APWU’s national officers will meet in Atlanta for several days in early February, as President Cliff Guffey seeks to move the organization in a new direction. “We must shift the focus of the union away from acting as a grievance machine,” he said. “Leaders at all levels of the organization must get more involved in legislative activities and other union efforts.”

A top priority for the APWU is to encourage members to visit their elected representatives and urge them to support efforts to resolve the Postal Service’s financial crisis. Union members also must encourage legislators to endorse bills that would strengthen the USPS without weakening workers’ rights, Guffey said.

“All national officers must set an example by assisting locals and state organizations in establishing better ties with congressional representatives,” the union president said.

Read the rest of this entry »

Canadian Union of Postal Workers press release:

OTTAWA, Jan. 21 /CNW/ – The union representing 54,000 postal workers has filed for conciliation under the provisions of the Canada Labour Code. A government-appointed conciliator will now attempt to bring the Canadian Union of Postal Workers and Canada Post Corporation to a negotiated settlement. The appointment of a conciliator starts the clock ticking towards a possible strike or lockout by the end of April. Read the rest of this entry »

After newspapers and politicians in West Virginia complained about the USPS’s plan to hold first day ceremonies in Washington for a stamp honoring West Virginia’s New River Gorge Bridge, the postal service has apparently relented:

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. Nick Rahall (D-W.Va.) today announced the U.S. Postal Service will host a ceremony in Fayetteville for the release of the New River Gorge Bridge stamp.

“I am pleased to have secured this event, believing it’s important that West Virginians be able to participate in the unveiling of the stamp and in showcasing one of our more remarkable structural accomplishments,” said Rahall. “The New River Gorge and the Bridge have meaning and significance for so many in southern West Virginia, and we deserve a day to take pride in our achievement.”

The First Day of Sale ceremony will be held on April 11, 2011. It will coincide with the nationwide release of the priority mail stamp picturing the world famous southern West Virginia superstructure.

Details of the Fayetteville-area stamp release ceremony – including location and time – are in the final planning stages and will be announced shortly.

The following information was released by Delaware Senator Tom Carper:

Today, Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.), Chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management which oversees the U.S. Postal Service, issued the following statement regarding Postmaster General Patrick R. Donahoe’s plan to eliminate 7,500 administrative, supervisory and postmaster positions:

“Postmaster General Donahoe has a daunting task before him – he must find significant, effective means to streamline the Postal Service and he needs to do it quickly. Current projections show that the Postal Service may be left without the resources necessary to operate by the next holiday season. Major changes must be made so that taxpayers aren’t left to bailout this struggling, but salvageable, institution. I have said it before and I’ll say it again, we need to think outside the box when it comes to identifying solutions to prevent the Postal Service from going broke and every option needs to be on the table. This plan to make the Postal Service more efficient by reducing unnecessary positions certainly fits that criteria and is something that I think we should take a serious look at. This announcement also shows that all stakeholders – including top managers – will need to feel the impact of the tough decisions that will need to be made in the coming months. I look forward to working with Postmaster General Donahoe on this and other proposals to reform the U.S. Postal Service and put it on more solid financial footing.”

Sen. Carper has been a leader in Congress on the effort to reform and modernize the U.S. Postal Service. As Chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, he has held several hearings over the last year exploring the financial challenges facing the Postal Service as well as the ways to best address them.

On Sept. 23, 2010, Sen. Carper introduced comprehensive postal reform legislation, the Postal Operations Sustainment and Transformation (POST) Act of 2010. The POST Act sought to address the financial problems plaguing the Postal Service by proposing a comprehensive set of reforms including: easing postal employee pension and retiree health costs; addressing postal employee wages and benefits; allowing partnerships with state and local governments and giving the Postal Service leeway to close post offices, market certain non-postal items and eliminate Saturday delivery.

We generally ignore the barrage of early out and buyout rumors that have been a constant on message boards (including our own) for as long as I can remember. This post from Federal Soup, however, sounds pretty plausible in light of recent statements by the PMG:

from a NAPS AVP:

OPM approved United States Postal Service VERA and Retirement Processing for 80,000 eligible Civil Service and Federal Employee Retirement Service employees. With roll out of Area EAS 8% staff reductions and later District EAS 8% staff reductions, VERA will be available for applying on or after March 2011. Effective drop date of VERA is July 2011, August 2011, September 2011, and October 2011. The drop month is determined by your work location and reduction in force notification. VERA will be available for PCES, EAS and Craft employees in “targeted” areas. No “buy out” authorized for USPS.

- Third round of Station, Branch, Finance Station closures due out in FY 2011.
- First announcement of Associate Post Office closures due out in FY 2011.
- First announcement of Processing and Distribution Center closures due out in FY 2011.
- Four Districts will be consolidated in FY 2011.
- Congressional opposition is expected due to loss of local tax base; contract jobs (many in maintenance), and local constituents.

From the Washington Post:

Rep. Stephen F. Lynch (Mass.) will serve as ranking member on the subcommittee responsible for federal workers, the U.S. Postal Service and labor policy. Lynch, whose family includes 17 current and former postal workers, chaired the subcommittee in the last Congress.

via Democrats name new oversight leadership.

Economist Alan Robinsin suggests that new Postmaster General Pat Donahoe is making his mark on the USPS:

The place where Pat Donahoe’s mark is most clearly seen is in the new structure of Postal Management. In particular, the new structure makes the follow statements about the future of the Postal Service:

• Strategic planning appears to have been split. Financial issues are placed within the Finance Department under the VP of Finance and Planning. Public Policy Issues are placed within the realm of Government Relations and Public Policy. These two departments are going to have to work closely together as many of the policy issues and expected proposals to change postal law focus on changes designed to ensure the financial viability of the Postal Service.

• The Postal Service organization of its marketing operation appears to recognize that it serves two different markets: retail (i.e. customers who send less than 500 pieces at a time) and wholesale (i.e. customers who send more than 500 pieces at a time). What is unclear is whether the marketing department has the authority to focus the attention of operations management on making operating changes that reduce operating costs to the extent that regulated or unregulated prices can ensure margins that promote postal self sufficiency.
• The Postal Service has placed greater attention on both customer communications and the presentation of its public policy positions. Susan LaChance’s new mandate should give the Postal Service’s customers, and in particular its larger customers, a headquarters contact that can cut through the bureaucracy in dealing with service and other complaints.
• Management at all levels faces continuing downsizing. The new management structure reduces the number of officers, the number of areas by one and eliminates 10 districts. The elimination of one area comes about a year after another consolidation in the Northeast. The elimination of districts represents an initial effort to consolidate management at that level.

Robinson asserts that “The announcement that RIF rules will be used suggests that the Postal Service may have shifted its strategy for reducing its workforce and will no longer primarily use attrition as a means to reduce the workforce.” That’s overstating things- Donahoe told the Washington Post’s Ed O’Keefe that the 7,500 positions being eliminated would be cut by attrition. Eliminating an entire area office requires the use of RIF rules- it’s nothing new. Those rules were followed in all of the previous area and district consolidations, and don’t automatically mean that any employees will actually be involuntarily separated from the USPS.

via Courier, Express, and Postal Observer: How will Pat Donohue Change the Postal Service?.

WALTHAM, Mass. January 19, 2011

Imagitas Inc. and the United States Postal Service (USPS) have completed a 10-year renewal of their successful MoverSource Alliance, a partnership built around a set of products that helps approximately 44 million U.S. residents with the change of address process each year.

Pat Donahoe, Postmaster General of the USPS, commented on the contract saying, “We are very pleased with the success of MoverSource and expect it to continue to provide excellent service value to our moving customers for many years to come.”

The MoverSource program includes The Mover’s Guide, MoversGuide Online, and The Welcome Kit. The Mover’s Guide program combines the official USPS Change of Address form with information kits that provide helpful savings for moving-related products and services. MoversGuide Online helps people process a Change of Address and access moving information and coupons online at usps.com. The Welcome Kit, mailed to the mover’s new home, contains an official confirmation of mail forwarding along with local information such as how to register to vote, the names of local officials, as well as national and local savings offers.

“The recently signed MoverSource contract between USPS and Imagitas is a perfect example of the type of public-private partnership that creates jobs and raises revenue while requiring little, if any, government investment,” said Congressman Stephen Lynch, former Chairman of Congressional Subcommittee on Federal Workforce, Postal Service, and the District of Columbia during the 111th Congress. “I commend both parties on their commitment to saving costs and providing superior customer service by maintaining the MoverSource program.”

“We are pleased with the opportunity this agreement gives us to create jobs and grow our business in Massachusetts,” said Ted Stimpson, CEO of Imagitas. “This new beginning for our company will stimulate exciting new innovations and opportunities. Moving is never easy, but the MoverSource products ease the burden by providing cost savings when you need it most.”

Prior to the MoverSource Alliance, the USPS spent millions of dollars executing the Change of Address program. Under the MoverSource agreement direct costs of providing the Change of Address program are absorbed by the Alliance and revenues from advertising are shared between the USPS and Imagitas. Since inception of the MoverSource Alliance, the USPS has received more than $300 million in revenue.

WASHINGTON, Jan. 19 — The Postal Regulatory Commission issued the following news release:

The Postal Regulatory Commission has established Docket R2011-2, to receive comments on postal rate changes for market dominant products filed January 13 by the U.S. Postal Service. The rate changes, which include maintaining the current First-Class, first ounce rate at $.44, are scheduled to take effect on April 17, 2011.

“The Commission will carefully review the Postal Service’s pricing proposals to ensure that the increases comply with the price cap and are consistent with statutory pricing policies,” said Commission Chairman Ruth Y. Goldway. “We encourage the public to participate in the process by sharing with the Commission their views on the requested postage increases.”

Commission rules require that action be taken within 45 days of receipt of the Postal Service’s filing and permit a 20-day public comment period. The comment period allows the public to address the consistency of the new rates with statutory requirements, including a CPI-based price cap.

Comments from interested parties are due by February 2, 2011. Information on the filing of comments and the calculation of the annual CPI price cap – which is 1.741% in this Docket – is available on the Commission’s website, www.prc.gov. Market dominant products include First-Class letters and cards, advertising mail, Periodicals, and single piece parcels.

Within 14 days of the conclusion of the public comment period, the Commission will determine whether the planned rate adjustments are lawful and issue an order announcing its findings. Kenneth E. Richardson, an attorney in the Commission’s Office of General Counsel, will represent the interests of the public in this proceeding.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Susan Collins, Ranking Member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, today filed an amicus brief arguing that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit uphold the Postal Regulatory Commission’s (PRC) unanimous decision to reject the U.S. Postal Service’s requested exigent rate hikes. Senator Collins’s committee has jurisdiction over the Postal Service.

Senator Collins’s brief argues that the PRC’s decision is consistent with the text, legislative history, purpose, and intent of the comprehensive rate system included in the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act (PAEA) – a 2006 law that she authored. Senator Collins further notes that the Postal Service’s current financial condition is the result of numerous non-exigent factors. Under the law, these factors cannot support an exigent rate increase because they have no connection to an “extraordinary or exceptional circumstance” that the Postal Service could not reasonably be expected to have accounted for in the normal course of business.

“The economy and technology are affecting the Postal Service and, indeed, all businesses. But in writing postal reform legislation in 2006, my intention was not to permit rate increases above the inflation-based cap as relief from chronic, ordinary, or unexceptional circumstances and general Postal Service red ink,” said Senator Collins. “I hope the Court of Appeals will uphold the September 2010 PRC decision which found that the Postal Service failed to prove that its request met the standard of the law.

“Allowing the Postal Service’s exigent rate increase would undermine the stability and predictability in rates that the PAEA sought to establish. Moreover, such an interpretation of the law would produce absurd results – allowing the Postal Service to raise rates to cover revenue shortfalls from any cause, so long as it could identify an ‘extraordinary or exceptional circumstance’ affecting any portion of postal operations. The resulting loophole in the hard, inflation-based cap would lead to disastrous consequences for the Postal Service as the resulting rates would further erode volume as postal customers seek alternatives to mailing.

“The Postal Service needs to redouble its efforts to cut costs, develop new services to increase volume, re-invent its business model and work with the Administration to remedy an overpayment to the federal retirement fund. I will continue to press the Administration and the Postal Service on these vital reforms.”

The Postal Service is the linchpin of a $1 trillion mailing industry that employs approximately 7.5 million Americans in fields as diverse as direct mail, printing, catalog production, paper manufacturing, and financial services.

On July 6, the Postal Service filed its exigent rate case with the PRC, seeking approval for a wide array of rate increases. The Postal Service experienced a loss of more than $8 billion for fiscal year 2010. Its requested exigent increases, averaging 4 to 6 percent, would have far exceeded the rate of inflation. For one class of mail, for example, the proposed increase would have been a whopping 23 percent. For catalog mail, the Postal Service proposed a postage hike of more than 5 percent, which owners warned would prompt many catalog businesses to reduce mail usage and direct customers to websites.