Postal News Archives April 2020

Trump threatens to block coronavirus funding for USPS if they don’t raise prices
4.24.2020 – FOX News reports: “President Trump on Friday threatened to block financial help to the USPS unless it raises package shipping prices on retail giants like Amazon. “The postal service is a joke,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, adding that he thinks they “should raise the price of a package by approximately four times.” – Rolando Responds – APWU: Shame on them – Mnuchin says he looks forward to seeing the postal board recruit a new postmaster general and executing on postal reform – Trump later tweets that he would never let the Postal Service fail – Comments (Count)

Coronavirus is Threatening One of Government’s Steadiest Services: The Mail
4.09.2020 – NY Times reports: “Megan J. Brennan, the postmaster general, told lawmakers on the House Oversight and Reform Committee that the agency would need $25 billion in federal grants to cover lost revenue from the pandemic, plus an additional $25 billion to update aging infrastructure. Another $14 billion is needed to pay off long-term debt related to a retirement benefits program, along with $25 billion in unrestricted borrowing authority, she said, according to officials familiar with the information she shared privately.” – FOX: NALC: Postal Service on Verge of Shutting Down – CBS: Could run out of money by October – GovExec: USPS Requests $75 Billion in Emergency Funds to Keep Agency Alive – Comments (Count)

Lawmakers Renew Their Plea for a Postal Service Bailout
4.08.2020 – FedSmith reports: “One Postal Service estimate shows that the additional borrowing authority would enable it to operate only through the end of this summer. As the coronavirus continues to worsen, the Postal Service projects a possible 50% decline in mail volume between now and the end of the current fiscal year,” stated the letter.” – Comments (Count)

USPS reports postal employees’ deaths from coronavirus, ‘not immune’ to financial downturn
4.01.2020 – Federal News Network reports: “With the Postal Service now tracking the deaths of its employees from the coronavirus pandemic, in addition to a growing list of those who have tested positive for the virus, the agency is doing everything it can to continue normal operations — even in the most extraordinary circumstances. The USPS Board of Governors held a moment of silence Wednesday for postal employees who have died of complications from COVID-19, the illness caused by the current strain of the virus.” – Comments (Count)

4/30/20

USPS Funding, Federal Benefits are Sticking Point for 5th Relief Bill – Comments (Count)

USPS in LA busier than during holidays, looking to hire more workers – Comments (Count)

Retiring postal worker receives tearful goodbye after decades of service – Comments (Count)

4/29/20

21-year-old arrested in fatal shooting of letter carrier | Angela Summers | Summers had posted about threats just two days before on Facebook – Comments (Count)

Ohio primary a major test for mail-in voting – Comments (Count)

Postal workers in Portland call for federal help to save USPS – Comments (Count)

Memorial Mourns Fallen Postal Workers and Calls to Save the Service – Comments (Count)

Fighting to save the Postal Service while honoring lost workers – Comments (Count)

Akron: Police investigating two armed robberies of USPS mail carriers – Comments (Count)

4/28/20

Former USPS worker designs shirts to raise money for postal service – Comments (Count)

Indianapolis mail carrier killed after homeowner’s mail curtailed due to loose dogs – Comments (Count)

USPS employee arrested for death of fellow postal worker – Comments (Count)

Humor’s not lost at USPS – Comments (Count)

The Postal Service’s Untapped Real Estate Fortune – Comments (Count)

UPS to deliver medicine by drone to Florida retirement community – Comments (Count)

Mail carrier killed in shooting on Indy’s east side – Comments (Count)

Mourn the Dead and Fight to Save the Postal Service – Comments (Count)

4/27/20

NPMHU: Tell Congress: During This Pandemic, Support Our Postal Service – Comments (Count)

Sanders knocks aid for cruise line as Postal Service flounders – Comments (Count)

Faces of the frontlines: Postal Service continues to serve community despite pandemic – Comments (Count)

Newsday: Time to Deliver for the Postal Service – Comments (Count)

Rolando: COVID-19 Virus Crisis and the Administration’s Attack on the Postal Service (PDF) – Comments (Count)

4/26/20

Worried on the route, mail carriers press forward during pandemic – Comments (Count)

Sendoff for postal worker is a moving tribute – Comments (Count)

Mail and freight keep Alaska air carriers on life support during pandemic – Comments (Count)

I’m a postal worker. In the coronavirus pandemic, I am my customers’ link to the world – Comments (Count)

4/25/20

‘We’re their store”: USPS carrier works through pandemic – Comments (Count)

Postal Workers Plan Workers’ Memorial Day Vigils – Comments (Count)

Postal carriers, delivery workers keep Americans safe at home during coronavirus – Comments (Count)

If we let the USPS die, we’ll be killing small businesses with it – Comments (Count)

4/24/20

Neither snow, nor rain, nor COVID-19 will stop USPS from delivering mail – Comments (Count)

USPS OIG: Mail Delivery and Customer Service Operations – Foothill Station, San Jose, CA – Comments (Count)

Orchids delivered to postal workers in Santa Barbara and Goleta – Comments (Count)

Five weeks in and feds are frayed – Comments (Count)

Harry Potter Alliance Needs Your Help to Save the USPS – Comments (Count)

Japan Suspends Mail to US, USPS Turns to Sea Transport – Comments (Count)

‘A Power Grab’: Postal Union Slams Trump For Holding USPS Funds Hostage to Force ‘Draconian Cuts’ – Comments (Count)

4/23/20

Trump administration considers leveraging emergency coronavirus loan to force Postal Service changes – Comments (Count)

Why We Should Love The Post Office – Comments (Count)

Sioux Falls postal workers handling higher volume of mail during pandemic – Comments (Count)

Postal Service offers $25K reward after men hold down mail carrier, steal mail in Blue Island – Comments (Count)

How postal workers are staying safe during the pandemic – Comments (Count)

Great Neck post office struggles as pandemic crushes USPS – Comments (Count)

USPS seeing package volume similar to Christmas during the pandemic – Comments (Count)

4/22/20

USPS and coronavirus: A no-brainer stimulus idea: Electrify US mail trucks – Comments (Count)

Chicago: Thieves steal from postal vehicles – Comments (Count)

GovExec.com: Unsanitized Bathrooms and Working While Sick: Postal Workers Flood OSHA With Coronavirus Complaints – Comments (Count)

Taking FEHB Into Retirement Without a Hitch – Comments (Count)

Pitney Bowes Accused of Monopolizing Postal Equipment Market – Comments (Count)

New York City’s Essential Workers Are Overwhelmingly People of Color – Comments (Count)

4/21/20

WATCH: Bernie Sanders Holds Virtual Town Hall With Postal Union Leaders on How to Save the USPS – Comments (Count)

Over 100 Postal Workers in Massachusetts and Rhode Island Have Contracted COVID-19; One Has Died – Comments (Count)

USPS Sets Up Coronavirus Supplies Command Center – Comments (Count)

Help Save the Post Office With These Awesome Scale Models of Postal Vehicles – Comments (Count)

USPS is hanging on by a thread – Comments (Count)

Amazon is building a delivery powerhouse. Look out FedEx, UPS, USPS – Comments (Count)

Seven USPS employees in Valdosta test positive for COVID-19 – Comments (Count)

FedEx drivers say they’re not getting coronavirus protections other delivery workers receive – Comments (Count)

Family leaves snacks for postal worker – Comments (Count)

4/20/20

UPI Photo: Postal workers complete their shift in Los Angeles – Comments (Count)

Hard-working mail handler earned $181,253 in 2018 – Comments (Count)

4/19/20

Postal worker connects people to outside world – Comments (Count)

LA Times: Postal Service defines America, losing it would be devastating – Comments (Count)

Residents furious as coronavirus disrupts mail delivery across NYC – Comments (Count)

NALC: Statement From President Rolando Concerning COVID-19 (PDF) – Comments (Count)

‘Unsung heroes’: Essential workers armed with masks and fears during coronavirus pandemic – Comments (Count)

East Brunswick mail carrier is the latest Hometown Hero – Comments (Count)

4/18/20

USPS is a lifeline to customers during the COVID-19 crisis – Comments (Count)

Mathematical proof the eagle in the USPS logo is fast – Comments (Count)

USPS Halting International Services in 72 Countries – Comments (Count)

4/17/20

Mansfield postal carrier says coronavirus is ‘just like a speed bump’ – Comments (Count)

‘A Right of the People’: Leader of Postal Workers Union Demands USPS Funding in Next Stimulus Bill – Comments (Count)

Bezos wants to test all Amazon employees for COVID-19 – Comments (Count)

USPS Tops List Again as Americans’ Favorite Government Agency – Comments (Count)

Forbes: Can the Post Office Cut Its Retiree Healthcare Costs? – Comments (Count)

Chicago-area mail carriers navigate coronavirus challenges – Comments (Count)

4/16/20

Royal Mail’s putting profits before safety results in deaths of UK postal workers – Comments (Count)

The Postal Service is in Deep Trouble. Here’s One Way to Get it Out – Comments (Count)

If the Postal Service shuts down, rural America will suffer the most – Comments (Count)

What’s an essential service during a pandemic? The Post Office – Comments (Count)

Lexington Institute: Seven Myths About the Postal Service and Its Finances – Comments (Count)

4/15/20

NRLCA and USPS Sign MOU Concerning Temporary Workplace Changes to Promote Social Distancing – Comments (Count)

Protective barriers installed at Willmar Post Office – Comments (Count)

Postal worker speaks out after husband dies from COVID-19 – Comments (Count)

Eleven postal employees in Baltimore test positive for COVID-19 – Comments (Count)

U.S. Postal Workers Were on the Frontlines Before. They Were Ignored – Comments (Count)

Trump’s war against the Postal Service could have another casualty: tens of thousands of veterans with disabilities – Comments (Count)

4/14/20

Next big health shocker: Your 2021 FEHBP premiums – Comments (Count)

Buffalo woman accused of spitting on USPS worker at post office, claiming she had COVID-19 – Comments (Count)

USPS shows how it’s protecting customers and workers – Comments (Count)

Valley postal workers race to keep up with major spike in demand for Amazon deliveries – Comments (Count)

Sanders: Congress must stop Trump from using crisis to bankrupt the Postal Service – Comments (Count)

Coronavirus may give Trump a long-sought chance to privatize the Postal Service – Comments (Count)

Postal Service says its going broke due to pandemic, Trump flatly opposes emergency aid – Comments (Count)

A disaster brewed for years in the Postal Service: The coronavirus has engulfed it in crisis – Comments (Count)

4/13/20

Link: US Mail Not For Sale – Comments (Count)

Exton postal employee dies from coronavirus – Comments (Count)

People are buying stamps and praising mail carriers after the USPS says it needs a coronavirus bailout | Trump vs the Postal Service: Behind the movement to #SaveTheUSPS – Comments (Count)

4/12/20

Where has all the mail gone? Blame it on the coronavirus – Comments (Count)

Cruise ships safe, but post office can die – Comments (Count)

The debate over a post office bailout, explained – Comments (Count)

This mailman in Ohio is delivering essential supplies to the elderly on his route – Comments (Count)

Postal Service touts hiring spree while agency faces financial turmoil, 20 employee deaths – Comments (Count)

If the Postal Service Dies, So Does Democracy – Comments (Count)

4/11/20

Routes still hot, mailboxes full: USPS still delivering | Postal workers providing normalcy on the frontline – Comments (Count)

Political Mail in a COVID-19 World – Comments (Count)

4/10/20

NALC: Trump is being misinformed about the Postal Service – Comments (Count)

NALC: Pasadena, TX letter carrier passes away – Comments (Count)

Postal workers tackle COVID-19 spread – Comments (Count)

USPS Helps JCPS Deliver Chromebooks to Students in Need – Comments (Count)

USPS investigates absentee ballot issues from Tuesday’s election – Comments (Count)

Fact check: US Postal Service will not close in June – Comments (Count)

Loss of belly capacity hobbles USPS – Comments (Count)

Save the Post Office: Pandemic forces Postal Service to suspend dozens of post offices – Comments (Count)

4/09/20

Package delivery up 20% in Fargo area – Comments (Count)

Feud over mail causing more problems for residents during COVID-19 – Comments (Count)

Mail Handlers Ratify 2019 National Agreement – Comments (Count)

NALC: Senate Democrats propose up to $25K pay increase for essential workers, including letter carriers – Comments (Count)

Amazon warehouse warned staff not to touch shipments for 24 hours – Comments (Count)

Communities and Postal Workers United (CPWU) Spring 2020 Newsletter (PDF) – Comments (Count)

4/07/20

Austin: Postal workers afraid to work, say they aren’t provided protection during COVID-19 – Comments (Count)

Michigan mail delivery slows as coronavirus hits postal service workers – Comments (Count)

Scanlon questions Postmaster General on safety gear for postal workers – Comments (Count)

Appreciating America’s Overlooked, Forgotten, and Discarded Post Office Murals – Comments (Count)

Detroit postal workers concerned after carrier dies from COVID-19 – Comments (Count)

Postal Service makes changes after Honolulu employee tests positive for COVID-19 – Comments (Count)

USPS Hiring Temporary Employees – Comments (Count)

USPS OIG: Facility Condition Reviews in the Northern New Jersey District (PDF) – Comments (Count)

USPS OIG: Operating During the COVID-19 Pandemic – Comments (Count)

4/06/20

The Nation: How to Save the Postal Service – Comments (Count)

Montgomery postal worker who tested positive for coronavirus dies, USPS says – Comments (Count)

Democratic lawmakers wary of Treasury’s conditions for USPS $10B emergency loan – Comments (Count)

NAPS works to secure hazard pay for frontline postal employees and emergency appropriations – Comments (Count)

Mail delivered Sunday after delays in Dundalk – Comments (Count)

4/05/20

Royal Mail given nod to cut six-day service – Comments (Count)

USPS has made changes to keep employees and customers safe during COVID-19 outbreak | Postal Service aims to protect workers from coronavirus – Comments (Count)

4/04/20

Philadelphia: Postal worker violently attacked on subway platform – Comments (Count)

Tempers flare at Dundalk post office after residents say they haven’t received mail in days – Comments (Count)

Postal workers keep working during pandemic, taking extra precautions – Comments (Count)

Some customers express concerns over Hartsville Post Office’s COVID-19 precautions – Comments (Count)

CBS Denver: Coronavirus in Colorado: Postal Worker Accuses USPS of Negligence – Comments (Count)

4/03/20

NALC: Manhattan letter carrier passes away – Comments (Count)

USPS uses plastic to protect postal workers – Comments (Count)

Business Insider: Postal workers mixing DIY sanitizer and buying gloves online – Comments (Count)

NALC: USPS consolidated casing: The good, the bad and the ugly, part 2 (PDF) – Comments (Count)

Postal employees ask you to wipe mail slots, leave them open – Comments (Count)

Thousands of Federal Employees Have Contracted Coronavirus – Comments (Count)

4/02/20

Gothamist: “The Mail Just Stopped” – Comments (Count)

Ravn suspends air service, including mail deliveries, to most rural Alaska communities – Comments (Count)

Mail delivery slows to every other day in Farmington Hills amid coronavirus pandemic – Comments (Count)

Mailman leaves $2,200 tip to help employees feeling coronavirus impact – Comments (Count)

DC postal employee says he purchased own supplies to protect against coronavirus – Comments (Count)

NPMHU Announces Passing of Detroit Mail Handler Due to Coronavirus – Comments (Count)

4/01/20

How coronavirus could be the ‘final straw’ for the USPS – Comments (Count)

Sneeze guards, toilet paper, and visits from lonely seniors: Running a post office during the pandemic – Comments (Count)

NPMHU: USPS Updates Return-to-Work Guidelines for Employees Who Had COVID-19 (PDF) – Comments (Count)

UK: Postal workers demand end to daily deliveries in bid to protect staff from coronavirus – Comments (Count)