postalnews blog

SAN JOSE, CA - July 23, 2008 – VeriFone Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: PAY) today announced it has been awarded a multi-year dollar contract valued at up to $10 million to provide the U.S. Postal Service with electronic payment solutions for use across the U.S.

VeriFone will provide the Vx 570 countertop payment solution with dual communications capabilities to provide both traditional dial modem and Internet-based connectivity for 18,000-20,000 customer windows. The countertop solution will include the PINpad 1000SE for debit card PINs and the company will also provide thousands of the VeriFone Vx 610 portable powerhouse, including both CDMA and GPRS versions, for mobile, remote and disaster recovery purposes.

“This is a tremendous affirmation of VeriFone’s capabilities as the premier electronic payment solutions provider and one of the most significant competitive wins of the year worldwide,” said Bud Waller, VeriFone executive vice president, Integrated Solutions.

VeriFone’s payment platforms provide the USPS with PCI PED (Payment Card Industry PIN Entry Device) support and conform to the most stringent security standards around the world. VeriFone will develop a customer interface to a payment gateway that the U.S. Postal Service will operate to ensure it has access to the lowest cost credit and debit processing services.

VeriFone payment card acceptance systems will provide USPS customers with fast and secure processing of credit and both PIN debit and signature debit payments. The wireless Vx 610 will enable the USPS to set up remote promotions where phone lines and Internet connections are unavailable and will provide back-up capabilities in the event of a disaster that interrupts local phone services.

WASHINGTON, DC —Postmaster General John E. Potter has named Pritha Mehra vice president of Business Mail Entry and Payment Technologies and Maura Robinson vice president of Pricing. These newly created positions are the latest in the Postal Service’s reorganization efforts to leverage competitive opportunities resulting from recent changes in federal law.

On July 1, Potter announced that he had created two new divisions, Shipping and Mailing Services and Customer Relations, and strengthened another, the Office of Intelligent Mail® and Address Quality. All are intended to position the Postal Service to meet the challenges ahead.

Mehra will be responsible for an end-to-end, mail flow visibility strategy as well as for a seamless process for mail acceptance, payment, and delivery using standardized Intelligent Mail barcodes, continuous tracking, and mail-quality feedback in real time. She will report to Tom Day, senior vice president of Intelligent Mail and Address Quality.

Robinson’s duties will include pricing all postal and non-postal products and services, and providing analytical support and evaluation of all contract pricing and new product initiatives. She will report to Stephen Kearney, who was recently promoted to senior vice president of Customer Relations. Kearney served previously as vice president of Pricing and Classification.

“Pritha and Maura have both demonstrated their abilities to identify and understand the needs of our customers in a changing environment,” said Potter. “Their leadership skills will be invaluable as we continue to make the strategic changes necessary to help us improve service and increase market share.”

In her previous position, Mehra served as manager of Marketing Technology and Channel Management, where she led significant technological changes in business mail acceptance processes. She began her Postal Service career in 1990 as a computer programmer.

Formerly, Robinson was manager of Pricing Systems and Analysis, where she was instrumental in management of the Postal Service’s price changes and the transition to a new regulatory environment. She began her Postal Service career in 1998 as an economist.

From Linn’s Stamp News:

Big pay increases approved for top Postal Service officers
BY BILL MCALLISTER

Postmaster General John E. “Jack” Potter and seven other senior United States Postal Service officers have been granted large raises, bythe Postal Service board of governors.

The increases were disclosed by the Postal Service Jan. 3 in response to a Freedom of Information Act request filed by Linn’s.

The raises were approved May 2007 retroactive to Jan. 5, 2007,under the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006, which removed the top Postal Service officers from the federal pay cap that restricts the pay of most federal workers to that of no more than the vice president of the United States.

Citing a need to raise the pay of the Postal Service’s top officers, Congress voted in December 2006 to give the postal board of governors authority to boost the pay of up to 12 Postal Service officers up to an amount “not to exceed 120 percent of the vice president’s total annual compensation.” U.S. vice president Dick Cheney is currently paid a salary of $215,700.

The board authorized increases for eight officers.

Potter, the 72 nd postmaster general, got the biggest increase. His salary jumped nearly 39 percent to $258,840, up from $186,600 in 2007.That’s an increase of $72,240 and the maximum pay allowed to Postal Service officers.

The pay of Patrick Donahoe, deputy postmaster general and chief operating officer, jumped to $235,000 from $186,000, a 26 percent raise.

The pay of Harold G. Walker, chief financial officer and executive vice president, rose to $215,000, up from $186,000.

Anthony Vegliante, chief human resources officer and executive vice president, saw his pay rise to $225,000, up from $183,100.

The pay of Anita Bizzotto, chief marketing officer and executive vice president, rose to $225,000, up from $183,100.

The pay of Mary Anne Gibbons, general counsel and senior vice president, rose to $215,000, up from $177,800.

William Galligan, senior vice president for operations, saw his pay rise to $215,000, up from $183,100.

Robert Otto, chief technology officer and vice president, saw his pay rise to $205,000, up from $177,800. Otto retired Oct. 1 and a successor has not yet been named.

Potter’s pay had been at the same level as that of cabinet officers, a reflection of the days when the postmaster general was a cabinet post. Cabinet members will be paid $191,300 this year, according to the Office of Personnel Management.

In releasing the salaries, Postal Service officials noted that in 2003 the President’s Commission on the Postal Service called for increasing the pay of top officers to a level competitive with private industry.

The Postal Service also noted that pay of some corporate executiveswho manage companies with fewer employees than the Postal Service earn far more than Potter will earn. Proctor & Gamble chief executive A.G.Lafley, for example, earns $29 million a year.

It also noted the pay of the executives of two private delivery firms: Frederick W. Smith, CEO of Federal Express earns $8.67 millionand Michael L. Eskew of United Parcel Service earns $3.1 million.

The Postal Service also compared Potter’s pay with that of other postal chiefs.

Deutsche Post pays Klaus Zumwinkel $4 million. Peter Baker of Netherlands TNT earns $2.94 million, and the United Kingdom’s Royal Mailpays Adam Crozier $1.57 million. Australia Post pays CEO Graeme John$1.89 million; New Zealand Post pays CEO John Allen $733,000; Japan Post pays its president Norio Kitamura $246,737; and Canada Post pays CEO Moya Greene $483,876.

Potter’s pay trails that of three other government created organizations. Freddie Mac’s Richard Syron is earning $11.47 million, and Fannie Mae’s Daniel Mudd earns $7.59 million. The Tennessee Valley Authority pays CEO Tom Kilgore $1.6 million.

Pitney Bowes Assesses Progress and Opportunities

STAMFORD, Conn., December 20, 2007 - As the mailing industry marks the first anniversary of landmark postal reform legislation, Pitney Bowes Inc. (NYSE:PBI) offered an upbeat assessment of the work that has been done to implement the law’s provisions, and of the implications the new law has for anyone who sends or receives mail.

President Bush signed the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act on December 20, 2006, launching a new era for the United States Postal Service. Under the new law, increases in the price of postage for most mail cannot exceed the rate of inflation for at least the next nine years, and the Postal Service has unprecedented flexibility to manage the rates it charges beneath this “rate cap.” The law also envisions a major redesign of the postal network, calls for the creation of new service standards, and encourages the Postal Service to adopt new technologies to speed operations and lower costs.

“The postal reform bill was a major rethinking of virtually every aspect of postal operations,” said Pitney Bowes Executive Chairman Michael Critelli who, as chairman of the Mailing Industry CEO Council, was involved in helping to shape the final legislation. “We see tremendous long-term benefits both for the Postal Service and the mailing industry.”

Critelli praised the new Postal Regulatory Commission for swiftly establishing its mission and strategy, for engaging the industry in its deliberations, and for delivering, eight months ahead of schedule, new regulations that will determine how the Postal Service will set its rates in the future, beginning in 2008. Critelli also complimented the Postal Service for moving quickly to propose the new service standards called for under the law, also after extensive industry consultations.

“This kind of engagement with the industry is crucial to the long-term success of postal reform,” said Critelli. “The mailing industry employs some nine million Americans and accounts for $900 billion in economic activity. We all have a huge stake in making sure we capture the benefits of postal reform without needlessly disrupting this powerful economic engine.”

The next year should see equally important developments, Critelli noted. The Postal Service is expected to issue its first rates using the new rules, and the Postal Service and the Postal Regulatory Commission face crucial reporting deadlines to Congress on several aspects of postal operations.

“We are very encouraged by the swift actions of the leadership at both the Postal Service and the Postal Regulatory Commission,” Critelli said. “They are focused on fulfilling the many obligations placed on them by postal reform, and we look forward to continued dialogue and action to make the mailstream even more valuable and effective than ever before.”

February 21, 2007

DMM Advisory

Pricing and Classification — keeping you informed about the prices and mailing standards of the United States Postal Service

Meeting Customer Needs in a Changing Regulatory Environment

The Postal Regulatory Commission and the Postal Service invite you to a conference to discuss how the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act could increase the Postal Service’s ability to meet customer needs. By focusing on the issues important to customers, the conference will continue the dialogue recently initiated by the Postal Regulatory Commission in its rulemaking process.

Click here for agenda and registration.

The Domestic Mail Manual (DMM) is available on Postal Explorer (pe.usps.com). To subscribe to the DMM Advisory, send an e-mail to dmmadvisory@usps.com. Simply indicate “subscribe” in the subject line.

The Postal Reform Act passed by Congress contains language that supports the Postal Service’s efforts to consolidate plants, while requiring the agency to be more open about its plans. The act includes this: “as noted by the President’s Commission on the United States Postal Service, the Postal Service has more facilities than it needs and the streamlining of this distribution network can pave the way for the potential consolidation of sorting facilities and the elimination of excess costs”.

The act encourages the USPS to “expeditiously move forward in its streamlining efforts”, but adds that it must also “keep unions, management associations, and local elected officials informed as an essential part of this effort and abide by any procedural requirements contained in the national bargaining agreements.”

To that end, the USPS is required to produce a plan outlining the steps it plans to take, including “estimated timeframes, criteria, and processes to be used for making changes to the facilities network, and the process for engaging policy makers and the public in related decisions”. The plan must also include “a discussion of what impact any facility changes may have on the postal workforce and whether the Postal Service has sufficient flexibility to make needed workforce changes”, as well as “a comprehensive plan under which reemployment assistance shall be afforded to employees displaced as a result of automation of any of its functions, the closing and consolidation of any of its facilities, or such other reasons as the Postal Service may determine”.

The act requires that any consolidation efforts currently under way include notice to the communities involved of any service changes and impacts on employees. The USPS must also “afford affected persons ample opportunity to provide input on the proposed decision; and take such comments into account in making a final decision.”

The office of Senator Susan Collins released the following press release:

WASHINGTON, Dec. 9 /PRNewswire/ — Both the House and Senate passed historic postal reform legislation in the final hours of the 109th Congress after key negotiators — Sens. Susan Collins, R-ME, and Tom Carper, D-DE, and Reps. Tom Davis, R-VA, and Henry A. Waxman, D-CA — brokered an agreement that will modernize the United States Postal Service and make it viable for the 21st century. The legislation, the first major overhaul of the USPS since 1970, will help stabilize mail volume and stamp prices.

“The U.S. Postal Service is the lynchpin of a $900 billion mailing industry, providing nine million jobs nationwide in fields as diverse as direct mailing, printing, catalog companies, paper manufacturing, and financial services. But under its current business model, which has not been updated in decades, the financial future of the Postal Service is not viable,” said Senator Collins. “The only way to avoid what the Government Accountability Office refers to as a ‘death spiral’ - of excessive and unpredictable rate increases which lead to further reductions in mail volume - is through the comprehensive reform that we accomplished here today.” (more…)

HR 6407, the compromise Postal Reform bill introduced by Rep. Tom Davis (R-VA) and cosponsored by John McHugh (R-NY), Danny Davis (D-IL) and Henry Waxman (D-CA), passed in the House last night on a voice vote at 10:33 PM. The bill then went on to the Senate, which passed it during a marathon session that ended around 4 AM.

According to the Postcom web site:

“A revised version of the postal reform bill, H.R. 6407, has been introduced by proponents of reform in the House of Representatives. Action on the bill can occur on the House floor at any time. PostCom has been told that the Senate proponents of reform have agreed to this language. The language around the cap essentially says that a hard cap under language in the Senate bill would be in place for 10 years and then the cap would be reviewed by the Postal Regulatory Commission.

The bill, introduced today by Rep. Tom Davis (R-VA), outgoing chair of the House Committee on Government Reform, is a compromise measure put together after House and Senate conferees could not reconcile differences in the original reform bill. It still includes the three day waiting period for continuation of pay that the NALC cited in opposing the earlier reform bill.

Update: The Senate adjourned at 9:10 PM, without taking action on the bill. In moving to adjourn, Senator Mike DeWine noted that while the GOP leadership hoped to complete action on all pending legislation on Friday, it would continue the session into the weekend if necessary. The House reconvened at 10:25 PM, but also took no action on HR 6407.  Stay tuned…

Comptroller General David M. Walker has provided Congressional leaders with a list of priorities for the upcoming session of Congress. Among the fifteen ‘Near Term’ recommendations from the GAO chief is “Transform the Postal Service’s Business Model”.

Here’s what Walker had to say:

The U.S. Postal Service is under increasing financial pressure as the Internet, electronic bill payment, and growing competition from private delivery companies change the nation’s communication and delivery sectors and negatively impact mail volumes. These changes raise questions about the role of the federal government in providing postal services and whether the Postal Service can remain a self-financing government provider of affordable universal postal services in the 21st century. The Postal Service’s business model, established when it was reorganized in 1970, relies upon growth in mail volume to cover the costs of its ever-increasing nationwide delivery network to all homes and businesses. This business model is increasingly outmoded as First-Class Mail volume declines and the changing mail mix provides less revenue contribution, which has put the Postal Service’s financial viability at risk. The Service is working to cut costs, improve productivity, reduce its workforce, and make other changes under its existing authority. However, comprehensive postal reform legislation is needed to provide the necessary incentives and flexibilities needed for the Service to transition to a modernized business model so that it can continue providing high-quality, universal postal services.

Key Topics Needing Congressional Oversight

• Ensure that the Postal Service maintains services consistent with its standards as it implements changes to reduce costs related to providing postal services.
• Assess the Postal Service’s changes to its mail processing and transportation networks to ensure that they are reasonable, transparent, and coordinated with affected stakeholders, and that they achieve intended cost savings and efficiencies.
• Adopt flexible, performance-oriented, and market-based compensation systems for postal employees.

Suggested Areas for Oversight for the 110th Congress