What can you say?
"Nothing, really. It helps, of course, to talk about tragedy, but nothing anyone can say will make sense of last night's tragedy in California." postalnews blog
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NALC's Young Vows to Fight for Enactment of S. 662
"Postal reform legislation was on the brink of Senate passage January 25 when postal management unleashed a mind-boggling, and frankly embarrassing, attack on the bill." NALC Bulletin
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In letter to Frist, Day defends USPS position on reform bill Postcom publishes a letter from USPS Senior VP for Government Relations Tom Day to Bill Frist defending the USPS's actions in opposing the passage of S. 662 last week. Day says that USPS opposition to the pending reform bills was expressed in letters to 'the relevant committees' in September 2005, and was not a 'last-minute reversal of position'.
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A different opinion on postmarks
According to Mike Causey: "Postmarks and Zip Codes are important and have a definite meaning for many folks. I know people in the Washington area who live in one place but who drive out to Potomac, Md., or to McLean, Va., in hopes their out-going mail will get the high-class postmark those addresses confer." Really? Are they disappointed when the discover that the postmark reads :"So. Maryland" or "No. Virginia"? FederalNewsradio.com
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Harkin bill forces postal service review
"[On Friday] Sen. Tom Harkin successfully included language in the Postal Reform Bill that would force the U.S. Postal Service to review the concerns of businesses and communities affected by mail facilities consolidations" Sioux City Journal
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Deeper Investigation Sought Into Late Mail
With Southern California residents continuing to complain about mail that is delivered late at night or not at all, Rep. Henry A. Waxman wants the nation's postmaster general to provide extensive data about staffing levels, plant closures and delivery schedules.
The veteran legislator said that he wants to delve more deeply into delivery problems to prepare for a hearing about the U.S. Postal Service, to be held Feb. 16 by the House Committee on Government Reform, Congress' primary oversight panel.
Postal Smack Down
How deep a grave did [the USPS] dig for itself, regarding its relationship with Congress? eNAPUS Legislative Newsletter
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NAPS President Keating's Statement on Postal Reform
"It doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize that the Postal Service misfired, and misfired badly, in sending a 59-cent stamp aboard a heat-seeking missile aimed at the Senate." NAPS Discussion Forum
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Mailers Council, Senators respond to Strasser, Day
Postcom has Mailers Council Bob McLean's response to today's USPS media briefing- some quotes: "For those who missed it, today's Postal Service media event with Dick Strasser and Tom Day was a collection of confusing, circular comments and more than a few misstatements." "Day, responding to a question about whether postal officials were violating the laws prohibiting them from lobbying, stressed that he wasn't even close to such a violation, but instead was fulfilling an obligation to educate the Senate and correct misimpressions on the Hill." McLean also quotes a press release from Senators Susan Collins and Thomas Carper, sponsors of S.662: "Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Thomas Carper (D-DE), are disputing false, misleading, and inaccurate claims made today by the USPostal Service regarding S. 662... With their latest release, the Postal Service appears to have sunk to a new low."
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League: Postmasters are "upset... frustrated"
From Postcom: "Here at LEAGUE Headquarters frustrated Postmasters are flooding me with calls from all around the country... Postmasters... are upset for several reasons. The number one reason is not being able to fill authorized positions due to lack of hiring. We are working our employees six days a week, 10-12 hours a day. That can only go on for so long... Postmasters are being micromanaged to death..."
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More on the BOG and S. 662
The USPS internal employee newsletter provides additional information on the basis of the BOG's opposition to the current postal reform bill. USPS News Link
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BOG opposes S. 662 Postcom has a copy of a letter from the USPS Board of Governors to Senator Susan Collins advising her that they oppose the Senate version of the postal reform bill, citing "numerous burdensome provisions" and "discrepancies between the bill's provisions and recomensdations of the President's Commission". They also point out that the bill's handling of military retirement expense "invites a Presidential veto." See also the story at DMNews.comComment
Tuesday, January 24
USPS: New Mexico complaint hot lines up and running
Note: the story says that, according to the local APWU President, New Mexico's service performance has deteriorated to "the mid-80s in the past few years". The most recent overnight EXFC score for Albuquerque was actually 95% for the fourth quarter, which ended September 30. The score was also 95% in the third quarter, up from 94% in the second quarter. Santa Fe New Mexican
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Letter carriers are given a 6 p.m. delivery deadline
"After a barrage of complaints about late mail delivery, Southern California postal officials issued a directive Friday telling carriers and post office managers that mail must be delivered no later than 6 p.m." San Diego Union Tribune
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Mail troubles prompt new promotions
"In response to statewide complaints about poor service, the U.S. Postal Service has promoted two managers from the Albuquerque office." Santa Fe New Mexican
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Smoke signals
From Gene Del Polito's Postcom.org, this cryptic message: "Regarding postal reform: If the Senate had a chimney, we'd be telling you to look at it tomorrow to see if the smoke is white or black."
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Senate May Act on Postal Reform This Week
"Senators may have worked out a compromise on postal reform legislation stuck in limbo for the past six months, DM News has learned. Sources said the bill may reach the Senate floor for a vote as early as this week." DMNews.com
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NAPUS Champion to face primary challenge
Hawaii's junior Senator, 81 year old Daniel Akaka, who introduced the Postmasters Equity Act, faces a primary challenge from Representative Ed Case. eNAPUS Legislative Newsletter
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New team tackles New Mexico mail woes
"The U.S. Postal Service has replaced New Mexico's management team in an effort to improve the state's mail-delivery service." Santa Fe New Mexican
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Tales of Homeland Security
In Arizona, a rural letter carrier is pulled over by the Border Patrol for suspicious behavior: "stopping at houses along Fort Grant Road".... Arizona Range News
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NAPUS discusses staffing
The association's Executive Committee heard complaints that delays in hiring "have contributed to the delivery of mail late into the evening, as well as long lines in retail lobbies and high overtime rates." NAPUS Hotline
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Ask President Burrus
An APWU member asks "Why was the national APWU caught off guard by the USPS consolidation plans?" APWU web site
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Movement in the Senate?
... and the would be House Majority Leader's connections to UPS and FedEx. Postcom.org and the Village Voice
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Wednesday, January 18
Former PMG Bill Henderson Will Run Netflix
"Netflix, Inc. (Nasdaq: NFLX - News) today announced the appointment of former U.S. Postmaster General William J. Henderson as chief operations officer of the world's largest online DVD rental service." Press release
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Management Assures NALC Of Supervisors' Restrictions In Making Changes to DOIS
"Postal management, in a recent meeting with NALC officials at USPS Headquarters, asserted that they had restricted the ability of local supervisors to access the Delivery Operations Information System (DOIS) and alter the base times that had been entered." NALC Bulletin
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Postal workers prepare for important visit
"Santa Fe postal workers said they had to work overtime Sunday and Monday in preparation for a top postal official's visit, which they expected this week." Santa Fe New Mexican
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Fired Iowa postal worker gets job back
"A Denison postal worker who was fired for allegedly sleeping on the job and leaving the scene of an accident is back on the government payroll." Des Moines Register
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Dead letter office
"Get used to rising stamp prices, writes Bill McAllister: The U.S. Postal Service is facing a crisis unlike anything it has known since its founding in 1775" Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
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Saving the Post Office
"There are, in many ways, two U.S. Postal Services. There is the one that people love to hate, especially after a hike in rates such as last week's two-penny jump... Then there is the Postal Service that has made huge strides in on-time delivery, runs one of the most impressively automated operations in the world and, for now, is bringing in a huge profit." Washington Post
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Editorial: Postal jobs
Regarding the USPS decision to build a new plant in Pontiac, MI: "... It also was helpful for Pontiac that its congressman, U.S. Rep. Joe Knollenberg, R-Bloomfield Hills, is a member of the majority party and chairs an important panel on the House Appropriations Committee. Power does have its privileges." Despite the sour grapes, the paper also carries this story: Postal Service delivers good news to Flint Flint Journal
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Court Comes Down Hard on Postmaster
"If there is any reader who believes the U.S. Postal Service is 'soft' on its managers who break the rules, a recent appeals court decision should convince you otherwise." Fedsmith.com click here to download the court decision
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More federal technology work expected to go private
"[Input, a market research firm] forecasts the largest growth in outsourcing for the Postal Service. It is expected to expand from $872 million in fiscal 2005 to more than $1.2 billion in fiscal 2010." Government Executive
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DMM Revision: Sack Preparation Changes for Periodicals Mail
"This final rule adopts new mailing standards for Periodicals mail prepared in sacks. The standards include two new types of sacks- a 3-digit carrier routes sack and a merged 3-digit sack- and a new minimum of 24 pieces for most other sacks." Federal Register
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Wednesday, January 11
DPS flats on the way
In remarks yesterday at the BOG meeting, PMG Jack Potter announced that "... the Postal Service will install and test a prototype flats sorting sequencer machine at the Indianapolis Mail Processing Annex which is designed to sort non-letter or flat-size mail efficiently into delivery route sequence." Installation is set for April. Also announced were more APPS installations, and upgrades to DBCS machines to replace existing MLOCRs and "eliminate manual mail sorting at delivery units". USPS News Release
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USPS On Rolls and Paid Employees Report for December
The Postal Rate Commission site has the latest ORPES report summarizing the USPS work force. Career complement was just over 700 thousand, down 3,561 from the same time last year. By function, the only significant increase was in rural delivery, up by 1,910 employees. Mail processing lost 1,895 career employees, city delivery 1,202, and customer services 1,179. (The Mailhandler craft actually increased by 1,155, probably indicating an internal shift from the clerk craft).By location, the only major increases were at Headquarters, up 138 employees or about 5%, and the Inspector General's office, up 87 employees.
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Missouri senator feels heat, wilts on postal reform
"The precise application of political pressure paid off for carriers when a special 'week of action' by NALC members in Missouri apparently persuaded Sen. Christopher Bond to relent in his one-man effort to block a Senate vote on postal reform legislation" NALC Postal Record
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BOG gets a temp Postcom reports that President Bush has 'recess appointed' John S. Gardner, General Counsel of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to the USPS Board of Governors. Gardner's qualifications for the post are not readily apparent from the somewhat thin resume listed on the USAID web site.Comment
Abramoff: Postal Connection?
Mentioned in passing in the Washington Post story on Jack Abramoff's guilty plea: 'On behalf of clients eager to stop internet gambling and postal rate legislation, Abramoff paid $50,000 in 10 equal monthly payments beginning in June 2000 to the wife of a congressional aide identified as Staffer A. Based on other information made public, Staffer A was Tony Rudy, at the time a top aide to [House GOP Leader Tom] DeLay.' Washington Post more: "Let the games begin!"Comment
Postal Workers Rally In Sioux City
Members of a western Iowa postal workers union are rallying for support to keep a mail processing and distribution center in Sioux City, Iowa. Associated Press
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