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| Postal Articles |
POSTAL FACTS Postal Facts: September 23, 2019 What reporters and commentators are writing and saying about the Postal Service, and how NALC members and leaders are making their voices heard. An Obscure Post Office Meeting Begins Today. It Has High Stakes for UPS, Amazon, and Holiday Shoppers Chief of Staff Jim Sauber is quoted in a Sep. 23 article by Barron's that covers the controversy surrounding the potential U.S. exit from the Universal Postal Union. Click here to read article Cory Booker in North Las Vegas for Labor Day cookout The Las Vegas Review-Journal article covers presidential campaign activities in Nevada and includes Branch 2502 Trustee Lloyd Bell's comments on the importance of labor issues. Click here to read article POSTAL FACTS: Sept 23, 2019 POSTAL FACTS: Updated: Sept 9, 2019 POSTAL FACTS: August 12th, 2019 POSTAL FACTS: August 9th, 2019 POSTAL FACTS: July 19th, 2019 (updated) POSTAL FACTS: Updated June 21th, 2019 POSTAL FACTS: April 16, 2019 POSTAL FACTS: February 14th, 2019 POSTAL FACTS: January 31, 2019 POSTAL FACTS: January 15, 2019 POSTAL FACTS: January 7, 2019 Archives |
TOP NEWS STORIES Decision in Pay Consolidation Case 11.6.2019 - NALC reports: The arbitrator rejected NALC’s position that this change meant that employees from other crafts in grades equivalent to the former City Carrier Grade 1 could no longer be excessed into the letter carrier craft under Article 12 of the National Agreement. Case Consolidation Lawsuit Dismissed 11.6.2019 - NALC reports: U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg concluded that the court lacked jurisdiction to issue the preliminary injunction that NALC requested, which would have halted the Initiative pending the outcome of the national-level arbitration. Six carriers honored as NALC's Heroes of the Year 11.1.2019 - NALC reports: Letter carriers who saved people from car accidents or home fires, helped rescue a teenager who had been abused for months by her captors, or turned a personal tragedy into a campaign to help others, were among those honored on Oct. 30. Branch Officers Training set for Jan. 27-30 in Washington, DC 10.23.2019 - NALC reports: NALC Secretary-Treasurer Nicole Rhine has announced that Branch Officers Training will be held January 27-30, 2019 in Washington, DC. Post Office Fiddles While Its Mail Trucks Burn 10.21.2019 - Trucks.com reports: "Mail trucks are burning at an alarming rate, and the only people who seem to think it's a problem are the letter carriers who must drive the aging vehicles. Twenty-six of the U.S. Postal Service's aging Grumman LLV delivery trucks have caught fire so far this year. That makes 145 since 2014. If the mail truck were a vehicle model that consumers purchased from a dealer, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration would have long ago launched an investigation and issued a recall." NALC mourns passing of Rep. Elijah Cummings 10.17.2019 - NALC reports: The National Association of Letter Carriers sends its heartfelt condolences to the family, friends, and colleagues of Rep. Elijah Cummings of Baltimore, following his death today. Former Region 7 National Business Agent Eugene “Gene” McNulty died 10.17.2019 - NALC reports: McNulty served as NBA from 1979 to 1994. USPS Announces Retirement of PMG Brennan 10.16.2019 - USPS reports: "As Postmaster General, Brennan advanced technology and customer-centric strategies to invest in the future of the Postal Service and to shape growth opportunities for the organization and the industries it serves. These strategies encompassed better use of data and technology, improved speed-to-market of product and service innovations, continuously improved processes throughout the organization, and fully engaged and leveraged the talents of the organization's 635,000-employee workforce." - Postmaster general who was target of Trump's ire announces retirement - Linns. com PMG Brennan announces retirement 10.16.2019 - NALC reports: NALC congratulates Postmaster General Brennan on her retirement. The printed version of the 2019 Letter Carrier Resource Guide is now available to order 10.9.2019 - NALC reports: The 2019 Letter Carrier Resource Guide, a comprehensive guide for every letter carrier, combines, updates, and replaces the 2016 City Carrier Assistant Resource Guide and the 2014 Letter Carrier’s Guide. How a Broken Pay System Forced Postal Supervisors to Take USPS to Court 9.30.2019 - GovExec reports: "NAPS went to court because the Postal Service has violated the law's requirement that it pay managers and supervisors a salary comparable to the pay of their private sector counterparts and that it pay them more than the workers they supervise. These managers and supervisors help to assure the prompt and efficient delivery of mail and the reliability of postal operations." Update on NALC’s Case Consolidation Lawsuit 9.25.2019 - NALC reports: U.S. District Court Judge James E. Boasberg heard arguments today UPU endorses compromise to let US set prices for incoming foreign mail 9.25.2019 - Linn's Stamp News reports: "The day after the Universal Postal Union rejected a Trump administration plan for dealing with a flood of mostly Chinese packages, it overwhelmingly endorsed a compromise plan that will allow the United States -- not the UPU -- to set the prices for incoming foreign mail. "This is a big deal," declared Peter Navarro, who led President Trump's assault on the current international mail system." - NYT: US will remain in treaty after emergency talks U.S. to remain in the Universal Postal Union 9.25.2019 - NALC reports: Delegates to a Special Congress of the Universal Postal Union (UPU) reached an agreement on reforms UPU endorses compromise to let US set prices for incoming foreign mail 9.25.2019 - Linn's Stamp News reports: "The day after the Universal Postal Union rejected a Trump administration plan for dealing with a flood of mostly Chinese packages, it overwhelmingly endorsed a compromise plan that will allow the United States -- not the UPU -- to set the prices for incoming foreign mail. "This is a big deal," declared Peter Navarro, who led President Trump's assault on the current international mail system." - NYT: US will remain in treaty after emergency talks Yet Another Impasse at the Postal Service as Two More Labor Contracts Expire 9.23.2019 - GovExec reports: "USPS and the National Postal Mail Handlers Union have agreed to extend talks, though the union said the number of tentative agreements the two sides have so far reached is "relatively limited." The National Association of Letter Carriers, meanwhile, declared an impasse in its talks." NALC reaches impasse with the Postal Service in negotiations for a new collective-bargaining agreement 9.20.2019 - NALC reports: On Sept. 20, 2019, negotiations for a new collective-bargaining agreement between NALC and USPS came to an impasse. The current collective-bargaining agreement remains in force pending final resolution of the parties’ collective-bargaining dispute. NALC responds to Tropical Storm Imelda 9.20.2019 - NALC reports: To our brothers and sisters in the impacted areas that have been affected by Tropical Storm Imelda, we need your help to make sure that we are notified of the needs of our membership in this area. NALC and the labor movement fight for human rights 9.18.2019 - NALC reports: The Solidarity Without Borders initiative will bring labor leaders from around the country to the border to shine a light on the plight of families seeking asylum or facing deportation and to bring attention to the conditions in U.S. detention facilities. Court Rules Postal Service's Largest-Ever Price Increase is Illegal 9.13.2019 - GovExec reports: "The five-cent increase -- a 10% jump -- was the largest-ever hike for a stamp and the largest by percentage since 1995. The court, in an opinion written by Circuit Judge Neomi Rao, a Trump appointee who formerly worked in the White House as director of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, called the hike "remarkable" and lacking in justification." - Will prices now drop? - DC Circuit grants postal watchdog's challenge to PRC's approval of rate hike Letter carrier Mary Granados killed in Odessa, Texas 9.1.2019 - NALC reports: "We are deeply saddened by the senseless murder of Odessa, TX Branch 3964 letter carrier Mary Granados," NALC President Fredric Rolando said. NALC Files Lawsuit on Consolidated Casing Initiative 8.29.2019 - NALC reports: "NALC today filed a lawsuit against the Postal Service in the federal district court in Washington D.C. The suit asks the court to issue an injunction stopping the Postal Service from continuing its Consolidated Casing Initiative until NALC's pending national level grievance is resolved. The grievance over consolidated casing is presently scheduled for arbitration in December. Further developments will be reported as they occur." - Shake-Up Alarms Union of Mail Carriers: Extreme exhaustion, physical pain and mental stress NALC responds to Hurricane Dorian 8.29.2019 - NALC reports: We need your help to make sure that we are notified of the needs of our membership Connecticut letter carrier killed on his route 8.23.2019 - NALC reports: NALC is deeply saddened to learn that 59-year-old letter carrier Daniel Nacin was killed in a car accident on his route USPS Fairness Act reaches bipartisan majority 8.17.2019 - NALC reports: H.R. 2382 passes 218 co-sponsors, but more work needed to reach 290 NALC Legislative Action Center unveiled 8.15.2019 - NALC reports: NALC launched the Legislative Action Center today Rap Session held in Denver 8.13.2019 - NALC reports: President Rolando led the national Rap Session, Aug. 9-11 in Denver Seventh COLA set at $624 8.13.2019 - NALC reports: The seventh contract COLA was finalized at $624 USPS Loses $2.3B in 3rd Quarter Amid Newly Ominous Signs for Its Business 8.10.2019 - GovExec reports: "It was the first quarterly volume decline for packages in nine years, USPS Chief Financial Office Joe Corbett said. Companies like Amazon are increasingly establishing their own networks for last-mile delivery, damaging the Postal Service's Parcel Select business." - NALC Statement Statement on Postal Service's 2019 Q3 Financial Report 8.09.2019 - NALC reports: Statement by President Rolando on the Postal Service's 2019 Quarter 3 financial report NRLCA-USPS National Agreement Has Been RATIFIED 8.07.2019 - USPS reports: "Highlights of the agreement include annual general wage increases, a reduction in the employer share of health premiums, additional operational flexibility to use rural carrier associates, and enhanced health benefits for eligible non-career rural carrier employees. In addition, the agreement includes a comprehensive memo of understanding on the implementation of a rural carrier standards study." - NRLCA Postal Supervisors Sue for Better Pay 7.29.2019 - GovExec reports: "The National Association of Postal Supervisors filed its lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for D.C. on behalf of the 45,000 supervisors, managers, postmasters and technical specialists that make up its members. NAPS is seeking pay increases that would be mostly retroactive, covering the period from 2016 through 2019." - NAPS Files Lawsuit Action needed: Tell your Representative to repeal pre-funding mandate today! 7.23.2019 - NALC reports: Thousands of letter carriers and postal employees are joining together for a ‘Day of Action’ Letter Carriers’ Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive a resounding success 7.19.2019 - NALC reports: The Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive, which took place on Saturday, May 11, collected 75.7 million pounds of food—third-highest total in the drive’s 27 years. Postal Service Floats Big Cuts to Employee Pay, Leave and Benefits New postal workers would no longer earn a pension 7.02.2019 - GovExec reports: "USPS included a hike to the employee contribution level for pensions in a first draft of a 10-year business plan presented to lawmakers and stakeholders, according to multiple people who were briefed on it, as well as phasing out pensions altogether for new hires in favor of a defined-contribution system only. The Postal Service is looking to cut the amount of paid time off employees receive by merging annual and sick leave and pitched a popular proposal with demonstrated bipartisan backing to require all postal retirees to enroll in Medicare as their primary insurance provider." NALC, USPS formally open 2019 bargaining talks 6.26.2019 - NALC reports: The leaders of the National Association of Letter Carriers and the United States Postal Service formally opened negotiations for a new collective-bargaining agreement today. Letter Carrier Resource Guide is available online 6.24.2019 - NALC reports: The Letter Carrier Resource Guide combines the 2016 City Carrier Assistant Resource Guide and the 2014 Letter Carrier’s Guide into one new, improved, and updated publication. Valuable information for all letter carriers at every stage of their career. Louisiana letter carrier killed on his route 6.24.2019 - NALC reports: NALC is deeply saddened to learn that letter carrier Antonio Williams, a Shreveport, LA Branch 197 member, was shot and killed while delivering his route on Saturday, June 22. Mail Processing Overtime Audit Finds USPS Way Over Plan 6.22.2019 - The USPS OIG reports: "Specifically, the Postal Service planned for about 18.5 million overtime workhours and 767,000 penalty overtime workhours for FY 2018. The actual overtime workhours used were 26.7 million (44 percent over plan) and the actual penalty overtime workhours used were 1.7 million (126 percent over plan). This occurred, in part, due to implementation of the F1 Scheduler at the beginning of FY 2018." - 5 billion less pieces, 5,000 less employees, overtime costs up $257 million! - GovExec: After dramatic workforce reductions, Postal Service sees spike in overtime hours Postal Service Wants to Slash Benefits for Postal Workers 6.18.2019 - HuffPost reports: "The change to pension contributions would amount to a cut in take-home pay for hundreds of thousands of workers, while saving the agency nearly $7 billion. The change in employee leave policy would combine vacation with sick days, likely resulting in fewer overall days off for workers. That element is estimated to save the agency more than $5 billion." House resolution supporting door delivery reaches majority of support 6.14.2019 - NALC reports: A bipartisan majority of the House of Representatives has now cosponsored House Resolution 23, which expresses the sense that the U.S. Postal Service should take all appropriate measures to ensure the continuation of door delivery. 2020 NALC Leadership Academy Application period is open 6.12.2019 - NALC reports: The application period for participation in the Leadership Academy in 2020 is now open. The application period ends on Aug. 31, 2019. NRLCA Reaches Tentative Agreement With USPS for Three-Year Contract 5.30.2019 - NRLCA reports: The Tentative Agreement must be ratified by a majority of the voting membership of the NRLCA to become effective. The contract includes a 4.2% total compensation increase for the term of the agreement New Model Mail Truck Catches on Fire in Houston 5.26.2019 - ABC 13 in Houston, Texas has reported: on a USPS mail truck catching fire in a southwest Houston neighborhood. Correct us if we're wrong, but that appears to be a new model Dodge Promaster delivery vehicle burning in the video. The Promaster vehicles have been rushed into service (ahead of a planned Next Generation Delivery Vehicle program) due (in part) to hundreds of older model LLVs burning in the same fashion. USPS Reports $2.1 Billion Loss for Second Quarter 2019 5.10.2019 - USPS reports: "The net loss for the quarter totaled nearly $2.1 billion, an increase of $747 million, compared to a net loss of $1.3 billion for the same quarter last year, however, the controllable loss for the quarter was $806 million, compared to a controllable loss of $656 million for the same quarter last year." - On track to lose $7 billion this year - Postal Woes Continue Statement on Postal Service’s 2019 Q2 Financial Report 5.10.2019 - NALC reports: Statement by President Rolando on the Postal Service’s 2019 Quarter 2 financial report Latest News and Updates Branch Officers Training set for Cleveland, New Orleans 5.07.2019 - NALC reports: NALC Secretary-Treasurer Nicole Rhine has announced that two Branch Officers Training seminars will be held later this year. One session of Branch Officers Training is set for Aug. 26-29 in Cleveland, the other for Sept. 16-19 in New Orleans. Thank a veteran 5.06.2019 - NALC reports: United Mine Workers of America of America President Cecil Roberts Jr. sent a video message encouraging NALC members and all Americans to take time to honor the men and women who served their country in the Vietnam War. House Committee Hearing on the Financial Condition of the Postal Service 4.30.2019 - The House Committee on Oversight and Reform reports: "To conserve cash, the Postal Service has defaulted on more than $40 billion in payments owed to pre-fund retiree health care expenses. However, the Postal Service's liquidity continues to dwindle and it faces challenges with having enough cash on hand to conduct its essential mission of providing universal mail service. For all of these reasons, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has placed the Postal Service's financial condition on its "high-risk list" since 2009." - USPS will be broke by 2024 without reform, PMG says, - Post Office Boss Ponders Cutting Mail Delivery to Five Days, Congress Balks - PMG Brennan Chastised by Congressman Meadows For Not Delivering Business Plan (1:23 mark) - Meadows to Brennan: You've talked to the board of governors, the two of them... Bipartisan legislation introduced to repeal USPS pre-funding mandate 4.30.2019 - NALC reports: A bipartisan group of representatives introduced the USPS Fairness Act (H.R. 2382) which would repeal the mandate that USPS “pre-fund” decades’ worth of health benefits for its future retirees. NALC files two national level grievances 4.25.2019 - NALC reports: NALC files two national level grievances on the consolidated casing initiative and USPS non- compliance with CCA employment New Mexico carrier killed on his route 4.24.2019 - NALC reports: Letter carrier Jose Hernandez, an Albuquerque, NM Branch 504 member, was shot and killed on his route Monday, April 22, after trying to defuse a dispute. Misdiagnosis: A Review of the Report of the White House Task Force on the Postal Service 4.24.2019 - NALC reports: NALC analyzes the faulty foundations of the Task Force’s findings, explains the unexamined consequences of its recommendations and summarizes an alternative reform agenda that will position the Postal Service to thrive in the 21st Century. USPS Cuts 10K Positions After Five Years of Job Growth 4.23.2019 - GovExec.com reports: "The U.S. Postal Service shed 10,000 jobs in fiscal 2018, the first time in five years the mailing agency posted a net reduction in jobs. USPS employed 634,000 people last fiscal year, according to a financial analysis released by the Postal Regulatory Commission on Monday, its lowest total since fiscal 2015. While the cash-strapped agency has trended toward a smaller workforce over the last two decades -- it has slashed 300,000 career workers since 1999 -- its total number of employees has inched up each year since fiscal 2013." PRC Releases Report on USPS Financial Condition 4.19.2019 - PostalMag.com reports: "The Postal Service reported a net loss from operations of $2.1 billion in FY 2018. This loss was largely due to the continual decline of Market Dominant volume and higher operating expenses, and is nearly $748 million more than the $1.3 billion operating loss reported in FY 2017." 2018 NALC election results upheld by Department of Labor 4.19.2019 - NALC reports: The Labor Department has advised that it has completed its investigation of the election complaints and that the investigation did not provide a basis for any further action to set aside the results of the election. The election results are now final. CVS Health joins NALC Stamp Out Hunger® Food Drive as Sponsor 4.12.2019 - NALC reports: CVS Health is the newest 2019 National Sponsor for the Stamp Out Hunger® Food Drive APWU Enters Mediation 4.10.2019 - APWU reports: "In our continuing efforts to get the contract the members deserve, the APWU invoked mediation on April 3, 2019 - sending a letter to the Acting Director of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service and to the Postal Service. The Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) is a federal agency that provides public and private-sector labor-management mediation, and by law it is responsible for facilitating the APWU's demand for mediation with the Postal Service." Customer and employee rights when USPS solicits customers to change the mode of mail delivery 3.27.2019 - NALC reports: NALC is aware of an effort by the Postal Service in different parts of the country to convince customers to agree to change their mode of mail delivery to cluster box or centralized delivery. Join Team NALC Rolando for MDA 3.22.2019 - NALC reports: Join President Rolando on May 18th for the MDA Muscle Walk NALC responds to Flooding in Midwest 3.21.2019 - NALC reports: To our brothers and sisters in the areas impacted by the Midwest Flooding, we need your help to make sure that we are notified of the needs of our membership in your area. Trump Proposes Cutting Postal Employees' Pay, Benefits in $100B Savings Package 3.18.2019 - GovExec.com reports: "President Trump has once again proposed a slew of changes to the operations of the U.S. Postal Service and its employees' benefits, with the White House estimating the plan would save $98 billion over the next decade. In addition to a renewed push for offering postal employees lower pay and benefits, Trump pushed changes proposed by the task force he created last year. Those include raising prices for mail and packages not deemed "essential," reducing delivery frequency, outsourcing some mail processing and licensing access to individuals' mailboxes." - Federal Employees Would Get Less Leave Under Trump's Budget Trump's Postal Reform Proposals Met With Criticism From Lawmakers, USPS Management 3.13.2019 - GovExec.com reports: "President Trump's mandated report on overhauling the U.S. Postal Service drew a tepid response from lawmakers on Tuesday, as the agency's own leadership rejected many of the key proposals. One key area of disagreement between the administration's recommendations and lawmakers' vision for the agency surrounded the future of collective bargaining at the mailing agency." - AUDIO: Hearing on President's Postal Task Force Recommendations Postal Service Contracts Surge to Nearly $16B in Fiscal 2018 3.08.2019 - Bloomberg Government reports: "The U.S. Postal Service's commercial spending grew to $15.9 billion in fiscal 2018 from $15 billion in fiscal 2017, Bloomberg Government's USPS Contracts Dashboard shows. That's an increase of nearly $1 billion and the highest amount since fiscal 2016, when Bloomberg Government first began publishing the agency data received through a Freedom of Information Act request." RI-399 Monetary Settlement Distribution 3.06.2019 - APWU reports: "The Postal Service agreed that they would pay $14.5 million to each union (APWU and NPMHU) in consideration of the withdrawal of national level disputes. The settlement agreement calls for the unions to each make their own determination on how this money would be distributed. After consultation, much discussion, and agreement with the Clerk Craft Director, the APWU has decided that the money will be distributed in equal amounts to clerk craft employees who fall into two categories." - NPMHU Update Rap session to be held on Aug. 11 in Denver 2.27.2019 - NALC reports: NALC is making arrangements for the 2019 national conference, or “rap session,” set for Aug. 9-11 at the Hyatt Regency Denver at the Colorado Convention Center. Part-time flexible (PTF) letter carriers Q-and-A 1.29.2019 - NALC reports: Differences between PTF and CCA classifications. The price of 'Forever' stamps just went up 1.28.2019 - CNN reports: "It just got more expensive to send mail. The price of a "Forever" stamp has gone up a nickel -- to 55 cents. While not exorbitant, the price increase is part of the biggest price jump on stamps in the United States Postal Service history. And it's a result of the pressure the agency is facing to dig itself out of a deep financial hole." USPS expands Wounded Warriors Leave 1.09.2019 - NALC reports: USPS recently updated the Wound Warriors Leave policy effective January 5, 2019. Eligible military veterans will be credited with 104 hours of Wounded Warriors Leave each leave year going forward. The FSS Slows, and the Red Ink Flows 1.06.2019 - Dead Tree Edition reports: "For the third year in a row, productivity of the U.S. Postal Service's Flats Sequencing System declined in 2018 - with no end in sight to the money-losing machines' troubles. Hourly throughputs declined 5% during Fiscal Year 2018 and are 14% below where they were five years ago, the USPS reported recently in its Annual Compliance Report. Leakage - the proportion of mail that was supposed to be run on FSS machines but wasn't - rose from 20.1% to 21.9%." |
