Welcome to PEN! Postal News for Postal Employees

August 07, 2009
- The Philly Tribune tells us "Along with city, state and other government jobs, a gig at the post office was considered a �good� job � meaning where an African American could not only survive, but also thrive, while going in with no more than a high school diploma." -

- Opinion of the Longview News Journal is that "The time has come for the closure and consolidation of lesser-used facilities, and the time has come to end Saturday delivery. Yes, those cuts will be painful." -

- Sen. Collins critical of Postal Service shut-down proposals -
- Dave Granlund cartoon on the fate of the U.S. Postal Service
- Senate Bill Would Destroy Collective Bargaining -
Also see: Give-and-Take On the Coburn Amendment -
Click here to watch the hearing on cspan.org -

- Senators Fret Over Postal Service's Finances -
- Congress asked to OK postal cuts -
- Men rob post office and take off on four-wheeler -
- Mail Handlers: SENATE COMMITTEE ADDS ANTI-UNION AMENDMENT TO S. 1507
- Barrier to Postal Service Downsizing Is Being Ignored
- The White House: Ruth Goldway PRC Chair Designee - Also PRC
- Age in which letters are old-fashioned takes toll on Postal Service
- Pit Bull Put Down After Attacking Carrier, Owner Outraged
- Postal service part of American heritage

August 06, 2009
- PMG Video: U.S. Postal Service Briefing on Third Quarter Financial Results (33 minute video) -
Also: Watch Today's Hearing
Also see: Subcommittee Oversight Panel Holds Hearing on U.S. Postal Service Consolidation Initiatives -

- GAO Report: USPS Restructuring Urgently Needed to Achieve Financial Viability (PDF) -
- NALC President Rolando set to testify before Senate
Senate | C-SPAN -
- Don�t Blame the Web for Postal Service Woes -
- Like rain and sleet, cash shortfall and billions lost won�t stop USPS -
- USPS reports loss, while Senate delays action on bill -
- Postal closings, fewer mail days eyed -
- Bank of America, Citibank Increase Credit Offers -
- Postal Service Governor Appointed to New Position
- Save the Postal Service: Send a letter to Congress
- Rivaled by the Web, US mail service faces tough times
- OSHA cites Wis. postal facility for violations
- Mail carrier injured in dog attack
- US Postal Service proposes cockfighting ad ban

August 05, 2009
- PostCom: From Today's USPS Bd. Of Governors Meeting - The Governors have affirmed that Jack Potter will remain PMG "for many more years to come." Also see Financial Update -

- USPS paying for environmental performance -
- Postal Service going the way of phone booths -
- $2.4 Billion Quarterly Loss for Postal Service -
- Postal Service Delivers More Red Ink -
- Can the Postal Service Still Afford Periodicals? -
- Seattle sub-carrier charged in theft - deposits $208,307 check and tells wife they won the lottery -
- No Pony Express, Postal Service Slammed for 'Lumbering' System, Junk Mail Deliveries -
- Editorial: America needs a smaller Postal Service -
- Carrier charged with dealing drugs -
- Thieves Use Postal Service To Steal Identity -
- U.S. Postal Service Mulls Closure of 53 NYC Stations - Also see 14 Post Offices (Not 53) May Be Shuttered in City
- Bids Start at $300,000 for Chicago�s Old Post Office
- Plan to close three Clearwater post offices upsets customers
- The Patient is not Dead
- Going Part-Time Into Retirement

August 04, 2009
- Post office looks at changing hundreds of offices -
- Sick Leave Debate Makes Some Feds Sick -
- Anthrax case not closed: Panel reviews Bruce Ivins, mail probe -

- Postal Employee Pleads Not Guilty To Sex Assaults -
- Ex-postal worker allegedly took gift cards -
- Carrier charged with dealing drugs -
- Councilwoman asks for responses to Postal Service
- USPS may close 1,000 post offices -
- Will Electronic Reader Technology Affect the Postal Service?
OIG Blog -
- Take Action Today to Save Bargaining Rights for Postal Workers
AFL-CIO Now Blog -
- Postal Service may close hundreds of offices

August 03, 2009
- Do You Carry Health Insurance That You Chose Through The FEHBP (postal service options)? - If you do then you have the same coverage Congress has -

- 'Junk mail' deliveries drop off -
- Army moves to consolidate postal services -
- Postal service adjusts to declining volume by taking away collection boxes

August 02, 2009
- Congressman Kucinich Fights for Local Postal Service -
- Hundreds of Post Offices Could Soon Close -
- Sun City paves the way for postal workers of the future with the T3 -

August 01, 2009
- NALC Pres.: Seeing past the gloom to a brighter tomorrow -
- Burrus: Station and Branch Closures, Five-Day Delivery: Acts of Surrender, With the Battle�s Outcome in Doubt -
- Stopping Saturday mail delivery could mean layoffs for USPS -
- USPS: EAS 17 Selection Plan for Supervisor Customer Services and Supervisor Distribution Operations -
- NPMHU is now forced to oppose S. 1507 -
- Will the USPS Seek An 'Exigent' Rate Increase?
- U.S. Postal Service weighs service cuts
- Eklhart County mail carrier charged with stockpiling mail
- Postal Service May Close 20 Orange County Locations -
- Four post offices in West Palm Beach, Lantana, Boca Raton may close for good
- Citizens Try to Stop Closure of Black Eagle Post Office

NALC Presidents Message: Making sausage in the Washington jungle -

The Unofficial Guide to Flats Sequencing
The U.S. Postal Service is a bit schizophrenic when it comes to talking about the Flats Sequencing System. It has provided lots of information about the new technology but not answered some basic questions that have been kicking around for a couple of years. -

Questions and Answers on Incentive Program
The APWU and USPS have reached agreement on the answers to a series of questions regarding the incentive program for employees who retire or separate in the coming months. Read MOU RE: ONE-TIME RETIREMENT INCENTIVE | Also read INTERPRETATIONS - INCENTIVE MEMORANDUM -

Effective Dates of Retirement, Separation Limited
The USPS and APWU have agreed that employees who as of Aug. 24 had a scheduled retirement date of Sept. 30 or earlier will be permitted to retire or separate on the date they selected, and will be eligible to receive the $15,000 incentive negotiated by the union and management. -

USPS: EARLY OUT INCENTIVE OFFER WON�T AFFECT CUSTOMER SERVICE -

HOW DOES THE SALES DECLINE AT THE POSTAL SERVICE COMPARE TO THOSE AT LARGE PRIVATE-SECTOR BUSINESSES? -
IRET Congressional Advisory

USPS Seeks Industry Input on 5 Day Delivery | The Postal Service has released an industry survey regarding a reduction of mail delivery to five days. -

Burrus Responds to Wall Street Journal - USPS Has Snow, Rain and Heat Beat, but Money? | Also see This Response to WSJ -

Learning how not to manage people via the US Postal Service!
Laurie Ruettimann is mad because so many people are haters of the U.S. Postal Service. She�s got a point. They do a heck of a job delivering mail to the all the god-forsaken places that people live across the country for only forty-four cents per piece of first class mail. -

USPS is paying employees to do nothing -

OWCP Updates
The Office of Workers� Compensation Programs has made several important changes in recent months. See Source: APWU

Postmasters Want Buyouts Too -

$15,000 Retirement Offer for Clerks and Mail Handlers
A LETTER TO ALL EMPLOYEES FROM PMG JACK POTTER - From APWU > Union Negotiates Monetary Incentive For Retirements, Separations - PEN Ed Note: The Postal Service has not offered to negotiate a similar program for city or rural letter carriers. -

Also see: Federal Times and Wall Street Journal

A Better Way to Go Postal
WSJ Opinion article states - "No private business in America could continually raise prices, lose billions of dollars and then hope to win back customers by promising poorer service. About 80 cents of every postal dollar pays for employee salaries and benefits (compared to less than 50 cents for Fed Ex and UPS)." -

USPS Assailed for Airing Ads During Beck TV Broadcasts
APWU President Burrus has asked USPS to join with other companies and withdraw sponsorship of �The Glenn Beck Program.� Read Letter | Watch Beck Segment -

Prosecutors say postal workers ran gambling game - Also see Public Workers Accused of Running Gambling Ring and Staten Island MTA worker accused in gambling ring -

PMG Weighs In on Obama's USPS Diss -
Also see Eye Opener: PMG On Obama's Postal Comments

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs says he doubts Obama regrets using the postal service as a scapegoat and as an example of inefficiency since he (Obama) "repeated it." Also see White House doesn�t back down from postal dig | Accusing the Post Office of Acting Inefficiently -

USPS Station and Branch Closures - Burrus: �Short-Sighted� Strategy Will Mean Long-Term Damage -

USPS DPMG and COO Pat Donahoe says the current USPS business model is �not sustainable.� -

CBS TV Website Says USPS Still Advertising on Glenn Beck After Color of Change Call For Boycott | Petition In Favor Of Glenn Beck | Who Is Color of Change? | Color of Change Website -

The U.S. Postal Service: Our Next Bankruptcy? -

Obama Goes Postal, Lands in Dead-Letter | USPS Goes Postal on Obama After Post Office Crack -

Burrus Responds to NY Times Editorial | Also see APWU Responds to New York Times Column -

The Postal Service's Bid for Deliverance
Business Week: The deficit-burdened agency asks Congress to consider new jobs for carriers, such as drug delivery, that utilize their 'last mile' advantage. -

Gibbs: No "Postal Service" for Health Care
White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said on Face the Nation Sunday that President Obama is still in favor a government-sponsored health insurance plan -- but does not intend to replicate the beleaguered U.S. Postal Service. Also see Post Office Union Irked by Obama's Diss -

CNN Commentary: Say goodbye to Saturday mail?
It (USPS) has been a counted-on part of American life, something as certain as the sun coming up in the morning, and it seems to be on its way to extinction. -

Postal carrier driven to, from and around route because of drunk driving arrests -

President Throws U.S. Postal Service Under the Bus
PEN Ed: Consider the source here folks: Regarding the Presidents comparison of USPS to FedEx and UPS the writer says "...making the analogy and deriding the government-run mail carrier - while acknowledging that private-sector UPS and FedEx are �fine� - provides some nice ammo for those of us who think the government should be less involved in both health care and mail delivery." -

The President and the Postal Service
Obama said "I mean, if you think about it, UPS and FedEx are doing just fine, right? No, they are. It's the post office that's always having problems." Also see: Postal Service: Whipping boy of the health care debate -

Burrus: House GOP Takes A 'Cheap Shot' at Our Expense
I guess it should come as no surprise that Republicans in the House of Representatives have attempted to exploit an off-hand comment by President Obama that compared the Postal Service to FedEx and UPS during a town-hall meeting about healthcare. -

Mr. President, put to rest the dying postal service
Opinion by Robert Rector - former editor with the Pasadena Star-News and Los Angeles Times. -

Opening the mailbox
At the MTAC meeting, a mailer asked if mailers could have access to the mailbox for delivering periodicals, newspapers, and advertising on Saturday if the Postal Service stopped delivering on that day. While the hypothetical question was dismissed, it illustrates the risks that reducing delivering on that day could have for the Postal Service. Currently, access to the mailbox is restricted but reductions in the service that the Postal Service offers could create real demand for access that was just theoretical in the past. -

NAPS Writes Pres. Obama - Expresses Disappointment -
Also see League of Postmasters Comments

NALC: An Insulting One Page Brief from the Republican House Conference
The NALC issued a point-by-point rebuttal of a grossly inaccurate, partisan attack on the Postal Service and its 700,000 employees, perpetrated by by the House Republican Conference in an underhanded bid to derail health care reform. -

The Pensacola News Journal says "Given the Postal Service's structure, with 80 percent of costs in salary and benefits, that is obviously where the money is. And right now it is facing a heavy burden to pay for a retiree health-benefit fund. Can it afford it? If not, it's time to cut back." PEN Ed: Watch out folks, they're after your hard earned money and more. -

Dear USPS: Consider privatizing -

From PostCom - THE BIG LIE! Postal commentator Gene Del Polito says "There are lies....There are lies....And then there are damn lies! I don't know about you, but I've had my fill of listening to the claptrap peddled on the Hill by the American Postal Workers Union's William Burrus. As they once said about Joseph Goebbels and the Nazi big lie, if you tell an untruth often enough, people just might begin to believe it. What really got me was Burrus' baloney about people being paid four times what postal workers are paid to perform the kind of worksharing that has saved the Postal Service billions of dollars since worksharing's inception. Where are his facts? In reality, he has none." -

USPS Seeks OK To Enter New Lines Of Business
DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
The U.S. Postal Service is seeking permission from Congress to enter new lines of business, hoping to boost revenue at a time when traditional mail volumes are posting double-digit losses, putting the Postal Service into a deep financial hole. A green light from lawmakers could allow 30,000 post offices to offer banking and insurance products, renew drivers' licenses or sell pre-paid cellular telephone service, offsetting hits from the recession and a shift to electronic bill payment. "We cannot just sell stamps in those outlets," U.S. Postmaster General John Potter said at a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs subcommittee hearing Thursday. -

PostCom says "APWU has not told its members about the jobs that would be lost if and when the USPS puts through an exigency postal rate increase. Nor has it mentioned..." -

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