Postal News

August 2010

8/31/10

Supreme Court Filing on Fired Letter Carrier Claiming Union Breached Duty of Fair Representation (PDF)  |  Truhlar v. USPS -

Marketing Mail in a Competitive Market -

Thousands of Postal Service Drivers Pass 1 Million Accident-Free Miles -

San Diego: Postal center could become homeless shelter -

Saginaw Postal Workers to Picket 6-Day Delivery -

Hill v. Potter -

Concerns about postal process over mailed absentee ballots -

National Guard Investigating Strange Odor at Greenwood Post Office  |  Postal Workers Speak Out -

National League of Postmasters President's Message: NPA/PFP, Delivery Unit Optimization -

8/30/10

'Sovereign Citizen' uses post office conspiracy theory to reject government -

The Recovery and the Post -

Having Problems With Your Time and Attendance Records? The OIG Wants to Hear From You -

USPS OIG Audit Report: Facility Optimization - New York District (PDF) -

USPS OIG Audit Report: City Delivery Efficiency Review - Bay-Valley District (PDF) -

Editorial: Mobile Sensors on Postal Trucks Revisited -

Online Sellers: Beware the Shrinking Postage Label -

Busting myths about the postal service -

Post office bustles behind the scenes -

8/29/10

US shoppers place trust in traditional channels -

USA Today gets makeover for mobile world -

Postal Service suffers as more business is conducted online -

New Book is a Tribute for a Woman Pioneer in the Postal Service -

8/28/10

Birmingham's ex-postmaster gets probation for embezzlement -

Opinion: Postal Service price hike is neither justified nor legal -

8/27/10

Susan Brownell Interview on Bernstock Case (PDF) -

Canada: Union says routes not being delivered when carriers calls in sick -

Contractor admits role in Postal Service bribery scheme -

Affordable Mail Alliance reaches 1,000 members -

No-bid contracts got 'short-shrift' at Postal Service -

APWU: Union Vows to Escalate Fight to Preserve Postal Service (PDF) -

HCR driver pleads guilty in veterans' medication sting -

Oklahoma City Mailman Attacked by Dog, Dog's Owner -

1 Injured After Car Crashes Into Hopkinsville Post Office -

Bicyclist cited after collision with postal truck in Boise

Master of the Mail

Local mail courier lends a helping hand

8/26/10

Potter Knew of Bernstock's Sole-Source Contracts -

USPS tries for more service with fewer offices -

APWU Convention News Bulletin #3: Thank You, Bill -

Postal officials gave varying accounts of Bernstock's perks -

The U.S. Postal Service's Financial Condition: Overview and Issues for Congress (PDF) -

8/25/10

OSHA Cites KCK Postal Center -

PRC: Rapid City Field Hearing Transcript (PDF) -

Elderly couple allowed to move mailbox -

Are the Postal Service's Earnings Forecast Too Optimistic? -

APWU Convention News Bulletin #2 -

Leaving the Mailstream: Verizon -

Marketers brace for paper cost increase -

8/24/10

Postal Workers March in Detroit -

PostCom Posts USPS Organizational Chart (PDF) -

APWU Convention News Bulletin #1 -

Detroit police officer badly hurt after postal truck collides with her motorcycle -

APWU 20th Biennial Convention Highlights Videos:  Part 1  |  Part 2 -

Top PRC Lawyer Has Bright Ideas for New Postal Revenues -

USPS OIG Blog: Are They Listening to Me? -

Elizabeth has a new postmaster

8/23/10

Views from a New York Postal Facility's Green Roof -

Will the Post Office Be Stamped Out in Ten Years? -

The Local Line - Northwest Illinois Area Local APWU: Excessing, Cuts, NRP, More... -

Lost in the mail: Wrong woman signs for $5,000 ring -

"Future mail" business taking off in China -

PRC: Notice and Order Concerning Transfer of Commercial Standard Mail Parcels to the Competitive Product List (PDF) -

8/22/10

Proctorville Post Office 'going green' -

ACLU serves post office over civil rights violation -

Wheeling Mail Runs on Time -

Oshkosh postal workers fight to keep operation -

Employee complaints lead to $350K in fines at city postal facility -

8/21/10

Mail carrier struck by lightning in St. Charles -

Mail truck melted after spark from vehicle ignited natural gas leak -

Postal carrier reports dog attack

8/20/10

USPS OIG: Territorial Cost-of-Living Allowance (PDF) -

Washington Post Office custodian recognized for 42 years of service by USPS -

Royal Mail losing 6p on every stamped letter -

Fairbanks: Postal worker pleads guilty to theft -

UPS store employee pleads guilty to mail theft -

USPS truck catches on fire and MELTS!  |  Archives: LLV Fire Problem -

Recycling Comes to a Post Office Near You -

8/19/10

Ethics Program Review USPS (PDF) -

Lansing postal workers practice their bioterrorism attack response -

Homemade chemical bombs found in West Springfield mailboxes  |  Video: Aluminum Bottle Bomb -

Sen. Mikulski Tours Easton Mail Facility -

APWU Local Fights to Keeps Jobs in Oshkosh -

Operations at Donnybrook Post Office Suspended -

Mural returns to post office

8/18/10

Re-visualization project on USPS brand -

Postal worker accused of selling drugs on the job -

Why the Exigent Rate Case Should Not be Approved -

Dayton processing center fined $225K for safety violations -

It's a hot job but someone's got to do it -

Mail Collection Box Stolen in North Phoenix -

USPS OIG: Stations and Branches Optimization and Consolidation Initiative (PDF) -

USPS OIG: Federal Employees Retirement System Overfunding (PDF) -

What does Warren Buffet know about the future of the USPS? -

8/17/10

The Postal Service is not culturally relevant to college students -

74-year-old woman crashes car into post office -

Protest Rally Turns Violent at Post Office -

Japan Postal Service Goes Electric -

OPM Says Federal Workers Paid Less  |  USA Today: Federal Workers Earning Double Their Private Counterparts -

Las Vegas' new postmaster a 34-year veteran

8/16/10

USPS: National Payroll Hours Pay Period 16 (PDF) -

APWU Urges Members to Boycott "Voice of the Employee" Surveys -

APWU: Final COLA of Current Contract is Zero -

Privatizing the Post -

Request of the USPS to Transfer Commercial Standard Mail Parcels to the Competitive Product List (PDF) -

Residents still hoping to rescue post office -

No more door-to-door mail delivery in new subdivisions -

Postal worker union official indicted on bribery charges -

Other Voices: Please Mr. Postman: It's Time to Go Away -

Healdsburg fire won't stop postal services

8/15/10

The man who gave the world the term "going postal" -

Oklahoma City mail delivery continues despite power outage

Fire guts Healdsburg Post Office

8/14/10

Pit bulls' owners are charged in attack on mailman -

How About a Drug-Sniffing, Meter-Reading, Photo-Taking, Bug-Spraying Postal Service? -

43-year Riverside mailman a throwback to different era -

Burrus: "Postal Workers Will Not Settle for Less" -

Transcript of 3rd Day of Testimony on Exigent Rate Case (PDF) -

eNAPUS: PRC Commands Center Stage While Congress in Recess (PDF) -

Danville Postmaster talks goals, challenges

8/13/10

Powder-filled letters sent to Texas, Illinois and Massachusetts -

Postal Service strives to maintain a deep bench for executive jobs -

Could a retail slowdown help mail advertising? -

Customers urge Postal Service to go digital -

NALC Convention Chronicle - Third Session (PDF) -

Mail carriers battle biting dogs  |  Postal Carrier: A Dangerous Job -

2 years for check-stealing postal worker -

UPS, Postal Service team up to make returns easier -

Postal Service change will allow troops in Iraq and Afghanistan to receive cigarettes by mail -

National League of Postmasters: Postal Service Must Improve Local Management and Fill 3,000 Postmaster Vacancies (PDF) -

Flushing: Return The Post Office

New Alcoa postmaster wants to improve customer service

8/12/10

Letter to Rep. Gallegly: Confessions of a Former Station Manager -

Transcript of 2nd Day of Testimony on Exigent Rate Case (PDF) -

Transcript of 1st Day of Testimony on Exigent Rate Case (PDF) -

Congressman proposes online program to let citizens choose which mail gets delivered -

USPS to Struggling Publications: Take a Hike -

Offering Sensor Network Services Using the Postal Delivery Vehicle Fleet (PDF)  |  Slide Presentation (PDF) -

Why Does USPS Make Retiring Difficult When It Has So Many Excess Employees? Tough Question #5 -

Treasury Goes Green, Saves Green (Treasury to eliminate option to purchase paper savings bonds through payroll deductions for federal employees) -

8/11/10

NALC Convention Chronicle - Second Session (PDF) -

Postcom summary of PRC hearing on exigent rate case (USPS needs to raise rates 25% over next two years) -

Woman pleads guilty to embezzling from post office -

Magazine will cater to mobile readers -

Comment: Postal service has too many supervisors -

8/10/10

NALC Convention Chronicle - First Session (PDF) -

Postal employee admits to massive mail theft -

Would fixing the retiree health issue 'solve' the liquidity problem? -

Mail carrier killed after being hit by oncoming car -

Post offices to consolidate in Central New York -

Law snuffs out mailing smokes to deployed troops -

Is the Postal Service facing 'bankruptcy?' -

Rally to be Held Wednesday for Downtown Tyler Post Office

Hubbard Woods post office to close

Netflix to stream Paramount, Lionsgate, MGM movies

8/09/10

Rolando Pledges Increased Letter Carriers' Push to Retain Nationwide Saturday Mail Delivery -

APWU: Support Crucial Postal Bills -

USPS Files Quarterly Report (PDF) -

Comments of Sen. Collins on Exigent Rate Case (PDF) -

NALC 67th Biennial Convention is This Week -

Standard Mail increase is fiscal Q3 bright spot for Postal Service -

Should Internet retailers print catalogs? -

Dallas-area pastor is latest victim of bioterror hoax -

Temporary work turns into permanent career for Welcome postmaster

PRC: Schedule for three public hearings on exigent rate increase -

8/08/10

Police units sniff out mail stuffed with illegal drugs -

How to save the US Postal Service -

8/07/10

Torrington mail carrier bitten by pit bull -

Postal Service seeks $4 billion waiver on upcoming retiree health fund payment -

Security camera captures man taking package -

Drudge Report picks up the Postal Service story -

USPS OIG Audit Report: Fiscal Year 2010 PostalOne! Outage (PDF) -

USPS Financial Update: Board of Governors' Open Session (PDF) -

Yosemite's piano man is also the postmaster

8/06/10

Experts say ending Saturday mail delivery will harm small town America -

USPS OIG Audit Report: Postal Vehicle Service Transportation Routes - Washington Network Distribution Center (PDF) -

Atlanta: $25K Reward Offered in P.O. Robbery -

USPS may be unable to make payment into retiree health fund -

Installation ceremony for postmaster takes place

8/05/10

Consolidating Delivery Units -

Chinese gang leader is arrested for Wilton postal thefts -

Mail carriers protest as USPS losses reach $3.5 billion -

Syracuse: Postal Service considering consolidating letter carriers to neighboring municipalities -

Postal Service board to meet: larger deficit expected -

Businesses divided on Saturday mail -

Former letter carrier and accused pipe bomber to represent himself -

Borough mail carrier reflects on 40 years

Rough and Ready Post Office signs on for another five years

8/04/10

How do you mail a top-secret letter? -

USPS OIG: Level 1 evaluators took an average 2.2 years to process employee ideas (PDF) -

USPS Testimony Released in Gamefly Case; DVD Shipping Process Detailed -

Seattle letter carriers to picket Thursday -

Postal regulation makes it hard to send tobacco products to the troops -

Postal worker helps choking bar owner -

APWU: Norton Urges USPS Stamp Committee to Honor Members Killed in 2001 Anthrax Attack -

Letter Carrier Hailed Life-Saver

8/03/10

Mailman charged with dealing drugs on route -

APWU: Major Mailers Make Billions, But Demand Postal Worker Pay Cuts -

Chaffetz's biggest donors: Postal unions  |  Chaffetz bill would create 12 mail holidays -

Do Postal Execs Want to Lose Money on Periodicals? Tough Question #4 for USPS -

Zumbox 2.0 Delivers the Future of Postal Mail -

New London post office to reduce retail counter hours -

USPS Names Vogel as President, Mailing and Shipping Services  |  Replaces Bernstock -

Response of USPS to Motion of Affordable Mail Alliance to Dismiss Request (PDF) -

Baby birds die during shipment to Arkansas -

Green Bay postmark lives on -

8/02/10

Postal Service starts hiring freeze for administrative jobs -

Bernstock Just Won't Go Away -

Lawmakers look to halt US five-day service -

Postal worker gets prison time for trashing more than 3,000 pieces of mail -

8/01/10

The Post Office Wants You to Know They Caught the Thief Who Stole Your Shirt -

Of the late-night sorts -

Fed. government to seek life imprisonment for Wytheville Post Office gunman -

OIG Audit Report - Flats Sequencing System: Program Status and Projected Cash Flow (PDF) -

Kewanee mail carrier saves woman

August Audiobooks Review by Jonathan Lowe

TOP NEWS STORIES

Postmaster, Supervisor Associations Ask OIG to Investigate Pay-for-Performance Payouts (PDF) "Our request for an investigation is not based simply on reduced monetary payouts due to manipulation of the program. Rather, we are requesting this investigation based on the failure of the USPS to comply with the administrative rules of the PFP. NAPUS and the League have received many complaints from throughout the country." -

USPS Loses $764 Million in July (PDF) The U.S. Postal Service lost $764 million in July according to preliminary financial information released by the PRC. Total mail volume was up .09% over SPLY and total workhours were down 5.0%. YTD the USPS has lost $6.143 billion while total mail volume is down 4.3% SPLY. - USPS July Preliminary Financials: Oh, the Questions They Raise -

Postal Workers Protest Saturday Delivery Cut "Hundreds of postal workers attending their national convention in Detroit have marched through downtown in protest of plans to suspend mail delivery on Saturdays. The Detroit News reports that the blue-shirted American Postal Workers Union members chanted "Five day, no way" as they walked Tuesday from Cobo Center to Campus Martius. The Rev. Jesse Jackson participated." - 3,000 postal workers march to protest cost-cutting moves -

USPS Heads to the 'Office' "Customers at select Office Depot stores across the country now have another option for shipping services. The Postal Service and the office supplies retailer have partnered to make USPS shipping and mailing products available at 1,083 Office Depot stores. "We're excited to extend some of the best shipping values in the country to Office Depot customers, at a time and place that's convenient to them," said Paul Vogel, president, Mailing and Shipping Services." - Office Depot to sell Postal Service products - USPS setting up shop in Office Depot -

Ex-Mail Carrier Lived Large Off False Disability Claim "In 2005, Harrington said she injured her neck while lifting a mail tray. She ended up collecting more than $193,000 in disability payments in a four-year time span. Federal investigators looked into Harrington's activities after she filled out a marketing survey. Records show Harrington became a certified scuba diver and purchased a $150,000 boat and named it "Free Ride." She skied in Switzerland, traveled to Iceland, Asia and the Bahamas." -

Boston: Hub post office hit with $357g in safety fines "In Boston alone, OSHA inspectors found nine workplace violations. OSHA spokesman Ted Fitzgerald said those violations include workers using bar-code readers and elevator-control panels without proper training or gear. Last week, meanwhile, the U.S. Labor Department indicated that the number of violations and fines would increase. In a federal court filing, Labor Secretary Hilda Solis said the postal service has another 260 processing and distribution centers with similar hazards." - APWU: Department of Labor Files Motion to Consolidate USPS Electrical Safety Charges -

USPS posts $3.5 billion loss as mail volume plunges "The U.S. Postal Service reported a $3.5 billion loss in its most recent quarter Thursday, as mail volume plummets and retiree health care costs mount. The USPS, a self-supporting government agency that receives no tax dollars, said operating revenue declined 1.8% to $16 billion during the fiscal 2010 third quarter compared to a year earlier, while operating expenses spiked 4.2% to $19.5 billion." - USPS Press Release - Why are the finances worse than expected? -

6 cities to train mail carriers to dispense anti-terror drugs "Six years after the government began exploring the idea of using postal workers as rapid-response medicine dispensers and eight months after President Obama ordered government agencies to develop a plan to do so, efforts are underway in six cities to train workers to deliver the drugs needed to counter anthrax or other potentially deadly agents, the White House says. The White House won't name the six cities, and Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Amy Kudwa says she can't talk about whether more cities are interested in the voluntary program." -