July 29, 2010

Cremated Remains of Phoenix Woman -- Lost by U.S. Postal Service -- Recovered

Cremated Remains of Phoenix Woman -- Lost by U.S. Postal Service -- Recovered - Phoenix News - Valley Fever: "United States Postal Service officials confirm to New Times that the cremated remains of the 89-year-old Bink have been recovered and are back with her family in Chicago"

Ex-postal clerk from Rolla MO admits stealing from Postal Service

Ex-postal clerk from Rolla MO admits stealing from Postal Service | KY3 News, Weather, Sports - Springfield, MO | Local News: "James Flett of Rolla pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for theft and embezzlement money and property from the U.S. Postal Service between June and August 2009. Flett was a clerk at the post office in Rolla for 20 years."

APWU: Arbitrator Denies Union’s Challenge To USPS Two-Tour Initiative

APWU: Arbitrator Denies Union’s Challenge To USPS Two-Tour Initiative : PostalReporter News Blog: "Arbitrator Das denied the union’s grievance challenging the Postal Service’s two-tour initiative. Das accepted the Postal Service’s argument that “Article 3 of the National Agreement grants the Postal Service the authority to unilaterally adopt and implement the … initiatives at issue, without further bargaining with the Union"

Rep. Chaffetz Introduces Bill Designating 12 Postal Holidays To Reduce USPS Operating Costs

Rep. Chaffetz Introduces Bill Designating 12 Postal Holidays To Reduce USPS Operating Costs : PostalReporter News Blog: "Today Congressman Chaffetz introduced HR 5919. This bill would grant USPS Postmaster General the authority to implement up to twelve “postal holidays” per year in order to reduce USPS operating costs"

Missing cremated ashes: Cremated remains lost in shipment

Missing cremated ashes: Cremated remains lost in shipment between Arizona, Illinois - chicagotribune.com: "Mabel Bink's family never wanted her cremated in the first place.

Now her remains are missing — lost in shipment somewhere between Phoenix and Chicago — and her relatives fear she'll never have a proper burial"

USPS In California To Post Combined City Carrier-Clerk Duty Assignment? : PostalReporter News Blog

USPS In California To Post Combined City Carrier-Clerk Duty Assignment? : PostalReporter News Blog: "USPS has notified a Local California APWU President of its intent ( it appears that the assignment has already been posted) to post a “combined full-time assignment” ,"

EEOC Annual Report On USPS Workforce Fiscal Year 2009 : PostalReporter News Blog

EEOC Annual Report On USPS Workforce Fiscal Year 2009 : PostalReporter News Blog: "From EEOC: This report covers the period from October 1, 2008, through September 30, 2009 and contains selected measures of agencies’ progress toward model EEO programs."

July 28, 2010

Senator Says Panel Will Block Five-Day Delivery

Sen. Jon Tester says the lawmakers who oversee the budget of the post office will block a proposal to reduce mail deliveries to five days a week.

The Montana Democrat said eliminating Saturday deliveries would be a hardship on people living in rural areas without producing major savings for the Postal Service.

Arbitration Decision: USPS Failed to Give Full Consideration To Employee’s Request For Voluntary Transfer : PostalReporter News Blog

Arbitration Decision: USPS Failed to Give Full Consideration To Employee’s Request For Voluntary Transfer : PostalReporter News Blog: "An arbitration decision sent out by Gary Kloepfer to APWU Union officers and members.
This is a summary of Regular Panel Arbitrator Andres M. Strongin in case H06T-1H-C-08255189 regarding the Postal Service denial of an employee’s request for voluntary transfer."

July 27, 2010

Postal worker killed by freight train

Postal worker killed by freight train » Evansville Courier & Press: "A veteran rural letter carrier for the Wayne City post office was killed Tuesday morning when his mail vehicle was struck by a train at a rural crossing near the small Jefferson County village of Papertown."

APWU: Locals Rally to Save Saturday Service

Locals Rally to Save Saturday Service

Report: Post office receipts may be contaminated with possibly harmful chemical

Late last year we wrote that the BPA (bisphenol-A), which has been found in many consumer products, was found to be present in common paper receipts. Now, laboratory tests commissioned by Environmental Working Group (EWG) have found high levels of the endocrine-disrupting chemical bisphenol A (BPA) on 40 percent of receipts sampled from major U.S. businesses and services.

Firms included McDonald’s, Chevron, CVS, KFC, Whole Foods, WalMart, Safeway, the U.S. Postal Service, and the U.S. House of Representatives cafeteria

full story

PMG Names New Chief Postal Inspector

PMG Jack Potter has named Guy Cottrell the 38th chief inspector of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. He begins his new assignment Aug. 1.

PMG Names New Chief Postal Inspector

Rural Carrier Fired For Using Profanity Loses Suit Against Union

The U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit, issued a startling decision on June 16, 2010, in Jeunes v. Potter. The Court upheld the removal of a postal employee who “admits that he used profanity during a verbal altercation with a co-worker on October 26, 2007, conduct clearly proscribed by the zero tolerance policy.”

Now the same employee has lost a lawsuit against his former union
Postal Worker loses suit

Meddybemps Post Office burglarized

U.S. Postal Service inspectors are expected at the Meddybemps post office today to participate in the investigation of a burglary that took place sometime late Friday night.

Postal worker convicted of assault was accused before

Postal worker convicted of assault was accused before - KDVR: "FORT COLLINS, Colo. - Brenda Powell feels she's been violated not once, but twice. First, by the US Postal worker who sexually assaulted her on the job. And then, by the US Postal service that failed to protect her from an employee with a history of inappropriate sexual behavior.

Brenda says USPS 'allowed him to do what he did, time after time after time.'

The former letter carrier had just returned from her route in Fort Collins when she was sexually assaulted by fellow mail carrier, Rueben Gonzales."

July 26, 2010

USPS "Intelligent" Mail systems suffer second crash in two days

PostalOne! Mail.dat Outage at Postal Affairs Blog: "In case yesterday’s unscheduled FAST outage wasn’t a good enough example of instability with the required Full Service Intelligent Mail systems, the USPS comes through again today with another example. FAST is up and running, however the issue of the day is now PostalOne!. In order to qualify for Full Service, electronic documentation is required. Not being able to use the system forces mailers to Plan B.

However, it should be a comfort to users that the USPS is sorry for the inconvinece:"

see full story

Atlanta postal supervisor stabbed, hospitalized

Atlanta postal supervisor stabbed, hospitalized : News : WFXL Fox 31: "Atlanta police say a supervisor at a bulk mail center was stabbed and a co-worker is under arrest"

DO Congress And PRC Agree On USPS's Ability To Request An "Exigent" Rate Increase?

From Mailing Mailing Systems Technology via Postcom:

A question that’s top of mind for many mailers who went through the Postal Accountability Enhancement Act of 2006 (PAEA) is, what does Congress think
about the recent USPS filing to the PRC of an exigent rate increase? Here are some things to consider on the legality of the filing (not the rates themselves) that
Congress may weigh in on.

see full article

July 25, 2010

US postal inspector in Maine has perfect record

US postal inspector in Maine has perfect record | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram: "U.S. Postal Inspector Michael Desrosiers has investigated numerous criminal cases leading to hundreds of convictions over his 14 years on the job in Maine.

Virtually all of them resulted in guilty pleas. In one case, a judge found the defendant guilty. His first case to go to a jury trial ended the same way last week – with a conviction."

US postal inspector in Maine has perfect record

US postal inspector in Maine has perfect record | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram: "U.S. Postal Inspector Michael Desrosiers has investigated numerous criminal cases leading to hundreds of convictions over his 14 years on the job in Maine.

Virtually all of them resulted in guilty pleas. In one case, a judge found the defendant guilty. His first case to go to a jury trial ended the same way last week – with a conviction."

Should APWU Reverse Its Decision To Boycott USPS Voice of the Employee Surveys? : PostalReporter News Blog

Should APWU Reverse Its Decision To Boycott USPS Voice of the Employee Surveys? : PostalReporter News Blog: "From the American Postal Workers’ Union ‘Ask the President’ on Voice of the Employee Surveys"

Putting the Subcommittee Vote in Context

Courier, Express, and Postal Observer: Putting the Subcommittee Vote in Context: "Most postal stakeholders are please that the House Subcommittee on the Federal Workforce, the Postal Service and District of Columbia approved H.R. 5746, “the U.S. Postal Service CSRS Obligation Modification Act of 2010.” However, anyone who listened to the arguments against the bill made by Congressman Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) would quickly see that this bill could quickly become part of the partisan fodder that infests nearly all legislation in Congress."

Former letter carrier given probation for drugs on Postal truck

Former Franklin letter carrier given probation for drugs on Postal truck | mycentraljersey.com | MyCentralJersey.com: "A former letter carrier was placed Friday on two years probation on a charge of having drugs in a Postal Service truck."

Letter Carrier Pleads Guilty to Stealing Public Money

Letter Carrier Pleads Guilty to Stealing Public Money: "It was the story of a U.S. Postal worker turned bandit.
Rodney Niel Harvey, 35, pleaded guilty to stealing public money back in June 3.
The former letter carrier was arrested following an investigation into a robbery at the Roy Royall Postal Station in the 4200 block of West Little York."

Former Vermont postal clerk charged with mail theft: Rutland Herald Online

Former Rutland postal clerk charged with mail theft: Rutland Herald Online: "Federal investigators said Friday that a former postal clerk in the Rutland office has been indicted in the rash of mail thefts reported in the area earlier this year."

The Postal Service and National Labor Relations Act : PostalReporter News Blog

The Postal Service and National Labor Relations Act : PostalReporter News Blog: "A paper by the American Bar Association on National Labor Relations Act Basic Law and Procedures as it applies to the Postal Service:"

July 24, 2010

How the U.S. Postal Service can save itself

Paul B. Carroll and Chunka Mui - How the U.S. Postal Service can save itself: "The debate over potential changes at the U.S. Postal Service is like a fight over the dessert bar on the Titanic. Raising first-class postage rates and eliminating Saturday delivery won't matter much when the Postal Service hits the iceberg. And USPS will do just that, soon, unless there is a reimagining of its mission."

Video: Baton Rouge USPS – United States (Lack of) Postal Service : PostalReporter News Blog

Video: Baton Rouge USPS – United States (Lack of) Postal Service : PostalReporter News Blog: "Customer uploaded a video taken while waiting in line at the Prairieville, LA Post Office:"

Federal Disability Retirement and the U.S. Postal Service: Lack of Loyalty & Full of Shortsightedness : PostalReporter News Blog

Federal Disability Retirement and the U.S. Postal Service: Lack of Loyalty & Full of Shortsightedness : PostalReporter News Blog: "There was a time when the U.S. Postal Service worked in conjunction with the Department of Labor (under FECA/OWCP) to keep hard-working Postal employees who were injured on the job, with offers of modified duties to retain a productive workforce"

OIG Audit: USPS Summer Sale For Mailers May Have Lost Money In FY 2009 : PostalReporter News Blog

OIG Audit: USPS Summer Sale For Mailers May Have Lost Money In FY 2009 : PostalReporter News Blog: "This report presents the results of our audit of the fiscal year (FY) 2009 Standard Mail® Volume Incentive Program (Project Number 10BO008FF000). The report responds to a request from the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC). Our objectives were to evaluate the Standard Mail Volume Incentive Program (Summer Sale) to determine whether the Postal Service achieved its objective of increasing volume and revenue and whether the process used to establish customers’ mailing history was valid and accurate"

July 12, 2010

Does anyone at USPS HQ actually listen to what they’re saying? : PostalReporter News Blog

Does anyone at USPS HQ actually listen to what they’re saying? : PostalReporter News Blog

Postal Commentator Questions PRC Chairman’s Remarks On Five-Day Delivery : PostalReporter News Blog

Postal Commentator Questions PRC Chairman’s Remarks On Five-Day Delivery : PostalReporter News Blog

MSPB: An Appellant Is Held Responsible For Errors By Representative : PostalReporter News Blog

MSPB: An Appellant Is Held Responsible For Errors By Representative : PostalReporter News Blog

Five-Day Delivery Would Mean 40,000-50,000 Fewer Letter Carriers : PostalReporter News Blog

Five-Day Delivery Would Mean 40,000-50,000 Fewer Letter Carriers : PostalReporter News Blog

Schedule of PRC Hearings On USPS Request for Rate Increase and 5-Day Delivery : PostalReporter News Blog

Schedule of PRC Hearings On USPS Request for Rate Increase and 5-Day Delivery : PostalReporter News Blog

Union Decides Not To Challenge USPS Pilot Program With Office Depot : PostalReporter News Blog

Union Decides Not To Challenge USPS Pilot Program With Office Depot : PostalReporter News Blog: "We have decided not to challenge the pilot program with Office Depot, which allows USPS services to be offered side-by-side with UPS products at Office Depot stores"

July 09, 2010

USPS May Split Role of Letter Carrier By Creating "100% Street" Routes

Dead Tree Edition: USPS May Split Role of Letter Carrier By Creating "100% Street" Routes: "The Postal Service believes it can achieve significant savings by having letter carriers spend their entire shift delivering mail while other employees take over the carriers' mail-preparation duties.

The idea is to split the role of letter carrier into two different jobs -- casers who would take on any mail sorting now done by carriers and deliverers who would strictly deliver the mail. Here is what the USPS said about the tactic in a 'Flats Strategy' paper it submitted to the Postal Regulatory Commission this week:

'Route Optimization 100 Percent Street routes – (2011 and beyond) –– LARGE Opportunity': As total cased volume declines, letter carrier casing will"

So. Ill. postal worker gets probation for stealing items from mail

So. Ill. postal worker gets probation for stealing items from mail - Illinois | State & regional - bnd.com

July 05, 2010

Letter to Rep. Gallegly: USPS OIG Can’t Get Bernstock Prosecuted? : PostalReporter News Blog

Letter to Rep. Gallegly: USPS OIG Can’t Get Bernstock Prosecuted? : PostalReporter News Blog: "Letter sent to President Barack Obama, Senators Diane Feinstein, Barbara Boxer and Congressman Elton Gallegly by Guy Nohrenberg, Simi Valley,CA"