How does your local union rank on the web?

  How does your local union rank on the web? As a union member, we often ask, "Are we being provided up-to-date information relating to the postal service and the union?" ...if you are a member of the National Postal Mail Handlers Union with Local 317 of Alabama, you are being served the most up-to-date and relative information available. Under the leadership of our Local President, Jessie Leonard, your local web presence is ranked in the top ten globally on the three most popular search engines. On Google, a search for "National Postal Mail Handlers Union", at this writing, results in a placement of number six out of about 20,800 results. On Yahoo, our Blog comes up number five out of 202,000 results for "National Postal Mail Handlers Union", while over at Bing, the result for National Postal Mail Handlers Union results in a number five placement. Reference: npmhu317.blogspot.com  

2011 Open Season for Health Benefits for Federal and Postal Employees

  2011 Open Season for Health Benefits for Federal and Postal Employees "...The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has announced that this year’s open season for health benefits, dental and vision insurance, and Flexible Spending Accounts will run from November 8 through December 13, 2010. This open season will give federal employees and retirees the opportunity to change their health-care coverage and employees who are not enrolled, but are eligible to participate, the opportunity to elect coverage. OPM also announced the use of a new claims database that will make it easier to reduce the growth in health care costs...." Reference: www.opm.gov  

Eight people indicted in Birmingham on mail theft charges

  Eight people indicted in Birmingham on mail theft charges "...In separate indictments filed in U.S. District Court, the grand jury charged five U.S. Postal employees, two employees of postal contract centers, and one man not affiliated with the Postal Service with stealing, delaying or destroying mail...." Reference: blog.al.com  

Postal Service executives get extra perks

  Postal Service executives get extra perks "...More than 800 U.S. Postal Service executives receive health insurance coverage at no cost, in just one example of the excess and mismanagement that's costing the agency $800 million annually, according to a Republican lawmaker. ..." Reference: www.govexec.com  

Washington postal worker struck, killed in Capitol Heights

  Washington postal worker struck, killed in Capitol Heights "...Burgess, a mail handler at a nearby post office, allegedly got off the Metro and crossed the street but not at the nearby crosswalk, Ellis said. ..." Reference: www.gazette.net

Huntsville Processing Facility Employee Makes National Media

  Warning: Union revolution is next "...Charles Breedlove, 56, of Huntsville, Ala. rallies with American Postal Worker Union members in Detroit..." Reference: Christian Science Monitor

Paper Payroll Savings Bond Program To Be Discontinued; Electronic Payroll Savings Available Through TreasuryDirect

  Paper Payroll Savings Bond Program To Be Discontinued "...The United States Department of the Treasury (Trea­sury) has announced that it will stop issuing paper savings bonds through federal agency, including USPS®, sav­ings plans as of September 30, 2010.

The Treasury currently offers TreasuryDirect, a secured web-based system to invest in savings bonds and other Treasury securities. It allows you a convenient way to pur­chase, manage, and redeem electronic (paperless) savings bonds along with Treasury marketable securities (bills, notes, bonds, and TIPS) online 24/7.

If you want to purchase Treasury securities through a payroll deduction, you will need to first establish a Trea­suryDirect account and ..." Reference: www.usps.com  

USPS Postal Explorer

  USPS Postal Explorer "...Use the Postal Explorer to search USPS publications and more...." Reference: usps.gov  

Do you know your contract? Study it and enforce it!

  National Postal Mail Handlers Union Contract Learn and enforce your National Contract. Enforcement of the contract protects jobs, wages, and quality service to our customers. This is a time to remain united in protection of what the American working class have fought long and hard for ...this is not the time to roll over and play dead. Our nation and the customers we serve deserve the best we can provide. Reference: www.local300npmhu.org  

Domestic Mail Manual

  Domestic Mail Manual "...Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service..." Reference: pe.usps.gov  

Compensation, Relocation Benefits, and Reinstatement Policies for Career Employees in Transition: Q’s and A’s

As a nonbargaining employee, if I am reassigned to another position or I am successful in obtaining another position competitively, for what relocation benefits am I eligible?

  Compensation, Relocation Benefits, and Reinstatement Policies for Career Employees in Transition "...If your new position meets the 50-mile rule as defined by IRS
regulations (see exhibit 41A), you are eligible for the relocation
benefits applicable to nonbargaining employees. See exhibit 41B
for an overview of relocation benefits. To receive relocation benefits, you must meet the following requirements:..." Reference: Compensation, Relocation Benefits, and Reinstatement Policies for Career Employees in Transition: Q’s and A’s, Publication 164, June 2008.

Who gets reassigned when employees are excess to the needs of a Section? (Within an Installation)

Simply put, "...Full-time employees, excess to the needs of a section, starting with that employee who is junior in the same craft or occupational group and in the same level assigned in that section, shall be reassigned..."

Section 12.6 Basic Principles and Reassignments
When it is proposed to:

C4 Reassignment Within an Installation of Employees Excess
to the Needs of a Section

C4a The identification of assignments comprising for this purpose a section shall be determined locally by local negotiations. If no sections are established by local negotiations, the entire installation shall comprise the
section. * Example: In Huntsville, by Local Negotiation, a Section is considered the Tour

C4b Full-time employees, excess to the needs of a section, starting with that employee who is junior in the same craft or occupational group and in the same level assigned in that section, shall be reassigned outside the section but within the same craft or occupational group. They shall retain their seniority and may bid on any existing vacancies for which they are eligible to bid. If they do not bid, they may be assigned any vacant duty assignment for which there was no senior bidder in the same craft and installation. Their preference is to be considered if more than one such assignment is available.

See Contract for full language> Reference>:   http://www.local300npmhu.org/NPMHU%20National%20Agreement%20Nov.%2021,%202006%20-%20Nov.%2020,%202011.pdf

Huntsville Union Meeting - September 9, 2010

  The National Postal Mail Handlers Union Local 317, Huntsville Branch will have a union meeting at the China Buffet on Highway 20. The meeting will begin at 11:00 AM. State President Leonard will be in attendance to share valuable information. Lunch is on us! Be informed, be there. Reference: npmhu317.blogspot.com

U.S. Postal Service Seeks to Pare Full-Time Workforce in Talks With Union

  U.S. Postal Service Seeks to Pare Full-Time Workforce in Talks With Union "...“Once again naysayers warn of the imminent demise of the Postal Service,” Burrus said in an e-mailed statement. “They demand wholesale changes to the foundation we have built over our 40-year history, ignoring the fact that each provision in the expiring contract has a history of give-and-take.” ..." Reference: www.bloomberg.com  

Hawaiian Rain Forest Stamp Pane Issued Today

  HAWAII’S FLORA AND FAUNA — ON STAMPS "...Featuring a Hawaiian rain forest, the 2010 collectible stamp pane — the 12th and final in the educational Nature of America stamp series — focuses on the beauty and complexity of major plant and animal communities in the nation’s 50th state...." Reference: liteblue.usps.gov  

Mail Handler COLA

  COLA STILL AT ZERO "...The eighth of ten guaranteed cost-of-living adjustments to be paid to all mail handlers under the 2006 National Agreement has been set, and once again the next COLA will be $0. This is because the changes in the National Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) for the period running from July 2008 through July 2010 are still in negative territory. Mail handlers received the largest COLA in the history of collective bargaining with the Postal Service in September 2008, in the amount of $1,477, but there has been no COLA since that adjustment...." Reference: www.npmhu.org  

Lost in the mail: Wrong woman signs for $5,000 ring

  Lost in the mail: Wrong woman signs for $5,000 ring "...Joseph Breckenridge, media relations representative for the post office in Northern Florida and Alabama, explained that USPS gave Broccoli the benefit of the doubt and sent him a partial payment of $400, because the carrier who delivered the package failed to get the printed name..." Reference: www.waltonsun.com  

Detroit police officer critical after being struck by postal service vehicle

  Detroit police officer critical after being struck by postal service vehicle "...officer was driving a motorcycle on Cass near Fort about 4:25 p.m. when the postal carrier, who was traveling in the opposite direction, struck her, said Sgt.

From The Detroit News: http://www.detnews.com/article/20100823/METRO01/8230403/1361/Detroit-police-officer-critical-after-being-struck-by-postal-service-vehicle#ixzz0xdEZCFwx ...  

Contract Negotiations

  APWU Contract Negotiations

Although the APWU represents different crafts than our own and is a completely separate entity from the Mail Handler union (NPMHU), we should all follow the negotiations closely. Negotiations are set to begin within a couple of days of their national convention, currently taking place as we write this.

Following the negotiations will better arm our union for our own negotiations coming in 2011. Additionally, following the APWU Contract negotiations will permit craft-members of our own union to determine the tone the United States Postal Service will take relating to the working class backbone of this great organization. Will they reward us as they have rewarded themselves (management)? ...or will they make an attack on the American working class? Stay tuned and we will keep you informed.

While digging through the internet, we have found what appears to be a promising site to provide information relating to the upcoming APWU Contract Negotiations: APWU Contract Negotiations


Reference: contractnegotiations.blogspot.com  

Postal employee admits to massive mail theft

  Postal employee admits to massive mail theft "...Court documents indicate Schmauder would give the stolen lingerie to his wife, while reselling the CDs and DVDs to Angelo's Movies, Music and Gifts, which bills itself as the largest independent music store in the Denver area. ..." Reference: www.9news.com  

National Mail Handlers Union Building Carjacking?

Newark woman carjacked outside Kearny postal facility "...A 49-year-old Newark woman was carjacked and punched in the face upon showing up to work at the National Mail Handlers Union, 1200 Harrison Ave., in Kearny on Monday morning, according to Kearny police...." Reference: www.nj.com

...Potential Excessing of Mail Handlers

 Focus on Network Changes and Potential Excessing of Mail Handlers

The NPMHU magazine The Mail Handler has an article titled Focus on Network Changes and Potential Excessing of Mail Handlers. This is recommended reading for anyone in the Mail Handler craft considering the current Postal Service climate. The article can be found in a two-part PDF document as follows:

• Network Changes 1 of 2 (177 Kb)


• Network Changes 2 of 2 (177 Kb)
  

The article covers items such as "(e.g., veteran preference versus seniority; retreat rights versus voluntary assignments; part-time employees versus employees from other crafts). Given the immense amount of excessing, withholding, and reassigning that is taking place, many issues are arising for the first time, and the contract language simply is unclear. But the Article 12 Task Force continues to be a useful forum for discussing all of these issues, settling some, and setting up
methods for resolving the others." The article also references "the NPMHU's production and distribution of a comprehensive paper on the "Rights and Benefits of Mail Handlers Upon Reassignment To Other Installations Under Article 12." This paper was circulated to all Local Unions, and was included in a recent issue of Union Time. The paper covers a host of topics, including how to seek annuity or severance benefits, and how to obtain relocation benefits."

Reference: NPMHU  

Cleophus Brown, Birmingham Postal Driver was pitcher for all-Black Birmingham Black Barrons and Louisville Clippers

 

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Negro Leagues stamps also honor postal worker "...new stamps commemorating Negro Leagues Baseball. Cleophus Brown, 76, of Birmingham, Ala., clocks in every morning at 3:30 a.m. and drives a USPS tractor trailer full of mail from the airport to postal stations, often before sunrise. But long before he joined the ranks of mail truck drivers, Brown was a first baseman..." Reference: washingtonpost.com 

Netflix supports USPS ...a mailer that understands the need

  Rate increases outrage mailers"...Netflix expressed support for the rate changes. “We support the US Postal Service's total recommended changes, or restructuring. We are in support of that because we believe in a stronger Postal Service with affordable rates and predictable service is in the country's best interests, certainly in Netflix's best interests, rather than a weakened Postal Service that is facing such huge deficits..." Reference: www.dmnews.com 

Labor demands USPS reform electrical safety

 Labor demands USPS reform electrical safety "...The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) first discovered the problem in USPS's Providence, R.I. facility, but Labor says investigations have uncovered similar electrical hazards nationwide. ..." Reference: www.federalnewsradio.com 

Stamp Increase

Stamp prices going up again - 46-cent rate asked

"...Under the proposed increases, in addition to the 46-cent rate for the first ounce, the cost for each additional ounce would go up a penny to 18 cents. The cost to mail a postcard would go up 2 cents to 30 cents...."    

This Article is From: www.federalnewsradio.com

Who is the oldest postal worker? Chester Reed, Mail Handler

  "...as a mail-handler forklift operator. He worked in the same position until his last day of work Tuesday. "I've never really given it a thought (about retiring earlier), to be honest with you. My old supervisor would ask me, `Chester, when are you going to retire?' and I would tell her, `It's none of your business, you know," he said laughing. ..." Reference: www.redlandsdailyfacts.com 

'My HR' Offers employees self-service options

  'My HR' Offers employees self-service options"...helping employees manage their postal careers is with its numerous employee “apps,” including eCareer, eOPF (electronic Official Personnel Folder), and ePayroll. Here’s how to find them. Look for the employee apps carousel at the center of the LiteBlue home page. If you’re not sure what the apps do, move your mouse over each image within the carousel to read a short description. Apps also can be found front and center on the “My HR” landing page...." Reference: liteblue.usps.gov 

Postal Voluntary Early Retirement Offer Again?

   Postal Voluntary Early Retirement Offer Again?  "... this one claims a July 2010 announcement. Additionally, the individual claims that the PMG was at their plant and ..."    [Reference: postal-newsgroup.blogspot.com]

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