Negotiations between the APWU and the Postal Service are continuing throughout the day Saturday, with the contract set to expire at midnight on Nov. 20. The union’s top negotiators and high-ranking postal officials are discussing preserving jobs, issues related to workforce structure, as well as pay and benefits.

APWU President Cliff Guffey reported on negotiations to the union’s Rank and File Bargaining Advisory Committee and national officers during a break in bargaining. “We continue to focus on protecting jobs in order to limit the pain of ‘excessing’ on our members,” he said.

Guffey said the union is seeking an agreement that will benefit both parties.

“Our proposals will also help the Postal Service, because APWU members can perform the work more efficiently and less expensively than subcontractors,” Guffey said.

via Negotiations Update: Bargaining Continues as Contract Deadline Nears.

From the NALC:

During a November 18 House debate, North Carolina Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-5th) engaged in an anti-union screed that lasted several minutes.

After attacking the pay and benefits of federal workers, she said that they also have too much job security. “Short of shooting up a post office,” Foxx said, “government workers rarely get fired or laid off.”

“Foxx’s statements about unions are factually wrong and her reference to workplace shootings in post offices was tasteless and demeaning to hard-working postal employees,” National Association of Letter Carriers President Fredric V. Rolando said. “Her comments were morbidly disrespectful to those postal employees and their families who have been the victims of shootings.

“Also, it is a myth that poorly performing federal workers—much less those that commit crimes—never get fired,” he added. “But workers facing dismissal or discipline have every right to union representation. The unions that represent federal workers make no apologies for providing this representation and ensuring fairness in the workplace.

“I have written Representative Foxx and demanded an apology, and the NALC will engage the media in her congressional district to expose her outrageous comments,” Rolando said.

The president also encourages members who live in Rep. Foxx’s district to write and/or call her district office to express your concerns over the negative and inaccurate image of federal workers that she tried to project.

The Honorable Virginia Foxx
6000 Meadowbrook Mall, Suite 3
Clemmons, NC 27012
Toll-free (866) 677-8968

via Latest News | Tasteless comments from Rep. Foxx.

Click here to download this week’s podcast, or click the play button below to listen online. [audio:http://postcom.org/postalweek/11.19.10.twip.mp3]
Previous podcasts in the series are at thisweekinpostal.info.

Priority Mail Flat Rate Boxes this month celebrate their sixth birthday, showing continued growth since their introduction Nov. 20, 2004, and debunking public perception that “shipping is complicated.”

Priority Mail Flat Rate Boxes changed the dynamics of the shipping industry, according to Gary Reblin, vice president, Shipping Services. Their ease of use attracts business shippers with exceptional value, and their simplicity and convenience appeals to customers who no longer have to worry about weighing contents (up to 70 pounds for domestic shipments) or calculating postage.

Factor in their versatility for domestic and international shipping — along with the discounts and free package pickup — and Priority Mail Flat Rate Boxes offer winning combinations that are easy on customers’ pocketbooks, including:

* No hidden fees or surcharges.
* Free packaging supplies available online, by telephone or in person at most Post Offices.
* Environmentally friendly packaging.

In addition, customers who ship online using Click-N-Ship or a PC Postage vendor qualify for a postage discount, free Delivery Confirmation and free package pickup.

As a shipping product of choice, Priority Mail Flat Rate Boxes performance shows:

* Average year-over-year volume growth rate of 58 percent.
* Volume for FY 2010 at 127.7 million pieces, 77 percent above FY 2009.
* Revenue for FY 2010 at $1.2 billion, 63 percent above FY 2009.
* Nearly 12 million Priority Mail Flat Rate Boxes shipped in September 2010 — the highest total for any September.
* More than 350 million Priority Mail Flat Rate Boxes shipped since the service made its debut in 2004.

“The growth story for the Flat Rate Box is still being written,” says Reblin. “Its success shows the Postal Service has the ability to design a unique, innovative product line and compete effectively when given the opportunity to do so.”

Reblin also credits product success to the service performance of Postal Service employees, along with a multi-year award-winning advertising campaign featuring the familiar letter carrier Al, providing his simple advice, “If it fits, it ships.”

CORPUS CHRISTI — Authorities issued a warrant for the arrest of a U.S. Postal Service supervisor, suspected of taking more than 100 Walmart gift coupons.

The 50-year-old Aransas Pass man had not been arrested late Thursday, according to the San Patricio County Sheriff’s Department.

The man is accused of misdemeanor theft related to more than $500 worth of the coupons that had been sent through the mail, San Patricio County Attorney David Aken said.

The charge is punishable by as many as 180 days in jail.

“He didn’t take these if they were on the way to you, he took them, if you had moved and it was coming back,” Aken said. “A Walmart coupon for $5 is the same as U.S. currency.”

Full story: Missing Walmart coupons land an Aransas Pass postal worker in hot water » Corpus Christi Caller-Times.

From Postcom: The US Postal Service has filed a motion to prevent organizations representing some of its customers from intervening in its appeal against the PRC’s denial of the exigent rate increase the USPS requested earlier this year. The USPS says that its customers were “mere commenters” in the PRC deliberations and have no standing to take part in the appeal process:

Pursuant to Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure 27(a)(3)(A) and 27(a)(2), Petitioner United States Postal Service hereby opposes the separate Motions to Intervene filed by the Newspaper Association of America, Time Warner Inc., Valassis Direct Mail, Inc., the Affordable Mail Alliance, the Alliance of Nonprofit Mailers, the Association for Postal Commerce, the Direct Marketing Association, Inc., the Magazine Publishers of America, Inc, the National Postal Policy Council, American Business Media, and the National Newspaper Association. These eleven would-be intervenors were not “parties” below; they were merely commenters. Accordingly, they are not entitled to intervene as of right. Further, allowing a host of mere commenters to intervene permissively in this review proceeding would unduly burden the original parties and this Court, interfering with the Court’s ability to resolve this petition with the expeditiousness the Court has already recognized is needed. Therefore, the motions should be denied.

10-11-18 USPS Opposition to Interventions

NAPUS has received a copy of the recently signed Retention Incentive Agreement between the Postal Service and Anthony Vegliante, Executive VP and Chief Human Resources Officer of the USPS. The agreement which was signed on November 10, 2010 and became effective on November 1, 2010, provides annual payment(s) to Mr Vegliante of twenty five percent (25%) of Mr. Vegliante basic salary, which is currently listed at nearly $237,000. NAPUS is outraged that the Postal Service would offer such lavish retention payments to Mr. Vegliante and other high ranking postal officers at a time when the USPS is facing a financial crisis with plans to close and consolidate post offices and cut services to customers.

Earlier this year Mr Vegliante placed a freeze on all Postmaster vacancies, creating management and service instability in more than 3,000 post offices across the nation. During FY-2009, the Pay-for- Performance ratings for Postmasters were arbitrarily lowered, resulting in a record number of Postmasters receiving no pay increase. NAPUS is opposed to providing financial incentives to retain it’s top paid officers, which is not in the best interest of the Postal Service when we are facing financial turmoil. This new development will be monitored closely as we approach the Postmaster final FY-2010 PFP ratings and the upcoming Management Pay Talks.

via NAPUS.

Postal Service negotiators continue to express interest in APWU contract proposals, “but so far have failed to put anything in writing,” APWU President Cliff Guffey reported to the Rank and File Bargaining Advisory Committee on Nov. 18.

At a morning bargaining session, management representatives re-hashed their previous oral statements, he said. “If they expect to get an agreement, they will have to do better.”

“We want to see everything in writing,” the union president said.

“Work and stability remain our paramount concerns.”

via Contract Negotiations Update – Guffey: USPS Will Have to Do Better.

BLUEFIELD, W.Va. – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited the U.S. Postal Service for workplace safety violations found at a mail processing facility located at 3010 East Cumberland Road in Bluefield. Proposed penalties total $287,000.

"These citations and sizable fines reflect the Postal Service’s failure to ensure that the proper safety practices were being used by employees working with live electrical parts, leaving them vulnerable to multiple hazards," said Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA Dr. David Michaels. "The Postal Service knew that proper and effective training was needed for the safety of its workers but did not provide it."

OSHA initiated an inspection in May in response to a complaint alleging the hazards. Inspectors cited the Postal Service with four willful violations carrying a penalty of $280,000 and one serious violation with a penalty of $7,000.

The willful violations cite the facility’s failure to label electrical cabinets, properly train employees, use safety-related work practices when exposed to energized electrical parts and provide proper electrical protective equipment. OSHA defines a willful violation as one committed with plain indifference to or intentional disregard for employee safety and health.

The serious citation was issued for allowing an unauthorized employee to perform inspections. OSHA issues a serious citation when there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result and the employer knew, or should have known, of the hazard.

The Postal Service has 15 business days from receipt of its citations 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 Charleston Area Office in West Virginia, which can be reached at 304-347-5937. To report workplace accidents, fatalities or situations posing imminent danger to workers, call OSHA’s toll-free hotline at 800-321-OSHA (6742).

The U.S. Department of Labor has filed an enterprise-wide complaint against the U.S. Postal Service for electrical safety violations. The complaint asks the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission to order the Postal Service to correct electrical violations at all its facilities nationwide. This complaint marks the first time OSHA has sought enterprise-wide relief as a remedy.

INDIANAPOLIS – An Indianapolis man has won a major Hoosier Lottery prize on the eve of his retirement. Phillip Boyd claimed a $200,000 Mix & Match prize at Hoosier Lottery Headquarters today. Boyd, who is retired from the U.S. Air Force, will retire from the U.S. Postal Service after 36 years of service at the end of the year. He plans to use his winnings to supplement his retirement savings.

“It was a shock!” said Boyd. “I was excited. I really wasn’t looking for it.”

Boyd purchased his winning ticket at Michigan Road Liquors at 5959 North Michigan Road in Indianapolis. Boyd’s quick pick ticket matched five of five numbers on one line in the November 12 Mix & Match drawing to win the top prize of $200,000. The winning numbers drawn November 12 were: 4-29-31-36-44.

The Marion County man is a self professed fan of the Hoosier Lottery’s Mix & Match game.

“It’s a good game. I like it and Quick Draw,” said Boyd.

Boyd plans to put his winnings to work for him. In addition to bolstering his retirement savings, Boyd plans to use his winnings to update his furnace from oil to gas.