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TOP NEWS STORIES |
Postal Service Announces Plans to Consolidate CFS Sites
"In letters dated Oct. 7 and Dec. 1, 2009, the USPS notified
the APWU of plans to consolidate 39 Computer Forwarding System
(CFS) sites in Fiscal Year 2010. The consolidation is a result
of the implementation of the Postal Automated Redirection
System (PARS). Initially, the Postal Service plans to have
just one CFS site per district, and later one site per state." -
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USPS Lost $255 Million in November
"The US Postal Service posted a net loss of $255 million for
the month of November, bringing the fiscal year to date loss
to $476 million after the first two months of FY 2010. Total
mail volumes were down by 4%, or about 600 million fewer
pieces than a year ago. First class mail volume was actually
up from the prior year, by 3.3% The increase, however, is
mostly due to the fact that there was one more business day
this year compared with November 2008." -
USPS sees net loss of $255M for November -
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'Unprecedented' Discipline at Dallas Post Office
"I would also like to report on the latest action the
branch has taken to respond to the unprecedented level of
discipline issued at Parkdale Station in recent months. For
your information, 19 letter carriers have been disciplined a
total of 73 times. The breakdown is 23 Letter of Warnings, 41
Suspensions, 6 Removals and 3 Emergency Placements. At the
present time, 46 actions have been adjudicated, of which only
6 have been upheld. There has been more discipline issued at
Parkdale Station than all the other 29 Dallas stations
combined." (Sid Simmons, President NALC Branch 132) -
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5 Held Hostage at Rural Virginia Post Office
"An armed man took five people hostage Wednesday at a post
office in a small, rural town, officials said. Shots were
fired, but there were no reports of injuries. Police cordoned
off a three-block area, and Virginia State Police sent in a
SWAT team and a bomb technician. "We've got quite a few folks
on the scene," said Corinne Geller, a spokeswoman for the
Virginia State Police." -
Suspect had 5 hostages and 5 pounds of C-4 explosive strapped
to his wheelchair -
Gunman is in custody -
Hostage standoff at post office is over -
One-legged Warren 'Gator' Taylor surrenders to robot -
Suspect had no beef with post office -
Angry at government - Hostages say
suspect opened up -
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Burrus: A Clear Picture
"I have repeatedly expressed the union's opposition to
excessive workshare discounts that shift the costs of postal
services from large mailers to individual users. And I have
frequently pointed out that the law governing the USPS
stipulates that discounts must not exceed the postal cost
avoided." -
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CNN Does Story on USPS 'Imprudent Spending'
"(CNN) -- The U.S. Postal Service spent more than $792,000
"without justification" on meals and events in one five-month
period even as it reported losing $3.8 billion this year, the
agency's inspector general says in a report." -
UPI: Postal Service lavish on some meals -
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USPS cutting losses, targets Saturday delivery
"Leaders at the Postal Service say they're going to ask
Congress to end Saturday mail delivery next year in order to
save money. The formal proposal could come soon in the new
year. Pat Donahoe, Deputy Postmaster General, told the Federal
Drive the Saturday elimination is what the customers would
rather have." -
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Watchdog urges Postal Service managers to support cost-cutting
initiative
"GAO praised the National Reassessment Process as an
"important step" in ensuring USPS finds appropriate positions
for workers with job-related injuries. The watchdog agency
noted, however, that managers must emphasize the importance of
the program, under which workers either receive meaningful
assignments they can perform despite their injuries or a
referral to the Labor Department's Office of Workers'
Compensation Programs." -
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Union leader claims Waterbury post office overwhelmed, hiding
leftover mail in closets
"For those who have received a bill a day late or found the
birthday card they sent to a loved one didn't arrive in time,
the president of the local American Postal Workers Union might
be able to shed some light on the tardiness. Ray Arcovio,
president of the Waterbury area postal workers' union, says
managers at the post office have been hiding mail in closets
and unused rooms at mail facilities in Waterbury and
Wallingford because they've had trouble processing and
delivering a high volume of mail." -
On
Drudge Report: You've Got Mail, But the Mailman Hid It -
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No Christmas Miracle at the Post Office
"Will this year's holiday shipping season be the last for
dozens of U.S. post office branches? Bob Guitierrez hopes not.
For more than four decades, the Kansas City business owner has
been a loyal customer of his local Kansas Avenue post office
station, which sits across the street from his food
manufacturing plant, Art's Mexican Products. Today, it is one
of more than 200 post office locations around the country that
the U.S. Postal Service is considering closing as it grapples
with revenue declines that led to a $3.8 billion loss this
year." -
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Burrus: Here We Go Again!
"This leaves us with just one alternative - one that is viable
whether the economy remains stagnant or recovers - a
partnership with small business. There are millions of small
businesses that have virtually no marketing budget and no
expertise in advertising. For many, that is why their
potential for growth is so limited. Small businesses generally
rely on word-of-mouth recommendations and walk-in traffic. If
the Postal Service could introduce them to the world of
hard-copy advertising, both would grow." -
Is the Future in Letter Mail? -
Archives: Lessons From the Internet -
Perhaps the USPS should advertise Click2Mail as it does
Priority Mail? -
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DPMG Discusses Delivery Performance, Wait Time In Line
"Reviewing year-to-date performance for WTIL, Donahoe
reports that the average WTIL in Post Offices surveyed is just
over 3 minutes. Year-to-date WTIL performance stands at 84.3
percent. This year's goal is for 88 percent of customers to
experience a wait time in Post Office lobbies of 5 minutes or
less. "Treat customers the way you would want to be treated,"
says Donahoe. "The holiday season is our opportunity to show
customers we respect their time and want their business." -
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NALC Joins With Major Labor Unions in Urging Senate to Drop
Tax on Health Plans (PDF)
"NALC President Fred Rolando, in a joint letter with leaders
of four other major labor unions, urged Senate Majority Leader
Harry Reid (D-NV) December 1 to seek an alternative in pending
health care legislation to a proposed excise tax on health
insurance plans that would unjustly penalize millions of
middle-income workers." - APWU, Other
Federal Unions Assail Excise Tax - Federal
Workers Gripe About Senate Health Bill -
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USPS OIG Audit Report Details 'Imprudent' Purchases (PDF)
Excerpts: "No business justification was provided for $355,451
of food provided at a September 2008 national sales
educational conference attended by over 600 employees... We
noted that beer and wine were served on one occasion, a
bartender charge of $500 was included on one occasion, and one
dinner for 650 guests totaled $62,714... A postmaster
installation celebration and reception held in October 2008
included unallowable food purchases totaling over $17,000. The
menu included crab cakes, beef wellington, shrimp, and
scallops." -
Prior OIG Report Warned of
Excesses: TIVO, Sports Tickets, GPS, TVs, Video Games,
Espresso Machine, More... (PDF) -
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USPS lost $209 million in October
"Preliminary financial results for October show that the
postal service lost $209 million for the month. That's
actually better than the agency had planned, but reflects a
continued slide in volumes and revenue. Total mail volume was
also just slightly better than plan for the month, but 17.3%
lower than October 2008, a drop of 3.3 billion pieces of mail.
That resulted in an 11% drop in revenue compared to last year." -
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USPS goal: Reduce petroleum use by 2% a year
"To tackle the increase in fuel use, the Postal Service
is attempting to consolidate routes so it needs fewer vehicles
to deliver the mail. It cut 10,000 routes this year, which
took about 7,000 vehicles off the road, and has set a 2010
target to take another 5,000 vehicles out of commission.
Additionally, the Postal Service has included reducing fuel
consumption as a performance goal for managers. Those who
don't meet the annual goal receive smaller pay raises, while
those who exceed the goal are rewarded with higher increases." -
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USPS: Report on the Future Business Model of the Postal
Service
"The following Postal Service report, "Assessment of the
U.S. Postal Service Future Business Model," represents just
one aspect of that consultation process, and serves as a
starting point for an ongoing discussion. While the law does
not specify a timeframe for potential changes to the future
business model, the Postal Service believes any changes should
be more than incremental and address not only the current
financial crisis, but also how to best serve the country for
the next 10 to 20 years. This is considered an interim report,
as the Postal Service continues to analyze potential options."
- Alan Robinson: Future Business Models for
the USPS -
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