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Postal News - February 2006

February 28, 2006 - USPS release January 2006 Financial & Operating Statements - For January, Total Revenue was $137 million or 2.2% over plan, and $596 million or 10.3% over same period last year (SPLY). In January, Total Commercial Revenue and Retail Revenue combined were $566 million more than SPLY. The bulk of the increase to SPLY for total revenue was reflected in Stamps and Stamped  (above chart: sick leave) Paper, Permit Revenue, Presort First and Package Services/Permit Imprint and Metered Postage. Contributing to this performance was the new postage rate structure implemented on January 8, 2006. This month's Total Expenses were above SPLY by $244 million or 4.3% primarily due to increases in deliveries, fuel prices, health benefits and COLA costs. |

February 28, 2006 - Eight Counterfeit Postal Keys Found in Man's Car

"Police investigators said they are trying to figure out how a man ended up with eight copies of mail carrier keys, which gave him access to people's private information. The postal inspector said a thief had counterfeit mail carrier keys used to get into locked community mailboxes, such as those found at apartment complexes."  |

February 28, 2006

APWU Members Win 5-Year Contract at Detroit MTESC

Interview with Honolulu USPS District Manager Daryl A. Ishizaki

Explosive Scare at Sunrise Post Office

PRC to host briefings on International Mail, Financial Reporting

Opinion: United States Postal Junk Mail Service
Court rules that IRS inappropriately outsourced mailroom work
Twenty countries lose USPS International Economy Mail
St. Paul post office waits on relocation to Eagan
USPS to conduct service audit on Siouxland mail processing operations
Massachusetts Letter Carrier Convicted of Workers' Comp Fraud
Postman retires mail bag

Australia Post aiming for stamp record
Satire: bin Laden to run U.S. Postal Service

February 27, 2006 - USPS, DOL Reach $6.5 Million Back Wage Agreement -The U.S. Department of Labor has announced an agreement with the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) that will result in payment of more than $6.5 million in back wages to almost 900 pilots, co-pilots and flight engineers. The employees worked on several USPS contracts and subcontracts to transport mail by air between January 1996 and August 2001. The USPS contractors and subcontractors affected by this settlement are Ryan International Airlines, Express One International Inc. and Evergreen International Airlines Inc. |

February 27, 2006 - USPS finds six ways to cut costs, not services
Robert Otto, USPS chief technology officer's strategy is to have USPS employees work alongside specialized contractors so they develop their own expertise. Otto plans to reduce travel expenses by using Web conferencing to hold virtual meetings instead of sending IT managers to places such as Las Vegas. “I cut our travel budget in half this year, and I plan to cut it in 2007 by another 25 percent,” Otto said. He wants to replace printers, scanners, copiers and fax machines with multipurpose equipment. He will ask managers in 38,000 post offices to replace broken printers or copiers with multifunctional machines that print, scan, copy and fax. |

February 27, 2006 - Plan to Relocate 200 Postal Workers Put on Hold

- A plan to reassign 200 postal workers to different branches out of town has been put on hold, according to the Postmaster of New Orleans. Eyewitness News had previously obtained a document detailing those plans, but the postal service said that no employee would be forced to leave or return to the city. However, the Postmaster added that the post office was in need of more mail carriers to handle the mail load for Orleans Parish. |

- Postal Workers Asked to Relocate Out of Town, say not enough time given

February 27, 2006

'Dilbert,' 'Cathy' Help Postal Service Talk With Customers

Mailers Look to Sidestep Sales Tax on Postage
Mailers Companion is Ten Years Old

Mailers Question Response If Flats Address Shifts

USPS Files for Realignment

Postmaster, wife known for stamps
Girl, 4, struck, killed by postal truck, ID'd
USPS opposes bill to restructure mail service

Mail won't be same without retiring postmaster

When not to be in that number - 701 ZIP codes spell annoyance

February 27, 2006 - USPS finds six ways to cut costs, not services
Robert Otto, USPS chief technology officer's strategy is to have USPS employees work alongside specialized contractors so they develop their own expertise. Otto plans to reduce travel expenses by using Web conferencing to hold virtual meetings instead of sending IT managers to places such as Las Vegas. “I cut our travel budget in half this year, and I plan to cut it in 2007 by another 25 percent,” Otto said. He wants to replace printers, scanners, copiers and fax machines with multipurpose equipment. He will ask managers in 38,000 post offices to replace broken printers or copiers with multifunctional machines that print, scan, copy and fax. |

February 27, 2006

Mailers Look to Sidestep Sales Tax on Postage
Mailers Companion is Ten Years Old

Mailers Question Response If Flats Address Shifts

USPS Files for Realignment

Postmaster, wife known for stamps
Girl, 4, struck, killed by postal truck, ID'd
USPS opposes bill to restructure mail service

February 26, 2006 - Sen. Collins: Preserving the U.S. Postal Service for the 21st Century

"The Collins-Carper  [postal reform] bill is a culmination of years of work and has broad support among the mailing industry including the Coalition for a 21st Century Postal Service -- which represents hundreds of large and small mailers, the Financial Services Roundtable, United Parcel Service, FedEx, R.R. Donnelley, the city and rural letter carrier unions, the postmasters and postal supervisor associations, and numerous non-profit organizations such as AARP, the Disabled Veterans of America, and the American Institute for Cancer Research." |

February 26, 2006 - Senator: Post Office Better
Improvements are being made to speed up mail delivery service in Las Cruces, including the addition of new equipment and the hiring of as many as 19 additional personnel at the city's main post office. "There's progress from what I can tell," said Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., who toured and was briefed on postal operations Thursday. "We've come a long way in recent weeks but there is still a long way to go." Pat Reyes, president of the Las Cruces chapter of the American Postal Workers Union, said she is beginning to see improvements in post office operations. |

February 26, 2006

Residents Deliver Postal Complaints

Postal Service Tracks Evacuees' Ebb and Flow
Stockton girl dies after being struck by mail truck

February 25, 2006 - USPS Detains Journalist, Keeps Videotape
"The U.S. Postal Service last week detained a Washington, D.C.-based journalist for a German television network, releasing him only after he agreed to turn over his videotape of news footage taken at a New Orleans mail pick-up center for victims of Hurricane Katrina. Stephan Bachenheimer, a reporter/videographer for Bonn-based Deutsche Welle television network, was interviewing and filming people standing in ZIP code-delineated lines to pick up their mail Feb. 16 when a law enforcement officer asked him to leave, he said."  |

February 25, 2006

Residents offer a love letter to mail carrier

Even child's scrawl proves no obstacle for USPS

February 24, 2006 - New Orleans Postal Workers Asked to Relocate Out of Town, say not enough time given - With fewer people living in the city, more than 200 Orleans Parish postal workers will soon be permanently relocated out of town, according to a document obtained by Eyewitness News. A notification letter to one employee, dated February 9, was actually delivered in the mail Wednesday [ 2/22], giving her less than two weeks to move to a new town and job. One worker, a single mother, who complained about unreasonable expectations to a postal service counselor, was told to leave her child with a friend while she relocated. The current reassignment date for those post office employees was March 4, but Dave Lewin, a post office spokesman, said that date was not written in stone. " |

February 24, 2006 - Union Victimizes Postal Victim's Kin
"The APWU postal union established a memorial fund for five employees killed in Goleta -- but gave a cold shoulder to the sixth worker slain there. To the American Postal Workers Union, Maleka Higgins is apparently a nonperson. Maleka's financially challenged family -- husband Pablo and her now-motherless child Emily -- stand to receive little if anything, other than from local donations. Why? Because according to Maleka's mother, Sherie Higgins, Maleka dropped out of the union after many years when she went on maternity leave."  |

February 24, 2006 - Another Postal Truck, Mail Go Up In Flames

(Apple Valley, Ca.) A Postal Service truck caught fire, fueled by bundles of correspondence that will never be delivered. Although the unnamed female mail carrier driving the truck had already made 418 deliveries by Wednesday afternoon, there were 182 bundles of mail left for residents when the truck suddenly caught fire according to USPS representative Mike Cannone. Cannone said that the fire will remain under investigation by private USPS investigators, but he believes it happened as a result of an engine malfunction. Last week, a LLV caught fire in New Jersey  which was reportedly caused by a mechanical problem.  |

February 24, 2006 - | on  news below

Probation, fine for ex-postal worker who open fake letter - Edward Cramer is unlikely to open other people's mail ever again. Especially if it's addressed to "Playboy Girl Next Door Contest" and marked "Photos, Do Not Bend."
6 Months After Katrina: A Postal Worker's Struggle to Rebuild

New NAPUS leader to take on short staffing

USPS Selects Company to Provide Gift Certificate Award

Postal Service completes Aberdeen study

PRC Files Order For Network Realignment Steps
For Black History Month, Postmaster Hosts Stamp Dedication
Postal Service Says Late Mail A Temporary Problem
DMA Allies With Postcom Against Do-Not-Mail Bills

February 23, 2006 - USPS Headed for $1.8 Billion Loss This Year

"The U.S. Postal Service expects to lose $1.8 billion by the end of its fourth quarter, in part because of surprisingly weak Standard mail volume. "We see very little growth in Standard mail volume [right now], [but] we are hoping to get it back up to the 3 percent growth level that it did last year," Richard J. Strasser Jr., USPS chief financial officer and executive vice president, said at yesterday's quarterly Mailers' Technical Advisory Committee meeting. Fuel costs, up 20 percent to 30 percent, are becoming a big concern for postal officials. The costs affect the agency's cost-of-living expenses. "This year, we've had the largest increase in our COLA expenses," Strasser said. "Our costs this year were $800 million higher than they were last year."   |

February 23, 2006 - Survey: USPS Trusted on Privacy, But Not Government Overall

The U.S. Postal Service is the most trusted government agency when it comes to privacy protection, according to a recent Ponemon Institute LLC survey. Overall, however, government agencies fared worse in 2005 than the year before, suggesting that Americans are increasingly wary of breaches of their privacy.   |

February 23, 2006- | on  news below

Reform May Be Decided by Summer, Postal Official Says

USPS: We're Working on Fixing Service Problems

USPS OIG Internships
'Black Mail'
Poor Attendance Can Result in Removal - And Withstand Court Review

February 22, 2006- Justices Allow Personal-Injury Suits Against Postal Service - The Supreme Court has a message for the U.S. Postal Service: Be careful where letter carriers put their letters and packages, because if somebody slips on them and gets hurt, you might get taken to court. In a 7 to 1 decision the court said that the Postal Service is subject to personal-injury lawsuits by its customers, ruling that federal law does not immunize the service against claims by those who say they were hurt by negligent delivery of the mail. Supreme Court Rule Customers Can Sue USPS - A woman who tripped and fell over letters, packages and periodicals left on her front porch can sue the U.S. Postal Service for damages. The  ruling was a victory for Barbara Dolan, who said she suffered wrist and back injuries when she fell in 2001 in front of her Glenside, PA., home. She said postal employees acted negligently by leaving the mail on her porch. |

- Justices Curb Postal Service's Immunity From Lawsuits

February 22, 2006 - APWU: Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) Update - The ninth Cost-Of-Living Adjustment will be $457 per year. The adjustment amounts to a 22 cents per hour increase, or $17.60 per pay period. The ninth COLA will take effect March 18, 2006 (pay period 07-2006, pay date April 7, 2006. the 1.6% pay raise — also effective March 18, 2006 — are being prepared for printing in The American Postal Worker magazine

February 22, 2006 - Post Office Outdoes Katrina - John and Linda Lee work for USPS. Their house was not badly damaged by the hurricanes. John, a mail handler and Linda, a clerk  "are among the many New Orleans postal workers who are being sent as far as 600 miles from home. At a time when New Orleanians desperately need stability and support from their employers, the postal service is offering little of either. It's doubly troubling when you consider the fact that the post office, a service of our government, seems to have little interest in helping these employees, our fellow New Orleanians, in this our most desperate hour." |

February 22, 2006 - Postal Workers Shouldn't Be Harassed
Quiles-Quiles v. Henderson, No. 05-1591, holds that PMG is not entitled to a judgment as a matter of law (and the Quiles was entitled to a statutorily-capped amount of $300,000, which the district court reduced jury award from $950,000) under the Rehabilitation Act because, the District Court found that Quiles had not shown that he was disabled. But, the First Circuit Court concludes that, “The evidence therefore ... sufficient for the jury to conclude that the Postal Service regarded Quiles as disabled because his superiors erroneously believed that he was unable to perform a broad class of jobs due to his mental impairment.” "The postmaster general also argues that he wasn’t really harassed because “that type” of people (that is, blue-collar-types) are always harassing each other" in the workplace. In sum, court concludes that the evidence was sufficient to show that he 1) was harassed; 2) because of his disability; and 3) he was retaliated against for complaining about it. |

February 22, 2006 - Postal Worker Jailed for Embezzling $2,000 To Get Co-Worker In Trouble - A federal court judge in Hawaii has sentenced a 27-year postal employee to three months in prison for embezzling $2,000 to get a co-worker in trouble. In November 2004, she admitted that she committed the offense to scare her co-worker whom she had been feuding with. Under postal regulation, the co-worker would have been responsible for the loss out of her own pocket." |

February 22, 2006 - USPS Steps Up to Improve delivery in Van Nuys District

The Valley Press newspaper in California recently reported in a front page story that shifting of the guard has taken place at the USPS Van Nuys District office and at the Lancaster and Palmdale stations. A spokesman for the service says that Virginia Tovar, the former Van Nuys District manager, is now plant manager. Kerry Wolny has been reassigned to the position vacated by Tovar. Postmaster Anita Plata is back in her official position as postmaster at Lancaster. Tony Plante, who had been serving as officer in charge at Lancaster, has returned as postmaster in Palmdale. |

February 22, 2006 - Postcard assuming a more commercial role- Once primarily a vehicle for personal communication, the postcard is now seen as a low-cost advertising and business communication vehicle (a single postcard stamp is 24 cents, versus the 39 cents it takes for a first-class letter; postcard rates can go as low as 17.9 cents apiece if the sender sorts down to the carrier delivery route).

February 22, 2006- Americans Say USPS Most Trusted Agency - "For the second year in a row, Americans have rated the U.S. Postal Service as the number one agency they trust to protect their privacy. Not only did the Postal Service retain the top spot, customer satisfaction and trust scores increased from the previous year, a national study shows. "No government agency touches the public in the way the United States Postal Service does. No other government agency has the one-to-one, personalized service with its customers, six days a week, 52 weeks a year," said Delores Killette, Vice President and Consumer Advocate."

February 22, 2006-  | on  news below

Former Postal Worker, Infected with Anthrax in 2001, Still Feels Effects

Jaffer: Study focuses on volume levels of first-class single-piece mail
Postmaster: Mail changes won't hurt Nashville service

Neither War Nor Bombs Stay These Iraq Couriers

Mail Carrier Helps Police Track Down Fugitive Couple

Mailbox invention catches eye of television show

Arizona:  300 Data-entry jobs open at post office

Clerk likes job's variety, working with the public

Part-time postal worker keeps mail delivery rolling along

Cary Customers Seek Solutions For Post Office Crowding
Postal employee indicted for taking money from mail
Stamp hike puts squeeze on some organizations
New Orleans' main post office reopens

Official: Mail is hot property for thieves

Japan to stop mail delivery at 1,000 rural post offices - Japan Post is explaining to employees and labor unions that its "objective is to efficiently redeploy collection and delivery bases, and that there will be no adverse impact on services for the public such as mail delivery."

February 21, 2006 - USPS Aims to Improve Arizona Mail Delivery in April, Late Mail Irks Residents - USPS officials acknowledge mail delivery problems and promised to address them before summer. “There’s no rhyme or reason and it’s very erratic — the mail may come at 3, 4 or 7:45 p.m.,” Ms. Stuck said. “We’ve lived here for 13 years and we had a carrier who wouldn’t listen and we accepted the fact that the mail service would be bad. We got a new carrier and he is really trying his best, but it’s not unusual to get the mail after dark. |

February 21, 2006

Postal Service Request for Advisory Opinion from PRC

Some Holiday Postal Workers Aren't Getting Paid

Report Cards sent in student's name to PO Boxes returned as undeliverable (link corrected)

New Orleans main post office to reopen today
Council resolution targets White Rock post office services
USPS Unveils Commemorative Stamp at CMSU

February 20, 2006 - Debate Heats Up Over Mail Processing Study
From pickets to public meetings, members of Sioux City's postal workers union have gone to great lengths to tell people what's at stake.  It's not the tenor of the campaign that bothers the U.S. Postal Service, it's the tactics. "It has to do with some of the scare tactics being used by members of the American Postal Workers Union locally in Sioux City," said Richard Watkins, USPS Spokesman. "They should know better. In fact, they do know better."|

February 20, 2006 - Demand Tipped for Cardboard Mail Scales

A few weeks ago, in a story about the U.S. Postal Service, we briefly mentioned the tiny cardboard scales the post office was offering so customers could easily weigh their letters. It turns out the Postal Service didn't distribute the nifty little scales in all post offices. But after a limited giveaway last fall, it will distribute 200,000 "in early summer" to 18,000 post offices nationwide, according to Gerald J. McKiernan, a Postal Service spokesman. The post office will sell them for a "modest cost," McKiernan said. They shouldn't cost much, because the post office is paying the manufacturer "much less than the cost of a first-class stamp" for each one, according to the Dutch co-inventor of the scale, which is given away by many major postal services, including Royal Mail and Deutsche Post, he said." |

February 20, 2006 - Postal Service says bill to fix finances is unworkable

"The Senate on Feb. 8 unanimously approved a bill that would turn the independent Postal Rate Commission into a new regulatory board and limit rate hikes to the inflation rate. The bill, which passed the House last summer on a 410-20 vote, is now in a conference committee to work out differences between the two versions. Postal Service officials say the new board overseeing many internal business practices is unworkable. "We have no control over the decisions that are being made, and yet we're supposed to implement them," said Jerry McKiernan, spokesman for the Postal Service.  |

February 20, 2006

Substitute mail carrier saves day

Native son reflects on 20 years as Dravosburg postmaster
Floyd County residents fight to reopen Post Office

Postal worker suspended for Playboy mag theft retires with full benefits
Change in the air for bypass mail
Relief in sight for erratic mail
Niagara Falls postal carriers aid shut-ins
Postal Service to fill eight mail carrier jobs in Great Falls
Mail carriers deliver in a crisis

February 18, 2006 - Postal Service a no-show as Mayor, reps meet to discuss Waterbury pullout  -

As part of its ongoing efforts to regionalize postal services, the quasi-public agency decided in October 2005 to stop using the city's main post office as a regional processing facility based on conclusions of efficiency studies. Legislators and a representative of the postal union argue that the move doesn't make economic sense given the cost of transporting mail to the new regional processing center in Wallingford and back each day, saying that it leads to a reduction in service and a loss of business traffic downtown. APWU local President James Conway, who lobbied for the meeting, was the sole postal employee at the session.  |

February 18, 2006

Speeding delivery

Former Postal Worker gets probation in embezzling scheme

Stamping out of post office upsets Brooklandville
Post Office's Impending Closure Irks Residents

February 17, 2006-  Postal Service to study US mail facilities -USPS plans to study mail facilities throughout the country and might shut down some, partially because people are sending less first-class mail. Paul Vogel, USPS VP for network-operations management briefed reporters yesterday about the studies during a conference call Thursday. While it used to take employees one hour to sort 500 pieces of mail by hand, the Postal Service's bar-coding system can sort 30,000 pieces of mail in an hour, Vogel said. Postal Service Outlines Plans for New Network Vogel said that new mailing patterns demand these changes. For example, "single-piece First-Class mail is eroding. Over the past six or seven years, it's gone down almost 20 percent ... and that's where our labor intensity is in our system network -- collecting and sorting and canceling all of that type of mail.   |

- Springfield bulk mail center may be moved |  Consolidating doesn't mean loss of jobs | Still not known if postal work moving to Memphis | New mail-sorting system draws criticism | Rockford: Mail study moves ahead; residents will have a say

February 17, 2006- Postal Service Launches College Contest to Promote NetPost, Click-N-Ship and Direct Mail - USPS announced the launch of the “P.R. Professional Experience,” last month, a contest in which student teams from colleges and universities in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut compete to see who can devise the best public relations campaign for the Postal Service’s online products NetPost, Click-N-Ship and Direct Mail .  Participating students could win over $2500 in prizes sponsored by Microsoft, JetBlue Airways and Travel Pro, and the chance to have their Grand Prize winning campaign featured in a future Postal Service Public Relations promotion.

February 17, 2006 - Former Postal Clerk arrested for stealing from Collection Boxes -Postal authorities arrested Debra Debra L. Sheffield, in December after an investigation led postal officials to the clerk, who had been working in Benbrook. Sheffield is accused of using a postal key to take mail from collection boxes. from August until mid-December. Sheffield was indicted last month on a federal charge of possession of stolen mail.. "We believe there are over 5,000 victims at this time and climbing," she said. Two months ago, investigators said they watched Sheffield empty a collection box and followed her to a motel. "Basically we knocked on the door and the jig was up," McMurrey said.  |

February 17, 2006 | on  news below

Mail truck catches fire

Mail carrier bitten by dog wins $25,000

Ronald Reagan Stamp to be Reissued

USPS completes investigation of  Postal Workers
Postal Service Committed to Improving Service in New Orleans
The 'hidden tax' that's in the mail

February 16, 2006 - Postal Worker Accused of Raiding Thousands of Mailboxes

Authorities said a crooked postal worker helped herself to huge amounts of mail from August  of last year through December. Postal inspector Amanda McMurrey said the female employee had a key to the boxes. "We believe there are over 5,000 victims at this time and climbing," she said. Two months ago, investigators said they watched Sheffield empty a collection box and followed her to a motel. "Basically we knocked on the door and the jig was up," McMurrey said.  |

February 16, 2006  | on  news below

Postal Bulletin Issue 2/16/06

USPS ponders national E-recycling, solicits industry partner
Postal Reform Bills: A Side-By-Side Comparison (PDF)

Lives on the line, postal heroes deliver
Postal Service plugs into solar, hydrogen
New portal helps online sellers fill out USPS forms
Mail delivery in battered New Orleans should improve by spring
Sioux City: Postal Service says union spreading misinformation
USPS Custom Pub Serves Small Business | USPS Smart Business
Postal Expenses Continue to Rise

Rally under way for 39 cent Jack Benny stamp

February 15, 2006 - USPS Briefs APWU on Plans to Realign Network
The Postal Service outlined the long-awaited Evolutionary Network Development (END) program in a meeting with APWU officers Feb. 14, 2006, the same day it submitted the plan to the Postal Rate Commission (PRC) for evaluation. The USPS plans to replace the nine existing facility-types with five processing facility-types: Regional Distribution Centers (RDCs), which will process all classes of parcels and bundles and serve as Surface Transfer Centers, Local Processing Centers (LPCs), which will process single-piece letters and flats and cancel mail, Destination Processing Centers (DPC), which will process single-piece letters and flats; Airport Transfer Centers (ATCs), which will serve as transfer points only, and Remote Encoding Centers (RECs) Over a period of years, these facilities are expected to replace Processing & Distribution Centers, Customer Service Facilities, Bulk Mail Centers, Logistic and Distribution Centers, annexes, the Hub and Spoke Program, Air Mail Centers, Remote Encoding Centers, and International Service Centers. |

- Graphics: USPS Current Network and Network Simplification (PDF)

- USPS Request for Advisory Opinion From PRC on service changes

February 15, 2006 - USPS Sends Comic Characters to Promote  Services, Web Site- Starting February 22nd, the Postal Service will begin mailing a monthly postcard featuring characters from the comic strips Cathy and Dilbert to inform its 120 million residential and 10 million business customers of its services. The first efforts will promote offered services of the Postal Service that have not been publicized or promoted recently. Cathy Guisewite, author of the Cathy strip, will write seven comics aimed at consumers for the Postal Service. Dilbert writer Scott Adams will create eight monthly comics for businesses.  - Cathy,' 'Dilbert' Shill For Postal Service   |

February 15, 2006 - White House Veto Threat Looms Over Postal Bill Negotiations

Now that sweeping postal legislation has cleared the Senate, the bill's champions are gearing up for what will likely be a contentious conference. Aides in both chambers say it will be relatively easy to reconcile House and Senate differences, but resolving issues dealing with the White House's looming veto threat is another matter. The administration opposes language to transfer the agency's $27 billion military pensions obligation from the Postal Service to the Treasury and give the agency access to money slated for an escrow account. The American Postal Workers Union prefers the worker's compensation provisions in the House measure. In a statement, the union said the Senate bill "would shift a significant portion of the cost of on-the-job injuries from the USPS to postal workers." Lobbyists close to the negotiations say the Senate's approach will likely prevail on most differences  |

February 15, 2006  | on  news below

USPS Celebrates Black History Month and Milestones of Civil Rights Movement

APWU:  USPS Assigns Jurisdiction For ‘Enhanced’ AFSM-100 Machines

Postal workers worry about jobs going to Akron

Postal worker marks 40 years

New Chairman, Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee

Jaffer: Council doesn’t serve postal customers

No decision in Aberdeen postal study

University Park Post Office to replace 'Don the Mail Guy'

University mail room workers charged with stealing gift cards, certificates

February 14, 2006  | on any of today's news below

Residents Prepare Petitions to Fight for Post Office

Mail carriers worried over powder leak

Postal truck hits Connecticut teen | Postman charged in accident
Louisiana: St. Bernard Parish Post Office Reopens
Postal Service slammed with Valentines

Agency probes fire on UPS cargo flight -- 6,600 packages destroyed

Photo-Me to Supply Booths for UK Post Offices

February 13, 2006 - USPS Hiring Manpower Temps for National Rural Mail Count - USPS is now hiring for seasonal Rural Route Counters in Florida, Virginia and Tennessee  through Manpower, Inc.  According to the job description listing for Florida: "You will be timing carriers and counting mail. No experience necessary. Background, credit check, and drug screen required. Monday-Saturday 6AM to 2PM. Positions begin on February 24 and ends on March 9, 2006. The job description listing for Virginia is slightly different, " Assist with the National Rural Mail Count (PDF)t. These individuals will be responsible for conducting the count under supervision by USPS and for logging results of the count."  As one PR reader pointed out, "This work used to be done by 204Bs. More outsourcing?" |

February 13, 2006 - League of Postmasters President  Clarifies Statement  Regarding NALC and APWU Members - Let me make it clear that I have great respect for our carriers and clerks. They are our front line with our customers. I never intended the article to sound as if members of NALC or APWU were not doing their jobs and were therefore responsible for all the productivity losses we are currently experiencing. |

February 13, 2006 - A Stranger In Your Queue -"If your Netflix movies take too long to arrive, you may be sharing your subscription with your mail carrier: Jian Zhong Li loved Netflix. After a long night sorting mail at a Queens processing center, he could settle in at his Brooklyn home with all sorts of movies he'd never seen in the theater. Li especially loved Netflix because the DVDs come in well-labeled red envelopes that make them easy to identify amid the bulk junk. It also makes them so much easier to steal. When postal inspectors followed Li to his car, they found 83 stolen discs." |

February 13, 2006  - Letter: Columnist's misguided potshots give Postal Service a black eye
I was reading with curious dismay Francis Gordon's bitter rant at the Postal Service ("A study in inefficiency," Business Times, Jan. 13) where she writes of her experience while visiting her local post office in Dallas during the recent holidays. She lobs her disdain at Postal Service window service employees for being "overly" conversational with customers claiming it contributes to "slow service." On the contrary, our employees are trained to ask questions of customers to ensure that their options are fully understood and the appropriate service is chosen that meets their needs. Personally, I would welcome more conversation from my local grocery cashier or bank teller.

February 13, 2006

Ask President Burrus: When was penalty overtime negotiated and why?

DMA Calls for Quick Congressional Action on Postal Reform
Mailman Sheds Weight, Obtains Age Waiver to Join Corps

New Fruitland postmaster touts USPS technology
Has stamp collecting been licked?

W.A. Wilde Builds a Better Mail Piece With Print on Demand

February 12, 2006 - Former President's Postal Commission Members Question Reform Provisions - "We have two major concerns with the bills as they are currently proposed. The Postal Service Board of Governors and management must have a greater ability to reduce costs. Almost 80% of the total cost of the Postal Service is labor. The fastest growing elements of that cost are health care and retirement benefits. Labor wages are also imposed by arbitration when the collective bargaining process between management and the unions is unsuccessful. The Postal Service has very little control over the majority of its costs, and those costs are rising significantly faster than the CPI." |

February 12, 2006 - After Civil War, African-Americans had a big part in postal operations -The contributions of African-Americans to the medical, entertainment, athletic and art fields are generally well-known, but what about their role in the U.S. Postal Service? Yes, they had a big part in postal operations, particularly in the late 19th century. Harry Spratlin, spokesman for the U.S. Postal Service’s Greater South Carolina District, said his research through the U.S. Postal Service on-line archives and the state’s historical archives provided an insightful look into the role of blacks in the nation’s postal service industry.

February 12, 2006

Postal Foes Join Forces In Sioux City Postal Center Debate

Fresh air and people made it a good 33 years for retiring mailman
Town wants Postal Service to deliver new post offices

February 11, 2006 - Postal Workers in Washington Area Suspended for Unethical Behavior - Several postal workers in the Washington area have been suspended without pay as a Federal investigation is underway. The USPS OIG is investigating a number of postal employees -- including letter carriers -- at the Friendship Heights post office for unethical behavior. A spokesperson for the postal service tells WTOP as many as fifteen employees were placed on emergency suspension last Wednesday. |

February 11, 2006 

APWU: Bush Budget Proposal Addresses Postal Reform

Retiring postmaster will miss people, not stress
Senate Bill Could Save Sioux City Mail Processing Center

Bill could stop movement of Sioux City postal center
Postal Service to Cut Electric Bill, Improve Environment
Tracking Credit Card Offers in the Mail
e-NAPUS Newsletter: Postal Endgame (PDF)
Post office put on hold
USPS Could Stamp Out Vermont Town's Post Office

February 09, 2006 - USPS Issues Staffing Jurisdiction On Modified AFSM-100 Sorting Machines to Mail Handlers - "After full review of the duties associated with the Automated Induction (AI) and the Automatic Tray Handling 100 (ATHS) systems on the Automated Flats Sorting Machine 100 (AFSM-100), the USPS has issued its primary craft jurisdiction determinations for each of these machines. In accordance with these determinations, on any AFSM-100 with AI, the Mail Handler craft has been assigned as the primary craft for employees working at the Load Station, for employees working at the Prep Station, and for employees operating the ATHS. The clerk craft has been assigned to the one employee working the Feed station on the AFSM-100 with AI. For non-AI AFSM-100s with ATHS, the staffing will be four clerks to allow for ergonomic relief.

Memo to NPMHU Locals | Craft Determination Letter |

February 09, 2006 - Senate Passes Postal Reform Bill (S. 662) -The two versions will now go to conference committee to work out differences. Once that has occurred, the bill will be sent to President Bush. Postcom reports: The Mailers Council has reported that "Following are the Senate conferees for the postal reform bills: DEMOCRATS Lieberman (CT) Akaka (HI) Carper (DE) REPUBLICANS Collins (ME) Bennett (UT) Coleman (MN) Stevens (AK) Voinovich (OH).  |

Postal Point Person? "The White House point person on legislation to overhaul the U.S. Postal Service, Claude A. Allen , head of the domestic policy council, resigned Wednesday, leaving the Bush administration to look for a presidential adviser to help broker a compromise bill."

- APWU: Our struggle now moves to a new stage

- NALC: Young Praises Senate Passage of Postal Reform Legislation

- Postal overhaul bill finally passes Senate, heads to conference

- Mailers React : DMA  | PostCom

- Senate approves postal reform bill (Federal Times)

- PostCom: 'blow-by-blow' account of Senate action | Final Version of Senate Bill (PDF)

February 09, 2006 - Disgraceful Slap At Postal Workers - APWU President Burrus, Connecticut APWU State President Michael Ganino and other postal employees sent letters to the editor of Hartford Courant newspaper to express their outrage at the so-called "satire" of Postal Workers. Burrus wrote:  "Postal workers were shocked and outraged by the Cryptogram published in your newspaper on Feb. 5. The offending [Cryptogram solution] was: "Postal employees grab your gun, shoot fellow workers one by one, look you got them on the run, tell N.R.A. about your fun." Ganino wrote: Despite our service your paper, The Hartford Courant thought it was amusing to degrade and denigrate postal employees by capitalizing on shootings that took the lives of many wonderful citizens?"  |

February 09, 2006 - Bush buried detailed Social Security privatization proposals in 2007  budget -.."with no fanfare whatsoever, Bush stuck a big Social Security privatization plan in the federal budget proposal, which he sent to Congress on Monday. On page 321 of the budget proposal, you see the privatization costs: $24.182 billion in fiscal 2010, $57.429 billion in fiscal 2011 and another $630.533 billion for the five years after that, for a seven-year total of $712.144 billion." |

February 09, 2006 | on any of today's news below

Three Illinois Libraries Test Home Delivery Service

Editorial: Rural Carrier's Border Patrol drama doesn't sit well

$12K Reward Offered after theft of three postal vehicles

Letter carrier held up in Dayton

Mail carrier delivers for ailing woman

Postal Service considers processing Helena mail in Great Falls

McCausland (Iowa), Postal Service reach tentative agreement

After 50 years, Connecticut postman's route starts and ends on memory lane

Pennsylvania grand jury indicts two former postal workers

Workers give postmaster top marks
Postal counter to open in Vail bus station
Woman accused of mailing explosive condoms
Portal Gives Quick Access to Crucial USPS Forms
Postal Service declines meeting with city officials

February 08, 2006 - USPS Board Approves Development of Flats Sequencing System (FSS)
The Board approved the redirection of funds toward the development and testing of a Flats Sequencing System (FSS) which will allow the sequencing of larger mail pieces in delivery point order. Flat mail - which includes large envelopes, catalogs, magazines, and newspapers - is one of the most labor-intensive categories of mail to process, sort and deliver due to variations in size, thickness and address label placement. This will reduce the time letter carriers need to prepare mail for delivery. This April, a prototype FSS - one-half the size of the production machine - will be installed in the Mail Processing Annex in Indianapolis, IN, with field tests scheduled to continue through June. Following that, a full-size pre-production machine will be built and tested through June 2007. Upon successful completion of those tests, deployment of FSS equipment is targeted to begin in the spring of 2008.

- First-Class mail volume down, Standard, Express Mail and Priority Mail Up - Also, The board also approved funding to develop and test a Remote Encoding System program, which will replace the Image Processing Subsystem (USPS: Three more RECs will close in 2006).  |

 - Comprehensive Statement on Postal Operations for FY 2005

February 08, 2006 - Senators lift holds on postal reform bill, paving way for vote
Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala. concerns, which centered around the bill's budget impact, were eased when staff for Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Chairwoman Susan Collins, R-Maine, said she would consider changes to language that gives the Postal Service access to money slated for an escrow account and shifts the agency's $27 billion military pensions obligation to the Treasury,. Sessions' decision to release his hold means the bill could be approved by unanimous consent as early as Wednesday night, but postal lobbyists say contentious debate over an asbestos measure could delay consideration. The administration has expressed similar concerns, threatening to veto the bill if those provisions remain unchanged. Postal Service reform called vital for Maine  |

Senators Withdraw Hold on Postal Reform Bill, Legislation Could Pass Today
The senators who put a hold on S. 662 were Sens. Jeff Sessions, R-AL, and Jim DeMint, R-SC. The hold was preventing passage of reform legislation. The bill was put on the Senate calendar for consideration under its unanimous-consent rule more than two weeks ago. If no senators object, the bill could pass without debate.

February 08, 2006 - Postal Service: Delving into delivery delays - ".... postal management across this nation spend 95 percent of their time avoiding the real issues that are brought to them. They have only one goal, achieve the artificial numbers that determine if they are meeting the goals set at headquarters." Another said, "I am a mail carrier in the northeast and can sympathize with all the horror stories I hear from patrons. We as mail carriers are just as dismayed with the direction the service is taking. There is a fanatical push to reduce costs at the expense of service. We all understand the importance of cost cutting and agree it is necessary to be efficient and competitive. Staff is being reduced to bare minimums so there are not enough employees to complete all the rounds."  |

- Watsonville, CA: Nighttime deliveries highlight postal woes

February 08, 2006 - NY: 10 accused in postage stamp scam - Some local stores got a big bargain on postage stamps last year. And 10 Buffalo residents could wind up in federal prison for giving it to them. The U.S. Postal Inspection Service arrested 10 men and women on Monday, accusing them of buying postage stamps with $35,750 in checks that turned out to be fraudulent. Authorities believe the defendants then sold the stamps, at bargain rates, to local stores. The stores, in turn, sold them to the public at a nice profit.

February 08, 2006

Stamping out mailboxes?

Pawn shop includes drive-up contract postal unit
UK: 'No agreement' in postal dispute

Mourners recall woman's passion for diversity

FedEx agrees to penalize companies that ship cigarettes

February 07, 2006 -A Billion A Week Paid Out On Postal Payroll
National Payroll Hours Summary Reports - "here are some of the numbers....... A billion dollars a week: the average postal payroll so far this year, totaling salaries and benefits for all employees:  $1.5 Billion: total cost of overtime. 13%: the average overtime percentage (OT/total hours) for bargaining unit employees. The rate varies widely by employee type - for clerks it's 13%, for city carriers 15%, for mail handlers 19%, while rural carriers (paid on an evaluated system) get less than 3% overtime; $405 million: the amount paid out in sick leave for the first 16 weeks. The total sick leave rate was just under 4%. Bargaining unit sick leave was 4.4%. Management employees nationwide had a sick leave rate of 3.3%, but the Headquarters non-bargaining sick leave rate was 4.5%." (Source: PRC via Postalnews Blog) |

February 07, 2006 - Postmaster Suspended -(AP) Postal officials won't say why the postmaster in Great Falls was placed on administrative leave. Bruce Gruver has been Great Falls postmaster since December 2004. He was placed on administrative leave in mid-January of this year. Al DeSarro is western regional spokesman for the Postal Service in Denver. He says there is an internal investigation, which may conclude in a month or so. But that's all DeSarro would say. Postmaster Gruver was placed on leave January 24th. Yesterday Dave Wheeler, an experienced postmaster from Miles City, began work as the acting postmaster in Great Falls. Before taking the Great Falls job, Gruver was postmaster in Fort Dodge, Iowa

February 07, 2006 -Ex-postal worker facing charges after allegedly making threats
 A former San Francisco postal employee is facing federal charges for allegedly threatening to harm or kill his onetime colleagues in a telephone threat made after a post-office rampage in Santa Barbara County, authorities said Monday. Michael Anthony Kennelly, 52, allegedly called the Postal Service's processing and distribution center Wednesday at 1300 Evans Ave. in San Francisco and said, "I am gonna make what happened in Santa Barbara happen here. I know what it is like to get fired," a postal inspector said in an affidavit." ." Postal officials say Kennelly admitted making a phone call, but denied making threats. When investigators arrested Kennelly at his home they found bullets to a handgun, but no weapons.  |

Survey Finds Offers in Envelopes Receive More Attention

February 07, 2006 - Survey Finds Offers in Envelopes Receive More Attention
Women perceive personalized direct mail envelopes in a more favorably than men, according to new national survey finding released by the Envelope Manufacturers Association Foundation (EMAF). Forty-five percent of women surveyed perceive offers in envelopes more favorably than fliers or postcards. People over 35, African Americans and Hispanics also had more favorable perceptions of offers received in envelopes than the general population.

February 07, 2006

APWU Wins Important Ruling for Private-Sector Truck Drivers

Brentwood Anthrax Survivors Take Case to US Supreme Court

Bloomington-area Leaders Oppose Plan to Move Mail Processing

Man Crashes into Nassau Post Office, No One Hurt

Brentwood Anthrax Survivors Take Case to US Supreme Court

Whether rain nor snow ...: Mail carriers carry on through weather
Postal Customers Adjust to Schedule

February 06, 2006 - Bush FY 2007 Budget for USPS -"Postal reform must be accomplished in a responsible manner that is fair to taxpayers, ratepayers, and Postal Service employees. To this end, the Administration supports reforms that: allow the Postal Service pricing flexibility, but within a firm annual Consumer Price Index rate cap and with a strict limit on the circumstances when rates can exceed the cap; require compliance with all Securities and Exchange Commission financial reporting standards; and permit greater flexibility in the use of negotiated service agreements and worksharing arrangements. In addition, the 2007 Budget proposes to use the pension savings provided to the Postal Service by the Postal Civil Service Retirement System Funding Reform Act of 2003 (P.L. 108-18) that would otherwise be held in escrow in 2006 and beyond, to put the Postal Service on a path that fully funds its substantial retiree health benefits liabilities." - Federal Funds to USPS (PDF) |

fFebruary 06, 2006 - Late Deliveries in West, Southwest Trouble Mailers- Mailers and printers are watching a recent spate of late mail deliveries in the Southwest and West, as well as reports of mail being delivered at night. Reports surfaced last month that areas in California and New Mexico were having regular delays of one or two days, and in some cases four. In other cases, mail was being delivered to residences as late as 10 p.m. Steve LeNoir, president of the National League of Postmasters, said service has taken a beating in the two states because of hiring issues. LeNoir said the league has been working on these problems at the local and national level and met with officials at postal headquarters last week. A representative from another large printer who requested anonymity said the West Coast delivery problem has arisen in "nearly every industry meeting over the past few months, and it is becoming problematic. One publisher says it takes two weeks for a magazine to get delivered in California.". Rep. Henry Waxman, D-CA, ranking minority member on the House Committee on Government Reform, and chairman Tom Davis, R-VA, cited problems in the Los Angeles area in a Jan. 31 letter to Postmaster General John E. Potter. |

February 06, 2006

Huron postal facility honored for employee safety program
NJ man charged over anthrax letter hoax
Mailman loves his job

Bush Seeks to Increase Health Savings Accounts- In his State of the Union speech last week, President Bush gave short shrift -- just 165 words -- to the subject of health care. Still, administration officials say finding an antidote to rising costs will be a priority for the White House this year. Bush's prescription includes promoting health savings accounts (HSAs) and "consumer-driven" health plans that he says will trim expenses by prodding Americans to assume greater responsibility for their health care choices. |

February 05, 2006 - Postal Reform Bill Put on Hold ...Again -According to Postcom, "Sens. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) and Jim DeMint (R-S.C) are maintaining their hold on S. 662. Both, we are told, are demanding that S. 662, either in the bill or in conference, be budget neutral. In other words, the Senate must accede to the Administration's position on the treatment of the released CSRS escrow money and the payment of the military obligation. "Former Deputy PMG and Mailing Industry Executive John Nolan has called for a 30- to 60-day “time out” to analyze the bills and work to resolve differences." |

February 05, 2006 - New Orleans mail delivery slowly improving - "Five months after Hurricane Katrina paralyzed mail delivery in southeast Louisiana, New Orleans area residents find the Postal Service still in rehab. Tardy letters, delayed billing statements, invitations to long-ago holiday parties, AWOL insurance checks and the continued ban of magazines and other periodicals for the ZIP codes beginning with 701 are among the common symptoms. Post-Katrina mail service around southeast Louisiana remains slow. Delays in payments Delivery delays also have plagued utilities and other businesses trying to restart billing procedures."  |

February 05, 2006 - Mailman guilty of operating while intoxicated- A Barron postal worker who crashed his mail truck into two houses and a parked car while working last summer has been found guilty of second-offense operating while intoxicated and ordered to spend 40 days in jail. James A. Brown, also was ordered to pay $1,062 in fines and court costs, as well as restitution for damages. Brown, who is suspended from work, had his driver's license suspended for 18 months.

Previous story: On-duty Barron postman arrested for drunk driving

February 05, 2006 - Former employee sues postal service, cites harassment - A former mail handler at Roanoke's main post office branch has filed a discrimination lawsuit against the U.S. Postal Service, saying management did nothing when he informed them that co-workers and direct supervisors had repeatedly made racially discriminatory comments toward him. Tony P. Welch, who worked at the main branch on Rutherford Avenue Northeast from 1996 until 2002, claims the harassment came at the hands of five white male co-workers -- the same men accused in an earlier lawsuit of harassing a female employee.

February 05, 2006 - Postage Is Due for Companies Sending E-Mail - Soon companies will have to buy the electronic equivalent of a postage stamp if they want to be certain that their e-mail will be delivered to many of their customers. America Online and Yahoo, two of the world's largest providers of e-mail accounts, are about to start using a system that gives preferential treatment to messages from companies that pay from 1/4 of a cent to a penny each to have them delivered. The Internet companies say that this will help them identify legitimate mail and cut down on junk e-mail, identity-theft scams and other scourges that plague users of their services. The two companies also stand to earn millions of dollars a year from the system if it is widely adopted."

February 05, 2006

Udall Takes Tough Stance on New Mexico Postal Operations

Iowa delegation keeps pushing to retain Sioux City postal distribution center
Waco officials still uncertain about postal distribution center status

Editorial: Help is coming for Las Cruces mail woes
Postal Service: Burlington Postmark Could Soon Be History

Dougherty residents worried about future of their post office
e-NAPUS Newsletter: Postal Groundhog Day in DC (PDF)

Postal carriers can walk on lawns if OK with customers

Wilma blows away postal delivery
Postal Worker gets probation

USPS: Mail Military Valentines Early

February 03, 2006 - The Mail May Get Through, Someday
Critics blame local delivery problems on the Postal Service's cutbacks and consolidation efforts - "A letter carrier shortage, equipment problems and closure of a Marina del Rey mail processing facility are responsible for a spate of late and misdirected mail deliveries in the South Bay, Postal Service critics contend. "There have been policies put in place over the last year or so which actually led to this," said Phil Russ, executive vice president of the National Letter Carriers Association, Local 1650, which represents about 1,000 letter carriers between Malibu and the Palos Verdes Peninsula."  

Letter from Reps. Requesting Delivery Info |

- New Mexico postal problems headed to Congress

February 03, 2006 - Senate Committee to Hold Hearings on Empty Federal Buildings

Hearing date: February 6 - Taxpayers are losing billions each year as Congress keeps sending checks to pay holding costs for vacant buildings, instead of demanding that they be sold or demolished. The former Main Post Office in Chicago, 2.5 million square feet of unused property. Holding costs for this facility exceed $2 million annually, and it has been vacant since 1997. Why has it taken so long to sell the property?? This field hearing will explore the reasons why so many agencies do not efficiently or effectively maintain and manage their real property portfolios.  |

February 03, 2006- Postal service threatens lawsuit over traffic trouble at food market -Postal service threatens lawsuit against Delray over traffic trouble at food market The U.S. Postal Service is threatening to sue Delray Beach for failing to enforce code violations against The Boys Farmers Market, a popular grocery store that is the site of traffic confusion in the past several years. In a letter, postal service attorney Mark Dennett characterized a "tortured history" of dealing with code violations, particularly traffic issues, at the store. Dennett suggested the city is "either unable or unwilling" to get the store to comply, putting customers and employees at the post office next door in danger

February 03, 2006

Woman arrested for threatening to shoot postal employee over PO Box Rule
UK: More workers join postal strike
Alito, as 3rd Circuit judge, rules on postal discrimination case

Western Union telegram service ends- Western Union sent about 20,000 telegrams through the postal system for next-day delivery last year

February 02, 2006 -Postal Worker's Widow Wins Benefits In Suicide Claim
The Labor Department ruled in October that letter carrier George Kruest's death was directly linked to work-related depression and awarded his widow an annual benefit of about $15,000, or about 45 percent of her husband's salary. According to federal records, supervisors yelled at him while managers and co-workers called him lazy, saying he was worthless and faking injury. The Labor Department denied Patricia Kruest's initial claim for benefits after she argued her husband had been depressed because of a hostile work environment. Last summer, a hearing officer concluded that overwhelming evidence indicated workers and managers "heaped abuse on the rehab workers." Patricia Kruest, said the Postal Service mistreats its injured workers. |

February 02, 2006 -Postal Service fighting attempt to regulate price of Disney letter sheets -The United States Postal Service has renewed its efforts to kill any attempt to regulate the prices of its Art of Disney letter sheets, which bear an imprinted stamp. In a Jan. 17 motion filed with the Postal Rate Commission, the Postal Service argues that its Art of Disney postal stationery is what it calls "a philatelic item" and therefore not comparable to "a utilitarian stamp envelope."  Douglas F. Carlson, a San Francisco lawyer and self-professed postal watchdog. charged in a petition with the commission that the $14.95 price charged for a "pad of 12 sheets" with imprinted stamps is outrageously high and inconsistent with the rulings requiring stamp rates "to be fair and equitable. |

February 02, 2006 - Postal workers caught having sex in mail truck

Several residents in a northwest Houston neighborhood say they saw the pair engaging in questionable behavior in the back of a postal truck. A supervisor was called out to the scene to break up the lovebirds, but for some neighbors. it was too late. The postal service says a full investigation is now underway. One neighbor says he taped the escapade for evidence. |

February 02, 2006 -  USPS 2006 - Benjamin Franklin Doubtless Would Be Proud - beginning with the threshold fact that our postage rates compared to those of most other nations are cheap - and even cheaper when we consider relative cost-of-living and incomes. This writer, in his travels, has found few countries in which postage rates are much less than double our rates. Further, the efficiency level not uncommonly is less, the convenience level even more uncommonly less - such as, try to get home delivery in most of the world. There also is the safety factor: Would one dare deposit in the mail of most countries a check or a document?

February 02, 2006 - University Partners with USPS to offer Internship Opportunities - Elon University is working in partnership with the U.S. Postal Service to help develop a pipeline of high quality and diverse college students, and showcase the variety of exciting opportunities that exist in the USPS. The USPS will provide full scholarships to five student participants during the summer 2006 term, to cover the Washington Center’s program fee, housing fee, a weekly stipend, and transportation expenses to and from Washington.

February 02, 2006

Letter to PMG from Reps. Waxman and Davis Requesting Delivery Information

Postal employees return $100 bills to happy resident
Sylvania Postal Worker Returns from Iraq

Government Checks Switch To White Envelopes

Postal Service Selling Super Bowl Caches and Memorabilia

Postal Bulletin 2/2/06: Black History Month and More...
USPS Board of Governors to Meet Feb. 7-8

February 01, 2006- Saving Dead Letters At The Mail Recovery Center

The next time you contemplate sending a letter without a return address, think again. Every year more than 100 million pieces of mail pour into the U.S. Post Office's Mail Recovery Centers (MRC), virtually all of them lacking a valid address and return address. The vast majority of this mail never gets delivered, although it's not for lack of effort. The postal service goes to great lengths, at its own expense, to try to find each piece of mail's intended destination. Currently, the post office operates three MRC's—in Atlanta, St. Paul and San Francisco. Ironically, the term "dead letter office" has become obsolete. The postal service, part of an effort to standardize the mail recovery process, officially ceased using that term in 1992. Still, old habits seem to die hard.  |

February 01, 2006 - USPS monitoring the rebuilding and repopulating in hurricane areas - The U.S. Postal Service, after losing nine post offices to Katrina, is closely monitoring the rebuilding and repopulating of the Coast to determine when and where to locate post offices and branches to best serve its customers

February 01, 2006

For Postal Reform, It's Hurry Up and Wait

Las Cruces NM postal meeting to be private

ADVO Explores Strategic Opportunities Related to MailCoups Subsidiary
UPS Driver Attacked by Middle School Students

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