Jaffer scandal provides fuel for anti-postal group
The rabidly right wing, anti-government, anti-postal service group that calls itself “Citizens Against Government Waste” may be a bit slow on the uptake, but they’ve finally gotten around to the scandal surrounding ex-USPS spokesman Azeezaly Jaffer:
“As the USPS’ voluble spokesperson, Mr. Jaffer was notorious for his tartly-worded rebuttals, called “Setting the Record Straight,” aimed at critics who questioned the USPS’s spending and management choices (all of which seem to have been scrubbed from the USPS website). He liked to boldly claim that all the USPS’s costs were “accounted for and fall into two basic categories: the actual costs of moving each piece of mail and the contribution each piece of mail makes to support [the USPS’s] coast-to-coast network. That’s not special postal accounting, that’s the law.”
“Mr. Jaffer’s reckless spending and “lack of candor” should be viewed as part of the operational culture of the USPS. Azzezaly Jaffer was just living large because he had swallowed the prevailing party line. Maybe the USPS does operate like a Fortune 100 business. Just like Enron, Fannie Mae, or Tyco.”
Ouch!
USPS tightens computer security rules
Yesterday’s Postal Bulletin contains new rules on the use of postal computers, as well as more restrictions on the use of personal electronic devices on postal property. Here are some excerpts:
“The removal and storage of sensitive and business- controlled sensitive Postal Service electronic information from Postal Service premises must be approved in writing by the functional vice president (data steward) and the Chief Information Officer (CIO). “
“Do not bring personal information resources (e.g., laptops, notebooks, personal digital assistants [PDAs], handheld computers, or storage media including universal serial bus [USB] port devices) into Postal Service facilities. Do not connect personal information resources to the Postal Service Intranet (Blue).”
In order to protect Postal Service information from disclosure or compromise, non-Postal Service portable devices (e.g., laptops, notebooks, personal digital assistants [PDAs], handheld computers, cameras, watches with cameras, or storage media including universal serial bus [USB] port devices or thumb drives) should not be used on Postal Service facilities without written approval from the user’s vice president or his or her designee. Under no circumstances will such devices connect to the Postal Service Intranet (Blue) or store Postal Service information.”
“Visitors to Postal Service facilities are required to present non-Postal Service portable devices to the installation head or his or her designee upon entry to the facility. The installation head or his or her designee will determine if such devices must be surrendered for the duration of the visit. Under no circumstances will such devices connect to the Postal Service Intranet (Blue) or store Postal Service information.”
The email that wouldn’t die
The dopey email chain letter we told you about last Saturday was still floating around on Tuesday, after creating a cascade of repeat emails all day Monday. Most of the emails weren’t from people forwarding the original, but from people replying to “all”, complaining about getting the message. These folks seemed totally oblivious to the fact that they were the problem!
I set up a rule in Outlook to dump the emails unread as they arrived, but I couldn’t resist having a look at a few first- here’s a sampling of what some of our dimmer co-workers had to say:
“How in the world did you get my name. Do not send this crap to me or use Postal E-mail for this unauthorized mail.” (From a “National Account Executive”, who apparently doesn’t know he’s in the email directory)
A mgr Emergency Preparedness sent out copies of a Snopes article (not the right one)
A Postmaster in Washington State took time from his busy day: “I don’t know what you folks have to do in Flushing, New York, but obviously you have way to much time on your hands. Stop sending this as this is an official site designated for postal operations only.”
And from a contractor who has no sense of irony: “Everybody, please, stop hitting “reply all” to say how much you hate this email. We all do. And we’re all tired of deleting the umpteen million “I hate this email – stop sending it to me” that are coming through. Thanks.”
Of course, he sent his plea to “all”.
From another National Sales Manager: “EVERYONE—-JUST STOP SENDING!!!!!!!!!!” sent to all, of course!
And a manager of Customer Services in Oregon: “I did not ask for the e-mail, I did not send, it on and it is cluttering our e-mail system unnecessarily. STOP NOW!”
A manager of Customer Services in Michigan twice sent this pathetic cry:”I did not send this to any of these people and I do not want it. Somebody sent it to me and now I am in the loop. Can you make it stop?????????????????? “
A postmaster on Long Island: “Why are you sending this to me? Do you know me?”
PLEEEEEEASE REEEEEAD! or, Why some people just should not have email accounts
Yesterday’s email at my USPS job brought one of those really dumb forwarded emails that promises money if you just forward the email to as many people as possible. It’s not something that happens a lot, fortunately, but it still amazes me when it does. The subject line, which should have tipped off anyone with an IQ above room temperature, was “RE: PLEEEEEEASE REEEEEAD! IT WAS ON GOOD MORNING AMERICA TODAY SHOW …”
This particular email hoax has been around in one version or another for almost ten years according to Snopes.com, the best source for info on urban legends, hoaxes and scams. The version of the email posted at Snopes (collected in 2004) is almost identical to the one I received yesterday.
As annoying as this kind of thing is, there is a certain entertainment value to it. The email is typical of a forwarded chain email in that the actual text of the hoax is far down the body of the message, below the list of those who forwarded it. That makes it easy to trace where the message came from, and who was dim enough to send it on. This one started with a clerk in California, who forwarded it to a dozen or so people. After a few more forwards, it went to the Washington DC area, where it bounced around a few more times before heading for Arkansas, where it was forwarded via a couple of district mailing lists to a Postmaster, who unaccountably forwarded it to some finance related mailing lists, which is how it ended up in my inbox.
There are both management and bargaining unit employees on the list of forwarders, none of whom apparently had any doubts about a message that included phrases like
“My brother’s girlfriend got in on this a few months ago. When i went to visit him for the Baylor/UT game. She showed me her check. It was for the sum of $4,324.44 and was stamped “Paid in full”.
(So not only are these folks gullible, they apparently don’t know how checks work? Oh- and an honorable mention for the District Finance Manager who, on receiving the message, promptly replied to “all” informing the recipients that the message was a hoax and not to forward it. Ummm, thanks for the valuable insight.)
Catalogers in New England feel the (economic) chill
The DMNews blog reports from the New England Mail Order Association’s fall conference that DMers in the region aren’t necessarily expecting big returns from the fall mailing season, given the stagnant economy. From a postal standpoint, the message is mixed- one mailer said that while they could be “susceptible to the economy”, they would be sending out three times as many catalogs this year as last.
Unions want share of USPS financial success, protection for health benefits
The Federal Times says that the four postal unions, currently in contract negotiations with the USPS, expect their members to be rewarded for their contributions to the postal service’s improved financial picture. The story, in the September 18 edition, also highlights continued USPS contributions to postal workers’ health benefits as a prime concern. The story quotes APWU Communications Director Sally Davidow: “We expect health care to be an issue of contention and we will do everything we can to protect and even advance what our members now enjoy.” According to the Federal Times, “Postal Service employees’ share of health benefit premiums is lower than that for other federal employees under current union contracts.”
For all the contention, the story says that the parties are optimistic- it says that the NALC’s Bill Young is confident that negotiations will reach a negotiated agreement, and both PMG Jack Potter and APWU President Bill Burrus expect to sign an agreement by November 20
Linn’s: Many postal products unavailable online
Linn’s Stamp News reports that of the 661 items listed in the postal service’s Fall Philatelic Catalog, only 370, or 55%, are available from the USPS online store. The story in the September 11 print edition says that “some newer first day covers… and numerous definitive stamps” were unavailable online. The story also noted that recent high profile (and presumably high revenue earning) issues like the Comic Book Super Heroes and Art of Disney stamps had not made it to the online store for days after being issued.
Loopy news story on Ohio consolidation plans
Newspaper coverage of the various plant consolidation controversies has been sloppy, but this story from the Akron Beacon Journal takes the cake. According to ace reporter Ed Meyer, the plan to shift mail processing operations from Canton to Akron was “put together by the Bush administration and the Government Accountability Office”. Uh oh.
The rest of the story is pretty much what we’ve heard before- the APWU says shifting the work will delay the mail, and the Mayor of Canton says the city will lose its identity if it loses its postmark. (I’ll resist the urge to make a smart remark about what the “identity” of Canton, OH might consist of currently.)
The idea does sound pretty far-fetched- after all, it is all of 23 miles from Canton to Akron! Imagine that! How could they possible get mail from one city to the other (and back!) in less than a week?
Judge in ADVO case sets high bar for cancelling mergers
Dow Jones reports that the judge who will preside over the ADVO/Valassis trial upheld a merger agreement in a similar case in 2001. Judge Leo Strine ruled against Tyson Foods in that case, when it tried to quash an agreement to acquire IBP, claiming that accounting problems at IBP had masked its poor financial future. The story quotes Strine’s decision that in order to invalidate an agreement, fiscal problems need to be ”consequential to the company’s earnings power over a commercially reasonable period,” which he said should be “measured in years rather than months.”
The case is set to go to trial in Delaware Chancery Court on December 11.
Postman Bob
The Cayman Islands introduces its own version of Postman Pat!