PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited the U.S. Postal Service for alleged willful and serious violations of safety standards at the Providence Processing and Delivery Center, 24 Corliss St. in Providence. The Postal Service faces a total of $558,000 in fines, chiefly for electrical and lockout/tagout of energy start-up hazards, following an OSHA inspection conducted in response to employee complaints.

“These sizable fines reflect the severity and ongoing nature of these hazards,” said Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA Dr. David Michaels. “The Postal Service ignored long-established safety standards and knowingly put its workers in harm’s way.”

OSHA’s inspection found untrained or unqualified workers were performing tests on live electrical equipment, and doing so without adequate training, personal protective equipment, safety-related work practices and warning signs, as well as working on equipment that had not first been de-energized. In addition, inspections of hazardous energy control procedures were conducted by employees who lacked the knowledge and training to determine if those procedures were performed correctly.

As a result of these conditions, OSHA has issued the Postal Service eight willful citations, with $530,000 in proposed fines. OSHA defines a willful violation as one committed with plain indifference to or intentional disregard for employee safety and health.

“The Postal Service exposed workers at the Providence facility to the serious and potentially fatal hazards of shock, electrocution and arc-flash. That is unacceptable and needlessly placed the health of these workers at risk,” said Michaels.

In addition, four serious citations, with $28,000 in fines, have been issued for failure to develop procedures and provide training for locking out machines’ power sources to prevent their unexpected startup during servicing and other related hazards. OSHA issues serious citations when death or serious physical harm is likely to result from hazards about which an employer knew or should have known.

The Postal Service has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and proposed penalties to comply, meet with the OSHA area director or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. This inspection was conducted by OSHA’s Providence Area Office; telephone 401-528-4667. To report workplace accidents, fatalities or situations posing imminent danger to workers, call OSHA’s toll-free hotline at 800-321-6742.

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA’s role is to assure these conditions for America’s working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov.

United States Attorney Karen L. Loeffler announced that on April 29, 2010, Janessa M. Woods, of Kokhanok, Alaska, pled guilty and was sentenced in federal court in Anchorage to theft of public money, according to a written statement from Loeffler’s office.Woods, age 22, pled guilty and was sentenced to probation on the one-count information before Chief United States District Court Judge Judge Ralph R. Beistline.According to court documents presented by Assistant United States Attorney Jack S. Schmidt, who prosecuted the case, Woods was the Contract Postmaster in Kokhanok in the Bristol Bay region from June 2007 to November 2007, when she stole $6,853.83 in Cash-on-Delivery COD funds collected from Koknanok residents to pay outside vendors for items shipped to the village.

via The Bristol Bay Times – Kohkanok woman gets five years’ probation for stealing from U.S. Post Office.

WASHINGTON – Today, Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) released the following statement reacting to the Postal Regulatory Commission’s planned six month review of the US Postal Service’s proposal to end Saturday Delivery:

“I’m pleased that the Postal Regulatory Commission will be taking steps in the coming weeks to thoroughly examine the Postal Service’s proposal to eliminate Saturday delivery and hear the views of stakeholders on both sides of the issue.

“I am concerned; however, that the proposed timeline that the Commission has laid out for the completion of its work might mean that a final advisory opinion from Commissioners might not come until October or later. As I pointed out at a hearing I chaired last week, this seems to me to be an awfully long period of time, especially when you consider the fact that the 9/11 Commission came out with its report just seven months after President Bush signed the bill that created it into law. With the Postal Service at risk of running out of cash and borrowing room sometime in 2011, it is important that postal management and Congress hear from the Commission sooner rather than later on the advisability of finding savings by eliminating Saturday delivery. My understanding is that the law and Commission regulations envision the Commission being able to complete work on proposals like the Postal Service’s proposal on Saturday delivery within three months. I recognize that this is an issue that a lot of people have strong feelings about but I hope that the Commission can make its views known on a quicker timeline, particularly given the dire financial circumstances currently facing the Postal Service.”

The tabloid news program Inside Edition will air a report on registered sex offenders working for the postal service in Texas. Correspondent Lisa Guerrero posted this preview on her blog at the Huffington post:

Public records in Texas led us to the discovery of registered sex offenders working in the US Postal Service, delivering mail, unsupervised, into neighborhoods, schools and even an amusement park. On Monday’s show I confront these mail carriers and ask whether or not it’s safe for sex offenders to deliver mail right to your front door. Wait until you see the official response we got from the Postal Service.

Although we shot these stories in Texas, registered sex offenders are working in hotels and in post office branches throughout the country. We are certainly not saying that registered sex offenders don’t deserve to find reasonable employment after they serve their time, but does it make sense for them to have access to personal information and keys at hotels and wear the trusted uniform of a mail carrier in your neighborhood?

via Lisa Guerrero: Confronting Your Neighbor Sex Offenders on Inside Edition.

Somebody in Bangor apparently was unwilling to wait to see if the check was in the mail. The Herald Palladium is reporting that someone clobbered Bangor postal worker Doug Porter sometime between 5:30 and 6 Wednesday morning and robbed the place. Porter was found unconscious on the floor by postmaster Steve Francisco and was taken to South Haven Community Hospital, treated and released. No word yet on exactly what was stolen and Bangor police are asking for help in finding the robber.

via WSJM AM 1400 & FM 94.9 – Bangor Post Office Robbed.

CARMEL — A Michigan teenager who was selling magazines door to door in violation of a town permit was found carrying outgoing mail stolen from residential mailboxes, Chief Michael Johnson said today.

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MOJAVE, CA — As a result of a study begun in Sept., 2009, the Postal Service has made the decision to move mail processing operations from the Mojave Post Office to the Bakersfield Processing & Distribution Center (P&DC). Local mail service will not be affected by the move.

Sierra Coastal District Manager Kerry Wolny said, “Given the drastic decline in mail volume the Postal Service has experienced, we must take action to reduce the size of our mail processing network. Consolidating operations and placing our people where we need them is necessary if the Postal Service is to remain viable to provide mail service to the nation.

“The consolidation makes sense given the fiscal realities,” added Wolny. “The Bakersfield P&DC has the capacity to handle the additional workload and we can realize significant savings by shifting operations there.”

The transition is expected to be completed in June, 2010. Some employees may be reassigned to the Bakersfield P&DC or to other vacant positions as a result of the move.

“I am confident the transition will be smooth and transparent to our customers and they will continue to receive the same excellent service they always have,” said Wolny.

Full retail services will still be available at the Mojave Post Office and the Mojave Business Mail Entry Unit will remain open for large volume business mailers.

Canada Post Corporation tabled its 2009 annual report today in Parliament, reporting a profit for the 15th consecutive year. The Corporation recorded consolidated net income of $281 million on revenue of $7.3 billion, and reported an operating margin of 4.9 per cent.

The profit in 2009 does not truly reflect the underlying weakness in Canada Post Corporation’s operating performance and the financial challenges ahead. The company would have reported a loss in 2009 if it were not for stringent cost containment measures that resulted in a reduction of $540 million of planned costs by the Canada Post segment, as well as an unplanned non-cash reduction of $271 million in employee future benefits expense.

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An Ohio businessman is facing prison time after pleading guilty to a felony count tied to an alleged bribery scheme run by a U.S. Postal Service employee.

U.S. Attorney Carter Stewart said Tuesday that Michael T. Murray, 54, of Cincinnati, pleaded guilty to a count of misprision of a felony, or not reporting a felony known to be committed. Murray, who runs Three R Construction Co. of Cincinnati, admitted to not telling authorities he was paying a project manager in the Postal Service’s Columbus office accused of taking payouts from several contractors in return for work.

When authorities contacted the project manager, Ashvin Shah, about the allegations, Shah denied the scheme but committed suicide hours later.

via Cincy businessman pleads guilty in Postal Service bribery case – Business First of Columbus:.

The following information was released by the office of Louisiana Rep. Joseph Cao:

Today, Congressman Anh “Joseph” Cao (LA-2) announced the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) will resume door-to-door mail delivery in Gentilly on May 15th for the first time since Katrina.

Cao, who sits on the Federal Workforce, Postal Service and the District of Columbia Subcommittee of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, pressed USPS to resume home deliveries at the request of Gentilly residents.

Since Hurricane Katrina, some 3,000 residents have been receiving their mail in "cluster boxes" scattered throughout Gentilly.

Many accused USPS of dragging its feet to resume door-to-door service, subjecting them to inconvenience and potential danger as they walked the neighborhood, sometimes after dark, to retrieve mail from the cluster boxes.

Cao said, “It was past time for the Postal Service to give the people of Gentilly what other Americans take for granted and we all pay for: mail delivered directly to your home. When my constituents contacted me, we acted fast and got it resolved. Now, the people of Gentilly have what they’ve got every right as Americans to expect from their government.”