From the article: "...The men and women who deliver mail are under attack. In 2022, mail carriers were victims of a surge in armed robberies in Tampa and across the country as thieves turned stolen checks into cash. ..."
From the article: "...A mail carrier with the U.S. Postal Service was robbed at knifepoint in Brooklyn, police said Tuesday. The 26-year-old postal employee was making deliveries on Hendrix St. near Pitkin Ave. in East New York on Sept. 30 when a man approached her just before 3 p.m., cops said. “Give me the keys,” the crook demanded as he pressed a knife against the victim’s stomach, police said. ..."
From the article: "The man accused of shooting and carjacking a mail carrier in Madison County last month is now facing federal charges, according to reports from WLOS. Investigators said 24-year-old Jaden Isaiah Garay is facing several charges, including attempted murder, carjacking, and assault. ..."
From the article: "...The United States Postal Service (USPS) completed its second round of route counts under its new Rural Route Evaluated Compensation System (RRECS) last week. The hated compensation system was first launched this spring to disastrous effects for rural letter carriers, resulting in massive pay cuts for around two-thirds of the rural workforce, in some cases by $10,000 or even $20,000 a year. Rural letter carriers at USPS work under a de facto piece rate system. Instead of being paid by the number of hours worked..."
From the article: "...Biden has ordered U.S. flags flown at half-staff to honor U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, who died today. Flags should be flown at half-staff until sunset on the day of interment. ..."
From the article: "Authorities have ruled a man's death "suspicious" after he was found with a stab wound. ...The Montevideo Police Department said a postal worker found the man's body around 6:30 a.m. ..."
From the article: "...Letters for USPS Operation Santa Now Being Accepted... Write a letter to Santa! It may seem too soon, but he starts early. USPS Operation Santa is now accepting letters. Send yours today! The earlier the better. USPS Operation Santa is the beloved 111-year-old program run by the U.S. Postal Service. Letters are accepted from everywhere in the country and can be adopted by anyone who has successfully registered. The letters travel to Santa's U.S. satellite workshop, where they are opened and reviewed, personal information is redacted, and the letters are uploaded to the USPSOperationSanta.com website. USPS Operation Santa provides an online channel where people can safely and securely help children and families have a magical holiday when they otherwise might not — one letter to Santa at a time. Letters need to include first and last names and a complete return address: street address, apartment number (if applicable), city, state and ZIP Code. The regular or business-size envelope must have a First-Class Mail postage stamp to travel through the Postal Service processing systems. The envelope needs to be addressed to: SANTA CLAUS, 123 ELF ROAD, NORTH POLE 88888. Letters received without last names and correct return addresses cannot be uploaded. Also, letters should be legible and include specific gift details — Letters to Santa need to be postmarked by Dec. 11. The website will open for letter adoption on Nov. 20. For more information, visit USPSOperationSanta.com. "
Article Title: In Memorial to the Saudi Attack on America Sept. 11, 2001
From the article: "...Just a few weeks ago, the USPS warned that certain customers in Alabama would be experiencing a disruption to their postal service. On Jan. 13, the agency announced that it had temporarily suspended operations at its post office in Jack, Alabama. The Postal Service decided to close this facility because it had "sustained structural damage due to recent tornadic activity," according to a local news release. ...The USPS has not provided any additional information about the Jack Post Office since, and it's still listed as "temporarily closed" online. Now, another Alabama facility is being shut down."
From the article: "...While it's now common to pay your bills online or sign up for autopay, some of us still prefer to mail checks. With whichever approach, though, there are always some associated risks: Hackers can gain access to your information online, but thieves can also swipe physical checks right from the mail. If you're paying checks the traditional way, you'll want to pay attention to new tips from a U.S. Postal Service (USPS) Postal Inspector, namely those that will help keep your hard-earned money safe and sound. ..."
From the article: "..."Requesting postal unscheduled leave with the postal call in number is by use of the usps Interactive Voice Response system (IVR) at 877-477-... Simply use and answer the prompts for your postal call in/out number request. This is the official means of how to call in sick at the post office. The postal service often reminds employees that the sick call number through the Interactive Voice Response system is the official and preferred method of sick leave unscheduled call in and call out for reporting unsceduled absences at the post office for employees. Be responsible with your sick leave. "
From the article: "HOUSTON - Rural letter carriers in Houston are frustrated after learning many of them will not be receiving their full paychecks this Friday. In a memo sent to them through their National Rural Letter Carriers Association app, the organization stated they learned of a Postal Service payroll error this pay period affecting more than 45,000 rural carriers across the country. In an emailed statement, the union said it was 54,000 workers. ..."
From the article: "...can be seen early Friday morning methodically checking each of the six mail slots and taking out the mail before closing it back up. Saturday night CBS 2 spoke with a woman who lives there. She says her building and neighborhood are now on high alert. ..."
From the article: "First, to clarify something the article said: the president doesn’t appoint the Postmaster General, nor can he remove him. Only the governing board can do this. ...We can’t keep new hires. They find out how hard the work is Some were able to retire as they had the age and time in. ...This is not a place to make a career like it used to be. And let me not forget: the union does not take care of us! Complaints are ignored and union reps nearly always side with management! Everything the union does is kept in secrecy."
From the article: "...Last month, the United States Attorney for the Middle District of Florida announced 17 people were charged with drug trafficking after allegedly shipping thousands of kilograms of methamphetamine and fentanyl across the country, including by mail. 19 News requested a synopsis of any similar incidents over the last year in the Cleveland area, but the United States Postal Inspection Service would not divulge any information without a formal records request...."
From the article: "...“NAPS will be monitoring the RIF Timeline to ensure that [impacted employees] are getting every opportunity to be placed prior to the RIF date of September 9, 2023,” the group told its members earlier this month. USPS called NAPS' allegations "not accurate," saying it first notified the association of its plan in February. At the time, the Postal Service said only its staffing changes "may result in employee impacts requiring a reduction in force to be administered." ..."
From the article: "USPS Disability Retirement (also known as Federal Disability Retirement) is a benefit available to career FERS employees with at least 18 months of service and a medical condition that prevents them from fully performing their job. This benefit has completely changed the lives of so many postal workers– if you are struggling in your job, keep reading to see if you qualify for this benefit. ..."
From the article: "The Postal Service has notified stakeholders about the locations of seven more Regional Processing and Distribution Centers (RPDCs). While not identified as such, this is the second wave of RPDCs. The first wave of twelve RPDCs was announced months ago (as discussed in this post), so we now know the locations of 19 RPDCs — about a third of the ultimate number. The new RPDCs are:..."
From the article: "We learned that the Postal Service intends to solicit volunteers from Electronic Technician (ET), Mail Processing Equipment Mechanic (MPE), and Maintenance Mechanic (MM) employees with the goal of getting individuals to participate on the MPE machine removal/ relocation teams. Participation will be strictly voluntary, and selection will be based on geographical location and training. Volunteers will be expected to work 10 hours a day and six days a week, maximum, and overtime will be paid in accordance with Article 8 of the National Agreement. The volunteers will first be solicited from those facilities scheduled to have a machine removed and/or relocated by the local facility. If additional volunteers are needed, solicitation will be expanded to other facilities. ...The removal and/ or relocation of machines is set to begin in August 2023 in Atlanta, GA, followed by Charlotte, NC. It is anticipated that additional sites will be identified where the subject machine’s removal/relocation teams will be utilized."
From the article: "Retired postal worker Genine Plummer took nearly a year to claim a $1,000 A Week For Life prize she won playing New York Lottery’s CASH4LIFE. The Islip woman purchased her winning ticket back in May 2022. But she didn’t realize she had..."
From the article: "...The Postal Regulatory Commission is currently conducting a Public Inquiry into the Delivering for America plan, and the Postal Service is preparing its response to the Commission’s first information request. The response was due June 28th, but the Postal Service asked for, and was granted, a three-week extension, so we’ll have to wait until July 19th to see what the Postal Service has to say. ..."
RE: U.S. Supreme Court Decision in Groff v. DeJoy (pdf)
On Thursday, June 29, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision in the lawsuit Groffv. DeJoy.
The case was brought by Gerald Groff, who delivered mail as a Rural Carrier Associate (RCA) from 2012 to 2019 in central Pennsylvania. Groff is a Christian who observes Sunday as the Sabbath. Citing those religious beliefs, Groff consistently refused to work on Sundays. For several years, Groff and the Postal Service attempted to find workarounds, such as having volunteers take over his Sunday slots. Eventually, however, the Postal Service began disciplining Groff for his refusal to work on Sundays, and in 2019, Groff resigned. After resigning, Groff sued the Postal Service. He argued that under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act , the Postal Service was required to reasonably accommodate his religious beliefs by exempting him from Sunday work.
Before turning to the specifics of the Court's decision, we note at the outset that the Court's decision leaves in place the longstanding recognition that it would be an "undue burden" to provide an accommodation that would violate a seniority system in a collective bargaining agreement, like the National Agreement between the NPMHU and the Postal Service.
The Court's decision did proceed to answer two principal questions:
On the first question - whether the Court should disapprove the "more than de minimis cost" test for determining whether a religious accommodation was an undue hardship - the Court disapproved of the "more than de minimis cost" language. In its place, the Court held that an employer can show that a religious accommodation creates an undue hardship under Title VII if that accommodation causes a substantial burden in the overall context of the employer's business. The Court held that this is a fact specific inquiry. "Courts must apply the test to take into account all relevant factors in the case at hand, including the particular accommodations at issue and their practical impact in light of the nature, size, and operating cost of an employer."
As to the second question - whether an employer may demonstrate undue hardship under Title VII by showing burdens on co-workers - the Court held - using language consistent with the position the NPMHU took in its amicus brief to the Supreme Court, that impact on coworkers is relevant to the extent those impacts affect the conduct of the business. The Court acknowledged that "an accommodation's effect on co-workers may have ramifications for the conduct of the employer's business, but a court cannot stop its analysis without examining whether that further logical step is shown in a particular case."
The Court concluded by sending the case back to the lower court to consider Groff's claim in Iight of the standard described above.
As we wrote to you previously, the NPMHU supports employees' rights to receive reasonable accommodations for their religious beliefs and practices, and will continue to urge the Postal Service to provide those accommodations consistent with the terms of the National Agreement.
If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact the National CAD.
