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Postal Workplace |
 Grumman LLV 'Postal Protector' Window Accessory Keeps Cold,
Wet Weather Out
 Made in the USA
Fits the Grumman LLV
Window and door remain 100% functional
Comes with carrying case for easy storage
Installs in approximately 30 seconds, no nuts or bolts
Permission for postal personnel to use this product has been
obtained by it's developer through the USPS National Authority of
Vehicle Operations office. |
Carrier
Route Vehicle Problems
A
vehicle security check at a Dallas-area post office has revealed
a problem with the door locks on some carrier route vehicles.
Also, a VMF tech reports that fuse boxes on these vehicles
may be overloaded, due to aftermarket additions such as strobes,
flashers, etc. |
Employee
Assistance Program (EAP) Information
EAP is a worthwhile program that has helped thousands of postal
employees with a variety of job and personal problems. It is
professional, confidential, and available free to all employees.
EAP Web site
Supervisor's Guide: Employee Assistance
Program (PDF)
Living Healthy: Working Well (PDF) |
BundleBustr Mail Carrier
The
BundleBustr Mail Carrier Accessory was designed to address
specific issues arising from one-bundle delivery. |
 Honoring
Retiring Postal Workers
Laden with an aging Baby Boomer population, the USPS expects to
lose a significant percentage of its current workforce to
retirement in the next ten years. How to appropriately honor those
workers at retirement is a worthwhile question. Currently, there
is no USPS policy or guideline regarding how to honor postal
workers at retirement. As a result, each retirement ceremony is
different, ranging from elaborate parties with music and food, to
passing comments by their immediate supervisor at employee standup
talks. In fact, PostalMag.com has heard from a few recent retirees
who walked out the door on their last day with no mention of their
retirement at all. One woman said that she literally cried as she
left the building. The husband of a recent retiree reported that
his wife's retirement gift was a plastic mug (see photo below),
hardly an appropriate gift and certainly not a gold watch.
Although the symbolic gold retirement watch is largely a thing of
the past, and not economically feasible for an organization that
loses thousands to retirement each year, the Postal Service could
and should do better in honoring its workers, many of whom have
given their entire adult lives to working at the Postal Service.
The Postal Service should develop a standard retirement packet for
use in honoring retiring postal workers, so that no one slips
through the cracks without being properly honored. An example
packet would consist of a USPS retirement pin (USPS pin pictured), a retirement certificate, and mandatory
recognition by a Level 20 or above EAS employee at a workplace
gathering. The design of the retirement pin could be based on the
employee's service years, for example, a platinum version for 40+
years, a gold version for 30+ years, etc. Overall, a standard
retirement packet would ensure that all employees are honored
appropriately and equally. |
 A
Plastic Mug!?
M.N. writes:
"My wife just retired from the USPS after 33 years of service.
Please find attached a picture of the plastic mug that
the Manager of Distribution Operations presented to her on her
last day of work along with a form letter. She has spent her
entire adult life as a craft employee sorting the
nation's mail. A plastic mug?
The Presidential Commission suggested that the USPS pay be
based on performance. A plastic mug! Now
there is an incentive for 800,000 employees. Would you be kind
enough to post this e-mail and the picture on your web site? P.S. They put 31 years of service on the form letter. It
should have been 33!!!"
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 LLV
fire problem?
Is faulty wiring responsible for a number of LLV
engine fires? |
Steward
Investigation Uncovers Mechanical Flaws in FFV
A
rollaway accident last December led to a carrier being issued a
Notice of Removal in one of the offices represented by NALC
Branch 47 (Denver, CO). Joe Halling, the NALC Steward for that
office, began an intensive investigation into the mechanical
repair records for the FFV vehicle involved in the rollaway. His
investigation uncovered a recurring problem with the gear shift
assemblies. |
Whatever
happened to 'Son of Sam' David Berkowitz?
The original disgruntled
postal worker terrorized New York City for 13
months in 1976 and 1977 in a killing spree that that some news outlets
are comparing to the recent D.C. sniping crimes. Berkowitz, aka "The .44
Caliber Killer", is currently in the general prison population in New
York and is a clerk in the prison chapel. He was sentenced to 25 years
to life (max. 30 years) in prison for his killing spree. Berkowitz has his
own Web site,
www.forgivenforlife.com, which details his conversion to the
Christian faith. |
 Is
working out of back of vehicle unsafe?
Letter carriers in most, if not all, parts of the country are being instructed to work out
of the backs of their vehicles when delivering to park and loop
routes*. (Letter carriers who deliver to park
and loop routes must prepare their mail for delivery. USPS management
is instructing carriers that this preparation must be done at the back
of the vehicle - in the rear cargo door area.) Preparation of mail for
delivery to park and loop routes can take as long as several minutes.
Preparation includes: DPS (automation sorted) mail must be separated; manually sorted letter
and flat bundles must be located and loaded in the mailbag; parcels
must be sorted and
loaded in the mailbag; and marriage-mail circulars must be unbanded, separated, and
loaded into the mailbag. During this time, the letter carrier is often
exposed to traffic that is approaching from the rear of the vehicle.
Since preparation of mail is conducted facing the vehicle, the letter
carrier is blind to this approaching traffic and is unable to take
evasive action if an errant vehicle is headed his or her way.
Many carriers have been
taught to work out of the backs of their vehicles and wouldn't have it
any other way. However, many carriers have also been taught to
work off of the trays in the cab section of their vehicles, and
wouldn't have it any other way. In actuality, postal delivery vehicles (LLVs
and CRVs) were designed so that letter carriers could work off of the
front trays in the cab section.
Several years ago the
USPS began instructing all letter carriers (on park and loop routes) to work out of the backs of
their vehicles. The reason that is most widely cited for this
directive is that a rash of mail thefts from postal vehicles prompted
the U.S. Inspection Service to require that all mail be locked in the
cargo area of the postal vehicle.
Security of the mail is important, but
safety of letter carriers is important too. Recently, a letter
carrier lost his leg after a car hit him while he was unloading mail
from his truck. This injury may have been prevented if the carrier was
working from the front (cab section) of his vehicle. The U.S. Postal
Service should revisit this important safety concern. |
 Top Ten Signs Your
Mailman Has
Been Working Much Too Hard
10. Announces that he just married a sheet of
Marilyn Monroe stamps.
9. It's been over three weeks since he cleaned his gun.
8. Delivers the mail wearing nothing but bubble wrap.
7. Announces his new system: reach into his bag, and whatever you
can grab is yours.
6. He's stopped having sex with half the housewives in the
neighborhood.
5. Just sits on the curb, tearing pages out of a Victoria's Secret
catalog and eating them.
4. He's been leaving most of the driving to his pet monkey, Earl.
3. His wife complains that in the bedroom, he's not exactly "Mr.
Zip".
2. Claims he's Elmo; demands that you tickle him.
1. Walks down the street shouting, "Lick this!"
THE LATE SHOW with DAVID LETTERMAN
12-16-96 |
Top Ten Ways The
Post Office Will Spend The Extra Money From a Rate Hike
10. Hire consultants to figure out how to plan next
rate hike.
9. Find new and better ways to lose our nation's mail.
8. Stamps the size of door mats!
7. Face lift for Mr. Zip.
6. Commemorative stamp collection featuring President Clinton and
all of his mistresses.
5. Lobby to put a mailman on Mount Rushmore.
4. Battery-operated vibrating mail bags.
3. Special stamp glue that gives you a three hour buzz.
2. Retain the services of Robert Shapiro.
1. Ammo! Ammo! Ammo!
THE LATE SHOW with DAVID LETTERMAN
12-1-94 and 1-17-96 |
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