing Social Security Checks

Man guilty in death of postal worker

January 7, 2009

Appeals Court Favors APWU in Latest Round of AMS Dispute

In the most recent legal action in a long-running dispute, a federal appeals court has ruled that a U.S. District Court must reconsider arguments over whether postal supervisory personnel or APWU-represented employees should be performing the work of the Address Management System Specialist position. |

Swap meet thrives by going postal

Hundreds of gift cards “lost” at the post office |

Mail carrier helps save wandering toddler

Cash, stamps stolen from post office

APWU: Secretary-Treasurer Training Available Online

Thieves target postal drop boxes

January 6, 2009

The Year That Lies Ahead

Perhaps Congress should ask postal management and the governors what they intend to do to help ensure the Postal Service will thrive (let alone just survive) in the challenging times that lay ahead. After all, why pour money into an institution that already has demonstrated that the manner in which it's managed the nation's postal system for well over two centuries no longer is viable? It's time, I would think, that the governors and management be required to show they know how to shepherd the nation's postal system in a more financially viable and prudent way. There still is the issue of the Postal Service, its management, and its Governors. They do more to hurt themselves than any outside political interference could ever possibly do. While the USPS' top management has been deft at cutting costs, it seems clueless when it comes to devising new products or services that could convince businesses there still is value to committing dollars to doing by mail. |

Customer says postal workers "the real heroes of the storm" - Snow's gone, but FedEx and UPS package complaints remain

January 5, 2009

Big Changes Are Coming?

If you are not handling mail watch out! This is what the latest edict from postal management seems to be stating. Apparently Postal HQ is mandating so called "allied and indirect positions" to be abolished. Postal big shots are ordering Areas to reduce positions that do not directly touch the mail. They are applying a unilateral percentage to each Area. Some of these "indirect" positions include expediters, general clerks, transfer clerks, training technicians, secretaries, review clerks... |

Postal Service Set For Big Shift
(Detroit) People used to getting mail from the same postal carrier at the same time each day may be in for a surprise. Across metro Detroit and the nation, the U.S. Postal Service plans this month and in February to shift thousands of carriers and delivery times as a cost-saving measure. It may be the largest single batch of such changes in Postal Service history, said Dan Orton, spokesman for post offices in Macomb, Oakland, St. Clair and other counties. Postal Service tweaks routes throughout Northern California |

Holiday Mail Delivery Delayed |

TSP rallies in December

Mike Causey: The FERS is Flying

Postmaster retires after four decades

NPR: : Postal Service Sees Less Mail in Slumping Economy

USPS OIG: Top 10 Postal Stories of 2008

Effective January 1, 2009, Handbook F-15 revised to reflect new 55 cents reimbursement rates for travel and relocation.

January 4, 2009

Smoking mail brings out bomb squad

January 3, 2009

Alcohol issue addressed: Ok To sell Alcohol At Small Town post office

The Lingleville post office was placed in jeopardy when Erath County residents voted in November to allow the sale of alcohol. When Country Store owner Mary Borges began to make plans to sell beer and wine, the Postal Service said its lease could not be renewed because alcohol sales aren't allowed in federal facilities. However, postal spokesman Sam Bolen said a month-to-month lease agreement was reached Wednesday after the facility services office in Washington, D.C., conducted research and reported that it's OK to have a post office in a store that sells alcohol. |

Vallejo postal route changes may mean new delivery times

Maine's Mail Marathon

Asbestos threat closes U.S. Post Office

Postal Bulletin 1/01/09 Issue

Local Postmasters Gave Years of Service

January 2, 2009

NALC: Route Adjustments Extended to February 20th

- NALC and USPS have agreed to extend to February 20 the deadline for finalizing adjustment packages pursuant to the Interim Route Adjustment Process. This extension lets Joint Route Adjustment teams at the district and local levels continue working beyond the earlier, aggressive time limits. |

Ex-mail carrier expected to plea to federal charge |

Postal Worker running for local office surprised by Hatch Act Investigation

Hearing Held in Postmaster's Death

Lyman postal carrier lauded for helping elderly

January 1, 2009

PostalEASE Enrollment Period for FEHB, FSA Extended

Postal workers will be able to make FEHB elections using PostalEASE employee self-service through Jan. 13, 2009, the Postal Service has announced. Employees will be able to make decisions after Jan. 13, but they will have to mail or fax a completed FEHB Worksheet to the Human Resources Shared Service Center (HRSSC) to do so. |

Retiring letter carrier a hard act to follow

Postmaster leaves his stamp on community

Postal Service pledges to remove 8,000 pounds of lead

Post office lacks customers - but not humor

Postal workers weathering tough conditions

Truck Smacks Smokey Point Post Office