'Going Postal' a term that continues

In school shootings, clues from the days of 'going postal'

From the article: "...The phrase was born from a series of postal shootings in 1983 that continued, almost annually, until 1997, including one in 1991 in Ridgewood, in which an ex-postal worker named Joseph M. Harris murdered his ex-supervisor, her boyfriend and two co-workers. The wave of Post Office shootings were “aimed more at supervisors and fellow employees who were perceived by the assailants as cruel or unfair,” Don Lasseter, the author of “Going Postal,” said..."

Article Reference: www.dailyrecord.com

Stolen from a post office in December 1941, Christmas cards delivered

WWII Christmas Cards From Nazi Soldiers Delivered To Family Members In Germany 71 Years Later

From the article: "...Stolen from a post office in December 1941, 86 WWII Christmas cards from Nazi soldiers stationed on the British island of Jersey were recovered by the Jersey Archive in 2006...."

Article Reference: www.huffingtonpost.com

Postal truck burns

USPS truck catches fire; some mail destroyed

From the article: "...Flames ruined the mail in the front of the truck near the driver's seat, but packages..."

Article Reference: www.sentinelandenterprise.com

Post Office Robbed

$25,000 reward offered in Harford post office robbery Wednesday

From the article: "...According to a follow up news release from Hopkins issued Thursday, witnesses told police a white male entered the post office and posed as a customer. As the postal worker opened the cash register, the man pulled out a handgun. He then reached over the counter and removed an undisclosed amount of cash from the register...."

Article Reference: baltimoresun.com

Monday to be busiest shipping day at Postal Service

Postal Service will see busiest shipping day of holiday season Monday

From the article: "...Monday will be the biggest shipping day for the postal service, with 658 million pieces of mail being mailed nationwide, 140 million more than usual...."

Article Reference: www.caller.com

Another diatribe on postal privatization

Confronting Extinction: Lessons From the U.S. Mail

From the article: "...What then, does the USPS do that is essential to the functioning of modern society? While it certainly employs a lot of people who need jobs in post offices and on the street, the basic answer is "nothing." Instead, the U.S. mail provides a diminishing service to an ever-declining number of people who have not yet fully joined the modern world...."

Article Reference: www.huffingtonpost.co

Rally to tell Richard Blum and Senator Feinstein Our Post Offices are not for sale!

Stop Selling Our Post Offices!

From the article: "...Tuesday, December 4th The Save Our Post Office Coalition of SF, Save the Berkeley Post Office Committee, Berkeley-East Bay Gray Panthers, SF Gray Panthers, The Living New Deal, Grandmothers Against War, joined retired and current postal workers to tell Richard Blum, CBRE, Inc.” Stop selling our post offices.” Occupy SF & Occupy Oakland camped out over night in front of his SF financial district office, 909 Montgomery, with tables of information on CBRE and Blum. ..."

Article Reference: www.indybay.org

Postal Employee Shot

Postal Worker Shot While Delivering Mail In Cahokia

From the article: "...Police are investigating after a postal worker was shot in Cahokia, Illinois...."

Article Reference: kplr11.com

Postal Service staffing shortages causing mail delays (Postal Service spokesman Harry Spratlin)

Expect Delays In Mail Service This Holiday Season

From the article: "...According to Spratlin, it has been difficult for letter carriers to start their routes on-time due to the large volume of holiday mail and staffing shortages...."

Article Reference: www2.wspa.com

Postal Service buyout has 23,600 employees leaving

23,600 postal employees take buyout

From the article: "...Postmaster General Pat Donahoe wants to cut that workforce to 402,000 by 2016. This year alone, about 4,200 postmasters left with the encouragement of a $20,000 incentive, while almost 3,000 mail handlers accepted $15,000 buyouts to retire or quit...."

Article Reference: www.federaltimes.com

State University fires postal supervisor after opening suspicious package

ETSU fires postal supervisor after opening student package

From the article: "...reportedly opened a suspicious package that came into the campus post office Nov. 19 and then called campus police, who notified the First District Drug Task Force...."

Article Reference: www.tricities.com

Mail arrives a little late

Late delivery: postcard sent during WWII arrives at NY home

From the article: "...A postcard mailed nearly 70 years ago has finally arrived at the former upstate New York home of the couple who sent it...."

Article Reference: www.nypost.com

Lady Bird Johnson souvenir Forever stamps sheet

Lady Bird Johnson Forever Stamp Sheet Dedicated Today

From the article: "...The achievements of Lady Bird Johnson were commemorated today with the dedication of the Lady Bird Johnson souvenir Forever stamps sheet...."

Article Reference: www.sacbee.com

Mailbox thrown into moving vehicle

Mailbox thrown at moving vehicle in Guilford County; roof crushed

From the article: "...man was driving under the bridge when a steel mailbox and an 8x8 piece of wood hit the vehicle..."

Article Reference: www.wxii12.com

Postal execs get pay boost

Even as Post Office Loses Money, Execs Boost Pay

From the article: "... announced by the U.S. Postal Service on Thursday, all but one of the top five executives for the nation's mail service had an overall compensation increase this year, records show..."

Article Reference: reason.com

Waco postal worker is an artist

Postal worker doubles as Hermès scarf illustrator

From the article: "...A 69-year-old post office worker who renders paintings for silk scarves that retail for over $300? Yep...."

Article Reference: aarp.org
Kermit Oliver

Postal Service officers get outrageous salaries while agency loses record amount

USPS Execs Get Illegally High Salaries Admid $11.6 Bil Loss

From the article: "...It turns out that at least three USPS officers made more than the legal compensation limit for their respective work category, according to the agency’s inspector general. In a report made public this month, the Postal Service watchdog reveals that one of the officers, identified as the president of digital solutions, made a whopping $306,250 last year. This exceeds even the “critical position” cap set by the federal law...."

Article Reference: www.themoralliberal.com

BIRMINGHAM, Al: Hand sorting Jefferson County mail due to machine errors

USPS sorting Jeffco absentee ballot mail manually after equipment errors

From the article: "...BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) - Postal Service workers in Jefferson County are now sorting absentee ballot mail by hand after CBS42 brought errors to the organization's attention...."

Article Reference: www.cbs42.com

The ultimate privatization of the Postal Service

How the Postal Service foundered: Parceling out the responsibility

From the article: "...The PMG and the BOG have displayed outright disregard for the advice of their regulator and total contempt for providing service to the American public. They have put the postal ship on a course that will inevitably result in fewer jobs, decreased service, and ultimately privatization. Ignoring the public interest..."

Article Reference: www.savethepostoffice.com

FedEx to hire seasonal workers

FedEx to add 20,000 seasonal workers, sees shipping up 13 pct

From the article: "...FedEx can add the same number of seasonal workers as last year because it has been hiring staff throughout 2012, especially at the Ground and SmartPost divisions that will handle the bulk of the holiday volume, said T. Michael Glenn, executive vice president of market development and corporate communications...."

Article Reference: www.reuters.com
SmartPost

Retirement COLA announced for 2013

Federal retirement COLA of 1.7 percent announced

From the article: "...Federal retirees will receive an inflation adjustment of 1.7 percent in January, translating to about a $50..."

Article Reference: www.washingtonpost.com
2013 Retirement COLA

PAre USPS goals outsourcing and privatization?

Ignorance, incompetence, favoritism, bullying, and obsession: Just another day at the Post Office

From the article: "...question the very basis of universal service, and they are laser focused on a future model of the United States Postal Service as a privatized entity. What becomes apparent from the 2002 plan, as well as subsequent documents that address the progress of implementing the plan, is that the senior management of the Postal Service saw the future in terms of a greatly reduced network. From the standpoint of retail, Postmaster Jack Potter and then Patrick Donahoe called for the closure of as many as 15,000 post offices. For the mail processing network, the vision suggested that the future was in outsourcing much of the mail processing network through worksharing and similar initiatives...."

Article Reference: www.savethepostoffice.com

U.S. Postal Service Makes It Easier To Recycle Your Old Electronics For Cash At 3,000+ Locations

From the article: "...Going green just got easier thanks to the initiatives of the U.S. Postal Service. If you have old cellphones, PDAs, digital cameras or any other electronic devices lying around and gathering dust, don’t just toss them out. Give USPS..."

Article Reference: www.makeuseof.com

Congressman Henry A. Waxman challenges Closing Of Santa Monica Post Office

Congressman Waxman Writes To Appeal Closing Of Santa Monica Post Office

From the article: "...Congressman Henry A. Waxman this week sent a letter to Shoshana Grove, Secretary of the Postal Regulatory Commission, appealing the decision by the United States Postal Service (USPS) to close the Santa Monica Post Office. In the letter Waxman states that USPS did not follow proper procedure on rules..."

Article Reference: www.smmirror.com
Santa Monica Post Office,

The Postal Regulatory Commission no help in saving mail processing plants

Union loses bid to block mail processing plant consolidations

From the article: "...the Postal Regulatory Commission last week officially dismissed a union complaint seeking to block the U.S. Postal Service’s downsizing of its mail processing plant network...."

Article Reference: federaltimes.com

Retired postal worker wins $18 million lottery jackpot

Ex-postal worker from Cortlandt wins $18 million lottery jackpot

From the article: "...After seeing his winning numbers online one Sunday morning in early July, the 59-year-old Cortlandt resident and retired U.S. Postal Service worker decided not to leave his house for the rest of the weekend so he could safeguard the ticket...."

Article Reference: www.lohud.com

Experts predict USPS will be privatized

Post office considers service cutbacks in TN

From the article: "...Some researchers believe at least partial privatization is inevitable — meaning a shift to shareholder ownership and Wall Street scrutiny, with new management priorities and financial incentives for executives...."

Article Reference: www.tennessean.com

Postmaster General Donahoe: "Congress needs to act responsibly and get on with things so that we can get these things in our rearview mirror,"

U.S. Postal Service loses $5.2 billion, warns of low cash

From the article: "...The U.S. Postal Service's net loss widened to $5.2 billion during the April through June period, and the cash-strapped agency warned on Thursday that without help from the U.S. Congress it will face low cash and be unable to borrow money this fall...."

Article Reference: www.reuters.com

Things that make you go hmm?

Post Office Privatization Is Probably a Huge Real Estate Deal

From the article: "...But the idea raises a question: If Geddes and the AEI are correct and the USPS is such a bottomless money pit, why would anybody want it? Who ever heard of buying a service company with no upside? What's in it for them? Well, real estate, actually, and Geddes and every commenter hints at this. Privatizing the USPS has the potential of being one of history's biggest -- and most profitable -- real estate deals ever. ..."

Article Reference: www.huffingtonpost.com

Postal worker weapons cache discovered

Weapons cache leads to arrest of Kauai postal worker

From the article: "...A 51-year-old U.S. Postal Service worker on Kauai is in federal custody on charges that he possessed a fully automatic rifle and used someone else’s firearms license to order a firearm from the mainland without the other person’s permission. Troy Haruki Hamura, of Lihue, appeared in federal court Thursday afternoon wearing a white prison jump suit...."

Article Reference: www.staradvertiser.com

Postal employee makes it big with unofficial postal clothing line

Former Brooklyn postman makes it big with his unofficial postal service clothing line worn by 30,000 workers

Marty Grace [www.nydailynews.com]

From the article: "...Marty Grace, who quit his 22-year job as a mail carrier in 2007 at a Bedford-Stuyvesant post office, now designs T-shirts, hoodies and polos worn by over 30,000 postal workers around the country who rock “Designs by Marty Grace” on the job as opposed to the drab United States Postal Service uniforms. ..."

Article Reference: www.nydailynews.com
Designs by Marty Grace

Postal worker reports mailed marijuana

Sikeston man accused of receiving marijuana in mail

From the article: "...An observant postal employee led law enforcement to the arrest of a Sikeston man and the discovery of more than two pounds of marijuana. On July 11, a postal worker thought a package was suspicious and reported it to the SEMO Drug Task Force..."

Article Reference: www.semissourian.com

Deteriorating postal service has begun to affect magazines and other periodicals

Will Postal Service follow Pony Express route?

From the article: "...Deteriorating postal service has begun to affect magazines and other periodicals, even newspapers that depend on timely delivery to their customers. In a recent news report, the publisher of a small, rural weekly newspaper in South Dakota said her advertising business had been hurt because it sometimes was delivered a week late, arriving with a more recent edition. ..."

Article Reference: www.standard.net

FedEx Express to remove their drop boxes from Postal Service locations under expired agreement

FedEx Fights UPS to Keep $1 Billion Postal Service Deal

From the article: "...The FedEx Express unit also has around 5,000 drop boxes at Postal Service locations that will be removed under an agreement that expired in June, the company said in the filing. ..."

Article Reference: www.bloomberg.com
FedEx Dropbox

Newly hired rural letter carriers will make 10 percent to 20 percent less than current carriers

New rural carriers will get paid 10 percent to 20 percent less than others

From the article: "...Newly hired rural letter carriers will make 10 percent to 20 percent less than current carriers earn under a new labor pact that will affect 111,000 career and non-career U.S. Postal Service employees...."

Article Reference: www.federaltimes.com

APWU: Plan to replace Postmasters w/ Postmaster Reliefs direct violation of collective bargaining agreement

POStPlan in Direct Conflict With APWU National Agreement

From the article: "...The APWU has put the Postal Service on notice that their plan to replace Postmasters at small, rural post offices with Postmaster Reliefs (PMRs) is a direct violation of our 2010 Collective Bargaining Agreement...."

Article Reference: www.apwu.org

Postal Vision

Postal Vision 2020 v2.0; USPS Strategy Opportunity as a “Platform”

From the article: "...The second Postal Vision conference drew 150 attendees to Washington DC’s L’Enfant Plaza Hotel. This was two Metro stops from the real decision makers, i.e., Congress and the United States Postal Service. No one from Congress could squeeze it in but USPS’ new Digital Solutions President and Strategic Planning Manager were in attendance as well as representatives of the two primary Postal Unions for the two-day duration. The USPS, as the core of this intertwined trillion dollar business directly impacting the employment livelihood of nearly 9 million citizens..."

Article Reference: whattheythink.com

Postmasters lives turned upside down at the whim of the PMG

Rural postmasters face ‘life-changing' decision

From the article: "..."I can't afford to take retirement unless I would have another good job out there," he said in a phone interview. But in an area with one of Ohio's highest unemployment rates, he said, "there's absolutely nothing."

Others are in similar circumstances, he added.

"I've got postmasters calling me, bawling and squalling, actually throwing up," Sampson said. "They haven't slept for a week."..."

Article Reference: www.federaltimes.com

Sen. Tom Carper is using Facebook to get House to save the Postal Service

Carper Using Facebook to Push House on Postal Service Reform Bill

From the article: "...Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) has a new Facebook timeline page up today dubbed "Priority Fail" that tracks how the House has yet to take up a bill that supporters say would reform the struggling U.S. Postal Service. The USPS has lost $1 billion since April when the Senate passed its version of the reform bill, according to Carper. ..."

Article Reference: influencealley.nationaljournal.com

Postal Service still moving forward with plans to close mail processing centers

USPS moving forward with plans to close mail processing centers

From the article: "...The United States Postal Service has announced that it will move forward with plans to close up to 229 mail processing facilities nationwide. ..."

Article Reference: golackawanna.com

Early Retirement Buy Out Incentives Offered to USPS Postal Mail Handlers

Mail Handlers to be offered retirement incentive

From the article: "...Mail Handlers who choose to leave employment with the USPS on or before August 31, 2012 will each receive incentive payments totaling up to fifteen thousand dollars ..."

Article Reference: National Postal Mail Handlers Union
Early retirement incentive, Mail Handler Buyout, Postal Buyout Incentives, Postal Retirement Incentive, Voluntary Early Retirement (VER)

Postal Service to Offer Early Retirement Incentives

Postal Service to announce new downsizing plan Thursday

From the article: "...USPS spokesman Dave Partenheimer declined comment Wednesday on whether the cuts will be accompanied by buyouts or early retirement incentives for affected employees. But the American Postal Workers Union, which represents many plant employees, was notified late Wednesday that the Postal Service is working on an "employee incentive," according to a union spokeswoman...."

Article Reference: www.federaltimes.com

$20,000 buyouts for Postmasters

USPS offers buyouts to postmasters, drops plan to close post offices

From the article: "...Under heavy pressure from Congress, the U.S. Postal Service is shelving plans to close up to 3,700 post offices and instead will offer $20,000 buyouts to 21,000 postmasters as a way to save money. As a result, some 13,000 communities will be able to keep their local post offices, but with reduced customer service hours..."

Article Reference: www.federaltimes.com
buyouts

Republicans will largely ignore S. 1789

GOP lawmaker calls Senate postal bill a '$33 billion bailout'

From the article: "...Bartlett's comments are the latest sign that Republicans will largely ignore the Senate-approved bill, S. 1789, and take up their own bill from House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), possibly as early as next week.
..."

Article Reference: thehill.com
S. 1789

Postal buyout incentives possible but plant shutdowns still a fear to communities

Postal crisis delayed

From the article: "...voted to stave off Draconian cuts and retool the nation's mail-delivery system with nearly $11 billion for buyouts and early retirement-incentives for thousands of postal workers, as well as for paying off a lot of the Postal Service's debt...."

Article Reference: www.toledoblade.com
plant shutdowns, Postal buyout incentives, Postal early retirement,

Wholesale destruction of the value of First Class mail

Why Postal Reform Will Fail

From the article: "...More likely than not, the bill will facilitate the destruction of a national treasure by strangling the principles that support its existence. Postal reform is going to fail because Congress cannot understand the fundamental role of a national post as essential infrastructure. Congress will do nothing to stem the slow evisceration of the network. It will do nothing to prevent the wholesale destruction of the value of First Class mail. ..."

Article Reference: www.savethepostoffice.com
First Class mail, destruction of the postal service,

Spiders Go Postal

Recluse Spider infestation closes Louisville Post Office branch

From the article: "...The United States Postal Service closed its Fairdale location because of recluse spiders, which can be poisonous. "They've only seen a few, but spiders like dark places so no telling how many are out there," said USPS spokesman David Walton...."

Article Reference: www.wkyt.com
Postal Employee Dangers,

Postal Buyout On The Way Soon...

Congress preps to tackle postal reform

From the article: "...The measure would tap most of an estimated $10.9 billion overpayment in the Federal Employees Retirement System to pay down postal service debt and use up to $2 billion on buy-out packages to entice long-time employees to retire...."

Article Reference: www.wisn.com
buyouts, buyout incentives, Postal early retirement,

Where is the smallest U.S. Post Office?

Smallest Post Office in the United States

From the article: "...Ochopee, Florida -This closet-sized, 7x8-foot building used to be an irrigation pipe shed for a tomato farm. It was pressed into service after a fire destroyed the Ochopee general store..."

Article Reference: www.roadsideamerica.com
Where is the smallest U.S. Post Office?, Smallest Post Office, 34141-9998,

Senate defers Postal work

Senate Defers Work on Post Office Overhaul

From the article: "...“We hope senators will now use this extra time to carefully analyze the service’s financial problems, so that when the Senate resumes consideration of the bill, it will be prepared to work on real reform designed to strengthen the agency, not dismantle it,” Mr. Rolando said...."

Article Reference: nytimes.com

Postal Executives make out like fat-cats

It was a very good year: The salaries of USPS executives

From the article: "...postal management would probably prefer if the public did not know very much about their compensation packages, and they’ve fought the APWU’s effort to find out more about performance bonuses. But as the salary finder FAQ page explains, government workers aren’t entitled to the same kind of privacy as workers in the private sector..."

Article Reference: www.savethepostoffice.com

Closure of mail-processing facilities could be detrimental to broad segments of the country

Postal union blasts closings plan in new ads

From the article: "...Maine-based firm that relies on a nearby processing facility to quickly deliver shipments. Bazinet says he might have to lay off workers if his firm can no longer guarantee speedy mail deliveries...."

Article Reference: www.washingtonpost.com

Postal consolidations delay mail in Maryland

A Mess in Maryland: Mail delayed and workers call for an investigation

From the article: "...claim about trucks parking on the roadside is verified by the fact that the Postal Service purchased a $2,000 permit, valid Dec. 21 through Feb. 1, allowing use of curb lanes for parking near the Baltimore plant. That was after Baltimore's Department of Transportation issued several citations for illegally parking on the road...."

Article Reference: www.savethepostoffice.com
delay of mail, Postal Consolidation, USPS AMP, Why is the Postal Service going broke?,

First round of postal closures and consolidations will begin May 15

Postal Service puts some closures on hold during elections

From the article: "...The first round of closings and consolidations will begin May 15 and be completed by the end of August. USPS will meet with states holding primaries during the closures..."

Article Reference: www.govexec.com
postal closures, Mail Processing Plants,

Buyouts are most cost-effective for Uncle Sam during these months

Everybody's got a price: What's yours?

From the article: "...Last year (2011), 21 federal agencies offered buyouts to more than 30,000 federal and postal workers. They ranged from major offers..."

Article Reference: www.federalnewsradio.com
Postal Buyouts, Federal Employee Buyouts,

Postal early retirement and buyout incentives on the table

Postal Service again eyes buyouts, early retirements

From the article: "...Chief Financial Officer Joe Corbett on Feb. 16 outlined for reporters the Postal Service's ambitious plans to pare down its workforce in the next five years by 155,000 employees — ultimately leaving a workforce of 402,000 by the end of fiscal 2016...."

Article Reference: www.federaltimes.com

Contact your reps now to prevent destruction of the postal service

Haven’t Contacted Congress? All It Takes Is a Few Clicks

From the article: "...“The House is expected to vote soon on a bill that would cut retirement benefits for postal and federal employees and increase the amount we must pay for them.” The retirement bill (H.R. 3813) has been merged with a Highway Transportation bill (H.R. 7).

“The Senate is expected to vote in the next few weeks on a bill (S. 1789) that would inflict severe, long-term damage on the Postal Service, and lead to the closure of hundreds of mail processing centers and thousands of post offices,” Reid said. The APWU is asking lawmakers to support amendments to the bill.

The House could vote at any time on H.R. 2309, Reid added, a bill sponsored by Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) that would “destroy the Postal Service as we know it.” ..."

Article Reference: www.apwu.org

Postal jobs in Lexington, and in Louisville, Paducah and Evansville, Ind.

Postal Service hiring in Lexington

From the article: "...Jobs are available in two categories — mail-processing clerks who earn $14.60 hourly and casual mail handlers who earn $12 hourly...."

Article Reference: www.kentucky.com
Kentucky, Ind., Postal Jobs, Postal Employment, Post office jobs,

Postal Service declined to extend collective-bargaining negotiations

USPS Declines to Extend Contract Talks - NALC 'Disappointed'

From the article: "...Today, the United States Postal Service declined to extend collective-bargaining negotiations with the National Association of Letter Carriers, triggering an impasse that will automatically send the matter to mediation under the auspices of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service...."

Article Reference: www.sacbee.com

Mail delivery gets slower

Mail expected to slow as Postal Service deals with losses

From the article: "...the postal system is rethinking its commitment to overnight first-class mail. Currently, first-class mail is supposed to be delivered to homes and businesses within one to three days...."

Article Reference: www.wpcva.com
delay of mail,