POSTAL NEWS

...from various sources.

3.29.2009

New Postal Voluntary Retirement VER for July 31, 2009

Postal News


Read it here: New Postal Voluntary Retirement VER for July 31, 2009

ALL EMPLOYEES except Electronic Technicians (ET); Maintenance Mechanics, Mail Processing Equipment (MPE); Part-time Postmasters.


"... Please Note: The age and years of service criteria must be met by the effective retirement date of this VERA: July 31, 2009. If you don’t meet the criteria by July 31, 2009, you are not eligible for voluntary early retirement...."  
Source: The Postal Newsgroup




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3.25.2009

U.S. Postal Service plans deep cuts


"... The U.S. Postal Service said March 20 it will cut jobs, offer early retirement to tens of thousands of employees and close administrative offices, the latest round of cutbacks in the last year...."  
Source: www.bizjournals.com




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3.24.2009

Downfall of the Postal Service?

Will "DoNotMail" kill the Postal Service?


American mailboxes are inundated with junk mail. More than 100,000,000,000 pieces of junk mail are delivered each year—that’s more than 800 pieces per household. In fact, junk mail in the United States accounts for one-third of all the mail delivered in the world. Even though 44% of that mail goes to the landfill unopened, we still spend 8 months of our lives dealing with it all.
Source: www.donotmail.org


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3.23.2009

USPS District Closings, VER...


On March 20, the US Postal Service announced District Closings, Voluntary Early Retirement, and Reductions. The announcement reads as follows:



USPS ANNOUNCES ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE CLOSINGS, EARLY RETIREMENT OFFER AND
STAFFING REDUCTIONS


Today the Postal Service has announced it will close six of its 80 district offices. USPS is also
eliminating positions across the country and offering another round of voluntary early retirements.
These actions are expected to save the Postal Service more than $100 million annually.
The six offices closing — located in Florida, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey,
Pennsylvania and Washington State — house administrative functions and will not adversely affect
customer service, mail delivery, Post Office operations or ZIP Codes. The functions of these offices will
be assumed by 10 surrounding districts.
The Postal Service’s districts are being re-aligned as follows:
�� The Boston and Connecticut districts will assume the operations of the Massachusetts District.
�� The Northern New England (formerly Maine) District will assume the operations of the New
Hampshire/Vermont District.
�� The Western Pennsylvania (formerly Pittsburgh) District will assume the operations of the Erie
District.
�� The South Florida and Suncoast districts will assume the operations of the Central Florida
District.
�� The Seattle and Salt Lake City districts will assume the operations of the Spokane District.
�� The Northern New Jersey and Southern New Jersey districts will assume the operations of the
Central Jersey District.
USPS will reduce administrative staff positions at the district level nationwide by 15 percent. In addition,
more than 1,400 mail processing supervisor and management positions at nearly 400 facilities around
the country will be eliminated, and nearly 150,000 employees nationwide are being given the...

The Mandatory Stand-Up Talk reads as follows:

Mandatory Stand-Up Talk
District Closings, Staffing Reductions and VER Announced

With the economic recession resulting in the Postal Service ending fiscal year 2008 with a loss of nearly $3 billion, we
are facing an extremely difficult financial challenge.
Streamlining operations and improving efficiency throughout the Postal Service is a constant, ongoing process. Over
the past year, we have refined this process by modifying networks, consolidating functions, adjusting delivery routes
and restructuring administrative and processing operations. Today, Postmaster General Jack Potter announced new
steps to further our efforts. These actions are expected to save the Postal Service more than $100 million annually.
First, the Postal Service is closing six district offices.
These six administrative district offices were chosen based on their proximity to other districts that could absorb the
additional workload without compromising the delivery, retail and mail processing functions of the Postal Service.
Today, more than 500 employees were notified by their area vice president and/or district manager that their district
offices were closing.
An opportunity for voluntary early retirement (VER) also is being offered.
This nationwide offer is open to nearly 150,000 employees who meet the Office of Personnel Management (OPM)
conditions, and who are at least 50 years of age with 20 years of creditable federal service, or any age with 25 years
of creditable federal service. An annuity estimate will be mailed to all VER-eligible employees starting April 6, 2009.
Another step being taken is instituting a 15% administrative staffing reduction of positions in all remaining 74
district offices.
Postal headquarters already has reduced its employee complement by approximately 15% and the area offices are in
the process of a similar staffing reduction.
At nearly 400 of our mail processing facilities around the country, more than 1,400 supervisor and
management positions are being eliminated.
Reduction in force (RIF) avoidance strategies will be in place for employees impacted by district closings and staffing
reductions.
There are no signs of an early economic recovery. Financial projections call for a continued decline in mail volume and
revenue.
Now, more than ever, we all must look for ways to do our jobs more efficiently and help to continue the service
performance and customer satisfaction improvements we have gained in recent years.
By doing so, we can help ensure that the Postal Service will continue to deliver for America now and in the future.
Additional information — and questions and answers — about all of these new changes can be found under the Hot
Topics section on Blue. VER information can be found under the Hot Topics section on LiteBlue.

3.22.2009

Postal service to trim 3,000 workersS


"... More than 3,000 U.S. Postal Service jobs will be cut and one-quarter of the USPS workforce offered early retirement, postal officials say...."  
Source: www.marketwatch.com




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U.S. Postal Service offering early retirement to 150,000 workers


"... would reduce management staff by 15%, which would eliminate more than 1,400 processing, supervisor and management posts at nearly 400 facilities...."    



This Article is From: www.latimes.com
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3.17.2009

Trimming shipping costs with the Postal Service


"... Commercial shippers can now take advantage of new volume price incentives with Commercial Plus, an up-front price incentive for qualifying shippers using domestic Express Mail and Priority Mail, who meet established volume requirements. On average, Commercial Plus prices for Express Mail are 14.5 percent less than USPS retail prices and Priority Mail prices are 7 percent less...."  
Source: www.fedsmith.com




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Early outs, again?


"...There is a strong rumor out there that there will be another VER coming soon. At this point it is just that, a rumor, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the Postal Service, in an effort to continue downsizing in response to reduced volumes, announces another VER...."    



This Article is From: www.postmasters.org

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3.09.2009

Postal Service closes West Springfield annex


"... The move, made effective on Feb. 7, means that letter carriers from West Springfield and Springfield who started and ended their days at the so-called Riverdale Station will work out of the Agawam and Springfield Post Offices..."  
Source: www.masslive.com




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U.S. Postal Service and rising cost of stamps

Letters to the editor of the Seattle Times


"... The U.S. Postal Service just paid $1.2 million for the postmaster's 8,400 square-foot house, so he can relocate to Texas. Isn't this nice of them to do in this spiraling economy? I think most consumers are fed up with the rise in cost and the decrease in service we have seen the past few years at most post offices...."  
Source: blog.seattletimes.nwsource.com




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3.03.2009

USPS sales campaign blitz


"... Only one week old, the sales campaign — during which the USPS sales team will spend the next 90 days and 90 percent of its time with customers — is intended to generate as much revenue over the next three months as possible. The Postal Service is moving forward with integrated sales and service teams to focus on serving the needs of its customers to grow the Postal Service’s business...."  
Source: liteblue.usps.gov




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