ROCHESTER, N.Y.– U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that a federal grand jury has indicted Mark Joseph Rossel, 52, of Rush, New York, on a charge of assaulting a federal officer and inflicting bodily injury. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, or both.

Assistant U.S. Attorney John J. Field, who is handling the case, stated that according to the Indictment, on May 12, 2011, the defendant attacked a United States Postal Inspector. The Indictment alleges that Rossel bit the inspector, causing punctured wounds.

The Indictment is the culmination of an investigation by the United States Postal Inspection Service, under the direction of Inspector in Charge Robert Bethel and Monroe County Sheriff’s Department, under the direction of Sheriff Patrick O’Flynn.

The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the
defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

The National Association of Postal Supervisors posted the following statement in its NAPSHQ 2 U Newsletter regarding our June 10 story on the loss of tax exempt status. As the statement points out, it was the NAPS local branch in Alexandria VA, not the national office (also located in Alexandria) that had its tax exempt status revoked, along with numerous other NAPS locals, and the local units of other postal employee organizations:

On June 10, Postalnews.com come ‘Tweeted" and posted on its website; NAPS loses tax exempt status for failure to file returns. This is a half-truth. Your NAPS National Office at 1727 King St, STE 400 in Alexandria VA did NOT lose its tax-exempt status. Postalnews.com made it appear that we did.

Unfortunately, many of our local NAPS branches throughout the country had their tax-exempt status revoked for "failing to file an annual information return or notice with the IRS for three consecutive years". One such NAPS branch had a mailing address listed in Alexandria, VA; which gave the appearance it was NAPS HQ.

Furthermore, NAPS local branches were not the only "postal-related" organizations on the IRS list. Postalnews.com reported that local units of the League of Postmasters and NAPUS, local and auxiliary units of the American Postal Workers Union, the National Association of Letter Carriers, Postal Police and National Alliance of Postal Employees also had their tax-exemptions revoked.

The reason an organization appeared on the IRS list of organizations, whose tax-exempt status has been automatically revoked, was because IRS records indicated the organization had a filing requirement and did not file the required returns or notices for 2007, 2008 and 2009. The IRS is contacting those impacted organizations with a letter informing them of their tax-exempt revocation.

Impacted NAPS Branches may request reinstatement of their tax-exempt status. I suggest these branches visit www.irs.gov to get the full instructions on requesting reinstatement. Again, NAPS Headquarters did not have its tax-exempt status revoked for not filing the proper tax returns. Your NAPS national office remains tax-exempt/non-profit.

via NAPSHQ 2 U Newsletter-June 24, 2011.

From Postcom:

Click here to download this week’s podcast, or click the play button below to listen online. [audio:http://postcom.org/postalweek/06.23.11.twip.mp3]
Previous podcasts in the series are at thisweekinpostal.info.

Congressman Dennis Ross appears to believe that the US Postal Service has something called “paid reserve staff” who “wait daily until needed”. Ross has to take this seriously, since it was posted on Twitter! By a cartoon character!

RepDennisRossDennis Ross

#USPS Reform Legislation introduced by @DarrellIssa and myself today. http://t.co/6IrmwEi | Serious, bold reforms. #usps

Jun 23FavoriteRetweetReply

PecosRoyBeanPecosRoyBean

@RepDennisRoss Did you cover USPS “paid reserve staff” that wait daily until needed? Much like NYC Rubber Room teachers. Paid to not work,

Jun 23FavoriteRetweetReply

in reply to @PecosRoyBean↑

@RepDennisRoss
Dennis Ross @PecosRoyBean That will be part of the reorganization for sure. That type of employment is unacceptable.
Jun 23 via webFavoriteRetweetReply

Meanwhile, Ross has yet to respond to a nonprofit mailer understandably concerned about the Issa bill’s proposed 61% increase in nonprofit postage rates:

WARRENVILLE, Ill., Jun 21, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Navistar, Inc. has been awarded a development contract by the United States Postal Service (USPS) under which Navistar will engineer a diesel powertrain replacement for USPS delivery vehicles. Navistar’s re-powered diesel vehicle effort is designed to significantly reduce the escalating service and fuel costs associated with the USPS’s aging fleet.

Under terms of the contract, the USPS will deliver one of its Long Life Vehicles (LLV) to Navistar Engine Group’s Engineering and Technical Center in Melrose Park, Illinois, where the company’s in-house re-power engineering department will develop, install and test a diesel powertrain that features Navistar’s MaxxForce(R) 3.2-liter turbodiesel engine. Financial terms were not disclosed.

"When the USPS current fleet was first put into service, diesel fuel and advanced diesel powertrain technology were not widely available," said Andrew Dondlinger, vice president, North America operations, Navistar Engine Group. "Now, by replacing its gasoline powertrains, USPS could realize diesel’s benefits of fuel efficiency, long operational life and low service and operating costs."

A proven diesel re-power solution could be used to upgrade USPS vehicles over the next decade. It is not uncommon for diesel powertrains to achieve fuel economy gains of up to 35 percent when compared to gasoline powertrains. Further savings would be gained from diesel’s lower maintenance requirements, longer service life, and overall lower cost of ownership. Navistar estimates the USPS could realize payback on each re-powered vehicle in as little as two years depending on maintenance and fuel costs.

Beyond Navistar’s history of development work on USPS diesel re-power, the company’s reputation as an integrated truck and engine manufacturer and its proven capabilities for on-time, on-budget work for the U.S. military also influenced the contract award.

USPS News Link today contains the following article describing the USPS’s expanded presence on Facebook. Unfortunately, as of this writing (9 AM EDT), the new stamp and business links don’t actually work… (Update: the new pages are now active as of 1PM EDT)

Starting today, the Postal Service will have some new pages for its Facebook fans to visit. USPS has had a page on the social media website for some time, but is expanding its presence so that there’s something for everyone — customers, mailers and stamp collectors — to like.

Facebook.com/USPS, will allow us to better connect with the public and provide engaging content on everything from legislative updates, to mailing tips, to USPS Sustainability efforts.

Small- and medium-sized business owners, as well as advertising and marketing executives, can go to facebook.com/USPSbusiness for the latest on how USPS can help make them a success. From “Grow Your Business Days” to the joys of Every Door Direct Mail, visitors will have access to best practices and case studies to help them improve their bottom line by using the Postal Service.

Even collectors can put their “stamp of approval” on our facebook.com/USPSstamps page, where we’ll feature upcoming stamp issues and all manner of stamp products.

So, check them out starting today. And while you’re there, “like” us — if you like!

via USPS News Link – June 24, 2011.

WASHINGTON — Acclaimed author and humorist Mark Twain is being honored by the U.S. Postal Service with the issuance of a commemorative Forever postage stamp in the city that served as the setting for two of his most famous works. A first-day-of-issue ceremony will be held June 25 at the Mark Twain Boyhood Home & Museum in Hannibal, MO. The 27th stamp in the Literary Arts series, the Mark Twain First-Class Forever stamp will go on sale nationwide at Post Offices and online at usps.com/shop on June 25.

Read the rest of this entry »

Members of Parliament remain locked in debate early Friday over legislation that would send Canada Post employees back to work and end a lockout.

At daybreak in Ottawa, opposition MPs continued to make lengthy speeches designed to delay passage of the government’s bill.

The NDP began speaking in an attempt to stall the bill, with NDP Leader Jack Layton starting around 9 p.m. Thursday.

His speech, in its opening minutes, touched on the commitment of postal workers, the repetitive stress injuries some of them suffer, the Charter of Rights and wind turbines. NDP and Liberal members were still talking at 6 a.m. ET Friday, with no sign of stopping.

The debate can run until all 103 NDP MPs have spoken, at which point they will vote on the bill’s second reading and move to committee of the whole, where MPs have even more time-delaying tactics at their disposal.

Read the full story: MPs in marathon debate on Canada Post bill – Politics – CBC News.

We thank House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-CA) for introducing the Postal Reform Act of 2011 and look forward to working with him as the bill makes its way through the legislative process.

While there are several provisions in the bill that we agree with, the bill appears to be based on the assumption that the Postal Service’s challenges result from too little regulation. The opposite is true. Our financial instability is the result of dramatic loss in volumes, coupled with restrictions imposed by Congress that have prevented the Postal Service from adequately responding to those losses in a business-like fashion.

We strongly oppose a provision in the bill that provides for an additional $10 billion in borrowing authority from the U.S. Treasury. The Postal Service does not need to incur additional debt — we need the money back that is already owed to us. We also strongly oppose sections of the bill that would create more government bureaucracy and slow our progress on streamlining our operations.

Also, we are disappointed that Rep. Issa’s bill does not address core issues that Congress needs to address to enable the Postal Service to return to financial stability, including the need to:

• Eliminate the current mandates requiring retiree health benefit pre-payments, which costs the Postal Service $5.5 billion annually.
• Allow the Postal Service to access Civil Service Retirement System and Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) overpayments. The FERS overpayment is estimated to be $6.9 billion.

We are pleased that the bill recognizes the need for a change in delivery frequency. The bill’s provision to move to five-day delivery would save the Postal Service $3.1 billion annually.

The need for legislative change is urgent. Despite significant and ongoing cost cutting actions and progress on new revenue generation, the Postal Service is in danger of running out of cash as early as this October.

The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses, and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.

American Business Media, which represents b-to-b media companies, issued the following statement on Congressman Darrell Issa’s proposed postal reform bill:

Today, June 23, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), Chairman of the House Committee with jurisdiction over postal matters, introduced legislation that would implement sweeping, structural reforms of the United States Postal Service. ABM immediately obtained and reviewed the bill in detail; while it includes some provisions ABM has advocated for, it also includes a potentially-damaging provision for ABM members.

As written, the legislation would require an annual 5% increase for all “underwater” postal products, on top of annual CPI increases, until the product covers at least 90% of its attributable costs. Given the current data on periodical cost coverage and the anticipated CPI increases, this provision would likely result in a more than 20% increase in postal rates over the next three years for ABM members. This provision is simply untenable, and over the last few hours, ABM has already begun to mobilize its resources and align with allies to fight it.

As you may know, over the last two years, ABM has advocated for postal reform measures in Washington both as an association and as an Executive Committee member of the Coalition for a 21st Century Postal Service. In these efforts, ABM has sought a legislative solution that would address structural issues at USPS, fix the overpayment of its pension system, and put the Postal Service on a stable path for long-term viability. As the financial situation at USPS has worsened, these efforts have grown more critical.

We are already leveraging ABM’s coalitions and contacts to address this issue on your behalf, and we will continue to update you as developments warrant.

via American Business Media – ABM.