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TOP NEWS STORIES |
PRC Annual Report Pursuant to the Securities and Exchange Act
(PDF)
"Based on the Postal Service's achievement on
pay-for-performance goals and metrics for 2008, the Governors
awarded Mr. Potter $18,300 for fiscal year 2008. Pursuant to
his contract, the Governors awarded Mr. Potter a performance
incentive of $116,741 for fiscal year 2008. In doing so the
Governors considered Mr. Potter's effective leadership during
the difficult economic challenges of 2008, his implementation
of a number of process improvements that led to record service
levels at a lower cost, the steps he took that strategically
positioned the Postal Service to maintain its viability for
the future, and his achievement of personal goals set by the
Governors for the fiscal year."
Excerpt: Summary Compensation
Table - Archives: Postal Service Wants
Postmasters and Supervisors to Forgo NPA Payouts -
PostalNews.com: PMG Earned $857,459 in FY 2008,
will get $1.35 million retirement bonus -
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APWU Files Unfair Labor Practice Charge Over Elimination of
Tour 2
"The APWU has filed an Unfair Labor Practice charge
against the Postal Service, alleging that management failed to
bargain over a nationwide plan to consolidate mail processing
into two tours - a plan that would eliminate or greatly reduce
the number of assignments on Tour 2. The charge, filed Nov. 25
with the National Labor Relations Board, also asserts that the
Postal Service failed to provide information to the union
regarding this initiative." -
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What ails the mail? Businesses cite lateness
"Deborah Frederick, a member of the Meriden Postal
Employees Safety Committee, sent a letter to the
Record-Journal last week asking residents to leave their
lights on and clear sidewalks and walkways of hazards so
carriers can make their late deliveries. "They don't have
enough help," Daniels said. "We wouldn't be delivering this
late if the routes were properly adjusted." The union is
fighting to get the post office to reinstate some of the
routes, and one was restored in September. The union claims
its attempts to offer advice have previously been ignored by
the post office." -
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Blue Mailboxes Disappearing
"When's the last time you sent an email or paid a bill
online? Now how about the last time you sent a letter? This
year, the U.S. Postal Service will deliver eight billion fewer
letters than it did seven years ago. This sharp decline is why
blue mailboxes are disappearing from America's postal
landscape." - Street corners to be just
a little less blue -
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Union Decries Conditions for Postal Workers
"Arthur Prouse (APWU) said clerks aren't getting restroom
breaks and injured carriers are filling in as clerks, which is
against their contract. Some postal carriers are out until
1:30 a.m. delivering mail, using miner flashlights to see. "At
some of the stations around the city, there's mail that's been
sitting there for three weeks, including prescription
medication," he said."
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Unprecedented Route Adjustment Process
"The USPS today at the MTAC meeting announced an
unprecedented route adjustment process as a result of a joint
effort between the USPS and the NALC. The USPS said it needs
to eliminate 9200 city carrier routes in FY 2009 in order to
meet its budget goals. It said the route adjustments could
impact 50 million addresses, 85,000-90,000 carrier routes and
5,000 delivery units." (Source: Postcom.org 11/20/08)
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APWU: USPS Denies Existence of Program to Eliminate Tour 2
"Management's Nov. 14 letter says, "While the Postal Service
is reviewing various options designed to improve operational
efficiencies in light of decreased mail volume, the Postal
Service has not implemented the nationwide program you
suggest. Rather, operations will be reviewed on a site-by-site
basis and any action taken to improve operational efficiencies
will be based on local circumstances."
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APWU: Bush's Lame Duck Labor Department To Implement Onerous FMLA
Rule Changes
"As the Bush administration prepares to leave office, it
is giving workers one more kick in the teeth: The Department
of Labor announced last week that it would implement new
regulations governing the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
that will make it harder for workers who are covered by the
law to use the leave."
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Postal Service investigates PMG Potter's VIP mortgage
"The Postal Service is investigating whether the nation's
postmaster general improperly received a sweetheart deal on a
mortgage from Countrywide Financial Corp., the chairman of the
service's governing board said. Postmaster General John E.
Potter is one of several prominent current and former U.S.
officials who received discounts and other benefits from the
mortgage giant. The Postal Service has hired an outside
investigator to review the deal, which reportedly included one
shaved point and waived fees for Potter's $322,700 loan."
Countrywide's Many 'Friends'
| Angelo's Many 'Friends'
| Mozilo and Potter Both Fordham Alumni
- Holiday Ethics (PDF)
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Next up for bailout? USPS
"Add the U.S. Postal Service to the list of ailing
businesses seeking help from Congress.
The agency asked Congress last week to allow it to dip into a
trust fund to pay for its retirees' health care. In addition,
the agency plans to cut 100 million work hours this fiscal
year, its board of governors announced last week. Both steps
illustrate the Postal Service's dire financial condition: It
lost $2.8 billion in 2008, despite slashing nearly $2 billion
in expenses. Experts say the 2008 numbers underline the need
for more sweeping changes."
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USPS to Change Shipping Prices in January
"The move to annual January price changes for shipping
services products is consistent with industry-wide practice,
and provides a clear picture of the competitive, affordable
prices the Postal Service offers," said Robert Bernstock,
president, Mailing and Shipping Services. Prices will change
on Sunday, Jan. 18, for Express Mail, Priority Mail, Parcel
Select, Parcel Return Service and some international shipping
products. Overall, shipping services prices will increase an
average of 5 percent."
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Economy-Driven Mail Volume Decline Contributes to Postal
Service $2.8 Billion Year-End Loss
"The U.S. Postal Service concluded the 2008 fiscal year (Oct.
1, 2007-Sept. 30, 2008) with a net loss of $2.8 billion as the
national economic slowdown lowered mail volume and as the
Postal Service bore additional costs mandated by the Postal
Act of 2006. The loss occurred despite more than $2 billion in
cost-cutting measures that included the use of 50 million
fewer workhours compared to the previous year. The Postal
Service continued to improve national on-time First-Class Mail
delivery performance, reaching record highs in FY 2008."
- Post office $2.8 billion in the red
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USPS: 40,000 Layoffs at the Postal Service - NOT TRUE
"A news story currently in wide
circulation is reporting that the Postal Service will soon
layoff 40,000 employees. This story is not accurate.
Originating out of Shreveport, LA, the story does quote a
Postal Service spokesperson. Unfortunately, that spokesperson
was in error. The Postal Service is not laying off employees.
Efforts to match our workforce to a reduced workload are
focused on voluntary early retirements. Voluntary early
retirement has been offered to a number of employees and to
date, 3,685 employees have accepted the offer."
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Hundreds of Postal Workers Reporting Respiratory Problems
"Current and former postal workers blame paper dust
inside the post offices. The last government studies on postal
dust were ten years ago. The U.S.P.S says the science can't
verify their theory. That's not acceptable for people who say
they're "sorting through a sickness." "I do believe that my
life is going to be shortened," says former postal employee
Delphine Howard. She and other former US postal workers in the
Chicago area say they're all fighting chronic respiratory
illness. Their medical records reflect their claims. They all
say they've never smoked."
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Expect Less Junk in the Mail as Marketers Continue Cutbacks
"Marketers are generally a persistent lot, but they're
beginning to think that bombarding your mailbox might not be
worth it... All of the catalogers I'm talking to are working
to reduce their dependence on mail," said Hamilton Davison,
executive director of the American Catalog Mailers
Association, which estimates that companies spend $5.6 billion
on postage annually. "The industry is feverishly trying to
figure out a way to find viable [customers] in other ways and
when it does there'll be an enormous migration away from mail."
- The Earnings Warning Hiding in Your Mailbox
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APWU: USPS Scraps Western Iowa Consolidation Plan
"The local was instrumental in bringing the matter to public
attention, staging demonstrations at the city's main post
office on the day Harkin first spoke out on the consolidation,
and again several months later during the APWU's "National Day
of Information Picketing." Local APWU members also pushed for
- and were quite vocal at - public meetings on the matter.
APWU President William Burrus said that the cancelled
consolidation was business as usual. "It's the end of yet
another Postal Service plan to disproportionately help big
corporate special interests such as advertising mailers who
presort their mail at the expense of local business owners and
citizens."
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APWU: Union Requests Documentation of Supervisors Performing
Bargaining Unit Work in Small Offices
"The information is necessary to determine whether the Postal
Service has violated the contract at these offices," Burrus
said, noting that Article 1.6.A and 1.6.B of the Collective
Bargaining Agreement restrict the circumstances under which
management personnel can perform craft work. Article 1.6.A.
prohibits supervisors from performing craft work - except in
an emergency; for training purposes; to assure proper
operation of equipment, or to protect the safety of employees
and postal property."
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OIG Investigators Crack Bribery/Kickback Conspiracy (PDF)
"It could have been a storyline taken right from the hit
show the Sopranos with conspiracy, kickbacks, intimidation,
free services (like car repairs) in exchange for contracts,
cash transactions and even payment for a wedding. Only the
former Post Office Operations Manager (POOM) in this story
ended up somewhere Tony Soprano normally never did, in jail!
He, along with several New Jersey businessmen and other postal
employees took part in an 8-year conspiracy to try and defraud
the Postal Service of hundreds of thousands of dollars."
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250 HQ Postal Employees Could Lose Jobs
"Up to 250 employees at U.S. Postal Service headquarters and
related positions could lose their jobs under a reduction in
force, the agency announced last week. The agency seeks
staffing cuts to counter rising deficits and declining mail
volume. It projects mail volume will drop 9 billion pieces
this year - more than the decline of the past seven years
combined. The year-end deficit is projected at $2.3 billion.
In the latest move, Postmaster General John Potter ordered his
vice presidents of headquarters and headquarters-related
divisions to cut their approved staffing levels by 15 percent.
Many vacant positions were eliminated, but so were some
occupied positions."
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