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TOP NEWS STORIES |
PRC Holding Public Hearings on
Universal Service Obligation
"The St. Paul hearing is the second of three public hearings
held outside of Washington, D.C. The first hearing took place
on May 21, 2008 in Flagstaff, Arizona. A third hearing will be
held on June 19, 2008, at City Hall in Portsmouth, New
Hampshire. The Commission will also hold a public workshop on
June 12, 2008, at 10:00 a.m., in Washington, D.C. "Congress
tasked the Commission with providing a comprehensive review of
the universal service obligation and the postal monopoly. Our
hearings will elicit views of the public's expectations for
the American postal system," said Dan G. Blair, chairman of
the Commission." - St. Paul Field
Hearing Release (PDF) - Federal Register (PDF) -
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Two Accused of Defrauding Postal Service
"Bobbie Sinko and Matthew English are jointly named in 25
separate counts of defrauding the postal service in a series
of mailings between 2005 and the fall of 2007. Sinko, who was
fired when the alleged fraud was discovered, is also named
individually in 12 additional counts of defrauding the Postal
Service by manipulating internal records "in such a way that
bulk mailings presented to the Postal Service by Central
Michigan University were mailed for free." -
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Postal Worker Time-Off Scam
"A Queens postal worker was charged with scamming Uncle
Sam to get a few days off, authorities said. Police said
Arlene Moscat, 30, told her bosses at the Jackson Heights Post
Office on Northern Boulevard that her mother had been
hospitalized at a Bronx hospital and she needed a few days off
to take care of her... Law enforcement sources said Moscat
admitted she pulled the scam to get a few days off. Moscat was
charged with petit larceny and falsifying business records."
(scroll down for story) -
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Fundraising by Mail - Good Luck
"First Class mail is hemorrhaging cash for the United
States Postal Service, Do Not Mail legislation is on the rise
around the country, and universal and six-day delivery could
look a lot different in a few years. There's no shortage of
issues for those in the mail industry to worry about, and they
were all on the table at a conference sponsored recently by
the Alliance of Nonprofit Mailers, a Washington, D.C.-based
coalition of more than 300 nonprofits and commercial service
providers." -
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High Gas Prices Affecting U.S. Postal Service
"U.S. Postal Service spokeswoman Kim Yates says there are
about 800 mail vehicles used in Indianapolis, and all of them
are necessary to get out our mail. She says we can expect
slight increases in postage rates if gas prices keep rising.
Yates also says she expects folks who hand-deliver payments
for their monthly bills to starting mailing them more to save
gas. Yates says mail trucks use a consistent amount of fuel
each day. She says there has been discussion on the federal
level to eliminate Saturday mail delivery to save fuel." -
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USPS Deploys 10,000 BlackBerrys
"USPS recently deployed about 10,000 BlackBerry handhelds
running commercial and homegrown applications. Operations
employees and information technology staff are using most of
them, said Rick Zambrano, sales center vice president at AT&T
Government Solutions. "The reason they started to deploy with
their operations and IT teams is because it's all about trying
to get more productivity and to be quicker to respond,"
Zambrano said." -
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Boulder postal worker wins $200K in discrimination case
"An employee at the Valmont Butte branch of the U.S.
Postal Service says he feels vindicated following a jury's
decision this week to award him $200,000 in damages because he
was harassed and discriminated against for being
African-American. Raymond Jackson, an Aurora man who has
worked at the post office since 1994, said his superior moved
his desk to a windowless office in 2004 in retaliation for
filing a physical disability complaint." -
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One Person's Junk Mail Is the Postal Service's Treasure
"TELLURIDE - A grassroots effort to help community members
take charge of the amount of junk mail they receive was
briefly thwarted on Tuesday when the United States Postal
Service forced organizers enrolling people in a catalog
reduction service to leave its premises." -
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Ethanol Vehicles for Post Office Burn More Gas, Get Fewer
Miles
"The U.S. Postal Service purchased more than 30,000
ethanol-capable trucks and minivans from 1999 to 2005, making
it the biggest American buyer of alternative-fuel vehicles.
Gasoline consumption jumped by more than 1.5 million gallons
as a result." - WSJ: Going Postal: With
Flex-Fuel Trucks, Postal Service Burns MORE Gas -
UPS Orders 200 Hybrid and 300 CNG Vehicles
From Daimler -
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National Postal Forum: Postmaster General Embraces Change
"Potter spoke about new technologies that are providing
these solutions - Intelligent Mail Barcode and the Flat
Sequencing System (FSS). FSS is new technology that will speed
the sorting and delivery of large envelopes, catalogs and
magazines, quadrupling productivity. FSS machines also will be
able to read the Intelligent Mail Barcode, allowing mailers
and the Postal Service to track mail throughout the sortation
process, improving service and reducing costs to mailers and
consumers." - National
Postal Forum -
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Ex-postal worker gets prison for disability benefits fraud
"A former U.S. Postal Service employee who was convicted
of lying about a back problem to get disability benefits will
spend a year in federal prison. Chief U.S. District Judge
Richard Cebull on Monday sentenced Karis Anne Blank to one
year and a day in prison and ordered her to pay $37,462
restitution. The term allows Blank to qualify for a shorter
term for good behavior. The sentence was at the low end of the
guideline range of a year to 18 months." -
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NALC Bulletin: Young Urges Congress to Bolster Financial
Status of Postal Service (PDF)
"NALC President William H. Young told Congress May 8 that
it should take three definitive steps to fix harmful financial
problems not addressed in postal reform legislation enacted in
2006, and also to remedy an inequity affecting injured postal
employees as a result of a provision that was included in the
law." -
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Police investigate teens' midday beating of postal carrier
"Police continue to investigate a brazen attack on a U.S.
Postal Service worker that occurred May 8 on Columbus' East
Side. Six male teenagers initiated the attack on the carrier,
police said. The offenders were dressed similarly, with white
T-shirts, and all were 14 to 19 years old, Kathy Lucas said. "The
motive, and even police agree on this, is the potential of
playing the knockout game... where somebody 'sucker punches'
an individual to see whose punch knocks out the person," Lucas
said." -
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SF Postal Bosses Go Postal: Postal Workers Protest Terrorism
On The Job |
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"On
May 2, 2008, over 100 San Francisco postal workers protested
harassment, intimidation and terrorism by postal supervisor
Ron Malig. This protest was not the first against growing
threats against postal workers on the job." -
Malig's Response -
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APWU: E! Television Series Is Offensive to Postal Workers
"In a crass display of sensationalism, E! Entertainment
Television is broadcasting a series titled Going Postal: 15
Shocking Acts of Violence. "The title of the series is an
affront to more than 700,000 hard-working postal employees who
are stigmatized by the cruel stereotype that suggests that
postal workers are violent sociopaths," APWU President William
Burrus wrote in a letter to Brian L. Roberts, Chairman and CEO
of Comcast, which owns E! "Of course, statistics show that
postal employees are no more likely to engage in acts of
violence than the public at large, "the union president said." - Videos:
Going Postal: Trolley Square Shooting - Luby's Massacre -
Life Goes On?
- Danger Signs -
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Post offices in Halma, Minn., and Pisek, N.D., head for
closure
"The manager for nearly all post offices in northwestern
Minnesota and northeastern North Dakota said offices in two
area small towns will be suspended and eventually shut down
because there aren't qualified employees to run them." -
Halma residents decry loss of post office -
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Bulk mailers get discounts, you get pricier stamps
"With gas now costing nearly four bucks a gallon, a 42-cent
stamp might not sound like much. But while stamp prices climb,
the Postal Service keeps offering sweetheart deals to bulk
mailers and the postal labor unions. Ordinary consumers ought
to ask why the Postal Service is delivering for everyone but
them." -
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USPS stamp price increases Monday
"The price of stamps is going up once again. A new stamp rate
increase takes effect on Monday, May 12. The cost to mail a
letter will go up a penny, from 41 cents to 42 cents. The
"Forever" stamp will, however, remain valid for full postage
after the price increase. Although stamp prices are going up,
the post office will lower the price for shipping express mail
and priority mail online." - Postal rate
hike hurts - As postal rates rise,
electronic marketing looks better -
The Post Office's Money-Losing Rate Hike -
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Food Drive: Giving Gestures Carried Out
"On Saturday, 51 letter carriers in the Carson and Dayton
areas were dispatched to deliver the mail and pick up food
packages. Much of the food ended up at the Roop Street post
office, where volunteers from the Carson Friends in Service
Helping center sorted and loaded the donated goods into
waiting delivery trucks. The food also helps the Advocates to
End Domestic Violence group. Letter carriers collected 39,810
pounds of food this year." - Ocala, FL
- Port Huron, MI -
Worcester, MA -
Reno, NV -
Roanoke, VA -
More... -
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APWU: Postal Reform Act Is No Endorsement of Privatization
"The passage of the Postal Accountability and Enhancement
Act in December 2006 did not change the fundamental mission of
the Postal Service, an APWU leader testified on Capitol Hill,
and should not be perceived as justification for privatizing
the nation's mail system or eliminating its obligation to
provide service to all Americans." -
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Woman awarded $382,500 in case against U.S. Postal Service
"A federal jury has awarded a black woman more than
$380,000 in her racial discrimination lawsuit against the U.S.
Postal Service. Sheryl Rogers, a former night shift mail
sorter at the Des Moines Post Office, testified during the
trial that the harassment included chants of racial epithets
by her co-workers." -
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USPS Reports Second Quarter Loss of $707 Million - Economic
Slowdown Cited
"Mail volume for the quarter ending March 31 totaled 51.3
billion pieces, a 3.3 percent drop from the previous second
quarter. First-Class Mail volume decreased by 3.1 percent and
Standard Mail volume was down 3 percent. Year-to-date total
mail volume is down by 3.1 percent compared to the same period
last year. If the trend continues, this will be only the
seventh year total mail volume has decreased in the last 50
years and could be the largest decline since 2002." -
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Nothing says Forever like these babies
"My generation is much less reliant on mail," said Glen Bland,
24. To illustrate the point, he held up a book of Forever
stamps that cost $8.20. "This book here I just bought will
probably last me over a year," said Bland, a North Side
resident. "I just don't mail that many things." -
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Battle of the Brands
"The largest player in the U.S. overnight package delivery
business is attempting to increase its market share in the
fast-delivery business next month. USPS is barely holding on
to its 32% market share in the business, as FedEx and UPS
continue to push the envelope at 31% and 25% market share,
respectively. For the first time, shippers using Express Mail,
Priority Mail, and several other parcel services will be able
to get lower rates for large- and medium-volume contracts,
according to the agency. Will UPS and FedEx need to cut their
prices further to compete with the USPS?" -
Postal
Service Launching Competitive Expedited Mail Prices -
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SF Postal Workers Call for Removal of Abusive Boss
"The picketers carried signs reading, "Ron Malig Is Hostile
and Cruel," "It's Impossible To Work With Ron Malig," and
"First Class Stamp 42 Cents, Gallon of Gas $4, Being Abused By
Ron Malig, Priceless." The picketers chanted with gusto, "What
Do We Want, Ron Malig To Go, When Do We Want It, Now!" -
Postal workers go postal with picket -
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Complaints of undelivered mail, poor service dog Rockaway
post offices
"Postal problems in the Rockaways are piling up like junk
mail. Rep. Gregory Meeks is hosting a town hall meeting Friday
to address growing dissatisfaction with mail service on the
peninsula, and has invited U.S. Postal Service brass from
Washington to listen to the complaints. "There is so much
incompetence and lack of supervision" at the Far Rockaway post
offices, said Meeks. "I'm hearing from a lot of seniors who
don't get their Social Security checks on time. A lot of
people aren't getting their bills." -
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Carrier Accused of Warning Customer About 'Mail Cover'
Surveillance
"Here's a good reason to remember your postal carrier at
Christmas time. Apparently, he or she can tell you if the
government is secretly monitoring your mail. Federal
prosecutors in Detroit say letter carrier Darlene Cry
illegally tipped off a postal customer that he was the subject
of a "mail cover" -- a form of warrantless surveillance in
which the envelope information on every card and letter
received is secretly recorded by the Post Office, then passed
to federal law enforcement or intelligence officials." -
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