Postal News

Statement of NALC President On Compliance with National Agreement - Let Let me make the following clear to one and all, including Postal Service management at headquarters and in the field, and all letter carriers, at every level in the union and in every post office: No one, at any level, has any authority to amend or violate the national contract, period. PMG Potter memo on honoring contract (PDF). It is up to each one of us to make sure that the changes we bring to the organization are changes for the better,” Potter recently wrote. Respecting and protecting the provisions of the collective-bargaining agreements will help us to do that |

NALC: There Are No Plans To Eliminate Six-Day Delivery

USPS: Declining Mail Volume Leads to Route Adjustments

Report: Employment of Veterans in the U.S. Postal Service - FY 2007

PRC Annual Report: Postal Execs Compensation

USPS Says It Needs To Eliminate 9,200 City Carrier Routes in FY 2009

Postmaster, Supervisor Groups Reject Pay Freeze (PDF)

Tight Times Strain Postmasters

USPS, APWU Reach Tentative Agreement On Four-Day Workweeks

USPS Wants Commercial Outdoor Advertising On Its Property

USPS to Implement Two Tour Initiative Nationwide

Re: Postal Employees Ordered to Stop Offering First-Class Mail

PMG Urges Leaders of Employee Organizations To Work With USPS

Flashback: Postal 1992 VER Cost $1.01 Billion

USPS To Launch Nationwide Program To Track Revenue Performance Of Window Clerks

Postmaster General Cautions of Perfect Economic Storm

Connecticut Congressman Presses Postal Service for Answers Regarding Meriden Route Changes

Appeals Court Upholds Firing Of Postal Carrier For Unsafe Driving

GAO: New Delivery Performance Measures Could Enhance Postal Managers’ Pay for Performance Program

Postal Manager Demoted Over Violation of NALC Contract?

Postal Worker's Self-Defense Claim Can't Save Job

NAPS Challenges USPS Network Plan, Questions USPS Outsourcing

USPS Posts $1.1 Billion Loss For Third Quarter

House Passes FERS Sick Leave Legislation

GAO: Data Needed to Assess the Effectiveness of USPS Outsourcing | Watchdogs question US Post Office outsourcing system

USPS Names Two Postal Execs To New VP Slots

USPS Releases Details Of Voluntary Early Retirement Offer

Burrus: Employees Would Be Best Served by Postponing Early-Out Decisions

NALC: Young Urges Congress to Reject Study for 5-Day Delivery

USPS Early Out Offer Excludes ETs - No Cash Incentives

PMG Potter Announces Reorganization At USPS Headquarters

House Committee Approves Study On Ending Saturday Mail Delivery

EEOC: Postal Worker Was Not Provided Smoke-Free Vehicle

ASFM-100 Work Awarded Back to Clerk Craft at Trenton P&DC

Court of Appeals Keeps Alive 14-Year-Old Lawsuit Against NALC

Postal Service Selects First-Ever Vice President of Sustainability

Video: Postal Workers Protest Terrorism On The Job

EEOC Rules USPS Must Process Class Action Complaint For Rehab Postal Employees

OPM Submits Proposal To Create Short-Term Disability Insurance Program

To Err Is Not Human for Demoted Postal Supervisor

USPS Resolves Dispute With Unions Over Computer Security Rules

USPS Selects Former Halliburton Executive As New CIO

Big Pay Increases Approved For Top Postal Service Officers

USPS Retail Cost Cutting (PDF)

click here to read the award (PDF) | A Short Comparison of USPS Contracts With APWU, NPMHU, NALC and NRLCA |

Flat Sequencing System (FSS) Strategy

June 30, 2009

USPS Workforce Continues To Decline

The US Postal Service has reduced its career complement in the last twelve months from 669,372 to 633,046--a difference of 36,326. The clerk craft suffered the biggest reduction -- 197,966 to 182,592 (15,374). The other career employees categories also suffered a reduction from this same time last year such as the city carriers - 11,435 (202,971) |

Postal service says five-day delivery only a rumor

Dozens of Delaware Post Offices to End Bulk Mail Service Tuesday
Postal employee guilty of opening mail
Former Postal Worker Facing Prison Time
Residents of Florida Town Upset by Possible Post Office Closure
Possible Closures for OK Post Offices

Talk of closing Nashville post office riles patrons

Public speaks out against post office closure

Mail damaged by fire; post office seeks assistance

June 29, 2009

Union Battles USPS Over Ergonomic Hazards

Locally Filed OSHA Complaints and a National Unfair Labor Practice Charge are among the actions taken by the APWU in our ongoing battle with the Postal Service over ergonomic hazards on the Delivery Bar Code Sorter (DBCS). The NLRB Regional Director has scheduled a hearing on July 20, 2009, on the allegations in the formal complaint filed May 1, 2009. |

USPS OIG: What’s the Right Level of Financial Reporting?

How can the Postal Service provide you and other stakeholders with the most appropriate financial information? |

Postman doesn't even ring once

Patterson woman can't get home mail delivery because of distance rule
"Under the quarter-mile rule, (the U.S. Postal Service) exempted itself from providing carrier delivery service to customers who reside within a quarter-mile of noncity delivery post offices.." |

Three Louisiana Postal Employees Sentenced For Making False FEMA Claim And Delay Of Mail

APWU: Latest List of USPS Facilities Targeted for Consolidation || Local Consolidation Web Sites

High-tech mail service raises $30M

Quebecor World: Has the Stalked Become the Stalker?

Veteran letter carriers get national award for safety

Idaho: Backcountry mail pilot helps preserve way of life

Postal Cutbacks in Age of E-mail

June 28, 2009

Small Post Offices Serve As Community Link

Stamped for extinction
Mail priorities

June 27, 2009

Friends rally to keep popular window clerk’s job

Peter Avallone, who has worked for the Postal Service since 1988 and in Brookside since 2003, said he was informed two weeks ago by Postmaster Rita Schmidt, that the Postal Service wanted to move excess employees from other branches to work at Brookside. Because Avallone has part-time status, his job was in jeopardy and he was given the choice of either being a mail carrier or having his hours cut, potentially to only one hour a week. |

Postal Union Officials Charged With Embezzlement, Theft

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS) recent criminal enforcement data |

Mail Carrier Robbed at Gunpoint
Mail Carrier Finds Newborn Wrapped In Plastic at Abandoned House
Temporary' post office to change - 25 years later
Locals react to possible loss of mail delivery
Carwash company accused of bilking USPS

Senators Urge Congress, Postal Service to Protect Oregon's Vote-by-Mail
PRC Seeks Commission Secretary/Chief Administrative Officer

June 26, 2009

Gallup: Americans OK With Fewer Mail Days to Fix Postal Budget

Most oppose raising stamp prices and cutting postal services to solve budget woes. U.S. Postmaster General John E. Potter recently asked Congress for permission to cut the number of postal delivery days from six to five as a way to save his cash-strapped agency up to $3.5 billion annually -- a proposal that seems acceptable to most Americans. |

Window Clerk Issued Discipline For Failing To Fill Out Customer’s International Forms? "Sharon Young, a Sales and Service Associate at the Norristown (PA) Post Office, has been issued a Letter of Suspension following an incident with a customer who complained that Ms. Young did not assist her with filling out more than 100 customs forms for parcels the customer was mailing to Japan.". |

MSPB Sustains Demotion Of Postal Supervisor

- The Postal Service demoted Linda Parker from the position of Supervisor, Customer Services, EAS-17, to the position of PTF Clerk, PS-05.. The Supervisor was charged failing to “perform a full office proficiency and street count on one route weekly starting March 24, 2008.” The other concerned the Supervisor’s alleged continuing failure to “clear” clock ring errors on a daily basis. |

Mailman delivers blow to crime, lessons in life

PA: Car Slams Into Glenside Post Office; 1 Injured
Kit Kat Partners With Japan Post To Offer Edible Postcard

Florida: Local Postal Workers May Lose Jobs

June 25, 2009

Save Your Post Office!
A rallying cry can be heard across the country, from the swanky streets of SoHo to the tiny town of Randolph, Kansas: "Save Our Post Office!" As the United States Postal Service, weighed down by a crippling multibillion-dollar deficit, shrinks down its operations, post offices across the country are on the chopping block. Each year, hundreds of postal operations shutter, but this coming fall could be the single biggest consolidation in USPS history. |

FERS Sick Leave Credit Bill Still Alive

H.R. 2990 (Disabled Military Retiree Relief Act of 2009) would ‘provide that federal employees receive credit for unused sick leave when determining annuity if they have not been paid for those days. The bill also enables federal employees to deposit refunds of retirement deductions with interest under the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS). NALC: FERS Sick-Leave Credit Bill Passes House |APWU: Drive for Sick-Leave Credit Gains New Life | Postmasters: House approves FERS sick leave retirement credit bill |

Postal Service Launches Study On The Elimination Of Saturday Delivery

NALC remains adamantly opposed to ending six-day delivery, said NALC President Bill Young. NALC is pushing the Postal Service for a full briefing on USPS’ internal study on the feasibility of eliminating Saturday delivery. That briefing is expected to take place shortly. "Downsizing the Postal Service to meet the needs of a severely depressed economy is short-sighted and self-defeating—it will cost us tens of thousands of jobs and open the way to competitors to provide service on the sixth day," he added. |

Postal Contract Carrier's Embezzlement Stamped Out

Former postmaster sentenced for stealing prescription drugs out of mail

APWU asks USPS OIG to investigate New Castle AMP study
Mortgage, Home Equity Direct Mail Volume Flattens Out

Complaints Fill Hearing About Federal Employees' Health Plan

June 24, 2009

USPS Reports Financial Loss For May 2009

The US Postal Service filed its May 2009 (unaudited) preliminary financial report today with the Postal Regulatory Commission. USPS reported a net income loss of $677 million (April 2009 was $385 million). The year-to-date deficit currently stands at approximately $3.4 billion. Mail volume was down across all classes with an overall total decrease of 19.9%. |

Dead Tree Edition: USPS Preparing Price Breaks For Money-Losing Periodicals Class - "The most likely change to the Periodicals class, which is used by magazines and newspapers, seems to be a revamping of the “ride-along” pricing and regulations. Ride-alongs are items not eligible for Periodicals treatment on their own, such as product samples and catalogs, that are mailed along with a Periodicals publication." |

NALC: H.R. 22 Moves Toward Full Committee

The subcommittee on the Federal Workforce, Postal Service and the District of Columbia marked up H.R. 22 today and passed it by a unanimous vote. This legislation will allow the United States Postal Service to pay its share of contributions for annuitants' health benefits out of the Postal Service Retiree Health Benefits Fund. eNAPUS: House Panel OKs Postal Relief Bill | NAPS Legislative & Regulatory Update | APWU: Key House Panel Passes HR 22 |

Congressman Wants Mail Carriers To Conduct 2010 Census

Today Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) announced he will introduce legislation requiring the Commerce Department’s execution of the 2010 Census to be conducted in partnership with the United States Post Office. The Census previously announced a need to hire in excess of 750,000 people to conduct the Census. The Post Office has 760,000 employees. Rep. Chaffetz’ bill will create a “postal holiday” on the “Census Day” to allow the collection of Census information rather than the delivery of mail. |

Congressman Secures USPS OIG Audit of Manasota P & DC Consolidation - Congressman Vern Buchanan (FL-13) announced today that the U.S. Postal Service’s (USPS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) has agreed to his request for an independent review of the USPS’s plans to consolidate mail processing operations at the Manasota Processing and Distribution Center in Tallevast. |

Stoner's Farm (PA) residents to finally have mail delivered by post office. - Because of an obscure Postal Service regulation stating mail carriers cannot enter new developments until they are at least 50 percent complete, residents of the seven occupied duplexes in the Stoner's Farm development off Columbus Avenue have had to drive to Littlestown Post Office since last fall to pick up their mail. |

Peanut Butter & Jelly Wars Waged By Two Postmasters

Acting Postmaster RuthE Von Gunten-Persad has challenged Mark Pi, the acting postmaster at the Lehigh Post Office on Business Way to see who can collect the most peanut butter and jelly. The officer-in-charge in Alva and Pi have agreed that the loser has to eat three PB&J sandwiches in two minutes. |

USPS National Payroll Hours Pay Period 12 (PDF)

Walnut postmaster rides to cure AIDS

Mail Processing Staying In Mansfield
Former postal worker sentenced
Will Village Post Office Closings In Connecticut Stamp Out Local History
NY: Glens Falls mail sorting to relocate to Albany
Postal worker on leave in gift card case
FL: Plant City rallies to save downtown post office
Ohio postal carrier accused of stealing mail

Family of hawks halts mail delivery

June 23, 2009

NALC: NRP Settlement Clears Path For Hundreds Of Held Grievances -

The NALC and Postal Service have settled a national level grievance filed on the Postal Service’s application of their National Reassessment Process (NRP). NRP is a management program that was devised to reassess all current limited duty job offers and to reassess how future limited duty job offers are made. The NALC, from the outset, has maintained that NRP cannot compromise injured employees’ rights under 546 of the ELM. APWU: Pending Arbitrations |

Schumer urging reconsideration the proposal to terminate local mail services in Binghamton

Postal Inspectors investigate mail theft at Clemson

National Association of Postal Supervisors Legislative & Regulatory Update

Fraud trial for postal worker begins

South Dakota contractor gets 1 year for stealing mail
Carrier pleads not guilty in theft of mail
Former postal worker faces sentencing on fraud charges

June 22, 2009

APWU on Five-Day Delivery: Don't Do It!
Burrus' letter was in response to a notice from the USPS Vice President for Labor Relations, which said the Postal Service plans to complete a study of the concept within 60 days. "Our interest is in gathering, in this short timeframe, as much input from interested parties as possible," the June 10 letter said; it asked for a response from the union just nine days later. |

Editorial: Postal Service Must Enter 21st Century

Europe's increasingly privatized mail services offer exciting examples of postal possibilities in the 21st century. They are leaner and greener than the U.S. service because they work with, not against, the Internet. Such are the steps the U.S. Postal Service might take if it were a real company and not a hybrid hamstrung by a large and heavily unionized workforce, congressional management, and an antiquated business model. |

OIG Reviews Estimates of Postal Service’s Liability for Retiree Health Care Benefits - If the Postal Service continues the payment schedule required by the Act, calculations by the Hay Group indicate that the Postal Service could overfund its retiree health care liability by $5.6 billion by the end of fiscal year 2016. The Postal Service could pay on average $3.3 billion less each year from FYs 2009 to 2016 to prefund its retiree health benefits and still achieve the same level of funding anticipated under OPM’s assumptions. |

CBO Report Pegs Cost Of Modifying Retirement Benefits Calculation For CSRS Part-Time Employees - Under current law, a CSRS employee with service prior to April 7, 1986, who works part-time at the end of his or her career may receive a lower annuity than an otherwise identical employee whose part-time service occurred earlier. S. 469 would change the calculation of retirement benefits for employees with part-time service to treat all service the same. |

Local post offices feel the pressure

Movement on H.R. 22?
PRC issues Final Rules on Confidentiality

Editorial: The Letter Carrier

CAUSEY: Workers win some, lose some on Hill
Mail stops early for July 4 holiday
Body removed from Pierre (SD) PO
Postage hikes force firms to cut costs
USPS OIG : Hollywood’s Take on the Postal Service

SF: Embarcadero Postal Center Letter Carriers Moving Out

Mail trucks deliver without a license

Downsizing the post offices

Contract Driver arrested in mail theft case

June 21, 2009

Bills Introduced To Provide “Free-Mail-To-Troops” Postage Benefit - Legislation—H.R. 704 (and the identical H.R. 2126) and H.R. 707—has been introduced in the 111th Congress to establish a free-mail-to-troops postage benefit. Each of these bills would provide members of the Armed Forces serving overseas with free-postage vouchers every month. Recipients of these vouchers would be able to transfer them to family members or other persons in the United States, who then could use the vouchers to mail a letter or package to the troops postage-free. The DOD would provide advance transfers of funds to the USPS to cover the Postal Service’s costs in delivering the mail to the APOs and FPOs |

APWU, USPS Eliminate Face-to-Face Step 3 Grievance Meetings

An article by Steve Zamanakos, APWU Denver Region Clerk NBA : "NBAs all across the country have been relegated to the telemarketers abyss. Effective in June, all Step 3 meetings and Direct Appeal meetings must now be conducted over the phone." The officers at Headquarters APWU tell us in the field that this latest agreement to meet over the phone is being done as a "cost saving" measure. |

I've got the blue postal box blues

Mailboxes are dying faster than houseflies that mess with Barack Obama. The U.S. Postal Service has taken a use-it-or-lose-it approach to the collection boxes. If a box can't attract at least 25 pieces of mail a day on average, it's toast. There's no hiding from the density tests that are being conducted. |

Marine gets a not-so-special delivery

June 20, 2009

Troubled USPS eyes help from Congress

The U.S. Postal Service is projecting a loss exceeding $6 billion for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, which puts retiree health benefit contributions in jeopardy unless a bill is passed by the U.S. Congress." |

In New Jersey, Many Post Offices May Be Marked for Closing

The Postal Service, whose finances have taken a beating as electronic communication has overtaken paper correspondence, has marked hundreds of post offices across the country for closing." Westchester: Postal History | Long Island: Starting in a Shed |

NAPUS Hotline

June 19, 2009

USPS: Available For Duty Tool Drives Improvements In Attendance - The enterprise Resource Management System (eRMS) — a tool designed to help on-the-job attendance — has been improved to include an “Available for Duty” (AFD) measurement that helps manage unscheduled leave requests.AFD tracks unscheduled leave occurrences and produces reports that are e-mailed to areas and districts each month. It also can provide a monthly trend analysis of the AFD measurement over the fiscal year. |

USPS Instructions For Revamped Maintenance Selection Open Season - According to APWU this PDF file is" the instruction the Postal Service sent out to field regarding the implementation of the application and implementation of the Revamped MSS and Open Season. This document is for information purposes and has not been endorsed by the APWU." |

New Castle (PA) mail processing facility to remain open

Work Longer For a Smaller Benefit?

Neighborhood still not getting mail over pit bull

Postal clerk convicted of embezzlement, fraud

June 18, 2009

USPS OIG Awards Contract For Purpose Of Scrutinizing OWCP Medical Bills - Contract Award Date: June 3, 2009 -The OIG is carefully scrutinizing OWCP medical bills. (see attachment) This will discourage some providers from taking these patients. Why would a physician want the hassle of dealing with the OIG? |

Obama extends new benefits to gay, lesbian federal employees |

TSP Changes Timetable

Intentional or Not, USPS Killing Confirm

A Family's Fight to Save an Elder From Scammers

June 17, 2009

Postal Service Spending for Ads While Raising Rates

Postal carriers are carrying less these days, so the Postal Service is marketing itself in new ways. Given rising postal rates and increasing deficits for the country's post office, why is it spending money on advertising? |

USPS Still Seeking Home-Based Independent Contractors For EEO Investigations - An EEO investigator is paid on a “per case” basis, generally $1100. Note that these positions are open to postal retirees. Preferred applicants have three years experience in EEO law or EEO complaint processing with a background in Human Resources, Labor Relations, or Law. |

Congressman Calls on USPS to Provide Answers on Plans to Potentially Consolidate Connecticut Postal Operations - Congressman Chris Murphy (CT-5), sent a letter to Ed Phelan, District Manager of the United States Postal Service (USPS) to ask for answers on how the USPS' review of all 150 Connecticut postal branches will be conducted, and to request that the current economic conditions be assessed before the USPS makes any decisions affecting jobs and community access. Postal Service to Issue List of Post Offices July 1 That May be Closed, Consolidated |

23-year Connecticut Letter Carrier Gets Home Confinement, Probation for Stealing $50 Gift Card - Jorge Colon was charged as a result of an investigation that began last fall after the Newtown postmaster received complaints from people whose mail had been delivered opened or damaged. Postal inspectors installed a surveillance camera in his truck, and between Oct. 15 and Nov. 17 Colon was seen opening 79 pieces of mail, searching mainly for greeting cards that might contain cash, according to federal prosecutors. He resealed the envelopes with a sticker indicating they had been damaged in transit. |

USPS wins White House award for buying retreads, other green products

Fewer Detroit post offices likely

Drunk Driving Crash Sends NJ Postal Employee to Hospital

Why General Motors is Like the Postal Service

Busy Huntsville, AL Post Office evacuated

Mailboxes go boom as bombers go postal

Last delivery for Harmony postmaster

Kurten Wins Battle to Keep Post Office

FedEx posts bigger loss, issues gloomy outlook

June 16, 2009

USPS BOG To Hold Closed Meetings .. Again

Matters to be Considered: 1. Financial Matters - 2. Strategic Issues - 3. Pricing - 4. Personnel Matters and Compensation Issues - 5. Governors' Executive Session |

Inverted Stamps Expected To Sell For Millions

Postal Carrier Surprised By Furry Delivery

Post Office has a mailbag full of money problems

More junk mail means more scams, BBB says watch out

Stamp Vending Machine Complaints Rise |

June 15, 2009

NAPUS: House GOP Leadership Proposes Federal Retirement Cuts - Last week, House Republican Leaders John Boehner (R-OH) and Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA) sent President Obama a budget proposal outlining approximately $375 billion in cuts over the next five years. Among the proposed reductions was changing the formula for calculating Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) annuities from the average of the highest three salaried years to the highest five years. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projects that this change would save about $1.2 billion over a five-year period. |

Gov't Made Federal Case Against Postal Clerk Over $78

And Window Clerk Found Not Guilty _ The federal government spent tens of thousands of tax dollars investigating and prosecuting a veteran postal worker over a shortage of funds at the Park Hill post office" |

Ask President Burrus: Will USPS Have Sufficient Funds To Make Payroll? Employees are hearing that the Postal Service will not have sufficient funds to pay employees come September. Many of us are worried that we will not get paid. Is the rumor true? What is the union planning on doing to prevent this from happening? |

USPS Says Its Click-N-Ship Will Integrate with eBay's Bill Me Later

California: Postal Truck Crash Explodes Into Highway Inferno

June 14, 2009

USPS FERS Annuity Estimates Are Too Low Between MRA and age 62

The USPS is failing to follow OPM's instructions to include the FERS annuity supplement when offering VER to employees between MRA (55-57) and age 62. (see attached documents) This is something new that didn't exist under CSRS. HRSSC is hopelessly inept these days due to inadequate trained staff. I would like to hear from others with a similar experience as I have a grievance held in abeyance on this. Don Cheney |

Post Office Looks to Scale Back

The agency is reviewing 3,100 post offices and retail outlets -- out of 36,700 -- for possible closure or consolidation, and it expects decisions by Oct. 1. Since 2000, the agency has shut 1,337 post offices and outlets, and since 2005 it has closed two of 380 mail-processing centers and consolidated nine. Dozens of other proposed closures or mergers were rejected, many following local resistance. .. the agency has focused on streamlining back offices, which doesn't tend to spark much opposition U.S. Postal Service officials say 300 outlets closures nationwide likely |

Deer Harbor on Orcas Island fights to save its Post Office

Former Kansas postal employee indicted

Postal workers honored for safety records

SF City Attorney Takes Legal Action Against USPS

Contract mail carrier admits stealing mail

'Aloha From Hawaii' Flat Rate Boxes Debut at Waikiki Post Office

USPS looking at consolidating facilities in Bridgeport, Stamford, New Haven

June 13, 2009

Post office for homeless wins reprieve to stay open |

Mail carriers arrested for selling drugs on routes |

Problem Solver: Are you prepared for the biggest postal change in years? |

June 12, 2009

MSPB Awards Postal Supervisor PFP Bonus in Back Pay |

NAPS Legislative Update

NAPUS Hotline

APWU, USPS Agree to Revamped Maintenance Selection System

Shift in mail routes, carriers

Deeper Discounts on Postal Service Products in a Lobby Near You

Postal Service Issues $9.5 M Contract to MACTEC

June 11, 2009

APWU Challenges USPS Interpretation of Layoff Memo

The APWU has filed a Step 4 grievance protesting management’s interpretation of the contractual protection against layoffs for APWU-represented employees who were on the rolls as of Nov. 20, 2006, but had not achieved six continuous years of service. In a June 3, 2009, response, the USPS manager of contract administration disagreed with the union interpretation, writing, “It is the Postal Service’s position that once an employee leaves, voluntarily or involuntarily, from an APWU-represented position, that employee is not covered by any of the provisions of that collective bargaining agreement.” |

Postal Workers Lawsuit On Labor Violations Covers 5 States. "Proposed Class: All persons who were, are, or will be employed by USPS as non-exempt employees as City Postal Carriers in the states of Texas, New Mexico, Louisiana, Arkansas and Oklahoma within three years of the filing of this Complaint until the final disposition of this case. If you have been denied Overtime, you should join this lawsuit." Postal Workers Sue USPS Alleging Violations of Fair Labor Standards Act - The suit accuses U.S. Postal Service supervisors and higher-ups, particularly in the Southwest, of implementing a policy that violates the federal Fair Labor Standards Act by cheating non-exempt, hourly, city postal carriers of overtime pay. To cut costs, routes are “overburdened” and cannot be served in an eight-hour day.. archive: USPS Sued for Deleting Employees' Time Records to Avoid Paying OT |

Bill Advances With TSP reforms, But Not FERS Sick Leave Fix

The Senate on Wednesday advanced major legislation that includes several provisions expanding federal employees' options under the Thrift Savings Plan, but does not allow some employees to count unused sick leave toward retirement savings. FERS Flu Pandemic? |

Connecticut Could Lose 150 Small Postal Branches
"As many as 150 small neighborhood post offices could close in Connecticut this fall as part of an aggressive step by the U.S. Postal Service to try to stay viable during the recession and in an increasingly digital world. The postal service is surveying its facilities across the country to see which it can consolidate, a step that could lead to the closing of smaller post offices starting in October." |

APWU Updates Anti-Consolidation ‘Tool Kit’- members only

Cincinnati postal workers protest job cuts

Former western NY postal clerk gets probation for mail theft

USPS Reverses Course, Reduces Rates

House Committee Approves Mail Balloting for All Federal Elections

Minneapolis letter carrier charged with mail theft

Teamsters: FedEx Launches Deceptive Campaign to Protect Special Deal in Congress

June 10, 2009

Another USPS Workplace Tragedy
Prior to my retirement from the USPS, at a former district I worked for, there were three suicides within a two year period that I concluded were contributed to in significant part by how these employees were treated in the workplace. The third employee, a city letter carrier, fatally shot himself in a postal jeep and left a letter stating that he could no longer take the job. The suicide at the Gastonia postal facility was the second since December 2005. Many people have asked: Why is there so much stress and workplace tragedies in the U.S. Postal Service? The answer to these questions is because the postal culture embraces and reflects core values that center on achieving bottom-line results with little or no regard for employee participation, respect, dignity, or fairness. |

APWU Assails Office of the Inspector General On Custodial Subcontracting Recommendations- I have been provided a copy of the report referenced above and write to express my strong objection to the use of the Office of the Inspector General to instruct postal management in bargaining demands. This reflects a level of ignorance of the bargaining process, which requires mutual agreement. Despite your misplaced priorities, I look forward to 2010 contract negotiations during which each party will advance proposals favorable to their respective interests. I suspect that you will not be present as that is not within your portfolio of responsibilities. |

Postal Worker’s Firing Upheld For Inappropriate Conduct With Customer, Deviation From Route - The mail carrier worked in Castro Valley, California. On October 24, 2007, the Postal Service issued a notice removing him from his position based on two charges: unacceptable conduct and deviation from his postal route. The customer's testimony was found to be more credible as the mail carrier kept changing his story. Read on about what he did to matters worse. |

NAPS Sues To Represent Supervisors and Managers

On Tuesday, June 9, 2009, the National Association of Postal Supervisors filed a motion in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia for the courts to enforce a prior court order originally issued on February, 17, 1977, that provided NAPS with the legal right to represent supervisors and other managerial employees of the Postal Service. |

USPS OIG Semiannual Report on the Audit, Investigative, and Security Activities of the USPS (PDF)

Postal Service tightens its policy on packages

Postal carriers rescue man, dog from smoke-filled home
Oxnard council to Postal Service: Please don’t go

After 3 Swings at Quebecor, Has Donnelley Struck Out?

Chicago: Old post office could be yours

Ex-Casual Mail Handler pleads guilty to stealing mail

Zumbox lines up partner to launch paperless postal service

Ex-postal worker in Virginia pleads guilty to taking money orders

Postal Service Brings Augmented Reality Down to Earth

June 9, 2009

APWU Responds To USPS Notice on Retail Operations
In response to a USPS notice that “the Postal Service is considering consolidating operations in our larger stations and branches,” APWU President William Burrus has reminded management that a Memorandum of Understanding included in the 2006-2010 Collective Bargaining Agreement requires that “all existing retail operations will remain within the installation of which they are a part.” Postal Service studies retail network, office consolidations |

USPS OIG: Automation and the Life of the Letter Carrier

Postal woes mirror those felt across the country, postal officials say

Illinois: Postal Service study creates concerns about delivery

Teen steals mail, thousands of dollars from post office

Found-art project goes postal with random envelopes

Postal Service set to shed 296 community mailboxes in San Diego

June 8, 2009

House approves paid parental leave for Feds

The House voted 258-154 Thursday night to give federal employees four weeks of paid leave after the birth or adoption of a child. |

APWU Protests Unilateral Elimination of Postal Districts

lf the Postal Service proceeds with this change despite the union’s objections we ask that the union and/or employees be made whole for any adverse impact of such change. USPS Closing Six Districts |

Woman pleads guilty to cashing dead mom's checks for 23 years - In 1975 the woman's father (a postal carrier) died and her mother continued to collect the benefits until her death in 1982. From February 1982 until November 2005 the woman repeatedly submitted false paperwork to the OPM indicating her mother was still alive.

Federal authorities say Postal Clerk pocketed money from stamp sales

June 7, 2009

National Listing And Costs Of Leased Postal Facilities

Thanks to PR reader Don Cheney for finding this info: "Some of your readers would be interested in this information. When does the lease on their station/branch/post office expire? How much rent does it cost USPS annually? Click on the xls file for their state. For example, Station A in Walnut Creek CA is fairly high at $57.35 per sq ft per year or $85,000. The lease expires 8-31-2011. The USPS is reviewing all leases looking for savings." |

APWU Protests Unilateral Elimination of Postal Districts

eNAPUS: Budget Rules Stymie Postal Relief Legislation – Déjà vu
also: FERS Sick Leave Measure Delayed

Protestors rally to save post office named for Iraq vet

June 6, 2009

NALC Unrelenting on Six-Day Delivery

NALC has received reports from North Carolina, New Jersey and other states that postal managers have been telling letter carriers and other postal employees that the Postal Service has decided to drop one day of delivery each week to cut costs. Worse, some have suggested NALC has agreed to this change. Nothing could be further from the truth. The Postal Service has proposed a shift to five-day delivery, but Congress absolutely has not agreed to this change — and the NALC absolutely has not agreed to it. |

Western Nassau P & DC AMP Consolidation Meeting Summary

Customers say retiring letter carrier delivered much more than mail
Hinchey Fights To Keep Mail Processing Center In Binghamton

June 5, 2009

USPS Notifies APWU Of Retail/Delivery Units Being Considered For Consolidation Or Closure - The Postal Service is considering consolidating operations in our larger stations and branches. This effort could include possible termination of leases and/or movement of operations from Postal Service-owned facilities. As a consequence, employees working in those retail/delivery facilities may be reassigned to other retail/delivery units, and/or other facilities, or other duties in accordance with the relevant provisions of the applicable collective bargaining agreements. District Managers will be adding a focus to the discontinuance of operations by reviewing all classified stations and branches in Level 24 and above post offices. . More Information On Nationwide Closure of Postal Stations and Branches | Threat to shutter NY post offices is pushing the envelope |

Recession, USPS downsizing may force closure of twenty post office branches in NYC - "The economy might do what neither snow nor rain nor dark of night could - close 20 post office branches in Manhattan and the Bronx. The shutdowns could come before Labor Day because of the recession and the downsizing of the cash-strapped U.S. Postal Service, local union officials said. "This is unprecedented," said Chuck Zlatkin, the legislative and political director for the New York Metro Area Postal Union. "This is pretty drastic, and it's happening very quickly." |

Postal Service Buyout Rumor (No. 63)
Insiders - in Congress, at the OPM, among postal unions and at the USPS itself - have repeatedly said there is little (as in very, very little) chance the Postal Service will ever again offer buyouts. The last time it tried it the program, by and large, crashed and burned. Bottom line: If it sounds too good to be true (no matter how much you want it) it probably is too good to be true! |

Montana Postal clerk sentenced for money order theft
Drano Bomb Found In Kansas Mailbox
Global postal industry to measure carbon footprint
What does the future hold for catalogs

Woman charged with embezzling $100,000, buying stamps and selling them on ebay

APWU: Vehicle Maintenance Estimated Repair Times Cannot Be Used for Discipline

Mail truck wrecks, blocks I-65

June 4, 2009

NALC President Young Announces Retirement Date

President William H. Young has officially announced his retirement date—July 3, 2009. He has served 43 years as a letter carrier and 30 years as an officer of the NALC. |

APWU: Burrus Calls on Labor Department to Reverse Bush FMLA Rules - APWU President William Burrus has called on U.S. Department of Labor Secretary Hilda Solis to rescind the new regulations governing the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) that were imposed by the Bush Administration just days before the former president left office. The Bush FMLA rules “weakened the law and made it more difficult for workers to exercise the rights the legislation was designed to protect,” Burrus said in his June 3 letter to Solis. |

Confronting A Disruptive Technology

Before Congress can decide what kind of relief the Postal Service needs, it needs to ask some hard questions: How much of the current decline in mail volume is due to the economic crisis that will eventually end and how much is due to societal changes caused by electronic communications? How much mail volume will return when the economy recovers? What types of mail will return? Or has electronic media permanently changed how people communicate? And can advertising mail replace personal correspondence and remittance mail? If long-term societal changes are the primary cause of the Postal Service's distress, then deferring $2 billion of retiree health care payments and saving $2-3 billion by reducing delivery service are band-aids applied to a terminally ill patient. |

USPS Board of Governors Vote To Close Its May 22 and June 2, 2009 Meetings To Public - The General Counsel of the United States Postal Service has certified that the meeting was properly closed under the Government in the Sunshine Act. |

Ohio Postal Couple Will Marry at Post Office

They met at the post office, fell in love at the post office, so it only makes sense that a Tri-State couple is getting married there this weekend. The pastor who will marry them even works there. |

Postal Worker Mauled on Cleveland's Westside

Man with rifle threatens letter carrier

Postal workers hold yard sale to benefit woman with lung disease

Summer Sale Approved With Flying Colors

Forest Park Postal Couple Will Marry at Post Office

CA: Industry mail processing center to remain open

When it Rains, It Pours
Mail carrier thwarts robbery of blind man in wheelchair

June 3, 2009

Custodial Staffing -- Post Arbitrator Das MS-47 Decision

"This is a summary of Arbitrator Jacquelyn F. Drucker’s decision regarding the Postal Service’s failure to comply with the National Level Pre-Arbitration Settlement dated January 29, 2008, which called for developing the custodial staffing packages. In this failure to complete the staffing package, the Postal Service has breached the January 2008 Agreement, and this is what the Union challenges." |

Senior prank fills school hallway with 5,100 Priority Mail boxes

The seniors ordered 5,100 free, priority mail boxes from the U.S. Postal Service's online Web site. They stacked them floor to ceiling, filling the entire hallway of the school's third floor." Postal spokesman Victor Dubina says, since all of the boxes are being returned, "We're taking it in good humor and the spirit in which it was done." The students will get a slap on the wrist when they meet with Postal Inspectors Wednesday morning. Dubina warns, if anyone thinks of pulling a stunt like this again, "Read the bottom of the box!" |

Gamefly says "manual processing" of Netflix, Blockbuster DVDs far more extensive than USPS admits

Hanford Postal Truck Suffers Fire; Mail Damaged

Firm objects to ZIP change

NALC: JCAM 2009 Released Online

Smoking Hot Bill
Postal contract driver involved in hit and run
'Motomail helps Marines get through another day in Afghanistan

Post office employee accused of stealing mail

Postman throws line to disabled

Postal Manager pleads guilty to $190,000 in post office thefts

June 2, 2009

Police Investigate Apparent Employee Suicide at North Carolina Post Office - Gastonia Police are investigating an apparent suicide this morning at the post office annex on the 1800 block of South New Hope Road. "One of the employees is inside dead from a gunshot wound," Gastonia Police Sgt. M.B. Lari said. "It appears to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. The employee was found in an employee lockerroom area. Lari said it was unclear how long the man had been there. The customer area of the post office remained open. |

Bloomington APWU Creates Website to Keep Customers and Employees Better Informed On AMP Study

USPS Seeks Supplier For Renewable Energy Project(s) - Solar

Letter Carriers’ Union Applauds McHugh Nomination For Army Secretary

Porta-potty delivery for postal workers

Will e-trucks deliver your snail mail?

Schumer renews call for Postal Service to sell New Rochelle site to Cappelli

Bakersfield Postal Employee Wins New SUV On 'The Price is Right'

Record 73.4 Million Pounds Collected In Letter Carriers’ National Food Drive

Local post office feels recession

USPS Meets Star Trek: Priority Mail Holograms

June 1, 2009

CAUSEY: Thrift Savings Plan starts to grow again

CAUSEY: Big Time Changes In Your TSP
MI: Collection box contents set on fire
Postal official says political fliers sent

May 31, 2009

OIG Says USPS Relocation Rules Were Not Violated In Purchase Of Employee’s Million Dollar Home - The OIG responds to a request by Senator Charles Grassley, Ranking Member of Committee on Finance to evaluate USPS' relocation benefits program. Based on review of the documentation associated with this relocation action, as well as controlling regulatory authority, the Office of Investigations did not substantiate the allegation that relocation rules were violated. |

APWU Publishes List of Non-Members Who Expressed Negative Reasons For Not Joining Union - In March I sent a letter to non-members, requesting that they join the union. Approximately one thousand decided to join, returning their signed applications; others chose to share their negative views about the union in the postage-paid envelopes supplied by the APWU. |

USPS OIG Audit: High-Risk Contract Postal Units

Host Post Offices, which are the post offices responsible for overseeing CPUs, did not provide sufficient oversight of the CPUs we reviewed, including collecting debts and putting information into the financial system. |

Letter To The Editor: Postal service better run in the past

..we forget that before 1969, the U.S. Postal Service was a government agency funded by appropriations, as are all other federal agencies. Post Office employees were treated as federal civil service employees, with comparable pay and benefits. Moreover, I wonder how many postal executives receive compensation greater than that of the U.S. Secretaries of state and defense? Perhaps the solution to the Postal Service's financial problems is to return it to the former system, in which service was the primary concern, rather than having to make money to pay for itself. |

Postal workers band together to clean up home of one of their own

Sunday morning brought an outpouring of compassion for a retired Algiers postal worker who was in serious need of help. Cleveland struggles with health problems and is unable to bend over to clean up his house. His former co-workers at the Algiers station saw Bill Capo's Action Report last week and wanted to help. In all, around 35 postal workers showed up, plus five retirees. |

Businesses tossing junk mail for more direct marketing

Budget cuts close San Leon's US Postal Service

Man Tries To Rob Post Office, Threatens To Detonate Bomb