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POSTAL NEWS FROM PEN
August 2010
August 28, 2010
Affordable
Mail Alliance reaches 1000 members
-
Palm City,
FL postal clerk stole cash from sales, police
say -
Birmingham's ex-postmaster gets probation for
embezzlement -
Postal
Service is lean, mean, competitive
-
Postal
Service Continues to Receive OSHA's Stamp of
Disapproval -
No mail on sick days: Canada Post
union -
August 27, 2010
Warning:
Union revolution is next
Christian Science Monitor -
Contractor
admits role in Postal Service bribery scheme
-
Potter
Knew of Bernstock's Sole-Source Contracts
Dead Tree Edition -
Editorial: Ending Saturday mail
delivery saves money, makes sense - Detroit News says
"Tuesday's march in Detroit against the proposed ending of Saturday mail
delivery should be seen for what it was: an effort to sustain union jobs
and benefits even as the U.S. Postal Service hemorrhages billions of
dollars trying to sustain what may no longer make sense." -
Postal Service sees $764M July loss
DM News -
Contract carrier pleads guilty in
veterans' medication sting -
No-bid
contracts got 'short shrift' at Postal Service
Washington Times -
USPS July
Preliminary Financials: Oh the Questions They
Raise - Courier, Express, and
Postal Observer -
Oklahoma
City Mailman Attacked by Dog and Then The Dog's
Owner -
APWU 2010 Convention - Union Vows to
Escalate Fight To Preserve Postal Service -
video highlights -
more convention news
-
USPS tries
for more service with fewer offices
Federal News Radio -
August 26, 2010
APWU:
Thank You, Bill and Delegates Reject Dues
Increase -
USPS July
Financial Report -
Postal
officials gave varying accounts of
ex-executive's perks -
Washington Times
The U.S. postmaster general and his top
officials gave investigators varying accounts
about the decision to allow a top executive
(Robert Bernstock) to retain his six-figure
outside corporate jobs while working full time,
earning more than $230,000 as a vice president
of shipping, for the U.S. Postal Service,
records show. PEN Ed: This is a MUST read -
Are the
Postal Service's Earnings Forecast Too
Optimistic? - Courier,
Express, and Postal Observer -
Drugs
Found at Little Rock Post Office
-
OSHA
intends to fine Postal Service in KCK
-
APWU
Convention News Bulletin #02-10, Aug. 25, 2010
-
August 25, 2010
PRC: 6-Day
to 5-Day Street Delivery and Related Service
Changes, SD transcript - Also
see
NY
transcript -
ABC News
notes that American Express
spent $630,000 on lobbying in the 2Q - they also
lobbied the U.S. Postal Service and Congress
regarding laws related to Postal Service retiree
health benefits. -
3000
postal workers march to protest cost-cutting
moves -
APWU:
Delegates Take to the Streets: Save Saturday
Service! -
Assault
charges filed in post office beating
James R. Pessolano - a PA postal employee - was
arrested for simple assault. Pessolano punched a
female employee several times, resulting in an
injury. -
Is there a
solution in sight for the Postal Service's debt
woes? -
Federal News Radio - Audiocast available -
HK sends
clear message to junk mail senders
...those not wishing to get such mail from next
Wednesday only need to place a sticker bearing
the words "No Circular Mail" on the top right
corner of the mail box. Stickers can be
collected for free at HK post offices. -
APWU 2010
Convention Highlights Videos
-
Leaving
the Mailstream: Verizon
Courier, Express, and Postal Observer -
August 24, 2010
NC
Postmaster to PRC
...aspects of employee compensation should be
part of the discussion. As an EAS employee I
would argue that the pay for performance program
is both poorly conceived and creates the wrong
kinds of incentives, it is an unaffordable
excess. Those covered by union contracts
probably also must concede that certain work
rules must be adjusted to provide greater
flexibility. -
Federal
Unions: What Do They Really Do?
Federal News Radio -
Burrus:
‘Our Union is Alive and Strong’
-
Postal
workers to protest proposals in Detroit today
-
Opinion:
Hey Congress, Designate This
Based on Congress' legislative output over the
past year and a half, what do you think is the
most pressing issue facing the country? ...the
biggest problem facing America today is ... the
desperate lack of appropriately named post
offices. At least, that's the conclusion you'd
draw by looking at bills that made it through
Congress to President Barack Obama's signature
pen. -
Officer in
Charge (OIC) at Minto, ND sentenced for theft
-
IG: Postal
Service paid $6.8 billion extra to pension fund
GovExec.com -
OIG Blog:
Are They Listening to Me?
If you are a postal employee or a stakeholder,
do you believe you have a way for your
suggestions to be heard? Is eIDEAS the best way
for employees to communicate their ideas? -
Big Bucks
Bigger Difference
by Ronald Williams, Jr. -
Top PRC
Lawyer Has Bright Ideas for New Postal Revenues
-
A Story
About a Postal Story
Big Fat Marketing Blog -
August 23, 2010
Lost in
the mail: Wrong woman signs for $5,000 ring
-
Will the
Post Office Be Stamped Out In 10 Years?
-
The
Definition of the Postal Market
Courier, Express, and Postal Observer -
APWU: OSHA
Fines USPS For Safety Violations in Portsmouth,
NH - Fines now total
$4,288,100 -
End
Saturday Mail Delivery?
Public News Service -
August 22, 2010
Oshkosh
postal workers fight to keep operation
-
Mail
truck parked near gas leak catches fire in Los
Altos Hills
- Also see
Driver
unharmed after USPS truck sets on fire
-
August 21, 2010
Employee
complaints lead to $350K in fines at city postal
facility -
Mail
carrier struck by lightning in St. Charles
-
Direct
mail marketing is expected to increase by more
than $1 billion in 2010 -
August 20, 2010
Driver
unharmed after USPS truck sets on fire
-
Postal
Service seeks to reorganize Standard Parcels
DM News -
Alaska
carrier pleads guilty to theft
-
Final ride
home: Mail carrier killed by drunk driver
-
Former New
Orleans UPS Employee Pleads Guilty to Mail Theft
- According to court
documents, TAMARA BERNARD was an employee at the
United Parcel Service (UPS) store located on St.
Charles Avenue in New Orleans. BERNARD admitted
that she stole a letter containing cash and
other items that was deposited in the collection
slot for U.S. mail at the UPS store. -
Ohio Mail
Carrier Investigated For Stealing Mail
-
USPS
Report on PRC Rate and Service Inquiries for
July 2010 -
PRC:
Public Briefing: CSRS Cost and Benefit
Allocation Principles - This
is an audiocast -
August 19, 2010
Why the
Exigent Rate Case Should Not be Approved
Courier, Express, and Postal Observer -
Lansing
postal workers practice their bioterrorism
attack response -
The Postal
Service is not culturally relevant to college
students - Courier, Express,
and Postal Observer -
31
current, former drivers sue FedEx
-
Keep
Geniuses Out of the Post Office
Forbes says "...testing found that the average
intelligence of postal employees is
significantly higher than the public at large
with some in menial jobs having genius level
IQs. This is not by accident, it is because the
post office has high admission testing standards
that select the best and brightest. -
NY carrier
accused of selling drugs
-
August 18, 2010
Ohio USPS
Processing Center Fined $225K For Safety
Violations -
What does
Warren Buffett know about the future of the
USPS? - Courier, Express, and
Postal Observer -
Former
Minto, N.D., postmaster sentenced for theft
-
KY postal
workers charged with embezzlement
-
OIG
Report:
Federal
Employees Retirement System Overfunding
- The Postal Service has opportunities to use at
least $5.5 billion5 of the $6.8 billion in FERS
surplus funds to address its current and future
financial condition. We found the Postal Service
continues to overfund its retirement obligations
and there is no present legislation to resolve
surpluses. -
OIG
Report: Stations and Branches Optimization and
Consolidation Initiative -
PRC: COMMENTS OF THE AFFORDABLE MAIL
ALLIANCE -
PRC: INITIAL COMMENTS OF AMERICAN
POSTAL WORKERS UNION, AFL-CIO ON THE UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE EXIGENT
REQUEST -
USPS
institutes cost-cutting practices
By Anne Mitchell, U.S. Postal Service -
Vegas man
to fight transfer to Va. in 1964 slaying
A lawyer says a 77-year-old retired postal
worker will fight his transfer in custody from
Las Vegas to Virginia to face a murder charge in
the slaying of his then-wife 45 years ago. -
USPS Seeks
Reclassification of Standard Parcels
-
Is This
Blog the Postal Service's Source of Information
on its Customers? - Courier,
Express, and Postal Observer
August 17, 2010
USPS HAS
NEW TOOL TO MEASURE SERVICE DELIVERY
-
OIG Audit:
Revenue for Official Mail from the House of
Representatives Mailroom -
Conclusion? The Postal Service’s process for
verifying and accepting franked mail at the
Southern Maryland BMEU did not fully comply with
Postal Service mail acceptance policy. -
E-mail is
Broken. Let's Turn it Into a Pay Toilet
For whatever reason, I'm more likely to get a
hold of a large percentage of the people I need
to contact via the post office, rather than
e-mail. -
Postal
Service sets up shop at Office Depot stores
- Washington Post - Also
see:
DM News
tells us "US Postal Service
mailing and shipping services will be available
at nearly 1,100 Office Depot stores, the two
companies said August 16. Office Depot is the
first national retailer to offer USPS shipping
products and services." -
Going
Postal Giveaway
August 16, 2010
OIG Blog:
Postal Service as a National Asset
-
APWU Urges Members to Boycott “Voice
of the Employee” Surveys -
Election season guidelines for
federal workers
Federal News Radio -
APWU: the eighth and final COLA
under the 2006 National Agreement and the Operating Services Agreement is
ZERO -
Postal
worker union official indicted on bribery
charges
An official for the local American
Postal Workers Union has been indicted in
federal court in Washington on charges of
bribing a government official to steer trucking
business to his gas station and repair shop. -
Privatizing the Post
Courier, Express, and Postal Observer -
OPM trying
to correct fed salary facts
The Office of Personnel Management says federal
employees on average make 22 percent less in
salary than their private sector counterparts
doing similar jobs. -
Sacrificing too much for technology
For my part, I want my Saturday mail and I want
reasonably priced stamps. And I would support
the government borrowing some dollars from China
to subsidize the postal service. -
August 15, 2010
Hundreds
Watch As CA Post Office Burns Down
-
Good News,
Bad Practices on Intelligent Mail Assessments
- Postal Affairs Blog -
August 14, 2010
PRC to
hold August 16 Briefing on $50 Billion
Discrepancy Identified In USPS Pension Payments
-
How About
A Drug-Sniffing, Meter-Reading, Photo-Taking,
Bug-Spraying Postal Service?
- Dead Tree Edition -
Prosecutor: postal clerk videotaped
-
Burrus:
“Postal Workers Will Not Settle for Less”
“America wants to keep Saturday delivery, and we
will beat back this proposal to lock the mailbox
on Saturday,” APWU President William Burrus told
delegates to the National Association of Letter
Carriers (NALC) biennial convention in Anaheim,
CA. “We join with NALC in pledging ‘five day, no
way.’” -
Letter
Carriers Union President Rolando Reelected
-
Postal
Service strives to maintain a deep bench for
executive jobs - GovExec.com
- In an interview with Government Executive,
USPS Chief Human Resources Officer and Executive
Vice President Anthony Vegliante said having a
strong workforce succession planning process to
identify employees to fill important leadership
vacancies is the key to managing the agency's
500 executive and 40 officer positions. -
Several
Thousand Union Members (Including NALC) Rally in
Downtown L.A. To Bring Jobs Back To California
-
PRC
Commands Center Stage While Congress In Recess
NAPUS -
2 people
charged in pit bulls' attack on Minneapolis mail
carrier - Two people were
charged with a misdemeanor Friday in connection
with two pit bulls' bloody attack on a postal
carrier last month in north Minneapolis. -
August 13, 2010
Could a
retail slowdown help mail advertising?
Courier, Express, and Postal Observer -
Customers
urge Postal Service to go digital
DM News -
Postal
Service change will allow military personnel in
Iraq, Afghanistan to receive cigarettes by mail
-
August 12, 2010
Postal
Service Must Improve Local Management
Productivity And Fill Postmaster Vacancies
Throughout The Country
- Nat. League of Postmasters -
IS USPS A
BUSINESS?
In 2006, the Postal Service simultaneously
conducted contract negotiations with its four
largest unions, successfully avoiding
arbitration. Two years later, an agreement with
the National Association of Letter Carriers
(NALC) to adjust and evaluate routes reduced
delivery costs by $1 billion annually. -
UPS Adds
USPS to Returns Network -
NALC
Convention THIRD SESSION, Wednesday
-
Students
Silenced for Singing Anthem at Lincoln Memorial
- Not postal - just F.Y.I. -
Why Does
USPS Make Retiring Difficult When It Has So Many
Excess Employees? Tough Question #5
- Dead Tree Edition -
US Postal
Service and The National Association of Letter
Carriers - Guy Nohrenberg
To: President Barack Obama - Sen. Dianne
Feinstein - Sen. Barbara Boxer - Rep. Elton
Gallegly -
USPS to
Struggling Publications: Take a Hike
-
Postal
Carrier Arrested in Mail Thefts
-
Congressman Lynch says
"Another way to save money (for USPS) would be a
online program to let citizens choose which mail
gets physically delivered to their homes. You go
on your computer and look at your mail, and you
click on what you don’t want delivered,” Lynch
said. “That’s the wave of the future.” -
2 years
for check-stealing postal worker
-
August 11, 2010
NALC
Convention Chronicle Day Two
-
Please Mr.
Postman: go away
Republican-American -
Think
outside the P.O. box: Postal Service should
serve public’s need -
Senator
Collins says no way to postage rate hike
Washington Post -
Ex-Mail
Carrier Lived Large Off False Disability Claim
Five years ago, a Volusia County mail carrier
claimed to hurt her neck on the job, but after
$193,000 in disability payments, investigators
discovered Cindy Harrington was not what she
seemed. See photos and video -
NALC
Convention Chronicle Day One
-
Would
fixing the retiree health issue "solve" the
liquidity problem? - Courier,
Express, and Postal Observer -
Postal
employee admits to massive mail theft
A mail handler stole more than 11,000 packages
over two years before he was caught by federal
agents. -
The
Curious Exigent Rate Case and Sen. Collins
The Big Fat Marketing Blog -
U.S.
Attorney Betsy Jividen said (Sherri Lynn) Hines
is accused of embezzling $19,694.55 from the
Cowen Post Office while she was employed as the
postmaster from July 2009 to Nov. 16, 2009. -
Bail out the Post Office by
returning junk mail? Not so fast -
August 10, 2010
U.S.
Postal Service's chronic woes
Robert R. Schrum - Lexington
Institute - Under current law, the process for
closing a post office is daunting. From 2005 to
2008, the service closed just 96 branches and
stations. Most recently, when USPS announced in
2009 that it was considering the closure of
3,105 locations, Congress quickly whittled that
to fewer than 200. -
The American Postal Workers Union's
view of postal 'service' -
Is the
Postal Service facing "bankruptcy?"
Courier, Express, and Postal Observer -
Rolando
Pledges Increased Letter Carriers' Push to
Retain Nationwide Saturday Mail Delivery
-
Postal
Service slides deeper into the red
MSNBC -
Feds To
Protect Drug-Dispensing Postal Workers From
“Violent Crowds” - PEN Ed:
Just passing this along. -
August 09, 2010
SENATOR
COLLINS AGREES WITH ARGUMENTS IN MOTION TO BLOCK
PROPOSED POSTAL RATE HIKES
Sen. Collins states - "Let me be clear. The
authority to increase rates under an exigent
case can only be used in extreme and unforeseen
instances - such as terrorist attacks, natural
disasters, and other events that would cause
significant and substantial disruptions in
service. The law was not meant to be used to
remedy poor economic performance or to offset an
ongoing marketplace trend, such as the increased
use of electronic over traditional mail."
Read
Collins Comments to PRC - Read
comments on this subject by the
Affordable
Mail Alliance -
USPS has
filed it quarterly Form 10-Q
-
APWU:
While Congress is on Recess in August, Urge
Reps: Support Crucial Postal Bills
-
DM News
asks "Should Internet retailers print catalogs?"
-
Going Anti-Postal - When mail
carriers go bad, it's not always in a hail of gunfire.
-
August 08, 2010
Boston
post office hit with $357g in safety fines
"We are confident that our
electrical work plan and our work practices meet
(federal) requirements today,” postal service
spokesman Dennis P. Tarmey told the Herald
yesterday." -
Police
units sniff out mail stuffed with illegal drugs
-
DM News
has this op-ed article "How To Save The U.S.
Postal Service" -
August 07, 2010
Department of Labor Files Motion To
Consolidate USPS Electrical Safety Charges
- APWU -
NALC: Pre-funding is to blame
A group comprised of four direct-mail organizations takes issue with
claims made by the Affordable Mail Alliance. "We disagree with the AMA
motion’s contention that the blame for the Postal Service’s financial woes
can be placed primarily at the doorstep of postal management," the group
said in a filing before the Postal Regulatory Commission. "The primary
cause of the Postal Service’s immediate financial woes is not
mismanagement but rather the onerous and unfair burden...to prefund the
retiree health benefits obligation on an extremely aggressive payment
schedule."
Click here to read the full
statement. -
Postal
Service seeks $4 billion waiver on upcoming
retiree health fund payment -
Federal Times -
Rural
newspaper advocates testify against ending
Saturday mail delivery -
OIG Audit on PostalOne! Outage
Postal Affairs Blog -
August 06, 2010
Postal
Service may not be able to pay 2011 bills
Joseph R. Corbett, Chief Financial
Officer, U.S. Postal Service on Federal News
Radio -
Postal
commission gets 12,000 responses on five-day
delivery -
Vegas
Postal Employee Accused Of Molesting 4-Year-Old
-
USPS'
eIDEAS Gets Poor Score
NextGov.com -
USPS may
be unable to make payment into retiree health
fund - Federal Times -
Gunmen
Target Post Offices In Atlanta
-
Postal
Service Ends Third Quarter with $3.5 Billion
Loss -
Related News:
USPS Says
Loss Widened to $3.5 Billion
Bloomberg |
US Postal
Service's 3Q Loss Widened To $3.5 Billion
- Wall Street Journal -
Mail
carriers protest as USPS losses reach $3.5
billion -
Affordable Mail Alliance Responds to
USPS Earnings Report -
Why are the finances worse than
expected?
Courier, Express, and Postal Observer -
USPS COO: Financial Update Presented
to the BOG
via PostCom -
Postal
service can't blame volume for its problems
Madison Daily Leader - The truth is that mail
volume in the April-June quarter was down just
1.7 percent. Over the last three years, in the
middle of the deepest recession in a generation,
mail volume has fallen an average of 7.6 percent
per year. -
PostCom
says "No sooner had Paul
Vogel's appointment as President of Package and
Mailing Services been announced than the postal
rumor mill started grinding out that Vogel is
expected to be groomed as the next PMG." -
Trimming
government bureaucracy: It's the service, stupid
- Washington Post - The best news of
the week came from the U.S. Postal Service.
According to the Washington Post, the
long-suffering government corporation announced
Tuesday that it will freeze hiring and
promotions for 8,000 administrative positions
sprinkled throughout the agency. -
August 05, 2010
USPS Human
Resource Innovation Savings Exceed $150 Million
Annually -
NY
postmaster demands mail box move
The message many local residents are hearing
from this PM is "Move your mailbox, or don’t
expect to receive mail anymore." The mayor said
“I asked for documentation that said he had the
authority to make these demands - he told me
that the information exists, but he’s prohibited
from releasing it to me." -
Postal
Service board to meet: larger deficit expected
Washington Post -
NY
goat-seller/postal employee must pay back
workers' comp -
August 04, 2010
OIG Says
USPS eIdeas Program Is, Well...SLOW
We (OIG) found the eIDEAS program was
not timely and management’s resulting actions
were not transparent. Specifically, while the
eIDEAS program guide stipulates evaluators
assess ideas within 7 days of submission, we
found level 1 evaluators took an average of 2.2
years to process employee ideas, while level 2
and level 3 evaluators1 took an average of 1.1
years and .57 years, respectively, to process
ideas. -
Former
Iowa Letter Carrier/Accused Pipe Bomber To
Represent Himself -
Former
postmaster released from hospital, charged with
murdering his wife - an
Alabama
USPS District Manager -
USPS
Excessing Means...
An editorial by postal employee Ronald Williams,
Jr. -
Mail
carrier pleads not guilty to selling drugs on
his route -
Mailbag
snatched from Escondido carrier
- Also see
Mail
stolen from postal worker's cart
-
Saturday
Mail Delivery: Push Efficiency Envelope
-
Audit:
Almost 1,500 feds received improper Social
Security benefits -
Washington Post
A U.S. Postal Service letter carrier from
Michigan received about $45,000 in overpayments
starting in May 2004 for mood and personality
disorders, GAO investigators said. She continued
receiving benefits checks after returning to
work seven months later. -
USPS asks
PRC to throw out mailer alliance request
DM News -
Lawmaker
proposes alternative mail delivery schedule
GovExec.com -
August 03, 2010
Major
Mailers Make Billions, But Demand Postal Worker
Pay Cuts -
U.S.
Postal Service Seeks Dismissal of Pricing
Protest -
OSHA Fines USPS For Safety
Violations in Boston
The latest citations bring the Postal Service’s total OSHA fines to over
$3.7 million. -
Over 8,700
Letter Carriers Heading to Anaheim for 67th
Biennial NALC Union Convention
-
Fullman v.
PMG
The Postal Service terminated Fullman for
failing to disclose, as required by his
employment application, that he was previously
employed by the Postal Service, and had been
terminated in 1989 for filing a false worker's
compensation claim. -
Postal
Inspectors Plant $40 and Carrier Takes The Bait
-
Do Postal
Execs Want To Lose Money on Periodicals? Tough
Question #4 For USPS - Dead
Tree Edition -
Cutting
Saturday Mail Delivery Would Fatally Weaken
Postal Service - Joe Paul -
President APWU 3799 -
Recession,
e-mails and other factors lead to postal rate
hike -
Ellen C. Williams - USPS BOG -
Chaffetz’s
biggest donors: Unions
PEN Ed: the same holds true for the current
President, doesn't it? -
USPS
Fights Back vs. Motion to Dismiss Rate Hike
-
Postal
service to freeze administrative-level hiring,
promotions, to cut losses -
Washington Post -
How the
U.S. Postal Service can really save itself
NALC Pres. via Washington Post -
MA mailman
charged with dealing drugs on route
-
Former
USPS Chief Financial Officer Says Eliminating
Saturday Delivery Is Not Necessary
-
Postal
Service starts hiring freeze for administrative
jobs
Washington Post -
Dishonest
Mailman Tries Lame Excuse -
U.S.
Postal Service Names Mailing and Shipping
Services President -
August 02, 2010
Bernstock
Just Won't Go Away
Dead Tree Edition -
6 cities
to train mail carriers to dispense anti-terror
drugs -
AL postal
worker gets prison time for trashing more than
3,000 pieces of mail -
Your USPS
Earnings Statement Online
-
Watch: The
50-cent postage stamp can't be far off
Scripps Howard News Service -
Many
unruffled by proposed postage increase
-
August 01, 2010
Postal
Service needs a new plan to survive in the
digital age -
Kewanee,
IL mail carrier saves woman -
Fed.
government to seek life imprisonment for
Wytheville Post Office gunman
-
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