POSTAL NEWS

...from various sources.

2.21.2023

USPS health insurance marketplace launch gives OPM plenty to do in a busy 2023

"The postal-only health insurance marketplace comes with its own unique specifications that don’t apply to federal employees under FEHB. The Postal System Reform Act requires all future postal retirees to enroll in Medicare Part B, in an effort to save USPS tens of billions of dollars over the coming years. “So [they’re] totally different requirements than the current Federal Employee Health Benefits system. That means our system is going to have to double-check and make sure that they enrolled in Medicare and that they’re eligible,” Cavallo said. ...the requirement for nearly all future postal retirees to enroll in Medicare requires OPM to build certain unique features into the PSHB system that aren’t built into its infrastructure for FEHB. ..."   
Source: federalnewsnetwork.com

Visit Our Homepage

2.16.2023

USPS Station Discontinued List POB22606

"Visit the latest Discontinued list here."   
Source: postalpro.usps.com

Visit Our Homepage

2.14.2023

This package shipped from Mississippi to Michigan — via Puerto Rico. Here's why some shipments go on circuitous journeys.

"The package started out like normal. A small bubble wrap envelope of cosmetics shipped by the US Postal Service from Mississippi headed for Michigan — 750 miles away. But something happened when it got to Memphis, Tennessee, and suddenly... The USPS spokesperson declined to give a misload rate for the postal service. But UPS, for one, currently misloads one-quarter of one percent of packages, or 1 out of 400, according to CEO..."   
Source: www.businessinsider.com

Visit Our Homepage

2.11.2023

Post Office employee charged with statutory rape inside Knoxville mail processing facility

"A former Knoxville Post Office employee was arrested last week on charges he raped a teenager in the Knoxville Processing and Distribution Center on Weisgarber Road, federal court documents show. John Dusty Best has been charged with attempted enticement of a child and aggravated statutory rape. ..."   
Source: www.knoxnews.com

Visit Our Homepage

Royal Mail ransomware attack still impacting on international postal deliveries

"...ransomware attack on Royal Mail is continuing to have a detrimental impact on the postal service – almost a month after it first hit. The cyberattack which affects international deliveries has been ongoing since 11 January and there is still no date for when the postal service will return to normality. Discussing the impact this has had on customers, Jim McCafferty, sub-postmaster at Kennedy Centre Post Office said that coupled with the recent Royal Mail strikes, it has devastated their business. “It has been over three weeks since the cyber attack and we are still unable to ..."   
Source:

Visit Our Homepage

2.10.2023

Another Win for PMG Louis DeJoy | Most First-quarter Revenue is Up

"The Postal Service has reported its financial results for the first quarter of fiscal year 2023 (Oct. 1-Dec. 31, 2022). ..."   
Source: usps.com

Visit Our Homepage

2.09.2023

Postal Service severing mail contract with California trucking company

"Caminantes Trucking involved in 11 crashes — including 2 fatal wrecks — over 2-year period...The Long Beach trucking company officially has the same name as its owner, Jose Mauricio Coreas, but does business as Caminantes Trucking. Caminantes, listed as an intrastate-only company, has 46 power units and 37 drivers, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s SAFER website. ...The company’s contract carrier authority has been revoked and reinstated twice since its operating authority was granted in August 2008, according to FMCSA data."   
Source: www.freightwaves.com

Visit Our Homepage

2.06.2023

“I’ve never seen it this bad”: USPS staffing woes hit Seattle area

"...Staehli can’t count on regular deliveries for the route that includes her store, which manages mailboxes for about 150 residents. During the holiday season, she said, unsorted piles of packages were stuck behind Vashon’s post office, sitting on pallets in the rain. ..."   
Source: www.seattletimes.com

2.01.2023

Cybercriminals trick some USPS workers, steal paychecks

"Cybercriminals set up fake websites that looked like LiteBlue and employees mistakenly went to those sites and shared personal information. ..."   
Source: news.yahoo.com

Visit Our Homepage

1.31.2023

United State Postal Service to host job fair at Reno office Wednesday

"USPS will host a job fair on Wednesday, February 1 at its south Reno location to hire for mail handlers, letter carriers, retail associates and more. The job fair will be held at 75 McCabe Drive from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. ...or online at: usps.com/careers/"   
Source: mynews4.com

1.29.2023

Women can be prosecuted for taking abortion pills, says Alabama attorney general

"“Promoting the remote prescription and administration of abortion pills endangers both women and unborn children,” Marshall said in an email. “Elective abortion—including abortion pills—is illegal in Alabama. Nothing about the Justice Department’s guidance changes that. Anyone who remotely prescribes abortion pills in Alabama does so at their own peril: I will vigorously enforce Alabama law to protect unborn life.”...Officials at the U.S. Department of Justice issued an opinion that carriers with the U.S. Postal Service could deliver pills in states that banned abortion. The new rules will expand access through telehealth and mail-order pharmacies but could set up clashes with anti-abortion states such as Alabama. ..."   
Source: www.al.com

Visit Our Homepage

1.26.2023

Ring Mailbox Sensor is a battery-powered motion sensor that sends you real-time notifications via the Ring app when your mailbox opens

Article Title: Ring Mailbox Sensor is a battery-powered motion sensor that sends you real-time notifications via the Ring app when your mailbox opens

Ring Mailbox Sensor
Snippet of Article: "...When connected to Ring Bridge, Ring Mailbox Sensor allows you to receive a real-time notification in the Ring app or via connected Alexa-enabled device whenever your Mailbox Sensor detects motion. ..." Reference: Amazon Visit Our Homepage

1.19.2023

USPS Is Making Even More Changes to Your Mail

"... a 4.2 percent increase to first-class mail, marketing mail, periodicals, package services and special services in 2023. The PRC has since approved the price hike, which will take place on Jan. 22. The postal commission also greenlit cost changes for shipping services starting that same day, which will increase prices for Priority Mail by 5.5 percent, Priority Mail Express by 6.6 percent, and First-Class Packages by 7.8 percent. On top of all that, the USPS is raising prices for PO Box customers with the introduction of new rental rates on Jan. 22. Believe it or not, there are even more changes coming. ..."   
Source: bestlifeonline.com

Visit Our Homepage

1.17.2023

Stamp prices to increase in late-January 2023, USPS announces

"... Other USPS prices are also increasing, including sending postcards and letters greater than an ounce. Postcards sent in the U.S. will be..."   
Source: www.masslive.com

Visit Our Homepage

Don’t Waste Your Money: Monitor your mail

"...It has been a year of thieves stealing mailbox keys and then grabbing checks out of blue mailboxes, but Mark Lancaster no longer worries about what should be arriving. He signed up for the USPS’s free program “Informed Delivery” which sends a daily email showing what’s on the way. Informed Delivery is an easy and free way to know exactly what is going to show up in your mail ..."   
Source: www.abc27.com

Visit Our Homepage

1.16.2023

Multifactor Authentication Now Required for USPS LiteBlue Access

"...On Sunday, January 15, the USPS is deploying the MFA (Multifactor Authentication) solution for LiteBlue as an additional security measure to protect employees’ IDs, passwords, and other personal data from unauthorized access and misuse. At this time, employees are required to sign up for MFA to obtain access to LiteBlue. As a part of the MFA implementation, there are a few steps employees must complete. These steps include ..."   
Source: npmhu317.blogspot.com

Visit Our Homepage

1.12.2023

Cyber incident hits UK postal service, halts overseas mail

"...Britain’s postal service said it was hit Wednesday by a “cyber incident” that is temporarily preventing it from sending letters or parcels to other countries. ...The British government’s National Cyber Security Center said it’s aware of the incident and is working with Royal Mail and the National Crime Agency “to fully understand"   
Source: www.seattletimes.com

Visit Our Homepage

1.11.2023

Pennsylvania postal workers ordered to repay 'fraudulently obtained' pandemic unemployment assistance benefits

"... United States Attorney Jacqueline Romero announced that the two workers will have to pay back hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Jaire Chance, 27, of Philadelphia, has agreed to a consent judgment of $100,399. Robert Day, 42, of Center Valley, Lehigh County, has agreed to a consent judgment of $110,610.

Officials said the repayment will resolve allegations that the two violated the False Claims Act by improperly seeking pandemic unemployment assistance...."   
Source: www.wgal.com

Visit Our Homepage

1.06.2023

APWU JCIM is Available: Order Yours Today!

"...The 2023 (Nov. 2022) Joint Contract Interpretation Manual (JCIM), a resource for the administration of the 2021-2024 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), is now available for members! Members can order their JCIM for $10 from the APWU Store on the APWU website, or you can click here for an electronic copy. The JCIM is an APWU and USPS jointly prepared manual for interpreting issues related to the union contract and serves to address and resolve disputes as well as ensure contract compliance. The JCIM is a collection of agreed-upon interpretations ..."   
Source: apwu.org

Visit Our Homepage

1.05.2023

Postal worker's murder: Letter Carriers Association pushes back against details in court documents

"One week before Cross was murdered, he allegedly scanned one of those packages as "Delivery Attempted — No Access to Delivery Location." The criminal complaint said that the scan was made more than a mile away from the address it was intended for. ..."   
Source: www.tmj4.com

Visit Our Homepage

You've Got Jail: PLG Postal Worker Who Stole $4M Sentenced, DOJ Says

"Former Utica Avenue postal worker Jaleesa Wallace, 31, was sentenced to two years six months in prison — and ordered to pay $4 million in restitution — following her conviction of postal theft, said U.S. Attorney Breon Peace “The defendant exploited her position with one of our most trusted institutions, the United States Postal Service ..."   
Source: patch.com

Visit Our Homepage

23 major brands suspected of illegally sourcing products made by forced labor in China

"... In 2021, an investigation by The Information found that seven of Apple's suppliers were linked to suspected forced labor of Uyghur Muslims and other persecuted groups. The 2020 report from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute said Apple's suppliers in China had used thousands of Uyghurs..."   
Source: www.businessinsider.com

Visit Our Homepage

US bans imports from companies accused of using forced labor

"... Last year, President Biden signed a similar bill banning imports from China’s Xinjiang region also because of forced labor, reports The Hill. The law banning imports using North Korean forced labor passed in 2017. Customs did not provide details of what the 3 companies did and the companies did not reply to requests for comment. A 2018 U.S. report estimated that the North Korean government takes 70-90 percent of earnings from its workers. ..."   
Source: asamnews.com

Visit Our Homepage

DOJ Says Post Office Can Continue Flooding Red States With Abortion Pills

"... “The [Office of Legal Counsel] analysis confirms that the Comstock Act does not require the Postal Service to change our current practice, which has been to consider packages containing mifepristone and misoprostol to be mailable under federal law in the same manner as other prescription drugs,” a USPS spokesman told the Daily Caller News Foundation. USPS Position on Abortion, ..."   
Source: www.shorenewsnetwork.com

Visit Our Homepage

1.04.2023

PMG Louis DeJoy is Saving the Postal Service

"For the postmaster general, that is sort of the point. It is a sign of progress. He inherited a U.S. Postal Service in 2020 that was directionless, losing billions of dollars per year, shedding countless jobs and allowing mail delays to spike, all without a serious plan to turn things around. You may not like what he is doing about it, but he ...will continue pushing forward. He describes his biggest accomplishment as “juicing the place up:” namely, getting his management team and the rest of the 650,000 postal employees to embrace a mindset of change.  And when things go wrong, DeJoy and USPS will course correct. "   
Source: www.govexec.com

Visit Our Homepage

1.01.2023

OPM | Postal Service Health Benefits (PSHB) Program FAQs

"...Enrollment in a PSHB plan will not disrupt enrollment in other insurance and benefits programs, including:

Federal Employees Dental and Vision Insurance Program (FEDVIP)
Federal Flexible Spending Account Program (FSAFEDS)
Federal Employees' Group Life Insurance (FEGLI), or
Federal Long Term Care Insurance Program (FLTCIP)

..."   
Source: www.opm.gov

Visit Our Homepage

USPS Prepares for a ‘Year of Implementation,’ and the Shaping of Louis DeJoy’s Legacy

"“We have a terrible network,” DeJoy said. “We have a terrible operating strategy.”  Previously, he said, that all got swept under the rug, but that will no longer fly ... Employees will not lose their jobs, but some may have to report a different space. ...DeJoy himself admitted the electric vehicle plan was critical because without it, “we deal with a bunch of crap forever.”“That's why I'm here seven days a week, 15 hours a day,” DeJoy said, “because we are in a race against time.”
 "   

Source: www.govexec.com

Visit Our Homepage

12.26.2022

USPS Issues Employee Communications Update Regarding PostalEASE Website Fraud

"...Please see the latest information regarding the PostalEase website fraud. FRAUD ALERT ** Postal Service Releases ...Letter to be sent to only impacted employees notifying them of their situation and share information and next steps."   
Source: NPMHU Local 317 - Alabama

Visit Our Homepage

12.22.2022

2 Massachusetts teens charged in armed robbery of USPS mail carrier

"...Melrose police said the robbery happened the afternoon of Dec. 10 on Orchard Lane, where the two juveniles were sitting on the steps to a home when the USPS worker arrived in a vehicle. According to investigators, the letter carrier delivered mail to a home on the street and as she approached the driver's door of her truck, the two juveniles approached her, pointed an airsoft pistol at her and showed her a knife ..."   
Source: www.wcvb.com

Visit Our Homepage

USPS: Delivery influx, storm could lead to shipping delays

Mail processing 2022
"...The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) says it added thousands of seasonal hires, hundreds of new package processing machines and even leased extra space to handle a significant increase in packages this holiday season.  ..."   
Source: www.newsnationnow.com

Visit Our Homepage

12.21.2022

USPS PMG DeJoy to transform delivery fleet with 66,000 electric vehicles by 2028

"...The USPS said Tuesday its investment is expected to reach $9.6 billion, about a third of which comes from the Inflation Reduction Act. The funding will help the Postal Service build what has the potential to be one of the largest electric vehicle fleets in the country, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy said in a statement. “We have a statutory requirement to deliver mail and packages to 163 million addresses six days per week and to cover our costs in doing so — that is our mission,” DeJoy said. “As I have said in the past, if we can achieve those objectives in a more environmentally responsible way, we will do so.” ..."   
Source: www.cnbc.com

Visit Our Homepage

12.20.2022

Official Postal Call In Number | Proper Procedures for Calling Out Sick at the U.S. Postal Service

"...the postal call-in number that the U.S. Postal Service provided its employees for requesting unscheduled leave as they called in sick (Official USPS Sick Call Procedure) or for community disasters. The postal call in sick call number(s) are: 1-877 ..."   
Source: Postal Call In

Visit Our Homepage

12.19.2022

Priority Mail Express holiday adjustment will implement a no-refund policy for Priority Mail Express

"...Postal Service will implement a no-refund policy for Priority Mail Express packages shipped from Dec. 22 through Dec. 25 under the following two conditions: • The one-day shipment was mailed between Dec. 22 and Dec. 25 and was delivered, and • Delivery was attempted or achieved within two business days of the mailing date. The policy is a response to the increased package volume and winter weather conditions ..."   
Source: link.usps.com

Visit Our Homepage

12.16.2022

Postal worker ‘rifled through’ letters, stole gift cards from Louisiana mail, feds say

KEISHAN WILSON, age 38, of New Orleans, Louisiana pleaded guilty on December 8. "During a “covert surveillance operation” at a New Orleans processing facility in July 2020, the woman was seen removing greeting cards from letter trays, going through them and then throwing them away, according to court documents. ..."   
Source: www.sacbee.com

Visit Our Homepage

11.20.2022

Owney the Postal Dog | National Postal Museum

"... "Owney was a scruffy mutt who became a regular fixture at the Albany, New York, post office in 1888. His owner was likely a postal clerk who let the dog walk him to work. Owney was attracted to the texture or scent of the mailbags and when his master moved away, Owney stayed with his new mail clerk friends. He soon began to..."   
Source: The Postal Newsgroup


Visit Our Homepage

9.27.2022

King Charles to appear on coins, stamps within months, while banknotes are held for 2024

"The image or silhouette of King Charles III will replace those of the late Queen Elizabeth II, marking the first replacement of a monarch in more than 70 years. Coins and regular postage stamps portraying the new king will be released in the coming months, the Royal Mint and Royal Mail said in separate announcements. ..."   
Source: www.washingtontimes.com

Visit Our Homepage

9.20.2022

Yay! President biden Declares "the pandemic is over"

"..."We're still doing a lot of work on it. But the pandemic is over," said Mr Biden in a television interview. ...Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tweeting: 'Biden now says 'the pandemic is over' as he's kicking tens of thousands of healthy soldiers out of the military with his COVID vaccine mandate.'"   
Source: www.bbc.com

Visit Our Homepage

9.17.2022

Biden scores deal on rail strike, but worker discontent emerges

"...will receive a 24 percent pay increase by 2024, including an immediate 14 percent raise; $1,000 annual ..."   
Source: NPMHU Local 317 - Alabama

APWU Second 2022 COLA = $1.18/hr

"In accordance with the 2021-2024 Collective Bar­gaining Agreement (union contract), career employees represented by the APWU will receive a $1.18 per hour Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA), effective August 27, 2022. The adjustment is the result of a rise in the Consum­er Price Index (CPI-W) – one of the federal government’s measures of inflation. It will appear in paychecks dated September 16, 2022 (Pay Period 19-2022). This new COLA represents an annual increase in pay of $2,455 for all full-time career employees. ..."   
Source: APWU

Visit Our Homepage

9.11.2022

Noticias postales para el 15 de septiembre de 2022

Noticias postales para el 15 de septiembre de 2022

Comunidades más atractivas y lucrativas para los inmigrantes

Grandes sonrisas como felices Decenas de migrantes llegan a Martha's Vineyard en vuelos chárter. "Vamos a cuidar de ustedes", dijo el sheriff del condado de Dukes, Robert Ogden, a los migrantes, según The Martha's Vineyard Times. "Hemos recibido llamadas de restaurantes que ofrecen comida, personas que intentan ayudar. Es increíble".

"Florida puede confirmar que los dos aviones con inmigrantes ilegales que llegaron a Martha's Vineyard eran parte del programa de reubicación del estado para transportar inmigrantes ilegales a destinos santuario", un comunicado de la oficina del gobernador de Florida, Ron DeSantis. "Hemos recibido llamadas de restaurantes que ofrecen comida, personas que intentan ayudar. Es increíble".

Los migrantes inteligentes han aprendido que si solicitan e insisten en ser transportados a estados como Illinois, Massachusetts, Nueva York y California, que son designados como estados santuario. Los migrantes han descubierto que los estados del sur de los Estados Unidos y las ciudades fronterizas de los Estados Unidos y México están superpoblados y no pueden ayudar a los migrantes. La vicepresidenta Kamala Harris ha invitado a migrantes a su área en Washington, D.C. Algunos ya han llegado. Dos autobuses que transportaban a unos 100 migrantes de Texas llegaron la madrugada del jueves afuera de la residencia de la vicepresidenta Kamala Harris en el Observatorio Naval en Washington, DC. Kamala Harris da la bienvenida a los migrantes a D.C. Los migrantes, muchos de ellos de nacionalidad venezolana.

Citation: Noticias de empleados postales