September 30, 2007-

Could A Federal 'Do Not Mail' List Be On The Way?
Interest on Capitol Hill is growing to create a government-run "Do Not Mail" list to fight back against the mountains of junk mail clogging Americans' mailboxes. Across the country, at least 15 states are currently considering no-mail lists that are loosely based on the wildly popular Do Not Call list that gave us back our dinner hours free from telemarketers. Now some in Congress are mulling a federal junk-mail registry, as well. But proponents face a ferocious fight from the U.S. Postal Service, which stands to lose billions of dollars of revenue from direct-mail marketers if consumers can slam their mail slots shut to the come-ons.  |

New Management Instruction, Piece Count Recording System   |

Teamsters, UPS Reach Tentative Contract Agreement   |

Girlfriend found mailman's body after returning to apartment for lunch

Satire: Postal Stamp Shortage Busts Loose

Couple playing post office for keeps

September 29, 2007-

Dancing Mailman Retires

Japan Set to Privatize Postal System
Carriers can cross lawns  |

Sen. Tester intervenes in post-office closure

Car Smashes Into Colton Post Office

September 28, 2007-

Postal Manager Jailed for Faking ID of Congressman's Aide in Phony E-mails

After failing to land a job as a U.S. postmaster, Gerardo Boloy berated the post office's spokesman in an angry e-mail -- pretending to be a Florida congressman's aide, authorities say. That landed him in jail. He was charged this week in Miami-Dade for allegedly claiming to be the chief of staff for U.S. Rep. Tim Mahoney, a Palm Beach Gardens Democrat. A manager at the Port St. Lucie post office, Boloy had applied for the job of postmaster in Stuart. He was one of two finalists for the job. But on Nov. 6, a postal committee chose a man named Joel Ouellette, according to the U.S. Postal Service Office of the Inspector General, which spearheaded the investigation.   |

APWU Raises Concerns Over USPS Instructions To Managers Regarding Weingarten Rights

 The APWU sent a letter to the Postal Service raising concerns about a draft notification to supervisors and managers instructing them how to apply employees’ rights under the Supreme Court's Weingarten decision. The instructions state in part that "if the employee requests a union steward at any time, before or during the interview, or in any way indicates that he/she wants representation, the supervisor must do one of three things: “(3) you must offer the employee the choice of continuing the interview without a steward, or of having no interview at all and therefore losing the benefit that the interview might have given to him or her.” [emphasis added] . This is not appropriate.   |

California Community Going Postal Over USPS Plans
"Residents of Aliso Viejo's Village Cottages community are about to 'go postal' over the plans by the United States Postal Service to build a 417,294 square foot mail distribution center 70 feet from residents' bedroom windows. "I measured the distance from the edge of this community to the land over there with my big yellow tape measure, and it does not lie," said Mike Hammond, a community resident and co-organizer of the night's event. "And giant delivery trucks will be going in and out of there everyday." "We kept asking them to build a post office there, and they kept saying, 'No, sorry, we don't have the money,'" said Aliso Viejo Mayor Carmen Cave. "But we never expected them to do this." |

APWU Local President charged with mail theft

(Florida) A U.S. Postal Service worker who also is president of the local union has been arrested on two felony counts related to mail theft. Bobby R. Pruett of Crestview was arrested Wednesday on one count of opening mail and one count of stealing items from the mail. According to his indictment, he took two cigarette lighters, two Victoria’s Secret free panty cards, a Florida State University neoprene bottle cooler and an Apple iPod.  |

At Age 82, Postal Worker Puts Final Stamp On 43-Year Career

That’s May McGee, the 82-year old window clerk who has sent probably thousands of packages and letters across the world but who, ironically enough, hasn’t left the village very much in that time. With deteriorating knees, McGee said her physician said it has become simply too impractical and difficult for her to remain on the job, one she started late in life in 1966. |

Postal protest  Brings Changes At Queens, NY Post Office
After receiving complaints by Corona and Elmhurst residents, Queens Postmaster William Rogers has vowed to institute changes at the post office branch located at Junction Boulevard and 59th Avenue in Elmhurst. That location currently serves more than 204,500 local residents, but many complained that they are dissatisfied with long lines, slow service and lack of Spanish-speaking employees. |

Connecticut postal worker 'set for life'

Vernon postal clerk on Queer Eye show for third time
Martin City Post Office closes
Sting nets Contract postal carrier

USPS Seeks Interim Solution for Hawleyville
USPS taps Northrop to analyze systems

Postal policy errs: IPC study

September 27, 2007-

AFL-CIO Transportation Unions Focus on Stopping Outsourcing At USPS

Postal worker faces trial for stealing 214 free movie coupons  |

College fund set up for slain postal worker's daughter

USPS must reform its measures to manage the rate reform

Colorado: Main post office offers bilingual kiosk

Settlement reached in fatal hit and run of Postal Worker

Northrop Grumman receives postal order
APWU Officers’ Election Ends Oct. 5
FedEx Gives Up Contractor Model in California

Postal Bulletin 9/27/07 Issue

September 26, 2007-

USPS Reports $5.4 Billion Deficit for FY 2007

Projects net loss of $600 million in 2008 - For fiscal 2007, the Postal Service projects revenues of $75.0 billion and expenses of $80.4 billion for a projected net loss of $5.4 billion. The net loss of $5.4 billion includes operating income of $1.5 billion and a $6.9 billion negative financial impact from the Postal Act of 2006 — which includes a $3.0 billion one-time escrow expense, which was required under the previous law, an additional $5.4 billion payment into the Retiree Health Benefit Fund for 2007, and $1.5 billion in savings from the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) relief. Postal Service racks up $5.4B deficit in ’07  |

NALC Contract Implementation Dates Set
$686 cash payment on Oct. 19, back pay on Nov. 30 - "President William H. Young announced on September 26 that the lump sum payment of $686 to cash out the COLA from November 2006 through May 2007 will be included in carriers' October 19 paychecks. The back pay for active carriers related to the 1.4% general wage increase covering the period between November 25, 2006 and the end of Pay Period 20 (September 28) will be paid in their regular paychecks on November 30."  |

It's back in line for post office users

"The U.S. Postal Service joined the "self-service" bandwagon a few years ago by installing thousands of free-standing kiosks known as APCs. Similar to an ATM, many are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to enable customers to weigh and mail letters and purchase stamps quickly. The U.S. Post Office on Route 50 decided to remove their ACP because customers weren't using the machine enough to meet the standard $400 a day income, said Freda Sauter, U.S. Postal Service spokeswoman for the Baltimore district." |

Postal Clerk guilty in $65,000 heist

A postal clerk was convicted yesterday of masterminding a $65,000 armed heist at the Brooklyn post office where he worked. Derrek Pannell, 33, faces more than 30 years in prison when he's sentenced Jan. 25, postal authorities said. Pannell and two accomplices entered the James E. Davis Post Office in Crown Heights in the early hours of Nov. 15, 2005, tied up six employees and forced the station manager to open a safe at gunpoint. Archive: Clerk's Delivery Aided Heist  |

Postal Supervisor Gets Probation for Stealing from the Mail

A former employee at Peoria's post office was sentenced Monday to federal probation for removing greeting and birthday cards from the mail and taking money that was inside. Jerry Redshaw had waived indictment by a federal grand jury in May and pleaded guilty to one count of theft by a postal employee. In addition to the probation, he was sentenced to four months home confinement and two months work release, said his attorney Kevin Sullivan. Beginning in 2006 and lasting until March, Redshaw, who was the supervisor of distribution operations at the Postal Service's Downtown branch, removed colored envelopes from the mail. Redshaw told authorities he took the items because he was in a financial bind.  |

Postmaster says he'll dye hair pink for breast cancer

Barrington postal workers have until Oct. 30 to sell $5,000 worth of Breast Cancer Awareness stamps, and if they do, new Postmaster Steven M. Santilli will dye his hair pink .  |

OPM’s Medical Questionnaire by Robert McGill, Esq.

EEOC: Oral Hearing or Final Agency Decision? by J.R. Pritchett

Customers tired of lines at Pecos post office

Rural postal carrier makes the rounds for more than 30 years

Creston to discuss post office closing

New Stamp Unveiled for Hispanic Heritage Series

Lakehill community continues fight for post office

USPS OIG Audit Reports:

• Marina P&DC Consolidation (PDF)

• Bronx P&DC Consolidation (PDF)

• Mail Condition Reporting at SF ISC (PDF)

• Clock Ring Operations at Margaret Sellers P&DC (PDF

September 25, 2007-

Postmaster Ordered To Pay Back Money He Stole - But Keeps Job

Eagle Postmaster Samuel McGibbon pleaded guilty to a felony Monday and was ordered Monday to pay back $6,630 he stole from the Eagle Post Office, said Eagle County District Attorney Mark Hurlbert. McGibbon paid his wife, Evelyn McGibbon — who also goes by Evelyn McNair — $35,000 for landscaping and snow removal services at the Eagle Post Office that she never performed, authorities said. McGibbon pleaded guilty to felony theft and misdemeanor failure to disclose a conflict of interest. McGibbon did not lose his job, but plans on retiring in October, Hurlbert said. |

Major expansion planned for Providence P&DC to accommodate FSS machines

 "The federal agency wants to build a 153,000-square-foot structure next to the existing 245,000-square-foot building to house three enormous machines used to sort large envelopes and magazines. The Flat Sequencing Sorter machines take up 30,000 square feet each, according to Bob Conroy, activation coordinator for the local USPS. Similar expansions are under way at USPS facilities across the nation, said Christine Dugas, spokeswoman for the USPS.  |

Postal Service gets stamp of disapproval

35-Pound Medical Waste Mail Packages Approved

September 24, 2007-

Bioterror drill tests medicine delivery by mail carriers

Mail delivery to your front door... on a Sunday? Some city residents saw the postman on an unusual day -- in a drill to practice facing a dangerous threat. The federal government funded the exercise, which involved staff from federal, state, and local agencies. Thirty postal carriers in South Boston and West Roxbury delivered small, empty boxes to 23,000 homes. The boxes were meant to mimic antibiotics to treat people exposed to a bioterror attack. Mail carriers would be a first line of defense. Anthrax drill is met with relief and skepticism  |

USPS Workforce Size and Employment Categories, 1986-2006

Congressional Research Service (CRS) Report : "This report provides data from the past two decades on the size of the U.S. Postal Service workforce, the number of persons employed by USPS by employment categories, and the number of persons employed by USPS under time-limited contracts.  USPS employs over 784,000 persons. USPS's workforce declined about 1% during the past two decades, and nearly 12% in the past five years. The number of career employees declined over 6% since 1986, and the number of non-career employees increased more than 62%. Clerks, who staff retail counters at post offices and manually sort mail, dropped about 26%. Rural mail delivery employees, however, grew more than 84%, and three categories of employees directly involved in the transportation of mail prior to its delivery grew between 8.9% and 26.9%. |

Rural Mail Carrier Convicted of Possession of Stolen Mail

Don't charge for mail sent to troops; More mail would boost morale

Mail carrier goes the extra mile

If collection box isn't used much, Postal Service will remove obstacle

September 23, 2007-

Postal Service Pulls Plug on TVs

Several years ago, the agency had wall-mounted TVs installed at many post offices around the country in order to play videos about new Postal Service products and services. They weren’t supposed to be used to show movies or TV shows. Now the TVs aren’t supposed to be used at all. The Postal Service now uses countertop and lobby displays, not broadcasts, to market its products and services. A few months ago, the agency started trying to get the word out to all of its offices to either remove the TVs or, if that was expensive, to simply leave them off.  |

Slain postal worker remembered as role model

 On Monday, 9/17, City Letter Carrier Stephen Spina was stabbed to death in his apartment  on day off from the Larchmont, NY PO. According to NALC President Robert Morton he was a member of Branch 693.  |

USPS to stop mail delivery to Carova Beach

September 22, 2007-

Appeals Court Overturns Postal Worker’s Conviction for Theft

Michael Sargent, a former Bulk Mail Technician, won a reversal of his conviction and sentence of 30 months in prison for theft of public property and theft of postal service property. An Appeals Court ruled that 1) the district court erred by holding that USPS proved Postage Statements [PS Form 3607] had “value” in excess of $1,000 which is a felony.  The 29-year postal employee was convicted for failing to charge customers over $400,000 in bulk mail shipments — because he said he wanted to bankrupt the United States Postal Service, in part because of a missed promotion and its overtime policy . Sargent was fired by USPS years ago |   See decision USA vs. Sargent (PDF)  |

Former Oklahoma Postmaster Indicted

It's a position of authority, trust and honor. But, a Federal Grand Jury says a former postmaster from Chattanooga and Hastings violated these qualities. He's been indicted on three charges for not reporting thousands of dollars worth of money order sales. Court documents reveal that 40 year old Timothy Thomas did it while he was the acting Postmaster in Chatty back in October of 2003.  The indictment says he did the same thing two more times after taking over the postmaster position in Hastings in 2004.  |

Morgan P&DC gets makeover to save birds

Last fall, over the course of a few weeks, volunteers from the city’s chapter of the Audubon Society recorded 338 migratory birds killed or injured after striking the Morgan Processing and Distribution Center. Following recommendations from an architectural consultant, the service contracted a specialty glass restoration company, to place black vinyl film over each of the decorative panels, which are not windows. The work was completed in July and, according to Pat McGovern, a post office spokeswoman, the project cost $201,000. |

eNAPUS: Unresolved Budget Issues Plague Congress (PDF)

Future of Fruitland's post office unclear

County frustrated with USPS dealings in Eagan

Mail truck wrecks, snarling I-64 traffic
Postal Service prepares to move P&DC out of downtown Boston
Mailers Technical Advisory Committee issues service standards recommendations

September 21, 2007-

NALC to Meet With USPS To Implement Provisions of New Contract

Young and other national NALC officers are meeting regularly with officials of the USPS to begin implementing the provisions of the new contract. No dates have been set for making the $686 cash payment, implementing the November 2006 wage hike of 1.4 percent, or issuing back pay for the 2006 retroactive increase. However, details on these and other matters are expected to be announced by September 28.  |

APWU Seeks Further Clarification on Absences of 3 Days or Less  |

Photo: Three’s A Crowd at This Kentucky Post Office

House Bill Introduced to Promote Temporary Rehiring Of Retirees

Petition: Bring Back the USPS International Surface Mail Service

Mail Carriers Honored for Heroic Acts

Oak Grove post office a parcel of past

September 20, 2007-

Fired Postal Worker Featured in Push to Expand Reservist Job Rights

The plight of two reservists who appear to have lost their civilian jobs as a result of military service will be featured at a Thursday press conference to rally support for a bill that would increase penalties for employers who violate federal employment and re-employments rights laws for military personnel. Richard Erickson of Fort Myers, Fla., was fired from the U.S. Postal Service for what his termination letter says was excessive use of military leave. Erickson, a National Guard Special Forces sergeant major who already had served one tour in Afghanistan was terminated because postal officials calculated he had missed more than five years of work since 1991 because of his military service and was about to be mobilized for another 18 months.  |

Ex- Postmaster Indicted on Embezzlement, Child Pornography Charges

 (West Virginia) A former Postmaster was indicted by a federal grand jury Tuesday for alleged possession of child pornography and 82 counts of embezzlement. Lorenzo Leak Jr. was the Postmaster at the Falling Waters Post Office [since 2001] when the alleged offenses occurred between 2004 and 2006. He allegedly had possession of a computer disk with about 100 child pornography images on it that he viewed on a computer at that post office, according to the indictment. He also allegedly cashed 82 money orders that enriched him by more than $11,000.  |

Postmaster General Champions Value of Mail on National Broadcast

 "Potter spoke of the new competitive environment created by the postal law and the ways the Postal Service has been working to understand and implement the opportunities, including setting service and measurement standards for every class of mail, being profit-driven, and redefining the rate and pricing processes."  |

APWU: Information on Missing USPS Laptops Containing Personal Data of Employees

The APWU is disseminating information related to a series of notifications the union has received from the USPS concerning missing laptop computers containing personal and confidential information on APWU bargaining unit employees. Notwithstanding notification to employees and management assurances, the Union believes that the Postal Service’s response to these incidents, particularly the time it has taken to notify the Union and employees, is unsatisfactory. In addition, we are not satisfied to date that management has taken adequate steps to prevent future incidents, as evidenced by the ongoing nature of these occurrences. |

APWU: Union Vows to Fight On at DHL in Eastern PA

Despite losing a union-representation election, an APWU-led organizing committee will press on in its campaign for workers’ rights at a sorting facility just outside of Allentown, PA. |

At Thrift Savings Plan, a Major Upgrade

Poor customer service at Ahwatukee post office is unacceptable
Postman earns national honor

PO'd at the PO: People protest poor accessibility
Lakehills loses Post Office, again

Man Indicted in 'Bishop' Pipe Bomb Mailings

Canada Post: Deliver advertising, or else

September 19, 2007-

3 Generations Have Walked The Same Postal Route
(Montpelier, Vermont) "Craig Montgomery has three photographs he treasures: One is of his grandfather, Harold Montgomery, delivering the mail to an address off Elm Street. Another is of his father, Dave, delivering mail in the very same spot. The third is of Craig himself, following in his father's and grandfather's footsteps - literally. Father, son and postal officials think the Montgomerys are one of very few, if not the only, families in which three generations have carried mail on the same route. "It might just prove that stupidity is hereditary," Dave jokes.  |

USPS Responds to APWU Inquiry Regarding Absences of 3 Days or Less

APWU 8-27-07 letter - "It has been called to my attention that through the application of the RMD/eRMS, local management is improperly requiring employees to submit medical documentation or other acceptable evidence for future absences of 3 days or less. As you know, it is improper for management to deem documentation desirable for 3 days or less based on a review of an employee attendance record." USPS response: "As far as the Postal Service is concerned, there is no dispute or disagreement regarding the conditions under which an employee may be required to submit medical documentation or other acceptable evidence for periods of absence of 3 days or less." |

City proposes fines for cars blocking mailboxes

Tullahoma postal worker to plead guilty on stealing prescriptions

APWU Slashes Employees' Costs For Consumer Driven Health Plan

At Thrift Savings Plan, a Major Upgrade

Neighbor says vandalism preceded stabbing of mailman

September 18, 2007-

Ergonomic Work Group Discus Denver NIOSH DBCS Investigation

Postal worker found stabbed to death

USPS Board of Governors to Meet Sept. 25-26, 2007 in Washington, DC

Retirement hasn't slowed down former postal worker

Can't touch this - City's New Mailboxes deliver security

Officials hoping to save Hawleyville post office

The unvarnished truth: Natick post office mural gets fresh look

Looking back: Dangerous letters from Trenton

September 17, 2007-

Postal Workers Didn't Deliver, But Still Got Paid
GRAND RAPIDS -- If not rain nor snow nor dark of night, what did prompt reports last winter that mail went undelivered on the Northwest Side of Grand Rapids? The Postal Service isn't saying, even though nearly half of the 59 letter carriers from the postal station at 1625 Walker Ave. NW faced suspensions ranging from two days to nine months. The last of the suspensions of 29 workers ended in August. But officials refused to reveal details. In fact, with the help of their unions and arbitration, all of the workers received back pay for their time off, said Jim Mruk, spokesman for the Postal Service Great Lakes Region in Chicago. No one was fired, and no criminal charges were brought, he said. One complaint was that carriers returned correctly addressed first-class mail to the post office and marked it as undeliverable. |

Customers at NY Post Office on Verge of 'Going Postal' Over Long Lines

The survey found that more than 70% of customers said they waited at least 20 minutes, with over a third routinely waiting longer than 30 minutes. "They need to get more people to work and there are always stalls that are always empty," said Edgar Bonnet, 33, a painter from Corona who was there recently to pick up mail. "It's real bad."   |

Postal Tractor-Trailer Stolen and Set on Fire

Post Office helps grieving Warren woman

Postman nabbed for theft

September 16, 2007-

USPS Halts Brooklyn Post Office’s Charity Fund To Send Packages to Troops

For more than three years, residents in Dyker Heights and across New York have been able to maintain a free line of communication with U.S. troops overseas. Back in 2003, employees at the Dyker Heights Post Office initiated a Military Postage Fund, which covered the costs of packages sent from their office to army personnel stationed in Iraq, Afghanistan and other countries where troops are deployed. Those activities have now been “frozen” after the Department of Labor Relations of the United States Postal Service (USPS) last week halted the program due to a violation of ethics. The attorney at USPS who first reported the violation to officials said the program’s activities were a breach of the Standards of Ethical Conduct as well as the Conduct on Postal Property regulations.  |

Thieves ransack boxes in Ventura

More to delivering the mail than putting letters in boxes

Shift in Congress Favors Labor, UPS Over FedEx
OSC: 40-Day Suspension For Hatch Act Violator - The employee sent a partisan political email to 27 work colleagues while on duty and in the federal workplace. The email invited recipients to a party the employee was co-hosting where a candidate for Colorado Secretary of State would be a special guest. The message described the candidate in favorable terms, contained a link to the candidate’s campaign website, and stated that it would be a “treat” to hear the candidate speak. After investigating, OSC found that the employee violated the Hatch Act by engaging in political activity while on duty and/or in a federal building.

September 15, 2007-

GA: Prunes force evacuation of Sandy Springs post office

NY: Cops stamp out thieves in Queens postal truck robbery

NY: Blind woman, 82, rescued from fire by neighbor, postal worker

September 14, 2007-

APWU Seeks Justice for 'Jena Six'
"The American Postal Workers Union will join with other progressive forces at a demonstration in Jena, LA, to protest the excessively disparate punishment of six African-American high school students who were embroiled in a racially tinged altercation. President William Burrus urges APWU members to participate. Locals should notify the Human Relations Department of their plans by calling 202-842-4270. The national union will reimburse locals for the cost of chartering buses for the protest. "This union will not sit idly by as justice is perverted and children of any color are victimized by their communities" Burrus said. APWU: New Developments in the Case of the 'Jena Six' | 'Jena six' incident spurs racial unrest | Court overturns conviction in Jena beating  |

PRC Vice Chairman Dawn Tisdale to Leave Post in November

Dawn A. Tisdale, vice chairman of the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC), announced today that he will leave the Commission on November 22, 2007. He has advised President George W. Bush that he will not seek renomination.   |

NALC: To become president, first you have to show up (PDF)

NALC has a long tradition of nonpartisan support for politicians who support the Postal Service and the rights and benefits of letter carriers. But if Republican presidential candidates think they can get this union’s endorsement by ignoring legitimate questions concerning contracting out, do not mail legislation, union organizing, Social Security and health care, they are foolishly mistaken. There is a lesson in that for the Republicans. As another famous comedian noted, “Ninety percent of life is just showing up.”  |

Mail stopped due to flea infestation

Since July, mail for more than a dozen apartments at 94 Carole Court in Massapequa have stopped having their mail delivered after postal workers were reported being bitten by fleas that have infested the area. Bees Stick It To U.S. Post Office - Thomas Morman goes to collect his mail every day -- but comes out empty. An apple tree, dozens of fallen apples and swarming bees are to blame.. "The post office stopped delivery... it's not safe for them to stand there and put mail in the boxes," Mormon complains.   |

DHL Workers Say No to Union
APWU Will Appeal Vote - Workers at DHL in Upper Macungie Township turned down forming a union, according to results released today by the National Labor Relations Board. The employees, who help sort packages shipped around the Northeast, voted 217-135 against union representation, according to Scott C. Thompson, deputy regional attorney with the NLRB in Philadelphia. The American Postal Workers Union said it would appeal the vote, accusing DHL of influencing the anti-union vote. |

Robber hits Jewell Post Office

Postmaster injured after fighting with thief - According to investigators, the man tied the female postmaster up with postal tape and a cord, the sheriff said. The robber made off with an undisclosed amount of money and some money orders, Sheriff Peebles said. While attempting to flee to a car, the robber reportedly dropped his wallet - containing his license and social security card - and a pair of sunglasses, Sheriff Peebles said. The woman received an injury to the nose and suffered bruises on her hands and arms in her attempt to fight off the robber. She later freed herself and went to a residence seeking help.  |

Mechanicsville postal workers cover a lot of distance to move mail

National Officers Election Ballots Mailed to Members

National Safety-and-Health Program Renewed

Health Insurance Costs to Rise 2.1% Next Year

Stamp Honors 60th Anniversary of Landmark Desegregation Case
No robo-post office, yet, for Hudson St

Watsonville postman saves the day, twice

Postmaster stamps out building talk

September 13, 2007-

Ask President Burrus

Whatever Happened to Hiring Retired Postal Employees to Perform Retail Services? - During the 2006 contract negotiations, the APWU and USPS agreed to create a task force to establish Retail Sales Associate positions in commercial establishments, staffed with employees to be hired by the union and contracted to the Postal Service. Since we established the task force, however, Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) introduced a bill (S. 2003) that would permit federal retirees to return to federal employment on a part-time basis, without sacrificing their annuity or health benefits. The APWU supports this legislation, and we urge our members to contact their senators and representatives and ask that they support S. 2003. |

Mansfield postal union fears work will be moved after flood cleanup

Direct Mailers Organize to Fight Anti-Junk Mail Forces

Postal service still reliable

Postal Service stretching it in Brooklyn

Postman Rex brings stamps and smiles to NMSU
Postal Bulletin 9/13/2007 Issue

Boston Letter Carriers to Test Delivery of Emergency Medications

Reward Offered For Post Office Bandit
 

September 12, 2007-

NALC Endorses Hillary Clinton

The 300,000-member National Association of Letter Carriers (AFL-CIO) today endorsed Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) in the 2008 presidential election. NALC President William H. Young announced the action by the union’s 28-member Executive Council at a news briefing at NALC Headquarters in Washington. Senator Clinton joined in the announcement ceremony. Young said the endorsement comes after Senator Clinton was the clear choice in a nationwide survey of all NALC members on their preference among candidates who responded to a questionnaire. Clinton Gets Letter Carriers Endorsement | NALC Set to Endorse Presidential Candidate  |

Postal Worker Killed in Accident
He was on the clock doing his job, taking mail downtown when it happened. Stunned postal workers looked visited the crash scene where their colleague, Matt Zebin, lost control of his truck and crashed into a tree. While the cause remains unclear, it is believed Zebin may have suffered a heart attack. He worked out of the Fox Chase Post Office where his co-workers said he was very dependable. Zebin delivered mail for 18 years.  |

Court Modifies Ruling Prohibiting Contract Post Offices From Promoting Religion

A Connecticut federal district court has granted an appeal by the U.S. Postal Service to amend a declaratory judgment and injunction issued in April prohibiting contract postal units from posting displays that involve religious proselytizing. In Cooper v. United States Postal Service the court limited its ruling to the contract postal unit operated by Sincerely Yours, Inc. , eliminating an earlier ruling which applied to all contract postal units l. The court also modified its injunction to more specifically indicate the proselytizing activities of SYI that are to be prohibited.  |

Postal employee resigns after investigation into mail theft |

Woman in fight for home mail delivery

Carjacker Steals Mail Truck

September 11, 2007-

 Letter Carriers Ratify New 5-Year Contract

Contract ratified! Approved by 9-to-1 margin
A new five-year National Agreement with the Postal Service has been approved by a 104,346 to 11,895 vote of the NALC membership. Election Committee Chairman Joe DeRossi of Brooklyn, New York Branch 41, reported the official results on Tuesday afternoon.  |

NALC Set to Endorse Presidential Candidate

The 300,000-member National Association of Letter Carriers (AFL-CIO) will announce its endorsement for the 2008 presidential election on Wednesday morning, September 12 in a briefing at 11 a.m. EDT at NALC Headquarters in Washington. NALC President William H. Young will be joined by the endorsed candidate at the event.   |

APWU: National Safety-and-Health Program Renewed

Case of the missing gift cards: Mail carrier is stung
Parks Post Office Problems

Mystery Celebrity Jurors Help Postal Service Issue Jury Duty Stamp

Ironton postal worker bitten

Neither bombs nor bullets stop Baghdad's postmen

Post office machines stamped out

September 10, 2007-

Stolen Laptop Contained Postal Workers' Personal Info

Possible ID Theft Worries Postal Workers - Hundreds of postal workers around Nashville are finding out their personal information was stolen three months ago. U.S. Postal Service inspectors are looking into how the computer was stolen as postal workers are asking why it took so long for them to find out." One of my questions (is) why did it take so long for someone to contact us?” said Levan Butler of the Postal Workers Union. Butler is vice president of the union and just got a letter informing him that a post office laptop containing his name and Social Security number was stolen in May. |

Maine Letter Carrier Named 'Hero of the Year'

Calif: Longtime Walnut Creek postal worker dies

Post office line is great place for reading

Ex-mailman works to keep Danbury High safe

NALC: Where We Stand

September 09, 2007-

Former Postal Worker Gets 64 years For Murdering Wife

A 40-year-old Capitol Heights, Maryland man, Bryan Keith Wilson, Sr., was sentenced in D.C. Superior Court to a total of 64 years of incarceration for the murder of his wife, Inga Wilson, on December 13, 2003. During the subsequent investigation, it was determined that the defendant, a former letter carrier employed by the U.S. Postal Service in Hyattsville, MD, had been involved in an extra-marital affair with another postal employee... After the relationship ended, the defendant tried to win his ex-girlfriend back. He repeatedly told her that he was unhappy in his marriage and that he did not want to be married anymore.  |

Man finds a lot of mail under some bushes

The US Postal Service is trying to figure out how dozens of pieces of mail went undelivered and ended up stashed underneath some bushes instead.  |

Postal service curbs deliveries

Post office loves being stuck in past

September 07, 2007-

NALC: Ballot Count Underway
All ballots in the ratification vote on the tentative contract for 2006-2011 that were received by 11:59 p.m. Thursday, September 6, 2007, are now being counted by the Ballot Committee, chaired by Joe DeRossi of Brooklyn, New York Branch 41.  |

For-Profit Crusade Against Junk Mail
"GreenDimes is one of several companies nationwide begun in recent years to organize information about a customer's unsolicited credit card offers and money mailers, or no longer desired catalogs, and then perform the legwork to halt the flow. The company pledges to plant one tree a month for every person who registers. According to the WildWest Institute, an estimated 100 million trees are destroyed each year to produce 4.5 million tons of junk mail, with 44 percent of that thrown away unopened.  |

Postal workers assail candidate over anti-anthrax cream
Republican mayoral candidate John Bencivengo faced scathing criticism Thursday from local postal union members who called his attempt to market a hand cream to protect against anthrax a shameless attempt to profit on tragedy. former NALC President Mark P. Van Wagner and Steve Bahrle, Trenton area president of the Mail Handlers Union Local 308, said Thursday that Bencivengo's attempts to sell Skin Guard, a cream that he claimed in 2002 would protect postal workers from anthrax, was "disingenuous" and not the actions of a man who should run the township.  |

Pennsylvania Post Office Near-Total Loss After Blaze

Officials said the Post Office in Curwensville is estimated to be a near-total loss after fire tore through the roof Wednesday afternoon. Postal employees said a construction crew first alerted them to a problem at about 4:15 p.m.The crew was in the process of working on windows on the building's exterior when Patty Bressler, sales associate at the post office, said a repairman came inside and said he had to get to the attic.Travis Goodman, chief at Rescue, Hose and Ladder in Curwensville, said the crew was working near the roof line when the fire started. "I believe they were using heat guns and torches to remove the old paint and rubber," he said.  |

Bioterror drill to test distribution of drugs
A pair of guilty pleas in postal robberies

Postal Service on hunt for mail tubs

CA: Theft of Mail from Post Office Collection Box in Roseville

September 06, 2007-

APWU: USPS Determined to Move 40 Per Cent of Window Services

eNAPUS : Congressional Vacation Is Over!

NALC: CIGNA will be network provider for Health Benefit Plan in 2008
APWU: Several Local and State Elections Set for Nov. 6
Rural Delivery: Changes to Handbook PO-603

Common stocks lead August TSP earnings

September 05, 2007-

Ask President Burrus - Merger of Sister Postal Unions
What do you think about the possibility of mergers with our sister unions? If you think the possibility is slim, what do you think the major impediments are? |

Postal Inspectors Sue USPS for Overtime Pay

A postal inspector currently employed by the United States Postal Service and a retired postal inspector, sued the Postal Service alleging that the inspectors are entitled to overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act . The Postal Service does not pay postal inspectors FLSA overtime, instead claiming that their pay is governed by 39 U.S.C. § 1003(c). At issue is whether the compensation provision in § 1003(c) trumps the overtime provisions of the FLSA which requires the Postal Service to pay the inspectors on a basis of “comparability” to other similarly tasked executive branch employees and permits the Postal Service to provide “availability pay” rather than FLSA overtime. More than 60 Postal Inspectors have joined this lawsuit since it was filed in 2003.  |

APWU Questions USPS Medical Documentation Requirement for Absences of 3 Days or Less  

 It has been called to my attention that through the application of the RMD/eRMS, local management is improperly requiring employees to submit medical documentation or other acceptable evidence for future absences of 3 days or less, It is my understanding that based on a supervisor’s review of an employee’s attendance record, supervisors are making a determination that medical documentation is deem desirable (requiring an employee to submit medical documentation of other acceptable evidence) for absences of 3 days or less, for the protection of the interest of the Postal Service. As you know, it is improper for management to deem documentation desirable for 3 days or less based on a review of an employee attendance record.  |

Postal Contract Driver Dies at Mail Processing Center

A Leesburg woman was killed yesterday afternoon after she was struck by a United States Postal Service truck at the Dulles Processing and Distribution Center, according to the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office. Katherine Newell Sowers, 49, was struck by a truck that was backing out from the docking area of the facility shortly after 3 p.m. Sowers was a contracted truck driver for the postal service. She died at the scene. The sheriff's office crash reconstruction unit and the United States Postal Inspection Service are investigating the incident.  |

Postmaster's Fight for a Pay Phone In Remote Canyon, Calif.

“Can you imagine a phone being such a big deal?” the county supervisor, Gayle Uilkema, asked. “But it really is.”Last year AT&T decided remove the pay phone because it was not making enough money, and dispatched a worker to dismantle it. He ran smack into Elena Tyrrell, Canyon’s second-generation postmistress, who persuaded him to spare his target, at least temporarily. Ms. Tyrrell has experience challenging authority. Despite United States Postal Service rules, her mutt, Joe, accompanies her to work. And after a service inspection team advised her that all documents had to be behind glass and pulled baby pictures and postcards from the wall, she put them back up. The inspectors did not like the old-fashioned clock either — patrons should not know how long they had been waiting. But since there is never a line, Ms. Tyrrell put it back on the wall, she said.  |

USPS Awards $54.6 Million Contract For More DBCS Machines

Postal Service Named One of the Best Places for Hispanics

Shady Point woman faces 10 years in prison

Mail damaged by arsonist
Burlington's new postmaster officially takes command

New Haven "Hashthrax" Update
Postal worker's dream is to be the 'Rachael Ray' of Indian food

Tractor-trailer overturns on turnpike ramp

Woman Killed While Checking Mailbox

September 04, 2007-

(Calif.) Pit bull attacks letter carrier in Westminster
"A pit bull named Maggie viciously attacked a mail carrier making his rounds Tuesday morning, knocking down him down and repeatedly biting him in the face, authorities said. The dog belongs to the same Westminster woman who went to court trying to save her pit-bull mix Brutus from being euthanized after the dog bit a woman in the lip. Mail carrier David Carroll, a 16-year veteran of the postal service, is recovering from several bites on his cheeks and forehead, said Larry Dozier, spokesman for the U.S. Postal Service. He was treated and released. It is the second time in less than three weeks that a Southern California mail carrier has been attacked by a pit bull."  |

Some Reservists May Be Due Back Pay From 1980

An estimated 100,000 to 300,000 current and former reservists employed as federal government civilians may be able to recoup money for leave days that were improperly charged to them dating back to 1980. The Federal Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Aug. 28 that Jose Hernandez, a retired Air Force civilian aircraft mechanic, was entitled to be considered for reimbursement for leave that was charged to him from 1980 to 2001, and sent his case back to the federal Merit Systems Protection Board for reconsideration. Archive: Postal Employee Challenges USPS Over Military Leave |

Federal Register: Postal Ratemaking System

UPS said to reach deal to withdraw from Teamsters pension plan

September 03, 2007-

Labor Day Not About Workers Anymore

Labor Day used to be about labor. Before the Jerry Lewis Muscular Dystrophy telethon and all those "spectacular" end-of-summer sales came along, Labor Day was about honoring working Americans. There were Labor Day parades and Labor Day picnics. Now the parades have all but disappeared, and the picnics aren't what they used to be. Faces of Labor: Mailman  |

Rural Carrier Goes To Trial After Charged With Abandoning Mail

A rural postal carrier charged with abandoning 176 pieces of mail is scheduled to go on trial in Greenville on Wednesday, according to federal court records. Robert McWhorter was working for the U.S. Postal Service in Iva on Jan. 3 when authorities allege that he quit and put the third-class mail in a recycling bin, according to an indictment.  |

Your Postman may be a pastor

By day, the Rev. Mark Wold delivers mail on a rural route in Polk County. On Sundays, he is the assistant pastor at Peace Lutheran Church in Kissimmee.  |

Workingamerica.org: My Bad Boss Contest

Commentary: Service performance measurement

September 02, 2007-

Archive: Postal Carrier Fired for Lottery Win  

New Hereford postmaster has experience working in areas that are growing

Longtime mailman finishes his appointed rounds
Postal service to hold book drive

September 01, 2007-

Former Postal Worker Charged With Threatening Postmaster
A 53-year-old former U.S. Postal Service employee was charged Friday with slipping a note under the door of Wenatchee postmaster Mel Miller that featured a drawing of a house in flames. Timothy T. Burt of Rock Island faces a felony charge of bomb threat in Chelan County Superior Court. In 2002, Burt was convicted of making bomb threats after sending threatening letters to the assistant postmaster who had fired him a year earlier, according to an affidavit filed in the current case by a Wenatchee police detective. The affidavit describes "a series of threatening events" experienced by Miller this year -- including paint thrown on the door of his home and the unexpected death of a pet dog -- though Burt is only charged with making a bomb threat.  |

Mail Carrier Impostor Allegedly Going Through Lakeview Boxes

(Chicago)  "A man has been seen using a U.S. Postal Service master key to get into buildings and open mail boxes that are inside. Mail box keys are numbered and letter carriers have to sign them in and out at the beginning and end of each day. Postal police are now investigating whether one of the keys has made it into the hands of someone who is using it with criminal intent. Last Friday, Tim Hickernell, who works from home, had a great view of a man whom he says was dressed similarly to a letter carrier and let himself into several buildings in this condo complex ."  |

Traditional Mail Trucks Could Become History

The days of the traditional mail truck could be coming to an end. Recently, the U.S. postal service in LaCrosse purchases some vans and station wagons for their mail carriers to cruise the neighborhoods in. Supervisor Nancy Shermerhorn says the new mail cars provide extra safety because they have windows in the back and sides. But, she wouldn't confirm this will mark the end of the traditional mail trucks. But, a postman we ran into yesterday says the new cars will eventually replace all of the old trucks. |

Calif.: Postal carrier receives lavish farewell

Ballot Mailing for APWU National Election Draws Near

Bridging Two Worlds, USPS Deaf Awareness Month

Beloved Edina mail carrier hanging up his delivery bag

Letter carrier helps save woman's home
Postal worker cleared in dog BB shooting