Postal News Archives January 2020

Mail Handlers, USPS Reach Tentative Contract Agreement
1.23.2020 – NPMHU reports: “The 2019 National Agreement will cover a period of three years, and will expire at midnight on September 20, 2022. All career Mail Handlers will receive four general wage increases during the term: the first, retroactively effective to November 23, 2019, will be 1.1%; the second, effective on November 21, 2020, will be 1.0%; the third, effective on November 20, 2021, will be 1.0%; and the fourth, called a special pay adjustment, also effective on November 20, 2021, will be 0.8%.” – Comments (Count)

CCAs With 30 Months Will Be Converted to Career Status
1.23.2020 – NALC reports: “NALC and USPS have settled a national-level grievance regarding non-compliance with the contractual caps on the employment of City Carrier Assistants (CCAs). This settlement provides that all city carrier assistants in any size office with 30 months of relative standing on February 15, 2020, will be converted to career status within 60 days from the signing of the agreement on January 22, 2020.” – Comments (Count)

USPS Overstated Savings of Workforce Shift While Turnover Increased
1.22.2020 – FedWeek reports: “The Postal Service over-stated savings from shifting to lower-paid and less tenured employees and reducing services, and did not account for some side effects such as increased turnover, the GAO has said. Meanwhile, that report said, clerk and mail handler overtime nearly doubled, and the number of grievances rose by 6 percent per year on average over that period.” – Comments (Count)

USPS Releases Five-Year Business Plan
1.16.2020 – Federal News Network reports: “In an effort to course-correct from more than a decade of net financial losses, the Postal Service on Wednesday released its long-awaited five year-business plan. The sweeping document comes nearly eight months after Postmaster General Megan Brennan told members of the House Oversight and Reform Committee that she and the USPS Board of Governors would release a 10-year business plan to address a $125 billion shortfall the agency expects to face over that period.” GovExec: Changes alone will not save the USPS Lexington Institute Analysis Five-Year Strategic Plan (PDF) Comments (Count)

REPORT: Puerto Rico Postal Employees Working Under Dire Conditions After Earthquake
1.12.2020 – PostalMag.com reports: “PostalMag.com has received a report from a USPS employee in Puerto Rico about damage and unsafe working conditions following the magnitude 6.4 earthquake on January 7th, 2020.” – Comments (Count)

White House Tasks Agencies With Getting Injured Feds Back on the Job Faster
1.11.2020 – GovExec reports: “All agencies, including the U.S. Postal Service, will face a requirement to improve or maintain performance in a series of areas, including total injury and case rates, time lost due to injury and sickness, and filing claims in a timely manner. Agencies will have to increase the rate of employees who return to work within 45 days after traumatic injuries and ensure employees get back on the job more quickly in cases of moderate-to-severe injury or illness.” – Comments (Count)

PMG Brennan to Delay Planned Jan. 31 Retirement From USPS
1.2.2020 – Linn’s reports: “Postmaster General Megan Brennan has agreed to delay her planned Jan. 31 retirement to give the United States Postal Service additional time to seek her replacement. Postal Service spokesman David Partenheimer said in a Jan. 6 press release: “The Postmaster General’s new retirement date has not been determined. An announcement will be made at a later date.” – Could indicate USPS is looking for someone outside the organization Comments (Count)

1/31/20

Can you get Coronavirus from Wish.com products (and other packages shipped from Wuhan, China)? – Comments (Count)
Marvel Comics writer turns to sarcasm when package is not delivered – Comments (Count)
Lexington Institute: Dangerous Packages En Route From China To The U.S. – Comments (Count)
Mail carriers honored for million miles of safe driving – Comments (Count)
Jonesborough postal worker presented award for 50 years of service – Comments (Count)
You’ve got snail mail: Targeted online ads are now literally following you home – Comments (Count)

1/30/20

APWU With 200,000 Members Endorses Bernie Sanders – Comments (Count)
Time to admit it: The USPS Has a Union Problem – Comments (Count)
UPS is taking on Amazon with its own fleet of electric vans – Comments (Count)
Postal Service failing to deliver to rural areas such as Spofford, Says Sen. Hassan – Comments (Count)
UPS doubling down on weekend deliveries – Comments (Count)

1/29/20

Outraged South Shore residents speak out against plan for huge new postal facility in Oak Creek – Comments (Count)
Murdered infant’s ashes stolen following USPS mail carrier error – Comments (Count)
Postal worker is caught on CCTV hurling package at front door from the street – Comments (Count)

1/28/20

‘Pressured’ postal worker accused of putting undelivered mail in storage unit – Comments (Count)
Mail delivery horror stories help Windsor get new postal facility – Comments (Count)
Driver in critical condition after crash forces USPS semi-truck off freeway – Comments (Count)
All in a day’s walk: Longtime Bozeman mail carrier enjoys his work – Comments (Count)
Some Long-Time CCAs Feeling Left Out By New Agreement – Comments (Count)

1/27/20

USPS OIG: Operational Assessment Mail Flow From Plant to Delivery – Comments (Count)
Beeware: 47 packages from bee farm lost in the mail – Comments (Count)
Postal Service Agrees to Convert 5,000 Letter Carriers to Career Positions – Comments (Count)
Postal worker charged with stealing pricey coins – Comments (Count)
Senator questions Navistar about moving production of USPS tractor trucks to Mexico – Comments (Count)
Amazon opening two new delivery stations in San Jose – Comments (Count)
Community Mourns Their Longtime Postal Worker Killed While Cycling – Comments (Count)

 

1/26/20

USPS plans to rebuild tiny Montana post office destroyed by fire – Comments (Count)
Man receives USPS package five years after ordering item – Comments (Count)
Congressman Hears North Portland Postal Complaints Related to Consolidated Casing  |  North Portland residents say mail problems related to USPS experiment Comments (Count)

1/25/20

Flashback: A postal worker was burned alive to death on January 6th in a fire-prone USPS truck, and very little was said. The fires continue…
ANOTHER! Postal Truck on Fire in Woodlands, Texas – Comments (Count)
Postal worker dies a week after being shot on route  |  Sherry’s Fight Comments (Count)
Car plows into post office in Parker – Comments (Count)
A good place for mail bonding – Comments (Count)

1/24/20

As the USPS faces privatization, here’s what it can learn from Canada – Comments (Count)
Millennials trust the Postal Service more than Amazon – Comments (Count)
Postal workers use video for “U.S. Mail Not For Sale” campaign – Comments (Count)

1/22/20

Rural Carrier Rescued From Floodwaters – Comments (Count)
New Five-Year Study Paints Grim Picture for USPS – Comments (Count)
Court documents reveal new details in shooting of postal worker – Comments (Count)

1/21/20

PRC Releases Annual Report to Congress (PDF) – Comments (Count)
Cats used to deliver the mail in this Belgian city – Comments (Count)
Post office rejects rural mail delivery for Albion – Comments (Count)
Amazon now has 200,000 robots working in its warehouses – Comments (Count)
USPS OIG: Can Same-Day Delivery Thrive? – Comments (Count)
How to Rescue the U.S. Postal Service – Comments (Count)

1/20/20

Amazon using electric rickshaws for deliveries in India – Comments (Count)
Community honors shot postal worker with purple bows along route – Comments (Count)
USPS driver seen throwing packages – Comments (Count)
Miami-Dade eBay seller pulled a $1.5 million fraud on the USPS, feds say – Comments (Count)

 

1/19/20

Mail truck slide closes road – Comments (Count)
Mailman embraces cold temperatures head on – Comments (Count)

1/18/20

Warminster man to pay $12K to resolve mail insurance fraud allegations – Comments (Count)
Post offices serve critical role in small, rural Illinois towns – Comments (Count)
Windsor residents file hundreds of complaints against ‘struggling’ post office – Comments (Count)
Same-Day Delivery Services Not Now Significant to USPS, Says Report – Comments (Count)
USPS mail carriers working through any conditions – Comments (Count)

1/17/20

Postal Service aging delivery vehicles causing fire concerns – USPS issues press release related to Michigan crash and burn – Comments (Count)
Mississippi rural carrier shot in the head on route, in extreme critical condition – Comments (Count)

1/16/20

Denverites in Whittier neighborhood getting mail again, but USPS can’t account for what went wrong – Comments (Count)
Three will serve lengthy prison sentences for 2018 heist of Nebraska postal truck – Comments (Count)

1/15/20

Another Guardsman prevented from returning to work at the USPS – Comments (Count)
Hoarding other people’s mail spells federal sentence for Charlotte man – Comments (Count)
Amazon lifts FedEx ground delivery ban for sellers – Comments (Count)
Lawsuit: Post Office ignored sexual harassment complaint, told woman it was too late – Comments (Count)

1/14/20

The TSP’s fast-growing self-made millionaires club – Comments (Count)
USPS halts mail delivery to select military bases in Iraq – Comments (Count)
Postal worker sentenced to 25 months for identity theft, bank fraud – Comments (Count)
Postal Chief’s Delay on Retirement Signals Outside Candidates – Comments (Count)

1/13/20

Does the USPS owe its retirees health care like Social Security? – Comments (Count)
The most trusted brand in America is… USPS! – Comments (Count)
Why Everyone Should Care Who the Next Postmaster General Is – Comments (Count)
USPS plans for new delivery trucks to replace aging fleet  |  Postal Service Readying New Contract Comments (Count)

1/12/20

Postal worker assaulted, robbed on Denver mail route – Comments (Count)

1/11/20

Postal Retirement Q&A January/February 2020 by Roseanne Jefferson – Comments (Count)
Leominster postal worker honored for running into burning home, escorting family out – Comments (Count)

1/10/20

Japan Post appoints new CEO following insurance scandal – Comments (Count)
Police reports describe bizarre behavior of suspect accused of killing postal worker – Comments (Count)
USPS worker sues for sexual harassment and retaliation – Comments (Count)

1/09/20

Bad Smell Closes Michigan Post Office – Comments (Count)
Column: Trump is plotting to destroy the Postal Service – Comments (Count)
Guardsman fired from the Postal Service in 2000 for military service receives notice to return to work – Comments (Count)
USPS Approves Voice-Activated Marketing Mail – Comments (Count)
A day in the life of a mail carrier – Comments (Count)

1/08/20

Local woman ends postal career – Comments (Count)
Brooklyn: Post offices held onto years-old mail – Comments (Count)
Brazil’s Bolsonaro favorable to privatizing postal service: spokesman – Comments (Count)
USPS Urges Cybersecurity Vigilance Amid Mideast Tensions – Comments (Count)
Former Oklahoma USPS mail carrier pleads guilty to bribery – Comments (Count)

1/07/20

Crash update: Killed: Sheila Rackley, 55, Rural Carrier Since 2008  |  PHOTO: Charred Ground  |  Source: Driving LLV – Comments (Count)
fatal crash
Was this an LLV? Postal worker killed, possibly burned to death, when vehicle is rear-ended, rolls into ditch and bursts into flames  |  NHTSA: Post collision fires are very rare, most are caused by technical defects Comments (Count)
Amazon Helps Keep Local Postal Service Strong – Comments (Count)
Chicago: Alleged Thieves Use USPS Master Key to Break Into Condo Building – Comments (Count)
Las Vegas letter carrier checks in on cancer patient – Comments (Count)

1/06/20

USPS OIG: Multiple issues found at two Brooklyn post offices: Blocked fire exits, unsecured cash drawers, container of 2018 marketing mail discovered, undelivered mail, more… – Comments (Count)
Israel Post sued for prioritizing Amazon packages – Comments (Count)
Some gratitude for Aspen postal carriers – Comments (Count)
Last letters: Beloved Auburn mail carrier retires after 46 years – Comments (Count)

1/05/20

Yet another postal vehicle burns, and the continued problem points to a greater issue for the Postal Service (attributable costs and pricing) – Comments (Count)

1/04/20

Two USPS Drivers To Be Honored for Driving 1 Million Miles Accident Free – Comments (Count)
Postal Inspectors investigated undelivered mail in Linden – Comments (Count)
After three decades with the Postal Service, two carriers retire – Comments (Count)

1/03/20

Man videos postal worker “abusing” box full of delicate computer components (but doesn’t lift a finger to help him) – Comments (Count)
Fire destroys rural Montana post office – Comments (Count)
Residents don’t overlook Elizabethtown Post Office – Comments (Count)
Suspect faces slew of charges in connection with shooting of postal worker – Comments (Count)
Amazon’s largest carrier is now… Amazon – Comments (Count)

1/02/20

Longtime Norwell postal clerk retires – Comments (Count)
Thieves sought after postal worker robbed in Inglewood day after Christmas – Comments (Count)
Loudoun Postal Worker Shot by Special Agent Awaits Court Hearing – Comments (Count)
Job fairs to be held by Postal Service in January – Comments (Count)
Portland State University to pay $1 million to family of postal worker shot on campus – Comments (Count)

1/01/20

Chicago: Postal workers worried about safety as mail thefts are on the rise – Comments (Count)
Bugbee promoted to USPS regional district manager – Comments (Count)
USPS OIG: Top 10 Postal Stories of 2019 – Comments (Count)