Too Big to Mail – The Daily Show with Jon Stewart – 12/15/11 – Video Clip | Comedy Central.

PITTSBURGH, Pa – After a non-jury trial tried before Senior United States District Judge Maurice B. Cohill, Terri Oddo was found guilty of one count of misappropriation of postal funds, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.

Oddo, 43, of East Brady, Pennsylvania, was tried in Pittsburgh.

According to Assistant United States Attorney Paul E. Hull, who prosecuted the case, the evidence presented at trial established that Oddo was a postal employee at the East Brady, Pa., Post Office who embezzled $2,650.77 in postal service funds.

Judge Cohill scheduled sentencing for April 10, 2012 at 1:00 p.m. The law provides for a total sentence of one year in prison, a fine of $100,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed is based on the seriousness of the offense and the criminal history, if any, of the defendant.

Pending sentencing, Oddo remains free on bond.

The United States Postal Inspection Service conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Terri Oddo.

via USDOJ: US Attorney’s Office – Western Pennsylvania.

From the American Postal Workers Union:

The House of Representatives voted 243-193 on Dec. 13 to pass the so-called “Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2011,” which would cut take-home pay for postal and federal workers by increasing their contributions to the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) and the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS). The bill also would slash unemployment benefits, place unreasonable burdens on unemployed workers, and cut vital healthcare programs.

Voting in favor of H.R. 3630 were 224 Republicans and 10 Democrats. Fourteen Republicans and 179 Democrats voted no. Action on the bill now moves to the Senate.

The bill was introduced by Rep. Dave Camp (R-MI), and co-sponsored by Reps. Spencer Bachus (R-AL), Frank Lucas (R-OK), Dan Lungren (R-CA), Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), and Fred Upton (R-MI).

The bill also would change the calculation of pensions for new hires with less than five years of creditable service and eliminate the FERS annuity supplement, which is designed to provide a benefit approximating the pension retirees would receive once they become eligible for earned Social Security benefits.

If enacted into law, employee contributions to CSRS would increase from the current rate of 7 percent to 8.5 percent of salary over a three-year span beginning in calendar year 2013. Contributions for employees covered by FERS would increase from 0.8 percent to 2.3 percent over the same period.

The bill would increase the contribution rate for postal and federal employees hired after Dec. 31, 2012, with less than five years of creditable service, from the current rate of 0.8 percent to 4 percent of salary. The pension formula for these employees would be based on the employees’ “high-five” years of service instead of the current “high-three” formula. Pensions for current employees’ would continue to be based on the “high-three.”

President Obama issued a statement before the House vote threatening to veto the bill if it reaches his desk.

APWU members are encouraged to immediately contact their senators and urge them to oppose this unfair and misguided attack on postal and federal workers when the bill is considered in the Senate.

via House Republicans Attack Postal and Federal Retirement Benefits.

Lately there are a lot of people proposing what they think are obvious solutions to the USPS’s financial woes. Today we heard one of the stranger suggestions, in a post on the International Business Times web site that starts like this:

It’s not too late to save the U.S. Postal Service, the inventor of e-mail told International Business Times.

You read that right- “the inventor of e-mail”! Now, I’ve been using computers, and email for several decades now, and I had never heard of anyone “inventing” e-mail before. The Wikipedia article on e-mail doesn’t mention an inventor, but notes that a primitive form of e-mail was demonstrated at the 1939 World’s Fair, and says the first ARPANET e-mail was sent in 1971. Arpanet was the predecessor of the Internet.

Oddly enough, V.A. Shiva, the alleged “inventor”, claims to have developed e-mail seven years later- in 1978, when he was a high school student! As proof, the article points out that Shiva “won the U.S. copyright for e-mail in 1982″. Of course, you don’t “win” a copyright, and you certainly don’t copyright an invention- you patent it. Shiva doesn’t claim to own the patent on e-mail, or even the trademark- so what exactly did he copyright?

A computer printout.

Shiva’s company, Echomail, proudly displays the copyright record on its web site. The record states that the “printout” being copyrighted is a “Computer program for electronic mail system.”

In other words, Shiva owns the sole right to publish copies of a computer program he printed out in 1982, which he entitled “EMAIL”. (So you too can “win” the “U.S. Copyright to EMAIL”: just write something, call it “EMAIL”, and fill out the paperwork to register your copyright! As long as what you write doesn’t copy Shiva’s (or anyone else’s) copyrighted work, you’re all set!)

And what exactly did the “inventor of EMAIL” suggest was the answer to the USPS’s problems? Here it is:

Shiva said the USPS could retrain most employees for the 21st century, handling e-mail, scanning and processing documents and doing things they already know.

Shiva doesn’t explain what those “things they already know” are exactly, but later he muses:

For $1 apiece, Shiva suggested, smaller enterprises could hire USPS people to manage their e-mail systems, analyze responses and send responses based upon pre-determined answers.

Sounds like something you’d have, say, a computer do, doesn’t it? And it’s not clear what the “$1 apiece” refers to- e-mails? systems? postal workers? Whatever it refers to, the USPS would need 5 billion of them just to make up last year’s losses! Perhaps the scariest thing in the IBT article is Shiva’s claim that “various government officials have been in touch since the USPS downsizing announcement on Dec. 4″.

For the record, V.A. Shiva, aka “Shiva Ayyadurai”, is an actual “Faculty Lecturer” at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology- MIT. Perhaps wisely, his official MIT profile page makes no mention of his claim to be the “inventor of EMAIL”.

via E-Mail Inventor: Use Technology to Overhaul USPS – International Business Times.

An arbitration hearing began on Dec. 13, 2011, on the first two of several disputes that arose when management incorrectly implemented new provisions of the 2010-2015 Collective Bargaining Agreement. The disputes involve the placement of newly converted full-time employees into non-traditional schedules, and the denial of retreats rights to Clerk Craft employees on posted Non-Traditional Full-Time (NTFT) duty assignments in their former installations.

The contract, which was ratified by union members in May, required the Postal Service to convert to full time all Clerk Craft part-time flexibles in Level 21-and-above offices and all part-time regulars, regardless of the size of their office. It also required management to convert all part-time flexibles and part-time regulars in the Motor Vehicle Craft, effective Aug. 27, 2011.

In accordance with the Collective Bargaining Agreement, the newly converted regulars should have been placed in residual vacancies or given schedules of five 8-hour days. Instead, management placed most of the employees into newly-created NTFT assignments, many of them with just 30 hours of work per week. This was improper, because the NTFT positions had not been posted for bid, so they were not residual vacancies. Residual vacancies are positions that remain vacant after the completion of a voluntary bidding cycle.

The union is asking the arbitrator to correct the contract violations by making all affected employees “whole” and instructing management to assign affected unencumbered/unassigned workers to schedules of five 8-hour days. We will report on the arbitrator’s decision as soon as we receive it.

via USPS Announces Moratorium on Post Office, Plant Closures; Arbitration Hearing Begins on Schedule of New Full-Timers.

From Postcom.org:

From the USPS Industry Liaison: An agreement was made earlier today between the US Postal Service and multiple U.S. Senators to delay the closing of post offices and mail processing facilities until May 15, 2012. Please be aware that while facility closings will be delayed, the Postal Service will continue with all of the efforts necessary to fully review facilities previously announced as part of our study. As part of this review, we intend to continue to conduct both industry outreach meetings and public meetings. In addition, the Postal Service intends to continue with the rulemaking process and to participate in the service change proceedings before the PRC. It is premature to speculate on what we will do or when we will implement any changes to our service standards until these processes have unfolded.

via PostCom: Postal News and Information from Around the World.

From NAPUS:

Moratorium Agreement Reached Between USPS and Senate Members

Today, at 3:00 PM Senators Richard Durbin (D-IL), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Jon Tester (D-MT), Mark Begich (D-AK), Claire McCaskill (D-MO) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) announced an agreement with the U.S Postal Service to impose a 5-month moratorium on the closing of postal facilities, including post offices. This suspension of closings and consolidations will extend through May 15, 2012. You may view the Senate press release announcing the moratorium by clicking on Senate Press Release. The USPS also issued a press release, which you may view by clicking on USPS Press Release.

The announcement comes in the wake of a letter authored by 22 Members of the Senate calling for the closing moratorium, pending the enactment of postal relief legislation. Yesterday, the Postmaster General and the Chairman of the Postal Board of Governors were summoned to Capitol Hill by Senator Durbin to meet with the signers of the letter, in part, regarding the impact of postal closings on service.

NAPUS applauds the efforts of the Senators.

via NAPUS

Washington, DC - Congressman Maurice Hinchey has joined several of his U.S. House colleagues in introducing the Postal Service Protection Act – legislation designed to alleviate the U.S. Postal Service’s (USPS) immediate financial crisis and prevent the layoff of thousands of USPS employees nationwide.

“The Postal Service is considering laying off nearly 25,000 workers, eliminating the Saturday delivery of mail and increasing the time it takes to receive a letter from two to three days,” said Hinchey. “These are changes that would have a negative effect on our economy, and Congress needs to take action now to alleviate the financial crisis the Postal Service faces. The Postal Service Protection Act would accomplish that goal.”

The Postal Service Protection Act would:

• Fix the Postal Service’s immediate financial crisis by allowing the USPS to recover the overpayments it made to its retiree pension funds — both the $7 billion overpayment to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) and the $50 billion to $75 billion overpayment to the Civil Service Retirement System. In addition, the bill would eliminate the unique requirement that the USPS pre-fund 75 years worth of future retiree health benefits in just 10 years. No other agency is required to pre-fund these benefits.

• Establish new ways to generate revenue by ending the prohibition on USPS providing non-postal services, such as providing notary services, new media services and issuance of licenses; contracting with state and local agencies to provide services; shipping wine and beer, and allowing the USPS to provide services that mail systems in many other countries provide, including digital services.

• Create a blue-ribbon commission composed of entrepreneurs, representatives of labor and small businesses to provide recommendations on how the Postal Service can generate new revenue to succeed in the 21st century.

• Prevent the closing of rural post offices by giving the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) binding authority to prevent closures based on the effect on the community and employees. The bill would also prohibit USPS from considering whether a post office is turning a profit when making the decision to conduct a feasibility study for closure.

• Protect six-day delivery and protect mail-processing facilities by requiring strict standards for delivering first-class mail.

Hinchey and 37 other House members also sent a letter today to Postmaster General Donahoe opposing the planned closing of nearly half of the nation’s 500 mail processing and distribution centers, including those in Binghamton and Newburgh. Last week, Hinchey wrote to the Postmaster General in opposition to the proposed closure of the Binghamton and Newburgh facilities. The full text of the letter opposing the nationwide closure of mail processing and distribution centers follows:

December 8, 2011

The Honorable Patrick Donahoe
Postmaster General
U.S. Postal Service
475 L’Enfant Plaza, SW
Washington, D.C. 20260

Dear Postmaster General Donahoe,

The United States Postal Service (USPS) recently announced it would close roughly 252 of 500 mail processing centers. It also announced unprecedented cuts to first-class mail next spring that will slow delivery, and for the first time in 40 years, will eliminate the chance for stamped letters to arrive the next day. We strongly object to the decision to slow first class service and close processing centers.

We appreciate USPS’s attempt to reduce costs but the USPS is an essential service for the public and reductions would come at the expense of people who regularly depend on these services. The changes may provide short-term relief, but ultimately it would be penny wise and pound foolish because it would push more businesses onto the Internet. Americans rely on the USPS and the access to services to buy stamps and send packages. The elderly and underserved communities have a tradition of using the USPS and many do not have access to a computer to use email or social media websites.

First-class mail in the United States typically takes one to two days to arrive, but the changes would lengthen that to three days. It would slow everything from check payments to Netflix’s DVDs-by-mail, add costs to mail-order prescription drugs, and threaten the existence of newspapers and time-sensitive magazines delivered by postal carriers to underserved communities. A birthday card mailed first-class to a relative or friend could arrive a day or two late, if people don’t plan ahead.

As representatives of Congressional districts where our constituents depend on the services of the United States Postal Service, we strongly object to the decision to slow first class service and close processing centers.

Sincerely,

Congressman Maurice Hinchey

Hinchey Introduces Legislation to Help Stop Postal Service Layoffs and Service Reductions.

Press release from Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO):

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill is calling for a six month delay in U.S. Postal Service facility closures to allow time to implement cost-saving reforms.

McCaskill has joined a request to Senate leaders to approve legislative language preventing the Postal Service from closing any post offices or area mail processing facilities for at least six months, allowing more time for Congress to “enact reforms necessary” to potentially save those facilities.

“While we may have very different views on how to financially improve the postal service, we all believe that democratically elected members of the Senate and the House have the responsibility to make significant changes to the postal service,” McCaskill and her colleagues wrote. “Unfortunately, we are concerned that the postal service may preempt Congress on this matter by closing or consolidating nearly 3,700 mostly rural post offices, over 250 mail processing facilities, and eliminating overnight delivery for first class mail before postal reform legislation is enacted. While some of these changes may be needed, we believe that it is very important to give Congress the opportunity to reform the postal service in a way that protects universal service while ensuring its financial viability for decades to come.”

McCaskill is a member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, which has jurisdiction over the Postal Service. Postal reforms supported by McCaskill, and approved by a Senate panel last month, would require the Postal Service to strengthen the public’s ability to appeal a closure and would prevent the Postal Service from closing rural post offices until it establishes clear criteria for determining whether a post office should be closed.

The text of the Senators’ letter appears below.

Dear Majority Leader Reid, Minority Leader McConnell, Chairman Inouye, and Ranking Member Cochran:

Everyone understands that the United States Postal Service (USPS) is experiencing significant financial problems today and that changes need to be made as the USPS adjusts to a digital world.

To address this serious problem, Congress is in the midst of significantly reforming the postal service. Several bills have been introduced in the Senate and the House on this issue. On November 9th, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee passed the 21st Century Postal Service Act, S.1789, by a vote of 9-1. The House is also moving forward with postal reform legislation.

While we may have very different views on how to financially improve the postal service, we all believe that democratically elected members of the Senate and the House have the responsibility to make significant changes to the postal service.

Unfortunately, we are concerned that the postal service may preempt Congress on this matter by closing or consolidating nearly 3,700 mostly rural post offices, over 250 mail processing facilities, and eliminating overnight delivery for first class mail before postal reform legislation is enacted. While some of these changes may be needed, we believe that it is very important to give Congress the opportunity to reform the postal service in a way that protects universal service while ensuring its financial viability for decades to come.

Therefore, we respectfully ask that you include language in the next appropriations to prevent the USPS from closing or consolidating area mail processing facilities or rural post offices for the next six months. This six month moratorium will give Congress the time needed to enact reforms necessary for the postal service to succeed in the 21st century.

We look forward to working with you on this important issue. Thank you for your consideration.

From NAPUS:

Discussions Continue with Postal Headquarters on Voluntary Early Retirements (VERs) and Incentives for Retirement Eligible Employees

On December 6, 2011, NAPUS President Bob Rapoza and League President Mark Strong met with Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe and agreed to re-open Postmaster pay talks. This agreement was reached in the midst of the selection of a fact-finding panel from a list of panelist received from the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service. If no agreement is reached by the January 27, 2012 deadline, the fact-finding process will resume.

Presidents of both Postmaster organizations continue to meet with postal leaders to request the establishment of a RIF-avoidance process that offers VER’s and incentives (including adding years of service) for retirement eligible employees. Every effort is being made to get this issue resolved by the end of this year. Additional information will be posted on the NAPUS website as soon as it becomes available.

For more on these two developing stories, please check President Rapoza’s Update.

NAPUS and League Presidents are scheduled to meet with legal counsel next week to continue discussions on how to proceed on renewing a complaint with the Postal Regulatory Commission concerning the Postal Service’s Final Rule, which became effective on December 1, 2011. The rule created changes to the PO-101, ASM, POM and ELM, which allows for the conversion of post offices to stations or branches. The rule also allows a post office to be staffed by someone other than a Postmaster and for Postmaster to serve in more than one post office. See details and chronology of events concerning the Final Rule decision by linking to the December 2, 2011 Breaking News story on the NAPUS website.

On December 10, 2011 Postal Headquarters issued a letter to all Area Vice Presidents, directing them to temporarily suspend all current or planned actions to convert post offices to stations or branches, until further notice. The directive also instructed field managers to stop any permanent staffing changes in post offices until instructions are distributed by Headquarters.

Charlie Moser

December 9, 2011

via NAPUS.

WINTHROP (FOX 25 / MyFoxBoston.com) – The Postal Service is hardly the first place you’d think of as having extra money lying around, but FOX Undercover has found that the Postal Service is on the hook to pay millions of dollars to rent a large building in Winthrop, a building it has never occupied and has no intention of occupying.

Cash-strapped Postal Service paying millions for unused building: MyFoxBOSTON.com

Read more: Cash-strapped Postal Service paying millions for unused building.