USPS officer received a $61,250 performance bonus last year

  Postal Service, IG at odds on whether top exec’s $306K compensation package over legal limit

"...officer’s employment agreement defined “basic salary” as the pension plus a yearly salary of $113,048 for a total of $245,000. On top of that, the officer received a $61,250 performance bonus last year...."

Reference: federaltimes.com  

Company says postal rate increase too low to sustain Postal Service

  US direct mail giant urges rethink on Standard Mail pricing

"...The company said in failing to meet its costs, USPS was breaking US postal law, and putting its own financial health at risk – as well as requiring direct mail customers to effectively pay higher rates to protect the ailing catalogue industry...."

Reference: postandparcel.info  

Alabama Mail Carrier Indicted for Involvement with Stolen Identity Refund Fraud Conspiracy

  U.S. Postal Service Mail Carrier Indicted for Involvement with Stolen Identity Refund Fraud Conspiracy

"...Harrison was a U.S. Postal Service mail carrier who was part of a stolen identity refund fraud conspiracy. Members of the conspiracy filed false tax returns using stolen identities from various locations including the Northern District of Alabama. The fraudulent tax refunds were directed to debit cards that were mailed to addresses on Harrison’s postal route in Montgomery, Ala. Harrison retrieved the debit cards from the mail and, for a fee, provided them to a co-conspirator. An indictment merely alleges that crimes have been committed, and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt...."

Reference: Dept. of Justice  

Mail Handler Interest Arbitration Begins

  Mail Handler Interest Arbitration Begins

The interest arbitration proceedings to determine the terms of the 2011 National Agreement between the NPMHU and the Postal Service have begun, with hearing dates already scheduled through January 2013. The three-member arbitration panel held its first planning and process meeting on October 15, 2012. The neutral member and chair of the panel is Herbert Fishgold, a nationally known arbitrator with more than thirty years of experience. As previously announced, Fishgold – who was appointed through a striking process run by the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service –is an arbitrator of nationwide reputation and professional stature, who is also a member of the National Academy of Arbitrators. He has served as a third-party neutral for more than thirty years, during which time he has mediated and arbitrated bargaining disputes in a wide range of industries at the national, state, and local levels. Arbitrator Fishgold is familiar with many of the basic facts and issues presented by the Postal Service, the mailing industry, and postal employees generally – based on, among other things, his service as an interest arbitrator in the 2006 dispute between the National Rural Letter Carriers Association and the Postal Service. Joining Fishgold on the panel as the USPS-appointed arbitrator is Robert Dufek, a Manager of Labor Relations at the Postal Service and long-time management attorney and representative. The third member of the panel has been appointed by the NPMHU, and he is union lawyer Robert Weinberg, a senior member of the law firm of Bredhoff & Kaiser, PLLC in Washington, DC. That firm, which has operated as General Counsel to the NPMHU since 1992, also is the home of Bruce Lerner and Matt Clash-Drexler, the lawyers representing Mail Handlers both in last year’s national negotiations and in the current arbitration proceedings. Hearings are slated to begin on November 9, with as many as twelve dates scheduled in November, December, and January. As the testimony and evidence are presented, more details will be distributed.

Reference: www.npmhu.org  

Lance Armstrong jersey items on eBay

  Lance Armstrong items on eBay

"...Get your Lance Armstrong postal logo jersey for work or get a signed jersey to collect...."

Reference: Postal News Network  

  Postal Service sides with Clerks on one of the AFCS-200 assignments

"...In a letter faxed to the NPMHU office on Friday evening, September 28, 2012, the Postal Service has outlined its intent to assign one “operator position” on the new AFCS-200..."

Reference: Postal Newsgroup  

APWU Buyout Incentive Approved

  APWU, USPS Negotiate Retirement Incentive

"...The APWU has negotiated a retirement incentive agreement that awards eligible full-time career employees a $15,000 payment in two installments, President Cliff Guffey has announced. The first installment will be $10,000; the second will be $5,000...."

Reference: www.apwu.org