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TOP NEWS STORIES |
Senators balk at proposal to cut back mail delivery days
"Senator Collins accused Potter of using the crisis "to
unravel the intricate compromise of provisions, accommodations
and protections that made up our landmark [2006] postal reform
law. Its fundamental purpose was to look beyond short-term
fixes and to implement long-term solutions." Collins opposes
Potter's proposal to move away from six-day service, which she
said would drive more customers away.
"It's disheartening to hear you come forward and advocate the
elimination of that requirement," Collins said." -
eNAPUS: Postal Apocalypse Now (PDF) -
USPS: Potter's Testimony Explained -
NALC: 5-Day Delivery Not Best Solution (PDF)
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Burrus: PMG's Testimony Offers Little Insight
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Mail Service Cut Looks Less Likely:
Congressman says 'no way' - eBay Sellers Will Pay the Price
- Reactions Varied
- Experts See Dim Future for USPS
- Blogosphere Rejoicing -
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Postmaster General: Mail days may need to be cut
"Massive deficits could force the post office to cut out
one day of mail delivery, the postmaster general told Congress
on Wednesday, in asking lawmakers to lift the requirement that
the agency deliver mail six days a week. If the change
happens, that doesn't necessarily mean an end to Saturday mail
delivery. Previous post office studies have looked at the
possibility of skipping some other day when mail flow is
light, such as Tuesday." - Statement of
PMG Potter - Dan Blair (PRC) Testimony
(PDF) - GAO: Deteriorating Postal
Finances (PDF) - PostCom: Key Points
- iReport.com: What do you think?
- CNN: Six
days city, 5 days rural? -
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NAPS: PMG Potter to Address Worsening USPS Finances Wednesday
"Greater clarity should come about on Wednesday afternoon when
Postmaster General Jack Potter appears before a Senate postal
oversight panel to testify on the deteriorating financial
health of the Postal Service and what can be done to stabilize
the ship." -
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Postmaster General Announces New Appointments
"The current economic climate is one reason the Postal Service
is moving forward with one, integrated sales and service team.
The Sales team now will include the Business Service Network,
Business Development Teams and the analytical support provided
by the Customer Relationship Management unit. Integrating all
revenue-generating departments within the Postal Service will
allow the organization to focus on serving the needs of our
customers in order to grow the business. Susan Plonkey will
head this effort." - Postal Service
Names New CFO and Executive Vice President -
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Will the USPS Ask for a Second Postage Increase?
"The U.S. Postal Service is expected to say next month how
much standard mail rates are increasing but there's growing
doubt among some observers that the hike - or hikes - won't be
as small as expected. They fear that the USPS could file an
"exigent" rate case that would drive the rates up even more." -
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Significant Changes Expected; Sacrifices Must Be Shared,
Burrus Says
"Over the past several months I have attempted to alert
APWU members to the financial crisis that is confronting the
Postal Service, and the substantial impact it will have upon
postal employees... Well, change is upon us: In the near
future, the Postal Service will implement modifications to
postal operations that are unprecedented in the 230-year
history of this great institution. Change will take place, and
the changes will affect employees." -
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eNAPUS: Postal Stimulus Initiative (PDF)
"NAPUS has been working closely with other postal employee
groups to include H.R. 22 within the $825 billion "2009
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act", aka the economic
stimulus package. On January 6, Reps. John McHugh (R-NY) and
Danny Davis (D-IL) introduced H.R. 22; it is identical to
legislation introduced in December. The bill would permit the
USPS, for an 8-year period, to pay employee FEHBP premiums out
of its Retiree Health Benefits Trust Fund." -
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League of Postmasters
and Other Management Associations Meet With USPS on NPA Issues
"We have been unsuccessfully trying, over the last few years,
to engage the Postal Service in meaningful dialogue regarding
PFP/NPA, however, at our meeting we may have turned the corner
towards coming into compliance with Title 39 of the U.S. Code
which states in part that the management associations will
directly participate in the planning and development of
programs affecting pay." -
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New Orleans: NAPS Branch
73 President Sees Racism in District's Unscheduled Absence
Policy for Inauguration Day
"NAPS Branch
73 President Charles Turner believes "cloaked racism" is
behind a USPS Louisiana District memo concerning employees who
have unscheduled absences on the day Obama is sworn into
office. Normally, employees in good standing are not required
to submit documentation for absences of three days or less.
However, Louisiana postal employees have been warned that
failure to provide documentation (for an unscheduled absence
on this one day) may result in an absence without leave charge
and appropriate disciplinary action up to and including
removal." -
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Letter carrier loses job after going to shot fiance's side
"As a veteran letter carrier for the U.S. Postal Service,
Tammy Rochester knows that neither snow nor rain nor heat nor
gloom of night should slow the mail. And now she has learned
that neither should a bullet in her fiance's neck. The Postal
Service has notified Rochester that she will be out of a job
after leaving her mail route following a Dec. 10 incident in
which her fiance, David Dill, was shot pursuing a bank robbery
suspect." - Fired mail carrier will keep
job, Postal Service says -
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USPS, Management Associations Meet on NPA Issues
"The USPS has failed to provide the management
associations with their Consultative rights under Title 39,
with respect to NPA and failed to provide the management
organizations opportunities to meet with the NPA developers to
provide feedback and recommendations to the plans that
eventually become our pay program each year." -
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Technology, Availability Alter How Mail is Sent, Received
"Swift changes have come in recent years to the ways
people must send letters and packages to one another -
affecting everything from pickup locations to lengths some
locals must go to purchase postage stamps." -
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Burrus Update: Declining Volume, Killing the Messenger,
Excessive Discounts
"The Postal Service response has been to "kill the
messenger." Instead of maintaining a complement of employees
sufficient to process, transport, and deliver the mail to the
Philadelphia community, postal management contracted with a
private, high-priced public relations firm that has sought to
obscure the facts. And, after lengthy review and analysis, the
Postal Service has documented postal employees sleeping in
locker rooms during their lunch breaks. Give me a break!" -
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The Year That Lies Ahead
"Perhaps Congress should ask postal management and the
governors what they intend to do to help ensure the Postal
Service will thrive (let alone just survive) in the
challenging times that lay ahead. After all, why pour money
into an institution that already has demonstrated that the
manner in which it's managed the nation's postal system for
well over two centuries no longer is viable? It's time, I
would think, that the governors and management be required to
show they know how to shepherd the nation's postal system in a
more financially viable and prudent way." -
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Detroit: Postal Service set for big shift
"People used to getting mail from the same postal carrier
at the same time each day may be in for a surprise. Across
metro Detroit and the nation, the U.S. Postal Service plans
this month and in February to shift thousands of carriers and
delivery times as a cost-saving measure. It may be the largest
single batch of such changes in Postal Service history, said
Dan Orton, spokesman for post offices in Macomb, Oakland, St.
Clair and other counties." -
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