POSTAL NEWS

...from various sources.

6.14.2010

USPS Employee Charged for Fraudulently Obtaining Unemployment Insurance Benefits

"...she was not entitled to receive while employed as a Postal Service letter carrier at the Pilsen and Roseland postal stations in Chicago between July 2008 and January 2010. Davis applied for unemployment benefits and allegedly claimed to be unemployed by the USPS for "lack of work" when, in fact, she was employed but had been suspended without pay; she then returned to work full time a week after submitting her application ..."  
Source: insurancenewsnet.com

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6.11.2010

MSPB: USPS Zero Tolerance Policy Violation Is Not Automatic Grounds For Removal October 18, 2009 by Lu

"...When an agency imposes removal under a zero tolerance policy without giving bona fide consideration to the appropriate Douglas factors, its penalty determination is not entitled to deference. In such a case, the Board will independently weigh the relevant Douglas factors to evaluate the reasonableness of the penalty. ..."  
Source: www.postalreporternews.net

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Washington region Postal Service boss out of a job after incident in Sterling

"... In an April interview, Postmaster General John E. Potter said, "I’m proud of what we’ve done with equal employment, with harassment issues, with workplace environment issues."..."  
Source: washingtonpost.com

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6.07.2010

USPS sees $382M net loss in April

"...The US Postal Service saw a net loss of $382 million in April, bringing its seven-month total net loss for its 2010 fiscal year to $2.26 billion. ..."  
Source: www.dmnews.com

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OWCP and Social Security

"...Can I receive payments from Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs and Social Security at the same time? I know that 15 years of my Social Security benefits come from my USPS employment, but what about the other 35 years? ..."  
Source: federaltimes.com

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6.04.2010

Acting President, Mailing and Shipping Services, Named

"... Susan Plonkey acting president, Mailing and Shipping Services. Plonkey succeeds Bob Bernstock, who announced his resignation May 12. ..."  
Source: liteblue.usps.gov

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5.25.2010

Federal retirements hit seven year low in 2009

"...OPM said 43,649 full-time permanent employees retired in fiscal 2009 — 27 percent fewer than OPM had projected would retire. Federal retirements haven't been that low since fiscal 2002, when 41,699 employees retired. ..."  
Source: www.federaltimes.com

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5.19.2010

Man pleads guilty in Wytheville Post Office standoff

"...A Tennessee man with a violent criminal past and a beef with the federal government pleaded guilty on Friday to five charges in a December 2009 shooting and hours-long standoff at the Wytheville Post Office. ..."  
Source: www.swvatoday.com

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4.28.2010

Speak your mind on Postal Changes or sit back and take it!

USPS Public comment needed


Contact the PRC with your comments on saving the USPS. Provide your suggestions and help protect your job and your pay. This is the time to speak up or let others dictate your career. Stop the postal death spiral and large mailer discounts. Insist on Universal Service Coverage.   
Source: www.prc.gov

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4.19.2010

Postmaster general says USPS could cut its workforce


"... cut Saturday mail delivery, raise postage rates and potentially close or consolidate thousands of post offices. The proposal also calls for cutting tens of thousands of jobs through attrition and layoffs...."  
Source: www.washingtonpost.com




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4.08.2010

FEHB Program Expected to Cover Dependents Until Age 26


"... The effective date of this provision is the first day of the plan year that is six months following enactment of the law. For the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, that means January 1, 2011. The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is expected to take the necessary actions to comply with the new law by this effective date. OPM will be providing additional information on its website in the near future about this and other changes to FEHBP plans for the 2011 plan year that will occur based on passage of the PPACA, so that mail handlers and other postal and federal employees and retirees will have the necessary information in time for the Open Season, which begins in November 2010...."  
Source: www.npmhu.org




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4.05.2010

USPS asks public opinion on eliminating Saturday delivery


"...Members of the public are invited to share their views on the commission website at www.prc.gov by clicking the “contact PRC” tab to access an online service form. ..."  
Source: bdtonline.com




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3.31.2010

USPS VP: It’s Time to Implement Five-Day Mail Delivery


"... Assuming the PRC and Congress approve the plan, Pulcrano said it would take about six months to implement five-day mail delivery. PRC Chairman Ruth Goldway said last week it might take six to nine months for her panel to issue an advisory opinion...."  
Source: multichannelmerchant.com




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Plane crashes into UPS building in Virginia


"...happened at a freight facility near the Roanoke Regional Airport. ..."  
Source: www2.wnct.com




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3.26.2010

OIG Investigation Uncovers Abuse in Filing Expenses for Postal Workers OWCP Benefits


"... OIG special agents were involved because most of the patients at a clinic where the three worked were Postal Service employees who were receiving workers’ compensation benefits for legitimate, on-the-job injuries...."  
Source: liteblue.usps.gov/




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3.24.2010

Obama administration:2011 budget would not eliminate Saturday mail delivery

Although the Obama administration is quoted in a govexec.com news story that, "The proposed fiscal 2011 budget would not eliminate Saturday mail delivery.", the Postal Service, in spite of the aforementioned citation, says, "If the Postal Service is permitted by Congress to implement five-day delivery, it would take effect in fiscal year 2011 (Oct. 1, 2010, to Sept. 30, 2011)".

COMMENTS: Hmm, who's running things here? With this kind of apparent arrogance from the USPS, is this a hint of an upcoming Potter for President Campaign. Please say it ain't so! (LOL).





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Postal Service Outline Five-Day Delivery Proposal


"...The U.S. Postal Service Board of Governors today approved management’s request to move forward with its five-day delivery proposal and to file a request for an advisory opinion with the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) on March 30. ..."  
Source: www.usps.com




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3.23.2010

What is the pay for the USPS Board of Governors?


"... Each Governor receives $300 per day for not more than 42 days of meetings each year and travel expenses, in addition to an annual salary of $30,000. Two vacancies exist on the Board...."  
Source: www.usps.com


Who are the USPS Board of Governers?
Louis J. Giuliano, Chairman
Thurgood Marshall, Jr., Vice Chairman
Mickey D. Barnett, Member
James H. Bilbray, Member
Carolyn Lewis Gallagher, Member
Alan C. Kessler, Member
James C. Miller III, Member
Ellen C. Williams, Member
John E. Potter, Postmaster General and CEO
Patrick R. Donahoe, Deputy Postmaster General and COO




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Next Postal Service Board of Governors Meeting is March 24


WASHINGTON — The Board of Governors of the U.S. Postal Service will meet in open session March 24 at Postal Service headquarters, 475 L’Enfant Plaza, SW. The public is welcome to observe the meeting beginning at 8:30 a.m., in the Ben Franklin Room on the 11th floor. The Board is expected to discuss the following items:

Wednesday, March 24 at 8:30 a.m.

1. Minutes of previous meetings
2. Remarks of the Chairman of the Board
3. Remarks of the Postmaster General and CEO
4. Amendments to Board bylaws
5. Appointment of committee members and committee reports
6. Quarterly report on service performance
7. Five-day delivery presentation
8. Tentative agenda for the May 4-6, 2010, meeting in Washington, DC.

The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses, and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.   
Source: www.usps.com




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USPS Management Ethical Conduct and Labor Relations?


"...All new supervisors receive administrative training on topics such as safety, labor relations, ethical conduct, and time and attendance. Training for customer service and mail processing will be tailored to the operation where the new supervisor will work. ..."  
Source: liteblue.usps.gov




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3.22.2010

Post office payoff


"... “Robert F. Bernstock, the U.S. Postal Service’s $232,500-per-year president of the shipping and mailing services division, endorsed the contract to Tatum LLC on May 11 to help manage a Postal Service technology project.”..."  
Source: dailymail.com




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3.06.2010

USPS option could affect Times


"...Should this cut come to fruition, we’ll have to figure out a way to continue to service our readers while operating within the new confines of the post office. Our options are, I suspect, plentiful ..."  
Source: www.demopolistimes.com




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3.04.2010

Postal Service Outlines 10-Year Plan to Address Declining Revenue, Volume


"... The Postal Service examined revenue, volume and consumer trends; analyzed revenue and product opportunities employed by foreign posts; and examined more than 50 possible actions to realistically address volume declines that will not return, increasing health care and delivery costs, and dramatic changes to consumer behavior...."  
Source: www.usps.com




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3.02.2010

Layoffs in the future for Postal Employees?


"... How does an individual running a failing organization rate such high pay while the working class continue to provide the same great mail service through dedicated work ethic. It appears the postal unions are begging to reduce costs and be able to reap a small benefit in income in return, but that would hurt the big mailers..."  
Source: federalemployeenews.blogspot.com




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Postal Service expected to announce '‘significant changes'


"... could mean an end to Saturday deliveries, longer delivery times for letters and packages, higher postage-stamp prices that exceed the rate of inflation, and the potential for future layoffs. ..."  
Source: www.washingtonpost.com




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3.01.2010

Union claims Dover post office shorted workers on pay


"...The investigation found managers of the Milford branch and Manchester's South and West stations altered employee time sheets, causing them to be underpaid. The investigation also found the Salem and Somersworth branches' managers made "misstatements" of their employees' work ..."  
Source: www.fosters.com




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Postal Service must pay sculptor


"... for an image on a 37-cent stamp, a U.S. appeals court has ruled. Frank Gaylord, who designed the stainless-steel models, claimed the agency never asked his permission to use the soldier sculptures and sued the government for copyright infringement. ..."  
Source: www.suntimes.com




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2.23.2010

Pot mailer sent to jail for package sent to him


"... White — who mailed himself between 2 and 10 pounds of pot from Texas — as almost a split personality. On the one hand, White is a family man with..."  
Source: www.sharonherald.com




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2.22.2010

'Mauritius' play about dark side of stamp collecting

Players’ ‘Mauritius’ plumbs dark side of a simple matter


"... Stamp collecting isn’t the easygoing, innocuous avocation you imagine. Instead, it’s a darkly comedic high-stakes game of cat-and-mouse, complete with violence and profanity...."  
Source: www.naplesnews.com




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Passion fuels champion stamp collector


"...Stitzel estimates that his own collection is about 85 percent U.S. stamps, not including his rather extensive collection of Hawaiian stamps and stamps from the Confederacy. He also collects stamps from Newfoundland, and stamps made in North Vietnam and by the Vietcong, which once were banned in the U.S.
..."  
Source: presspubs.com




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'Postal prisoner' commits suicide in cell


"... Jean-Pierre Treiber, who once posted himself out of jail in a cardboard box, hanged himself in his prison cell at the weekend...."  
Source: www.nzherald.co.nz




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2.20.2010

Muncie man's basement resembles an old post office


"... The spirit and commitment of the U.S. Postal Service beats within Aubrey Rogers' heart. It's also within his basement. "This was the lobby of the Mooreland post office," he said,..."  
Source: www.thestarpress.com




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2.15.2010

Postal Service financial woes will continue in 2011

"... In a Feb. 1 question-and-answer session hosted by YouTube, Obama said he has no plans to privatize USPS because of its commitment to universal service. "[Privatization is] a bad idea, most of the time," he said,..."  
Source: www.govexec.com




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2.14.2010

Alleged Ala. shooter linked to mail bomb attempt

[Photo courtesy Madison County, AL]

"... University of Alabama professor accused of shooting three colleagues and an attempted mail bombing of a Harvard professor. Officials said Amy Bishop ..."  
Source: whdh.com




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Elgin postal workers help young boy achieve a dream


"... Joel, who was autistic, lived out his dream Friday when he was sworn in as a U.S. Postal Service carrier by Elgin Postmaster Susan Meathe...."  
Source: www.suburbanchicagonews.com




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Anyone here work for the U.S. Postal Service?


"... i’m thinking about applying for a U.S. postal service. i’ve been doing some research on the subject of the various postal exams. any advice/suggestions? i’ve bought two study guides..."  
Source: www.literacynews.com




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2.10.2010

USPS suspends mail delivery in 5 states and DC


"... 2:55 p.m. ET: The U.S. Postal Service suspended deliveries and collections in Washington, Maryland and..."  
Source: usatoday.com



So much for ..."Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night stays these courageous couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds" Greek historian, Herodotus


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1.31.2010

Postal inspectors issue warning about mail box break-ins


"...Recently, criminals have targeted the collection boxes, breaking into them at night looking for mail customers deposited after the last posted collection time. Mail put into the collection boxes before the last posted pick up time on the box has not been affected. ..."  
Source: crimeblog.dallasnews.com




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1.25.2010

Postal sector crucial to Haiti’s post-quake recovery – UN


"...“Setting up efficient postal services in Haiti will contribute to stimulating the economy and alleviating inhabitants’ difficulties,” Mr. Dayan noted.

The postal service in Haiti, which employs 600 people, has been completely paralyzed by the 7.0-magnitude quake, which struck the country on 12 January. With the exception of three post offices on the outskirts of the devastated capital, Port-au-Prince, most of the nine outlets, including the main sorting centre, in the city were completely destroyed. ..."  
Source: www.un.org




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Postal Service offers reward for info leading to mailer of 'Black Death' letters from Idaho


"... The U.S. Postal Service is offering a reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or people responsible for mailing threatening letters from Idaho to faculty at the University of California, Irvine...."  
Source: www.idahostatesman.com




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