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TOP NEWS STORIES |
Postal Service angered by regulator review schedule
"The U.S. Postal Service said Thursday it is disappointed with
the schedule put forth by postal regulators to consider
proposed changes to Saturday mail delivery, arguing the Postal
Regulatory Commission needs to move faster to help the mail
agency avoid financial insolvency. In a statement, Postal
Service spokesman Gerald McKiernan said "We are very
disappointed to learn that the Commission has been unable to
develop a more expeditious schedule," adding later that "This
is a matter of considerable urgency for the Postal Service as
our financial condition continues to deteriorate. It's
critical that the Congress have an opportunity to review this
matter some time this year." -
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Senators indicate support for Postal Service reform in
subcommittee hearing
"The conservative Oklahoma Republican (Sen. Tom Coburn) voiced
support for moving to five-day-a-week delivery and reining in
labor costs. Coburn also pressed his colleagues to include a
requirement that the arbitrator in any collective bargaining
impasse must consider the USPS' overall financial health in
any reform legislation. "It's not realistic to have labor
negotiations that do not consider the financial health and
long-term viability of the organization," he said."
- Potter renews plea for postal reforms -
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Senate Subcommittee Hearing on The Future of the USPS
Goldway: "Similarly, FSS promised to transform the processing
of flats and catalogs so that they could be sorted
automatically into walk sequence, at lower cost and with
higher quality. Both the IMb and the FSS are behind schedule
in their implementation. It would be helpful at this juncture
to know if the Postal Service thinks these projects are not as
promising as originally envisioned." -
USPS move to five-day delivery isn't a done deal -
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Arbitrator: OIG Agents Intended to Make a Grievant's Life a
Living Hell
"Three months after the employee returned to duty, he was
summoned to the office of the County Sheriff's Department.
There he was greeted by two OIG agents as well as the County
Sheriff, who served him with an indictment from the county
Grand Jury. He was charged with theft of property in violation
of the Public Employee Corruption Act, a state statute aimed
at state employees. The employee was accused of a Class E
Felony and indicted for "theft of property ($5.00)." He was
advised to get an attorney, which he did at great expense." -
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MSPB Threatens to Withhold SE VP Linda Welch's Salary for
Delay in Back Pay Award (PDF)
"The agency has failed to identify the official responsible
for compliance. Accordingly, we have determined that Linda J
Welch, Acting Vice President, Southeast Area Operations, is
the agency official responsible for compliance. If the agency
fails to demonstrate compliance, the Board may seek the
withholding of the responsible agency official's pay until the
agency demonstrates compliances." -
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Oversight Committee to Examine Financial Viability of the
Postal Service
PMG Potter told Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), senior member of the
House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, the USPS
would not have to go from six-day to five-day delivery in the
short run if the USPS did not have to prefund retiree health
benefits to the tune of $75 billion. Maloney repeatedly asked
why the Postal Service was the only governmental agency (or
state agency, Fortune 100 company or private company) that had
to prefund its retiree health benefits. -
Video: Rep. Connolly Questions Potter -
Postal Service chief seeks congressional support -
GAO Report (PDF) -
Statement of PMG Potter (PDF) - Testimony
of Chairman Goldway, PRC (PDF) -
Federal Employee Issues Take Center Stage at Postal Service Hearing -
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GAO report endorses cuts in U.S. Postal Service
"The U.S. Postal Service's current business model "is not
viable," and the mail agency should make deeper job and wage
cuts, hire more part-time staff and consider outsourcing some
operations, according to a draft of a government audit
acquired by The Washington Post ... The Postal Service should
provide more lucrative incentive packages to potential
retirees in efforts to accelerate attrition, auditors said."
GAO:
Highlights of Report (PDF) - GAO: Full
Report (PDF) - GAO: Postal Service business model not
working -
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Early Retirement Rumors: Again, APWU Says: Don't Go!
"The APWU has challenged these VER offers in the
appropriate forums. As we noted in grievances protesting
non-incentive VERs, the National Agreement requires the
payment of severance pay to employees who voluntarily
terminate their employment through early retirement. We await
final disposition of the dispute. In the meantime, it is very
likely that postal management will pursue further reductions
in the employee complement through Voluntary Early Retirement
offers." - Selective early outs on the
way? -
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Big mailers oppose 5-day delivery
"The businesses that are going to be most affected are mail
service providers," O'Brien said. "If everyone is trying to
get their products delivered before the weekend ... they're
all going to push to schedule time in the middle of the week."
All of this will almost certainly hurt the Postal Service's
mail volume. The regulatory filing estimates five-day delivery
will reduce volume by 0.7 percent - roughly 1.2 billion pieces
of mail annually - at a cost of $197 million each year."
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End to Saturday mail faces resistance
- Business owners discuss possible Postal
Service changes - Your turn: What do you
think? -
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