SHANGHAI — The U.S. Postal Service entered into an international tri-lateral agreement today in Shanghai, China with eBay Greater China & Southeast Asia (eBay GC) and China Post Express & Logistics Corporation. The agreement creates a new, simplified shipping platform for international tracking and delivery of lightweight goods ordered by consumers in the U.S. from eBay sellers in China.

The collaborative service and marketing agreement for these lightweight shipments provides U.S. consumers with greater convenience and delivery confirmation information online at usps.com. Sellers using eBay GC can track their shipments with electronic notifications such as in-process and proof-of-delivery scans at ebay.cn. Upon arrival in the U.S., these shipments are processed as domestic First-Class Mail, with a one to three-day delivery standard.

Sellers in China using the shipping platform through eBay GC are expected to ship small items such as cellular telephone accessories and electronics weighing up to 4.4 pounds (2 kilos), with most in the range of 13 ounces and under.

“This collaboration will increase convenience and improve delivery consistency for American consumers ordering small shipments from merchants in China, and holds great potential for increasing international package volumes for the Postal Service,” said Pranab Shah, managing director and vice president, Global Business. “We look forward to working with our business partners to build upon this agreement as we move forward.”

The agreement is in keeping with strategies to increase revenue and meet demand in the global marketplace as outlined in a comprehensive plan announced recently by the Postal Service. Ensuring a Viable Postal Service for America, the Postal Service action plan for the next decade, describes a flexible, agile Postal Service that can adapt to America’s changing mailing habits and preferences.

The global alliance positions China Post and the Postal Service as the preferred shippers and delivery agents of choice for eBay GC. eBay GC developed a seamless shipping application which allows its sellers to print online shipping labels, request pickups and track the status of shipments. China Post’s alliance with the Postal Service includes development of cobranded, data-rich shipping labels integrated with barcoding technology readable by both China Post and the Postal Service, along with logistics planning and Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) information exchanges.

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Four people were sued Thursday for allegedly taking tens of thousands of dollars in fraudulent unemployment benefits from the Illinois Department of Employment Security.

According to the federal lawsuits, the four received payments they weren't entitled to from the state's unemployment insurance program.

Named as defendants are:

• Yolanda Davis, a U.S. Postal Service letter carrier at the Pilsen and Roseland Post Offices. Davis allegedly applied for unemployment payments, claiming she was laid off for a "lack of work" when she was actually employed but was placed on unpaid leave because of a suspension. Davis allegedly took more than $41,000 in fraudulent unemployment payments between August 2008 and January 2010 while she was employed full time as a letter carrier, according to the lawsuit.

• Chantel Hannah, a U.S. Postal Service letter carrier at the Roseland Post Office. The suit claims Hannah fraudulently took about $24,000 in unemployment payments between September 2008 and January 2010. Hannah is also accused of taking almost $900 from the IDES in September 2008.

Full story: 4 accused of stealing jobless pay :: The SouthtownStar :: News.

A former Postal Service employee convicted of defrauding the government of $68,000 in workers’ compensation benefits was sentenced Thursday in federal court to time served of 15 months.

Although a jury convicted Bonnie Margaret Schreiber, 58, of Checkerboard, of fraud charges in October 2008, Chief U.S. District Judge Richard Cebull continued sentencing after finding that Schreiber was suffering from a mental disease. He ordered Schreiber committed to a federal hospital for treatment until officials determined she had recovered.

Schreiber was recently released from the hospital and appeared in court for sentencing.

Cebull ordered time served of 15 months, followed by three years of supervised release. He also imposed $68,729 restitution.

Full story: Former postal worker gets time served in workers comp fraud.

The U.S. Postal Service, once the centerpiece of American commerce and communications, is fighting for its life. The Urban Institute’s Nancy Pindus scans the Postal Service’s varied benefits and asks, What are Americans willing to pay or give up to keep it afloat?

Read the full article: Business or Public Good: It’s Not Just about Saturday Delivery.

The Postmaster General’s Collection is coming to the Smithsonian’s National Postal Museum on long-term loan from the U.S. Postal Service. Elements of the collection will be displayed in the William H. Gross Stamp Gallery when it opens in 2012.

The Postmaster General’s Collection began in the 1860s as a modest set of Post Office Department files filled with records and a small sampling of stamps. Now, thousands of stamps later, the same archive has become a one-of-a-kind philatelic resource with unusual, rare and unique holdings.

The collection, located at Postal Service headquarters in Washington, D.C., will be fully documented, sealed and transferred across town to the National Postal Museum beginning later this year.

A sampling of items includes:

• Die proofs of the most famous stamp error in history, the inverted Jenny airmail stamp
• First federal stamps produced: the 1847 5-cent Benjamin Franklin stamp and the 10-cent George Washington stamp
• Envelope that Apollo 15 astronauts postmarked on the moon

The collection may best be known for its extensive holding of U.S. die proofs —proofs made from the dies on which stamp designs are engraved. The collection also contains rejected and approved stamp designs, color proofs, uncut press sheets, full panes of stamps and historic artifacts.

“Over the years, the Postal Museum has amassed one of the finest philatelic collections for visitors, researchers and educators,” said Allen Kane, director of the museum. “We are excited to continue to enhance our 6 million objects with a phenomenal collection that has been 100 years in the making.”

“The Postal Service is proud that the National Postal Museum will serve as curator for this unique collection,” said Postmaster General John Potter. “It’s exciting to know that the American public will soon be able to see this collection in the new William H. Gross Stamp Gallery.”

According to the Lime News, the US Postal Service has told employees at the Lima Processing and Distribution Center that the facility will be closed, and the work it performs shifted to the Toledo plant.

[USPS spokesperson David] Walton said 54 employees would be affected by the closure, though no one would lose his or her job. Preserving employment, however, is contingent on workers accepting a transfer to another facility within 500 miles.

Mayor David Berger said that’s a lose-lose situation.

“Even if they agree to the transfers, that means it’s a loss for us as a community, and if they don’t agree to the transfers they lose their jobs.”

Concern over the potential loss of jobs and questions about the accuracy of the Postal Service’s annual savings claims led to the formation of the 458 Regional Postal Task Force, which lobbied the Postal Service to explain how money would be saved.

The Postal Service has previously refused to provide that information. Walton did not have further details on the savings breakdown Wednesday.

Full story: Postal Service to close Hanthorn facility

USPS press release:

COLUMBUS, GA – As a result of a study begun on October 8, 2009, the Postal Service has made the decision to move outgoing mail processing operations from the Columbus Customer Service Mail Processing Center to the Macon Processing and Distribution Center in Macon, Georgia. Local mail service will not be affected by the move.

South Georgia District Manager Julius E. Locklear said, "Given the drastic decline in mail volume the Postal Service has experienced, with a decline of 26 billion pieces this past year, 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."

"I understand our employees' concern over this move," Locklear added, "but the consolidation makes sense given the fiscal realities. The Macon Processing and Distribution Center has the capacity to handle the additional workload and we can realize significant savings by shifting operations there."

The transition will be completed by Thursday, July 1, 2010. Some employees may be reassigned 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 District Manager Locklear.

While stamped items will now indicate Macon, Georgia P&DC, instead of Columbus, Georgia CSMPC in the cancellation, customers and guests in the area preferring to have a Columbus, Georgia postmark may always visit any office and receive that at the customer service window.

Full retail services will still be available at the Columbus Main Post Office. Retail service for purchasing stamps and other services will continue to be available at any Columbus and Fort Benning post office locations.

The Columbus Customer Service Processing Center Business Mail Entry Unit on Milgen Road will remain open for large volume business mailers to bring their mail. Drop shipments will continue to be received at that location.

The US Postal Service Inspector General has found that the USPS is paying FedEx to transport and sort First Class Mail that could have been handled more cheaply by surface transport, the airlines, and postal employees. The audit covered transportation costs in the Capital Metro, Eastern, Great Lakes, and Northeast Areas.

The OIG’s report found:

It was more effective and economical in some cases for the Capital Metro, Eastern, Great Lakes, and Northeast Areas to use ground transportation and domestic air carriers as well as to sort mail at Postal Service plants than to use FedEx to perform these functions. Because the areas used FedEx, the Postal Service incurred about $35.3 million in unnecessary costs. If these areas implement our recommended changes, we estimate the Postal Service could save $170.6 million over a 10-year period.

Previous OIG audits identified $390 million in potential unnecessary charges due to the use of FedEx in other areas.

Federal Express – Transportation Agreement – Northeast Areas

(HOUSTON) – A former postal employee has pleaded guilty to stealing money from the U.S. Mail while on duty, United States Attorney José Angel Moreno announced today.

Rudolph Luna Jr., 38, of Houston, was indicted on March 17, 2010, and charged with one count of theft of a mail matter. Today, Luna pleaded guilty to the federal felony charge before U.S. District Judge Vanessa Gilmore,admitting to stealing Netflix movies which came into his possession while a postal employee.

The investigation conducted by U.S. Postal Service (USPS) inspectors leading to the charges against Luna began Nov. 5, 2008, after Netflix security advised approximately 114 movies were not delivered in the 77373 area code. For several months thereafter, in late 2008 and early 2009, postal inspectors began to monitor Luna. Luna came to the attention of the inspectors after agents saw Luna take several Netflix movies from the delivery bins of other routes and place them into his delivery bin. A USPS inspector later prepared multiple Netflix movies to be collected and returned along Luna’s route. After watching Luna move several movies into his personal backpack, inspectors detained Luna and found one of the prepared Netflix in his backpack.

Following his Jan. 26, 2009, arrest, Luna confessed his thefts to USPS inspectors. Luna admitted stealing Netflix movies over a period of several moths.

Freed on bond since his arrest, Luna has been permitted to remain on bond pending his sentencing. Judge Gilmore, who accepted Luna’s guilty plea, has set sentencing for Nov. 15, 2010. A conviction for theft of a mail matter carries a maximum punishment of five years imprisonment and a $250,000 fine.