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Editorial: Postal Service Keeps Employees Disciplinary Records Forever

USPS Labor Relations keeps a reference copy of an employee’s disciplinary action for the employee’s entire career. Don’t believe it? THEY DO. See the USPS Privacy Act Notice of June 17, 2011. Labor Relation’s reference copies are never purged regardless of the disposition of the discipline. |

Goldway: USPS May Be Closing Post Offices Without Notifying PRC As Law Requires |

USPS Settles Class Action Discrimination Lawsuit Filed For Disabled Veterans - USPS settled the case by agreeing to pay over $11 million to class members and other administrative costs. |

GOP 2012 Presidential hopeful Pawlenty calls for privatizing USPS

Pawlenty suggested we apply what he called "The 'Google' Test." Pawlenty believes private companies UPS and Fedex offer same services as USPS. Courier Express & Postal Observer |

Goldway: USPS May Be Closing Post Offices Without Notifying PRC As Law Requires |

IRS Identifies Postal Employee Organizations that have lost Tax-Exempt Status

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Five Postal Supervisors Indicted For Taking Bribes and Lap dances

One supervisor "accepted thousands of dollars in drinks and lap dances at a local strip club, over $8,000 in free work done on a truck belonging to Plumb’s grandson, and a $3,000 paver patio installed in Plumb’s backyard. In addition, on a weekly basis, Plumb used the services of a prostitute paid for by the private contractor. Plumb also accepted Levitra pills supplied by the contractor." |

USPS To Record Daily Activities Of Carriers For Use In Upcoming NALC Contract Talks - USPS notified NALC that it will use cameras to record time spent on office tasks starting today. |

USPS Proposed Rule To Amend Regulations for Post Office Closing-Consolidating Process - This proposed rule would amend postal regulations to improve the administration of the Post Office closing and consolidation process. PRC Releases List Of Suspended U.S. Post Offices |

PMG Announces Seven USPS Districts Eliminated, Executive Ranks Reduced - About 7,500 positions will be eliminated across the organization through the redesign that also includes the closing of seven district offices and offers limited financial incentives to those who meet specific qualifications. VER Offering for 2011 Organizational Redesign | $20,000 Special Incentive Offer FAQs |

PRC Issues Advisory Opinion On Ending Saturday Delivery

The Commission stands ready to provide further assistance as the deliberations progress. Senator Carper Reacts to PRC Opinion | Senator Susan Collins Statement | PMG Reacts To PRC Decision On Five-Day Mail Delivery | |

Call For Action: Urge President Obama To Appoint Democrat To PRC |

Oversight Hearing To Scrutinize APWU Tentative Contract

PMG Expresses Regret For Comparing Postmasters To Maytag Repair Man |

Postal Service Eyes Closing Thousands of Post Offices

Beginning in March, the agency will start the process of closing as many as 2,000 post offices, on top of the 491 it said it would close starting at the end of last year. I Ruling on Shuttered Post Offices Expected Soon | APWU Denounces Post Office Closure Plans |

PMG Plans To Streamline Management, Match Workforce To Workload |

USPS To Cut 7,500 Positions, 10 Districts, 2,000 Postmasters

The Washington Post’s Ed O’Keefe reports on Twitter that Postmaster General Pat Donahoe plans to cut about 7,500 jobs and about 2,000 postmasters, or the people responsible for running post offices. Incoming postmaster general promises cuts |

Senator Susan Collins Seeks Reforms To Federal Workers Comp Program |

Some Postal Managers Refusing To Accept USPS, APWU Freeze On Excessing Agreement

- "USPS Management Message Confirms Excessing Moratorium" |

USPS VP Position Downgraded, New COO Gets $25,000 Relocation Pay

Stephen M. Kearney, Senior Vice President, Customer Relations, has retained his position, but by virtue of a realignment of his duties effective December 8, 2010, he is no longer an executive officer. New COO Megan Brennan will receive a payment of $25,000 to help cover relocation costs. |


			August 31, 2011 Guffey to Testify Before Senate Committee “The APWU will vehemently oppose any attempt to destroy the collective bargaining rights of postal employees or tamper with our recently negotiated contract,” Guffey said. “Crushing postal workers and slashing service will not solve the Postal Service’s financial crisis.” \| Maryland Postal Worker Sentenced To Prison For Theft of Mail Pit bulls attack Schenectady mail carrier Despite power, post office delivers USPS Deal With eBay Helps Expedite Chinese Imports
			August 30, 2011 APWU: Locations Announced For 740 New Jobs in the Motor Vehicle Craft USPS has agreed to establish 740 new assignments in Vehicle Maintenance Facilities. \| 24% of USPS real estate is empty space, says audit USPS is currently shaping up plans to cut its processing network by more than half, and its network of 32,000 post offices by 10%, but the audit completed this month suggested that it could start by dealing with its 67m square feet of unused interior space. \| Deputy PMG Reassures Stakeholders: “We aren’t going away” With potential USPS insolvency in the news, approximately 200 Southern California mailing industry leaders gathered in Anaheim to hear DPMG Ron Stroman discuss the state of the Postal Service. \| NALC, Labor and Other Unions to picket Rep. Issa’s District Office Sep. 1 The NALC will be joining several other unions and the San Diego-Imperial Counties Labor Council to personally protest Issa’s failure to represent working families and his continuing attacks to destroy the United States Postal Service. \| Iowa Rep., Senators Ask USPS To Delay Consolidation of Sioux City Mail Processing Facility Down and Out at the Post Office - NYTimes.com Postal employee admits worker’s comp fraud, was selling sex toys on eBay
			August 29, 2011 OWCP Can't Pay Injured Federal Employees If USPS Defaults on Upcoming $1.2B Payment - A fund that compensates federal employees for work-related injuries will run out of cash in the last quarter of 2012 if the U.S. Postal Service defaults on an upcoming $1.2 billion payment, according to the Labor Department. \| Memorial erected for postal supervisor who died in Hurricane Irene A memorial was erected at the U.S. Postal facility on 1200 Harrison Ave. in Kearny for Ronald Dawkins, 47, of Orange, who drowned as he tried to walk to safety after his car became stuck in floodwater during Hurricane Irene on Sunday. Kearny postal workers recall failed rescue bid to save supervisor from deadly floodwaters \| 'I know we all need our jobs but you have to put your safety first' \| Editorial: Postal showdown Columnist: Congress, not the Internet, to blame for USPS financial woes Could USPS Launch Online Payments to Help Current Crisis? Hurricane Irene aftermath: postal worker killed in Kearny, Hudson County areas left flooding Three local postmasters are getting new work addresses Feds get 2nd conviction in Detroit postal probe Letter: USPS missed the text message Who Has Time to Send a Card? The Postal Service Means Business Why the Postal Service Should Not Reduce Priority Mail Service Standards USPS once profitable, now on end Mail delivery goes on despite storm
			August 28, 2011 USPS Announce Public Meetings for Proposed Post Office Closings In 3 States - The following is a combination of press releases from USPS announcing scheduled public meetings for proposed post office closings in Texas, Arkansas and Oklahoma. \| Post office service stops at curb for woman
			August 27, 2011 Tempers flare at meeting – Postmasters, lawmakers discuss possible post office closures - Unlike the public Postal Service meetings occurring throughout the state this month to discuss rural post office closings, the meeting consisted only of postmasters. Due to what they described as intimidation tactics from the U.S. Postal Service, no one outside of two people wished to be identified to the News-Press. Postmasters allege USPS closing POs on Saturday to 'skew' numbers to support 5-day delivery. \| Hours some USPS workers are paid to do nothing: Now under 1 million The U.S. Postal Service last year reduced by nearly a third the number of hours it pays some employees to do nothing, a report by the agency's inspector general shows.From almost 1.25 million hours in fiscal 2009, the amount of "stand-by time" tumbled to about 875,400 hours last year and is on track to fall even more in fiscal 2011, which ends next month, the report found. The cost of that time fell accordingly from $30.8 million in 2009 to $22 million last year. The cost for the first six months of fiscal 2011 dropped to $4.3 million. \| First-Class Mail Gets Slower: The Declining USPS Service Standards by Don Cheney - When Airmail was abolished in 1977, the Postal Service promised America, "All First-Class mail is going to fly." When Third-Class mail was changed to Single-Piece Standard in 1996 and then abolished as a separate category, USPS said it would "all go First Class." Now First-Class Mail is going to have yet another day added to its service standard? Twin Falls, ID Mail Operations move will change service standards from overnight to 2-day \| Could First Class Mail Service Standard Be Maintained? \| Missouri Postmaster Gets Prison In $3.8 Million Bulk Mailings Fraud Scheme The United States Attorney’s Office announced that Teresa Tremusini, Festus Postmaster, was sentenced to 24 months in prison followed by one year of supervised release. In June she was convicted of two felony counts of receipt of illegal gratuities. The owner of SG Print & Mail, an SG Print & Mail employee and one Postal employee previously entered guilty pleas in the $3.8 million scheme. \| USPS keeping an eye on Hurricane Irene Postal workers rally in front of Rehberg office Shift would create 18 fewer postal service jobs in Mankato
			August 26, 2011 USPS: No Excessing for Failure to Bid on NTFT Jobs The USPS has instructed Area Labor Relations Managers that employees may not be excessed because they fail to bid on Non-Traditional Full-Time (NTFT) duty assignments. \| PMG Donahoe, a former APWU Member, hopes to win from Congress that it can't win from unions - Washington Post - Union leaders say the Postal Service doesn’t need to cut staff by circumventing agreements because it has thousands of career and non-career employees who are not covered by the no-layoff provisions. (note: Employees must work 6 years-20 out of 26 pay periods in paid status in each year before getting the no-layoff protection. It sounds better politically to say USPS employees have no lay-off protection.) PMG Provides More Detail On Plan For Solvency \| USPS Net Loss For July $1.3 Billion – Year To Date Loss Reaches $7 Billion USPS preliminary net loss for July 2011 –$1.327 Billion, year to date nearly $2 Billion more than planned. \| Congressman: USPS Continues To Run Out the Clock on Providing Sioux City Info
			August 25, 2011 APWU Says USPS is trying to force senior employees to resign or retire “If you work in an office with junior employees, they must be excessed from the office before you, whether or not they occupy non-traditional schedules,” he said .“So don’t be intimidated to quit, and don’t be coerced into bidding on a non-traditional assignment unless you want it,” he advised. APWU: Thousands of Part-Timers to Be Converted Aug. 27 \| USPS Posting of NTFT Positions Creating Nightmare for Postal Employees -The new USPS/APWU Collective Bargaining Agreement allows for the creation of Non-Traditional Full-Time (NTFT) duty assignments in the Clerk Craft and MVS Craft. But major problems with implementing the agreement have started to surface nationwide. \| Is USPS Underestimating the Number of Layoffs Its Downsizing Plan Would Require? DeadTree Edition - "But there's a big reason not to project recent trends into the future: the generous severance policy for USPS and federal employees. An employee with 20 years of service, for example, would get at least 30 weeks of severance pay and be eligible for unemployment insurance, according to Courier, Express, and Postal Observer. Being laid off seems to be a much better deal for postal employees than just retiring. Those who think they are likely to be laid off in a year or two will be inclined to postpone retirement to see if they can snag a severance package." \| Former Kansas Postmaster Indicted On Embezzlement Charges USPS tells postmasters not to sell against newspapers Temporary letter carrier accused in theft of gift cards Postal worker robbed, truck stolen Proposed Hike in Non-Profits Rates Does Not Sit Well With Local Organizations Postal Service pitches local direct mail service to small businesses
			August 24, 2011 CRS Report: Common Questions About Post Office Closures This report addresses common questions about the closure of post offices. Questions answered include (1) What is a post office? (2) How many post offices are there? (3) How many post offices might the USPS close? (4) What authority does the USPS have to close post offices? (5) What is the current post office closure process? (6) When might the post office closure process begin? (7) How many USPS employees may lose their jobs? and (8) What current legislation carries provisions related to post offices? \| USPS Executive Pleads Guilty To Bribery Ron Middlebrooks, a former senior executive with the U.S. Postal Service, pled guilty today to a bribery charge stemming from his acceptance of $15,000 in cash from a businessman he promised to reward with government contracts, \| USPS Operations Continue After Earthquake Strikes East Coast Would a USPS health-care plan really work? Croton Dad Sues USPS Over Shift Change Attorney says deaf postal worker was coerced Consolidation: USPS Refuses Information Requests USPS Network Realignment
			August 23, 2011 Slower mail could save USPS $1.5B Washington Post - Think snail mail is too slow? Imagine if it got slower. The U.S. Postal Service could save about $1.5 billion annually if it relaxed its one- to three-day guarantees for First-Class and Priority Mail deliveries by a day, according to a new study. Postal executives are seriously considering the idea and are expected to announce new plans regarding delivery schedules after Labor Day, according to USPS officials. \| Postal Employees Need a New Plan Courier, Express, and Postal Observer - The APWU and other unions are facing a fight for their existence, and more importantly a fight for the jobs of their members. This is a worthy fight and should be fought with vigor. However, to win this fight Postal Unions have to realize that the battlefield has changed and they need to find a way to press the interests of their members in a venue outside of Washington. Continuing to fight for their members with the tools that they have will lead to little more than frustration as long as the Postal Service is controlled by Congress and cannot fully use the talents of its employees and its physical and intellectual property assets to serve Postal Service customers. \| PMG caves, DMA wins, USA loses: USPS withdraws its request for a rate increase -Save the Post Office - \| Postal Service is still competitive Norwich Bulletin - It seems as if the Postal Service, and its unions, are under the same kinds of attacks that have become the ideology of many when it comes to their sentiment about the ability of government to function. The fact is that the postal infrastructure works so well that UPS and FedEx utilize the Postal Service as a “last mile delivery option” for addresses that are not cost-effective for them. They also ship through consolidators who drop their packages at the post office for delivery. \| USPS Pulls 25 Alaska Post Offices Off List for Possible Closure Last month, the USPS announced nearly 3,700 post offices, including 36 in Alaska, had been targeted for possible closure as a way to reduce costs and expenses. In response, Begich joined three other senators on a letter to the Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe requesting more information on the issues related to the possible closures. Begich also had a conversation with Donahoe expressing concern about the impacts on Alaska if post offices are closed, particularly in rural areas. Post Offices Saved in Alaska are Unique \| Postcom: U SPS to submit network realignment plan to PRC in mid-September New Mexico Window Clerk Gets Prison For Embezzling Over $80,000 Shot fired during attempted robbery at south St. Louis post office Postal carrier robbed while on mail route
			August 22, 2011 Editorial: Update – Does the Postal Service Really Want Early Retirements? by Don Cheney - A year ago I speculated in the PostalReporter News Blog, “In recent VERAs the Postal Service issued FERS annuity estimates that omitted the employee’s FERS annuity supplement. The FERS annuity supplement is often nearly equal to the basic annuity amount. Was that to discourage early retirements so they can justify weakening the no-layoff clause in upcoming contract negotiations?” My suspicions have proven correct. Recently the Postal Service asked Congress to authorize layoffs of career employees without offering VERs first. \| How to Save the Postal Service Before It's Too Late Save The Post Office - The management team of the Postal Service deserves a considerable amount of responsibility for the mess we find ourselves in. The Board of Governors and postal management have been seduced by a vision of the Postal Service as a corporate and marketing powerhouse. It is a duplicitous and failed vision. \| APWU: Save USPS, Stop Layoffs, Support H.R. 1351 With headlines predicting the imminent demise of the Postal Service — and management brazenly exploiting the crisis to attack postal employees — the APWU is asking union members to contact their members of Congress and urge them to take action to save the USPS and protect our jobs. \| NALC: Letter carriers will get $978 COLA increase Effective Sept. 10 Letter carriers will receive their first cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) in three years in September. The COLA will amount to 47 cents per hour ($978 annually) \| USPS hopes Congress delivers overhaul package While Congress considers overhauling the Postal Service's infrastructure, the agency expects to default on a $5.5 billion health benefit prepayment next month. Congress let the agency defer that annual payment once, in 2009, but is unlikely to do so again. Several lawmakers from both parties have proposed allowing the agency to access money it says it overpaid to a federal retirement fund. But Issa opposes that fix. US Post Office's Troubled Financial Past \| Why Did Parcel Post Grow by 14%? The most surprising fact in the post associated with the growth in the Postal Service's parcel business is the 14.2% growth in Parcel Post volumes. Given that parcel post involves the delivery of single-piece parcels and Parcel Post is more difficult to purchase on-line than other Postal Service's, I can think of only three explanations. \| Postal worker ambushed by paintball-gun wielding thugs in Germantown Should the Postal Service relax the overnight service standard for local First Class mail? Observers are leery of Postal Service plan to opt out of federal health and retirement programs Post offices and time travel Opinion: Subsidizing Netflix Little America mulls 'village' post office Small town residents wonder 'How will we get mail?'
			August 21, 2011 U.S. Postal Service bled dry by federal politics Whom do you have to thank for this economic devastation to your postal service? The real cause is an inept, politically gridlocked, partisan Congress, whose misguided notions of how USPS operates have bled your post office dry. That coupled with the fact that USPS is a cash cow that Congress has long relied upon to supplement the federal budget. Postal service hurt by congressional mandate, not mail delivery \| Two can play that game: The PRC changes the rules for appeals -Save the Post Office Editorial: Postal service needs help Balderdash! Queens residents question need for dash in postal addresses The Postal Service is a Global News Story USPS Taking Market Share in Parcel Delivery - Courier Express and Postal Observer
			August 20, 2011 Tax form was in the mail — for 21 years USPS Moves Las Cruces Operations to El Paso Pinehurst village loses its hear
			August 19, 2011 Let’s Talk: How the Postal Service Values Its Employees Save The Post Office - One reason the Postal Service hasn't done everything it could to encourage early retirement is that offering thousands of workers large financial inducements to retire would get expensive. It's much cheaper just to lay them off or to push them into quitting — which is what happens when a processing facility is consolidated with one two hours away. A worker is then faced with a long, expensive commute, or selling the house and moving the family, or just quitting. That's called "attrition." But the bigger reason the Postal Service isn't all that interested in helping people retire is that is that It would prefer to undo the no-layoff provision in the union contracts — and thereby weaken the unions. \| APWU files 4 more national grievances for USPS violations of new contract The APWU initiated four Step 4 disputes on Aug. 17, 2011, protesting violations of the 2010-2015 Collective Bargaining Agreement. APWU also filed four national-level disputes on July 12, based on reports that USPS had been violating provisions of the 2010-2015 National Agreement. \| Congressman Says USPS is Stalling on Release of Sioux City Info Edmond: Postal worker reflects on tragic day's events Save the Post Office Unleashes Its Secret Weapon PRC Proposes Improved Rules for Appealing Post Office Closings There is a Precedent For a Federal Entity Not Having Federal Benefits Postal workers who drive take walk on brief break Former NJ Postal Union Treasurer Sentenced What Does Postal Service Insolvency Mean? OIG: Cost of Service Standards (PDF Rules Applicable to Appeals of Post Office Closings (PDF))
			August 18, 2011 NALC to defend members, America’s Postal Service in 2011 contract talks NALC President Fredric V. Rolando called on Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe to bargain in good faith and to disavow the regressive and destructive path unveiled last week. USPS Starts Negotiations With NALC Today, Mail Handlers Set For Aug. 30 \| Postal Service commences talks with two unions -- GovExec.com \| Postal Service to be insolvent by next August, deputy PMG says The U.S. Postal Service will be broke by next summer even if it skips an upcoming $5.5 billion payment for retiree health care, its No. 2 leader said Thursday. The Postal Service is still a wealthy landowner \| Canada says goodbye letter carriers, hello "delivery agents" Groups: Measure to Eliminate Nonprofit Mail Discounts Could Cripple Fundraising U.S. Court of Appeals Sets Hearing Date in Postal Sidewalks Petitioning Case
			August 17, 2011 Post Office Closings a PR Nightmare Turns out, of course, that the U.S. Postal Service's list of 3,700 post offices targeted for possible closure includes lots of little post offices heavy on nostalgia. And for the Postal Service, that means a public relations problem. U.S. Post Office closure, the mother of all battles \| Chicago letter carriers say USPS not doing enough to keep them safe Chicago Tribune - Carriers contend they typically aren't told when colleagues on nearby routes are robbed, assaulted or caught in shootings. Those who experience violence often have to fight with management — sometimes unsuccessfully — to transfer to another route. Many believe incidents are not properly reported up the chain of command and, as a result, statistics underestimate the dangers carriers face. \| USPS plans to close about 300 mail processing plants U.S. Postal Service's Dave Williams, vice president of network operations, announced Aug. 17 that more than 300 of the 508 existing mail processing plants will close. \| Video: Donahoe Says Postal Service Needs 5-Day Delivery Bloomberg - U.S. Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe talks about a proposal to cut 220,000 jobs and allow the post office to reduce delivery from six to five days a week. \| APWU: NTFT Assignments Cannot Exceed the Number of Employees to be Converted At a meeting between APWU officers and USPS officials in Washington DC on Aug. 16, the Postal Service acknowledged that local managers have no authority to post more Non-Traditional Full-Time (NTFT) assignments in Customer Service areas than the number needed to accommodate Part-Time Flexibles and Part-Time Regulars when they are converted to full time on Aug. 27, \| Postal Service may not pull out of TSP after all Federal Times - The U.S. Postal Service is walking back a statement made earlier this week regarding their plans for the Thrift Savings Plan. \| USPS Expects FY 2011 Losses Bigger than Previously Announced Courier, Express, and Postal Observer- At today's MTAC meeting, Postal Service CFO Joesph Corbett will announce that the Postal Service now expects to lose around $9 billion in FY 2011. The new forecast will be $1 billion more than the Postal Service had previously stated at the last MTAC meeting. USPS: A Challenging Year \| .The Wolf Has Arrived: USPS Reaches the End of The Story . \| Postal Workers to USPS: Don’t Shred Our Contract USPS Will Not Seek Exigent Rate Increase - DeadTree Edition Louisiana Mail Carrier Held at Gunpoint, Mail Stolen Buyouts: To Be Or Not To Be? NH mail processing to move out of Portsmouth City poised to take on postal service over streetside mailboxes Shop Your Favorite Catalogs With Google Catalogs USPS Electric Vehicle Test Results (PDF) Rasmussen: 75% Favor Big Cuts in Mail Delivery Rather Than Give More Money to Postal Service Mail carrier routes reshuffled Postal workers won't go quietly Portsmouth NH plant to close
			August 16, 2011 The Perfect Storm: How everything is coming together to take the Postal Service apart - Postmaster via Save the Post Office- Patrick Donahoe may be the last of the Postmaster Generals. He will certainly go down in history as one of the worst. The United States Postal Service isn't dying because of its fiscal deficit. It is being systematically dismembered by a management team that lacks vision, soul, and ethic. It is being taken down by calculating politicians looking for short-term political gain, who see advantage in pandering to the new American ethic of “beggar thy neighbor.” And eventually, it will probably be taken apart and sold off in pieces to private corporations more interested in personal profit than public service, and that will be the end of the Postal Service. \| NYU Professor Steve Hutkins Fights To Save The Post Office Gothamist -Hutkins, a professor at NYU's Gallatin school, first became interested in the plight of the post office earlier this year, when the office in his tiny Hudson Valley town was in danger of closing. He started reading up on the Postal Service's plans, and that's when he got angry. Hutkins channeled his frustrations into the appropriately-named Save The Post Office, part information clearinghouse and park historical record of post office-related news. The blog has become so popular that Hutkins is now taking a leave of absence from NYU to focus on it. \| Darrell Issa Uses Letters from Tea Party to Drum Up Support for Postal Bill "In two tweets today, Representative Issa links to an unsourced press release that proclaims Tea Party support for his and Representative Dennis Ross's Postal Reform bill. The tweets were broadcast to both conservative #tcot and liberal #p2 hashtags. The tweets also focus on an anti-bailout argument that have played well for the Tea Party" \| Grand Rapids man charged with threatening to cut off head of letter carrier
			August 15, 2011 GOP Senator Asks Postmaster General to Justify Closing Rural Post Offices The senator asked the Postmaster General to outline the justification for potentially closing rural post offices across the country when the Postal Regulatory Commission has indicated the projected savings would not come close to changing the financial outlook for USPS. Sen. Moran also pointed out that closing a post office simply because of revenue shortfalls is in violation of the United States Postal Code. \| Postal Service plan includes pulling out of TSP Federal Times - And as I read the USPS proposal, it wasn’t entirely clear whether they planned to have future employees rely solely on the TSP for their retirement, or drop out of TSP entirely and come up with their own system. But according to a statement the Postal Service sent us, it’s the latter. “Under our proposal we would not participate in the TSP,” spokesman David Partenheimer wrote. “We would move to a 401(k) plan like the private sector.” .\| Post Office Woes Will Help UPS and FedEx Postal Service's problems just make the future look brighter for its private-sector rivals, UPS and FedEx. \| Postal Watchdog Issa Is in Congress Helping His District, and Himself New York Times - Even as he has built a reputation as a forceful Congressional advocate for business, Mr. Issa has bought up office buildings, split a holding company into separate multibillion-dollar businesses, started an insurance company, traded hundreds of millions of dollars in securities, invested in overseas funds, retained an interest in his auto-alarm company and built up a family foundation. As his private wealth and public power have grown, so too has the overlap between his private and business lives, with at least some of the congressman’s government actions helping to make a rich man even richer and raising the potential for conflicts. \| USPS withdrawal from federal benefits could put stability of plans into jeopardy - League Of Postmasters - We have recently seen action by certain elements in the government that have taken the notion of federal government irresponsibility to a new high. Not surprisingly, we have seen the disgust of the American public with that type of irresponsibility also reached a new high. Suggestions such as these by the Postal Service fit into the same category and should not even be considered. \| USPS begins Pay Talks with Postmasters today NPA/Pay for Performance (PFP) will be part of the pay talks we are starting August 15. We will work to improve the NPA process and will spend time discussing the value of having CORE scores and what benefit if any this portion of the process could have with the PFP program. \| Why We All Have a Stake in the U. S. Postal Service Technology may have lessened our dependence on it, but downsizing it would carry a massive cost. \| Postal service, long a gateway to middle class, is facing major job cuts Potential job losses shift history for Postal Service Postal Service should redesign, not cut, to get out of the red - President/CEO Hallmark Cards NRLCA PREPARED TO FIGHT USPS’ ANTI-UNION EFFORTS Ex-postal worker convicted of delaying mail delivery Don't touch my junk: The bulk mail industry says hands off our profits
			August 14, 2011 Editorial: Postal Service out of options Federal Times - In overseeing the Postal Service, lawmakers have been irresponsible, even delusional. Congress expects the Postal Service to absorb billions of dollars in business losses each year...Congress' unwillingness to respond to the agency's dire predicament is what prompted last week's jarring announcement by the Postal Service. In that announcement, the Postal Service appears to be saying that it may be forced to resort to forced layoffs if it cannot get the other flexibilities it seeks,.. Postal service, long a gateway to middle class, is facing big cuts \| After 44 years of delivering mail, retiring letter carrier looks back on career Virginia Postal Worker Celebrates 50 Years of service
			August 13, 2011 The Shock Doctrine: Why the Postal Service is scaring the hell out of us Save the Post Office - Maybe, instead of demoralizing its workers with stupid management programs designed to improve “efficiency,” the Postal Service should be thinking about how to re-organize its management system so that workers have more say about how the place is run. There’s a lot of brainpower at the Postal Service that is just being ignored because of its management culture and corporate values. \| DMA Applauds Postal Service’s New Cost-Cutting Proposals Mailers can no longer fund the excess capacity in the USPS network and its corresponding employee complement through postage. USPS must right-size its network to match the new reality of lower mail volume. Washington Post - Postal Service proposal to break contracts blasted by unions \| Video: APWU president says ‘We will do what’s necessary’ \| Soldier's mom's suit against USPS is dismissed Many Post Offices Face Uncertain Fates as Cuts Loom
			August 12, 2011 Has Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker Been Named The New Postmaster General? National Postal Mail Handlers Union - With National bargaining over the terms of the 2011 National Agreement about to begin, the Postal Service has publicly announced that management is seeking wholesale changes in its collective bargaining agreements. USPS management also has decided to try to bypass the NPMHU and other postal unions, by asking Congress to enact legislation that would impose most of its outrageous proposals. Instead of coming to the bargaining table in good faith, management is looking for two bites of the apple. USPS Job-Cut Plan Would Make it the largest contract breaker in the country \| Sen. Carper Reacts \| NAPUS urges Congress to reject USPS proposal \| NAPS Deeply Apprehensive About Impact \| The ‘Big Lie’ about postal ‘bankruptcy’ National Association of Letter Carriers - So, let’s set the record straight: If the Postal Service were a private company, it would not have to file for bankruptcy because it would not be subject to a USPS-specific congressional mandate to pre-fund future retiree health benefits. As it is, it is the only federal agency required to do so: It must pre-fund these benefits some 75 years into the future on a massively accelerated schedule. Instead of coming to the bargaining table in good faith, management is looking for two bites of the apple. \| PRC Dismisses Part of Postmasters Complaint Regarding USPS PO Closings Regulations - the Postal Regulatory Commission issued a ruling on the joint NAPUS/League complaint that certain provisions in the USPS’ March 31 proposed post office closing regulations violated current law... parts the complaint, were dismissed as being premature, since the USPS has yet to implement final regulations. \| USPS To Send RIF Notices To Postmasters Impacted By DUO On August 31, 2011 a Specific RIF notice will be mailed to all DUO impacted Postmasters. This RIF letter will state that all Postmasters impacted by DUO will have a effective date of November 4, 2011. \|
			August 11, 2011 USPS proposes cutting 120,000 jobs, pulling out of health-care plan In an attempt to stem its financial hemorrhaging, the U.S. Postal Service is seeking to reduce its workforce by 20 percent, including through layoffs now prohibited by union contracts. USPS also wants to withdraw its employees from the health and retirement plans that cover federal staffers and create its own benefit programs for postal employees" \| USPS Exploring Additional Legislative Proposals to Address Financial Crisis But USPS faces a deep financial crisis. If it was a private company, it would have filed for bankruptcy and gone through restructuring already — much like major automakers did two years ago. USPS will be insolvent next month due to significant declines in mail volume and retiree health benefits prefunding costs imposed by Congress. The Postal Service is working with Congress and the Administration to address legislative changes that, if enacted, will help overcome its financial challenges. USPS Statement, White Papers And Talking Points On Legislative Proposals \| Video: Rights Of Postal Workers Under Attack \| Postal Service Cutting 228,000 Career Jobs \| Laying off postal workers won't be cheap \| Postal Service Recognizes Political Reality \| NALC President Rolando denounces PMG’s latest ‘radical’ legislative proposals - NALC President Fredric V. Rolando has issued a statement to denounce Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe's latest "radical" legislative proposals: \| APWU Condemns USPS Proposals To Destroy Collective Bargaining, Crush Postal Workers \| APWU: Internal USPS NRP Letter No Cause for Celebration An internal USPS document indicating that the reassessment of Limited Duty and Rehabilitation employees concluded on Jan. 31, 2011, is not cause for celebration, Human Relations Director Sue Carney says, because the National Reassessment Process (NRP) seems to have been eliminated in name only. (As PostalReporter.com reported, USPS calls NRP simply ELM546).\| Man Says Mailman Was Sleeping On The Job one local man says instead of hard work, he saw a postal worker sleeping in an empty field. In a picture taken by Sam Bowersox, he says a postal worker was taking a snooze in a field in the middle of the day \| . Pennsylvania Mail Contractor Charged With Making False Claims Mileage Against USPS NY Lawmakers Urge PMG Not To Consolidate Mid-Hudson General Mail Facility Congressional resistance to PO closing plan grows - Save the Post Office USPS plan should be returned to sender - Washington Examiner Staten Island Postal Workers and Local Lawmakers Protest USPS Consolidation Plan The Smartest Guys in the Room - Save the Post Office The Future of the Postal Service: An Analysis - Mailing Systems Technology W.Va. congressman joins mail carrier on route Analysis: U.S. mail aims to stamp out loss, deliver digital future USPS Monthly Financial Data for June (PDF) Q&A With PRC Chairman Ruth Goldway (PDF) Woman Used Fake Checks to Buy Over $12,000 in Stamps
			August 10, 2011 First Village Post Office Debuts in Washington State Marketplace: The U.S. Postal Service launches the first of its money-saving village post offices in a tiny town in Washington State. Red's Hop N' Market is Malone's one-stop shop for coffee, cigarettes, beer, socks and pickled sausages. DailyKos: They're Coming for Your Post Office \| Prosecutors Allege Bribery of U.S. Postal Service Official Legal Times: An official of the U.S. Postal Service is accused of directing business to a favored contractor in exchange for bribes valued to have been at least $15,000, according to a court document. Prosecutors laid out the alleged bribery scheme in information filed this week in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The official demanded and accepted money “in return for being influenced in the performance of an official act,” specifically “directing business transporting mail,” the document says. \| OIG Says USPS Lowered 2009 Pay for Performance Scores To Save money A district manager stated the area vice president verbally instructed all district managers in the area to align employees’ core requirement ratings with the average NPA unit score for their districts. As a result, the manager reviewed and lowered the core requirement ratings for 606 employees. \| Editorial: USPS in the Year 2020 Ronald Williams, Jr.: The term workplace is replaced by worldplace. The climate is warm and we don’t need fog halogen on this trip. Things are better and clearer in the new day than they were yesteryear. Remember workplace violence, no technology, the nationwide postal strike of 1970, the Post Office Department, Pony Express riders, billions in overpayments, the National Reassessment Process, Village Post Offices, and postal icon Benjamin Franklin. It took 245 years to get from there to here. \| Postal Service Has Too Many Employees and Pays Them Too Much, Mailer Groups Say -DeadTree Edition: The U.S. Postal Service has about 170,000 too many employees and pays them about 30% too much, according to four major mailers groups. “The notion that the Postal Service operates at the frontier of efficiency—and can do nothing further to reduce costs—is refuted by the record,” they wrote in a joint filing with the Postal Regulatory Commission last week. \| Appeals Court Upholds Firing of Acting Postal Supervisor (204B) For Timecard Fraud -A 204B (acting) supervisor from the letter carrier craft, claimed he was “working” on July 5, 2006 when he spent the day with his Postmaster . Eight months after the incident Wilcher was issued a Notice of Removal. The District and Appeals Courts upheld the 204B's removal finding no discrimination. \| USPS #3 on List of Biggest U.S. Job-Killing Companies Mailbox Heat Affecting Mail Order Drugs
			August 9, 2011 Arbitration Ahead for USPS, Rural Letter Carriers Union Federal Times - More than eight months after their contract talks hit an impasse, the National Rural Letter Carriers’ Association and the U.S. Postal Service are headed to arbitration, according to a new USPS financial filing. While mediation would normally be the next move, both sides are interested in bypassing that step and going to straight to arbitration, the third quarter financial report says. The next step will be to select an interest arbitrator and decide on some dates for the proceedings. \| Detroit postal worker accused of taking bribes from contractor strikes plea deal "She saved his life" Fruitvale community thanks mail carrier Saylorsburg postal worker suffers chemical burns from soda-bottle bomb NC: Clinton postal carrier killed after crashing into a church Sarasota's Band family embroiled in post office controversy PRC Docket No. N2011-1 and the Future of the Post Office Postal Service workers accused of stealing prescription drugs Groups forming to oppose post office closings Smugglers Turning to Snail Mail to Ship Drugs
			August 8, 2011 USPS Ends National Reassessment Process (NRP) For Injured On Duty Postal Employees - USPS issued the following notice: The reassessment of Limited Duty and Rehabilitation employees, referred to as the National Reassessment Process (NRP), concluded on January 31, 2011. An Adverse Ruling In EEOC Class Action NRP Case Could Have A ‘Material Impact’ On USPS \| MSPB Accepting Amicus Briefs in NRP Cases \| MSPB Individual NRP cases \| Why does the Postal Service want to destroy the Post Office? Save the Post Office - There are already a lot of people who don’t care how they get their mail or what happens to post offices. When all these post offices start closing by the hundreds and thousands, people aren’t going to care what happens to the Postal Service. As one woman whose post office may close told a local reporter, "If it's their wish to go out of business, this may do it." But it’s not about the Postal Service going out of business—it’s about selling the business to private corporations. \| When is a bonus not a bonus? Federal Times - When it's a U.S. Postal Service executive bonus. The agency has spent at least $4.2 million this fiscal year on "lump sum/bonus payments" for senior executives at headquarters. But on July 1, it abruptly halted further payments in a move to conserve cash. Postal Service spokesman Greg Frey explained the payments are not actually bonuses, as their name suggests, but rather payments to executives that reflect individual and agency performance in the preceding year. \| Lawmakers Express Concerns To PMG Over Potential Oregon Post Office Closures PRC Conducting Study to Allow More Flexible Costing And Pricing Editorial: Fight for post offices SE Missouri post office reopens after floods
			August 7, 2011 Most post offices targeted for closure are in GOP districts The Hill - More than 2,500 of these post offices are in GOP districts while about 1,000 are in districts represented by Democrats, according to a review by The Hill. There were fewer than 100 stores where the district could not be determined because the zip code is represented by lawmakers in both parties. \| Talking Points For Communities Opposed To Closing Small Rural Post Offices National League Of Postmasters - Some Congressmen and Senators do not understand this, and think that closing a rural post office will have no seriously negative effect on a community so long as the community continues to receive mail service. While postmasters have explained this, some in Congress have discounted their views, suggesting that the fear of losing their jobs have motivated postmasters to distort the truth. \| Letter To Editor: Postal changes bad for customers Frank Antoine, APWU Local #443 - ....we are so concerned about the Postal Service’s AMP study and the Postal Service’s plan to shift mail-sorting operations from Youngstown to Cleveland and Akron. The real problem is that the USPS has to pre-fund billions of dollars in future retirement payments. The other problem is that the USPS gives huge discounts to the large mailers instead of charging the same rate as any other business. Lastly, postal management has paid out millions of dollars in union grievances and EEO settlements that could have been settled easily just by treating employees with dignity and respect; but postal management refuses to do that. \| USPS Continuing The Search For Fuel Efficiency Bundles of mail tossed down drain
			August 6, 2011 Postal Worker Exposed To Anthrax Facing Different Dilemma Over Transfer Request Patrick O'Donnell was one of the postal workers infected in October 2001 when anthrax showed up at the Hamilton Township (New Jersey) regional distribution center in mail headed for the U.S. Senate. Now 10 years later, O'Donnell is facing a different dilemma. \| MSPB Accepting Amicus Briefs in Postal Workers’ National Reassessment Process Cases - The Merit System Protection Board has announced an opportunity for interested parties to file amicus briefs in Postal Workers cases pertaining to USPS' National Reassessment Process (NRP). The amicus brief will pertain to OPM’s regulation 5 C.F.R. § 353.301(d) requiring USPS to “make every effort” to restore a partially recovered employee to limited duty within the local commuting area." note: Thanks to a PostalReporter reader for alerting us to this notice. \| Video: PRC Vice Chairman Mark Acton Talks About Future of the Postal Service - C-Span- Mark Acton talked about how the postal service decides which offices to close, when the closures are expected, how much the postal service is losing in revenue, the possible elimination of Saturday service and what all this means for the future of the postal service. \| Thieves Steal Air Conditioners From Post Office In Illinois "Postal workers were sweating it out on Monday in order to get the mail through after thieves stole two central air conditioning units at a post office in west suburban Riverside, Illinois over the weekend. Police came to the post office after employees reported that sometime between closing time Saturday and opening Monday, the two commercial air conditioning units were stolen, Riverside police said. Both were bolted to concrete and removed from the scene by cutting the bolts and supply lines." \| USPS: Vote-by-Mail option the undisputed winner in the election process Post offices as beloved relics CT: North Branford Postal Letter Carrier Arrested for Theft From Mail
			August 5, 2011 USPS Board of Governor's Member resigns amid real estate scandal Former U.S. Postal Service Governor Alan Kessler pressured postal executives to scuttle a planned property purchase that would have cost a friend millions of dollars, according to a report from the Office of Inspector General. The IG also found that the Postal Service general counsel, Mary Anne Gibbons, failed to act as she should have to halt Kessler's actions and report them to the IG. \| Issa: USPS $3.1B Loss Means Reforms Needed to avoid Taxpayer-funded Bailout - Congressman Darrell Issa - "The Postal Service's announcement of yet another multi-billion dollar loss underscores the need to enact meaningful reforms in order to avoid a taxpayer-funded bailout." Sen. Carper Statement on Most Recent USPS Financial Losses \| USPS Ends FY 2011 Third Quarter With $3.1 Billion Net Loss – Compared to $3.5 Billion For FY 2010 - The U.S. Postal Service ended its third quarter of fiscal year (FY) 2011 (April 1-June 30) with a net loss of $3.1 billion, compared to a net loss of $3.5 billion for the same period in FY 2010. Total mail volume declined to 39.8 billion pieces for the quarter, compared to 40.9 billion pieces in the third quarter of FY 2010. \| NAPUS: PMG Says PO Discontinuance Feasibility Study Will be Ongoing The PMG said the study would be ongoing, but he once again said that he would work with the management associations to do everything possible to find landing spots for impacted Postmasters. Donahoe said that he will work with the management associations through the RIF Avoidance process. While details of the RIF Avoidance process is complex, it should be noted that avoidance actions include the possibility of Voluntary Early Retirement (VER) offers. . \| Vigil in Modesto: Auction ends tomorrow, and whoever wins, we all lose \| Save the Post Office Postal Service plant's closing angers union leader ‘They want to close what ’ Camas woman moves to Vancouver, but mail takes a side trip Hot post office angers workers Contract postal worker gets probation for stealing prescription drugs meant for veterans Congressman Asks PMG to Halt Move of Mail Operations from Oshkosh to Green Bay, Wisconsin Massachusetts Postal Worker Crashes Into Parked Tractor Trailer Senator Hagan Urges USPS to Seek Feedback from North Carolinians on PO Closures
			August 4, 2011 Tea Party Building Support for Issa Postal Reform Bill “Tea Party” groups are building public and congressional support for H.R. 2309, legislation sponsored in the U.S. House of Representative by Reps. Darrell Issa (R-CA) and Dennis Ross (R-FL) that APWU President Cliff Guffey has called “a reckless assault on postal workers and the Postal Service.” ) \| APWU Files Unfair Labor Practice Charge Over USPS Refusal to Provide Info on Consolidations - On May 10, 2011, the APWU wrote to the Postal Service requesting information about AMP feasibility studies. “Before undertaking a consolidation study, the USPS must consider the impact consolidation would have on the community, service standard changes, impact on customer service, impact on operations at gaining and losing facilities, equipment deployment, and the likelihood of potential savings and efficiencies,” wrote Executive Vice President Greg Bell in the union’s request for information \| USPS Moving 4 Wyoming Mail Processing Operations to Casper Postal Center he Postal Service has made the decision to move mail processing operations from the Worland, Gillette, RIVERTON and Sheridan Wyoming Customer Service Mail Processing Centers to the Casper, WY, Processing & Distribution Facility. \| Ex-Postal Worker Convicted Of Delaying Mail Can’t live at the P O any more Postal Service woes could hit direct mail vendors U.S. Postal Service to Take Part in Alcatraz’s 77th Anniversary Celebration Postal Service canceling Rancho Bernardo collection boxes Postal workers on edge after recent armed robberies Postal worker sentenced for viewing child porn at Utica post office
			August 3, 2011 City wants money back after certified letters allegedly delayed to avoid paying overtime Reuter says several days after the postal service received the letters, she and three other temps were asked to help get the mail out. Reuter says after working for about an hour of overtime, it was clear that they wouldn't be able to deliver all the mail before six o'clock. Reuter says she alerted a supervisor. Reuter says the supervisor told her to sit in the back of a postal truck and scan the mail. \| NJ Man Gets Prison for stealing from mailboxes and postal trucks Editorial: Saving the right post offices Editorial Response: Issa-Ross Bill Would Hurt Nonprofits, Says DMA Ex-Postal Worker Convicted Of Delaying Mail Postal Service woes could hit direct mail vendors Postal Worker sentenced for viewing child porn at Utica post office Postal Worker Refuses to Deliver Mail Over Dog USPS Needs Fewer Workers to Keep Delivering the Mail NJ Man Gets Prison for stealing from mailboxes and postal trucks
			August 2, 2011 NIOSH Issues Ergonomic Report on USPS Automatic Flat Sorting Machines at Denver GMF - By Loyd Reeder, Denver, CO Postal Clerk - With the recently implemented National Reassessment Program workers who are permanently injured now face the serious prospect of losing postal employment altogether, unlike in the past when they were given work within their restrictions. It remains to be seen if the USPS with the much needed insistence of the Mail Handlers Union and the American Postal Workers Union will follow NIOSH requirements. This will hopefully not turn into the DBCS disaster where I called in 4 separate NIOSH investigations which the USPS largely ignored. \| Robber Barons Plunder the Post Office Save the Post Office - It’s not hard to see what’s going on. The Robber Barons are stealing the post office from the American people. Closing down post offices to save a little money is just a big distraction, a show to make it look like the Postal Service is acting like a responsible business. In the meantime, the Robber Barons are plundering the postal system via the outsourcing contracts they’ve negotiated with cooperative Postal Service executives. Save the Post Office! \| Guffey: WashPost Editorial Board's "Financial Fix USPS" is the same as Tea Party and GOP- APWU President Cliff Guffey in Letter to the Editor of the Washington Post: "Destroying unions won’t fix the Postal Service" - The July 28 editorial “A better route for USPS” endorsed the strategy that is being employed by Republican governors who use budget deficits to attack collective-bargaining rights while ignoring other methods of closing budget gaps. The policy that the editorial promoted, including “renegotiating collective bargaining agreements,” put The Post squarely in the camp of Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) and the Tea Party. \| USPS Moves Processing of Employees FMLA Requests to HRSCC - The Human Resources Shared Services Center (HRSSC) began processing Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) requests for employees of 23 districts and headquarters July 11. FMLA processing for all other districts nationwide will transition to HRSSC Sept. 10. \| The debt ceiling and letter carriers Audit finds Green Bay mail center insufficient for absorbing Oshkosh operation
			August 1, 2011 PRC Sets Schedule for Consideration of USPS plan to close Post offices The USPS RAO initiative applies to postal retail facilities across the country, without limit to geography or population, and is driven by Headquarters. PRC finds that because the Postal Service’s RAO initiative appears to encompass a Headquarters’ mandated, systemwide review of postal retail facilities, similar to the review of station and branch discontinuation , a PRC Commission advisory opinion is appropriate. \| Postal carrier nabbed swiping packages New York Post - Authorities made an express delivery of justice -- nabbing a crooked Diamond District mail carrier with the help of a cleverly placed GPS device, law-enforcement officials said. \| Post office closing: Sign of deep trouble for Postal Service TSP funds down in July **California: Walnut Creek Carrier Annex Closes; Affects Vacation Mail Pickup Two postal clerks celebrate 25 years at Butler annex Post office closings are decades too late**

Five Postal Supervisors Indicted For Taking Bribes and Lap dances

APWU: Locations Announced For 740 New Jobs in the Motor Vehicle Craft

NALC, Labor and Other Unions to picket Rep. Issa’s District Office Sep. 1

NALC to defend members, America’s Postal Service in 2011 contract talks

USPS Exploring Additional Legislative Proposals to Address Financial Crisis

Detroit postal worker accused of taking bribes from contractor strikes plea deal