Huntsville woman arrested in mail theft case

  Huntsville woman arrested in mail theft case

"...Madison Police arrested a Huntsville woman Thursday in connection with recent mail thefts and destruction of mail from residential mailboxes, according to a press release..."

Reference: www.enewscourier.com  

Leighton post office drug shipment seized; meth and marijuana seized, two arrested

  Drug shipment seized, ICE and marijuana seized, two arrested

"...LEIGHTON Post Office — Working with the U.S. postal inspector’s office, state agencies and local law enforcement helped the Colbert County Drug Task Force arrest what they describe as a “major” drug dealer..."

Reference: www.timesdaily.com  

NPMHU 2015 Year in Review

  NPMHU 2015 Year in Review

NPMHU 2015 Year in Review

"...As the NPMHU officers and members prepare for what surely will be a busy 2016, we wanted to share a look back at some of our events from 2015..."
Reference: www.npmhu.org

2016 Federal Holidays

  2016 Federal Holidays
"...copy of the official listing of the 2016 Federal Holiday dates. This list is from..."
Reference: federalholidays2016.blogspot.com

Huntsville will pass Birmingham as Alabama's largest city

  Projection claims Huntsville will pass Birmingham as Alabama's largest city within 10 years

"...According to AL.com, demographers project Huntsville – with a population that has been trending up for years and some recent huge wins on the economic development trail – will eclipse Mobile in two years, Montgomery in four years and Birmingham by 2022..."

Reference: www.bizjournals.com  

Valpak targets Huntsville market for brand expansion in 2016

  Valpak targets Huntsville market for brand expansion in 2016

"...'Alabama is a hot spot for us right now, as we near the end of 2015 and gear up for aggressive expansion in the coming months,' said Greg Courchane, Valpak's director of franchise sales..."

Reference: www.al.com  

Huntsville NPMHU 317 Local Branch Union Meeting is Saturday, December 5, 2015

 

The Huntsville Branch Union Meeting is Saturday, December 5, 2015 at the Madison China Buffet on Highway 20 at 11:00 AM. The State President and Local Branch President will be in attendance.

 

Important Arbitration Win in Fight Against Plant Closures and Consolidations

  Important Arbitration Win in Fight Against Plant Closures and Consolidations

"...Arbitrator Shyam Das ruled on Dec. 3, 2015, that the American Postal Workers Union and the National Postal Mail Handlers Union may now go forward with their Step 4 grievances challenging the Postal Service’s decision to close or consolidate approximately 82 mail processing facilities starting January of 2015. The grievances had contended that the consolidations violated the PO-408 Handbook, Closures and Consolidations Area Mail Processing (AMP) Guidelines..."

Reference: www.apwu.org  

Postal Service posts operational profit of $1.2 billion in fiscal 2015

  USPS Posts $5.1 Billion Net Loss in 2015 Despite Growing Revenue

"...The U.S. Postal Service turned an operational profit of $1.2 billion in fiscal 2015, marking the third consecutive year its revenue exceeded its controllable costs..."

Reference: www.govexec.com  

Reminder: Open Season for Federal Health Benefits, Dental and Vision is Now Open

  Reminder: Open Season for Federal Health Benefits, Dental and Vision is Now Open

"...Open Season, which begins November 9 and runs through December 14, will give Federal employees and retirees the opportunity to review the 2016 rates and benefits of their current plans and those of competing plans. During the Open Season, FEHB enrollees can change their health-care coverage; employees who are not enrolled, but eligible to participate, may elect coverage.

The upcoming Open Season will be the first opportunity for enrollees to select a Self Plus One enrollment in the FEHB Program. For over 95% of enrollees, the enrollee share for Self Plus One will be lower than the enrollee share for Self and Family in their current plan. However, it is possible that some plans will have higher enrollee shares for Self Plus One enrollments than for Self and Family enrollments. Therefore, enrollees are encouraged to carefully review their choices before making a change; switching to Self Plus One is voluntary.

The upcoming Open Season will also give employees and retirees the chance to select supplemental dental and/or vision coverage. In addition, Federal employees can elect to participate in a tax-deferred Flexible Spending Account (FSA) for health care and/or dependent care.

Established in 1960, the FEHB Program..."

Reference: www.opm.gov  

Postal Workers Snub Clinton, Back Sanders

  Sanders wins backing of American Postal Workers Union, his largest labor endorsement.

Bernie Sanders wants to save the Postal Service

"...The postal workers' union said Sanders has a long history of supporting its workers and pointed to his efforts to keep open post offices and mail-sorting plants in rural communities, oppose slower delivery standards and fight attempts to privatize the mail service..."
Reference: www.usnews.com

Mail Handler 1% Pay Increase will be Effective November 14, 2015

  1% Pay Increase is Effective November 14, 2015

Effective November 14, 2015 the basic annual salary for each grade and step of Table One and Table Two shall be increased by an amount equal to 1.0% of the basic annual salary for the grade and step in effect on February 15, 2013.

Private sector jobs seem to continue to rise, yet craft employee wages with the USPS continue a trend of near stagnant wages as health insurance continues to outpace any pay increases by far. On the average, health premiums will rise on the average of about 7.4%, far above increases for working class Americans. According to Mercer's 2014/2015 US Compensation Planning Survey, the average raise in base pay for U.S. workers is expected to be 3.0% in 2015. In comparison, USPS workers are being left far behind while pay raises for U.S. employees continue to grow steadily. While Mail Handlers take the brunt of negative economic impacts by being forced to relocate, often more than the contractual 50 mile limitation, during the USPS consolidations and closures.

We can only hope that the upcoming National Contract negotiations will garner more realistic wage increases. The Postal Service is doing exponentially better in its profitable parcel business and employees should realistically expect our employer to share some of this profit. That may or may not be the case. If the higher waged APWU employee contract negotiations are any sign in an 'apples to oranges' comparison of negotiations, things may look as gloomy as they have the past.

Most employers outside of the Postal Service have come to realize that large wage increases equate to higher productivity.

The PMG, in video after video, continues to inform employees how great our employees are doing and how great our customer service scores are. We can only hope these accomplishments, born through mail handlers doing more with less, will be appropriately rewarded. Our National Union has a strong team to lead us into the future and we are in hopes we will reap the benefits of our sacrifices and our families sacrifices of forced moves, fewer employees and little information being shared about our futures. - Chief Steward, Huntsville, AL

Reference: NPMHU 317  

NPMHU Prepares for National Negotiations

  NPMHU Prepares for National Negotiations
With formal negotiations between the NPMHU and the Postal Service over the terms of the 2016 National Agreement scheduled to begin in February 2016, preparations for bargaining are moving forward in the National Office. One critical aspect of those preparations is now completed, as the Field Negotiating Committee met during the third full week of October at the NPMHU's National Headquarters. During those meetings, hundreds of potential bargaining proposals — previously submitted by members, stewards, officers, and Local Unions across the country — were reviewed and analyzed by the Committee.

The proposals submitted from the field not only contained many useful ideas, but also provided the National Office with important information on the priorities and concerns of 43,000 mail handlers from across the country. And in the course of studying these proposals, members of the Committee also had the opportunity to generate many of their own ideas for new proposals that may be submitted to the Postal Service at the onset of this year's bargaining.

On behalf of the entire membership, National President Paul Hogrogian met with the Field Negotiating Committee to express the Union's appreciation for the invaluable work performed by all of its members.
Reference: www.npmhu.org

FEHB Health Plan Information and Comparison for Your Area (2015 Open Season)

  FEHB Health Plan Information and Comparison

As health plans rise an average of 7.4% and postal wages stagnate, this is the time to reevaluate your health, dental and vision plans. The OPM site we reference HERE allows you to review plans via zip code, plan name or plan code. Remember Open Season is right around the corner. Open Season runs Monday, November 9, 2015 through Monday, December 14, 2015. Also, remember this year you have the option to add a Self Plus One enrollment type.

Reference: NPMHU Local 317  

Tuscaloosa FedEx driver busted in marijuana shipping scheme

  Tuscaloosa delivery driver charged with hauling pot

"...Captain Brad Mason said investigators said they found three pounds of pot worth $28,000 on the driver's truck. A tip about Witherspoon's involvement in the marijuana shipping scheme led to Thursday's arrest, Mason said..."

Reference: www.wvtm13.com  

Bernie Sanders to Corporations: 'You Can't Have It All!'

  Bernie Sanders to Billionaires: 'You Can't Have It All!'

"...The eternal premise that “all men (and women) are created equal,” the battlefield promise that this would be a land “of the people, by the people, for the people,” the pledge of “liberty and justice for all,” has been replaced by a call from a campaign donor to a pliant politician. The shift in our politics and our governance has yielded broken trade policies, bailouts for bankers and corporations, wage stagnation and income inequality..."

Reference: www.truth-out.org  

How Bernie Sanders Wants To Save US Postal Service

  How Bernie Sanders Wants To Save US Postal Service

"...While on the campaign trail, Bernie Sanders has touted a number of ways the United States can expand universal services, including for the U.S. Postal Service, which is suffering from budgetary challenges. In an interview with Fusion published Tuesday, the Vermont senator said he would turn U.S. post offices into banks..."

Reference: www.ibtimes.com  

Carper Introduces Bill Aimed to Reform Postal Operations and Finances

  Carper Introduces Bill Aimed to Reform Postal Operations and Finances
September 17, 2015: Earlier today, Senator Tom Carper (D-DE), who serves as the Ranking Member on the Senate Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs Committee, introduced a bill that seeks to address and reform several key components of the operations and finances of the United States Postal Service. While the Carper bill, which is called the Improving Postal Operations, Service and Transparency Act of 2015 (iPOST), addresses numerous important provisions -- many of which have evolved over several years of discussions among various postal stakeholders -- the NPMHU nevertheless views this proposed legislation as a work-in-progress.

The NPMHU has long been engaged in discussions surrounding postal reform legislation, and will continue to work with its allies throughout the postal community to refine the iPOST bill, in an attempt to fashion final legislation which will best serve the collective interests of NPMHU members, the USPS, and the customers who rely on postal products and services.

Summary: Improving Postal Operations, Service and Transparency Act of 2015 (iPOST) PDF

Details: Improving Postal Operations, Service and Transparency Act of 2015 (iPOST) PDF


Reference: www.npmhu.org

Alabama: 2 arrested in Hartselle after picking up mail package full of pot

  2 arrested in Hartselle after picking up mail package full of pot

"...were arrested Tuesday in Hartselle after Morgan County Drug Task Force agents reportedly intercepted them picking up a mail package holding three pounds of high-grade marijuana. (Morgan County Sheriff's Office)..."

Reference: www.al.com  

Madison, Alabama woman discovers her identity stolen through the mail

  Madison woman discovers her identity stolen through the mail

"...But the surprises kept coming in the mail. Days later, checks arrived in the mail. Romero is a cautionary tale. She watches her accounts, doesn't shop online, and yet this still happened to her..."

Reference: whnt.com  

High Package Volumes Are Jamming USPS's Southern Area

  High Package Volumes Are Jamming USPS's Southern Area

"...A 13% growth rate in packages is elevating the U.S. Postal Service's top line results, but is presenting it challenges in its Southern Area of operations. According to a report released by the USPS Office of the Inspector General, package deliveries per route in the region averaged 720 last year, 15% ahead of the national average and 8% higher than the next busiest region, Capital Metro. The Southern Area comprises Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas...."

Reference: www.dmnews.com  

Dallas firefighters battle blaze at USPS bulk-mail distribution center

  Dallas firefighters battle blaze at USPS bulk-mail distribution center

"...Fire investigators determined that something accidentally caught fire on a conveyor belt, causing smaller fires as the belt moved through the building, Dallas Fire-Rescue spokesman Jason Evans said in a news release. “As the belt continued traveling through the facility, pieces fell from it and..."

Reference: www.dallasnews.com  

Mighty Tieton: USPS nixes Kickstarter-funded “coolest post office in America”

  Mighty Tieton: USPS nixes Kickstarter-funded “coolest post office in America”

"...Last winter an energetic team of Tieton entrepreneurs and artists offered to replace the rotting siding fronting the local post office with a gorgeous $48,000 façade for the ages, in perdurable glass-tile mosaic. It would be what the project’s prime mover, publisher and artisan-business impresario Ed Marquand, calls “the crown jewel” in a series of glass-mosaic signworks – co-funded by the National Endowment for the Arts and created right there in Tieton..."

Reference: crosscut.com  

Lack of properly trained cybersecurity workers left USPS vulnerable to 2014 cyber attack

  IG: Lack of cybersecurity staff, technology left USPS vulnerable to 2014 attack

"...A lack of properly trained cybersecurity workers and a comprehensive cyber strategy were major reasons why the U.S. Postal Service experienced a data breach late last year, a new report found...."

Reference: www.fiercegovernmentit.com  

Alabama Mail Carrier Rescues Injured Man Trapped for 10 Days

  Alabama Mail Carrier Rescues Injured Man Trapped for 10 Days

"...Cissy Cartwright, a 20-year veteran of the U.S. Postal Service in Hope Hull, thought it was unlike Tommy Hope, 66, to not check his mailbox for several days, Post Master Sherry Hughes said..."

Reference: www.nbcnews.com  

Tractor trailer hauling mail overturns in Alabama

  U.S. Postal Service truck overturns in Talladega County

"...TALLADEGA COUNTY, Ala. — A U.S. Postal Service truck overturned this morning, losing its load and tying up traffic. The accident happened on I-20 westbound between the Eastaboga and Lincoln exits..."

Reference: www.wvtm13.com  

President Obama has a 2016 plan for the Postal Service

  The USPS Deficit Crisis: What’s the Plan?

"...President Obama has a plan for the 2016 fiscal budget and the USPS that would potentially save $36 billion over the course of 11 years. The plan is similar to a bill introduced by Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE) and former Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK), previously killed in Congress. For starters, Saturday delivery would be cut. This would be implemented when volumes drop to the predicted amount in late 2018. It would also replace door-to-door service with a centralized or curbside delivery service. This would perhaps ultimately be safer for mailmen and mailwomen. The plan offers the idea of “increasing revenue by providing postal management with more flexibility in creating new business opportunities, as well as boosting cooperation with state and local governments to offer services at post offices.”..."

Reference: lawstreetmedia.com

2016 Postal plans

 

Huntsville Union Meeting Held on Saturday, June 27, 2015

  Huntsville Union Meeting Held on Saturday, June 27, 2015

A Union Meeting was held with the Huntsville Local Branch of NPMHU 317. The State Presidentwas in attendance. Information relating to the 'cancellation' of AMP 2 was discussed among other subjects.

Reference: npmhu317.blogspot.com  

Do unions do anything for today's worker?

  Do unions do anything for today's worker?
Do unions do anything for today's worker? The biggest complaint heard amongst union members and non-members who leach off of benefits garnered by the unions, is that the union doesn't do anything for me. I'm just wasting money paying for the benefit and I get nothing in return. It is understandable that many people feel this way in the anti-union labor climate we live in today. It seems that with watered-down enforcement from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), a President that won elections twice, largely based on talk of strong support of unions, has failed to provide that support, and union reps that have been beat down by members, non-members and managers. Sometimes it just seems there is no justice in the workplace anymore. If you are a postal worker, you truly feel this impact more than many with the closure of mail processing plants and post offices across the nation and a much smaller workforce. Workers are frustrated with unions that contractually protected them against being forced to relocate more than 50 miles, only to have their National Union Offices agree with the postal service to force relocations of 100 miles or more. Disrupting family, as well as communities.

So what do unions do for us? The Bureau of Labor Statistics can give you some insight into what unions do. For example, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2014 Data) states, Median weekly earnings of nonunion workers ($763) were 79 percent of earnings for workers who were union members ($970). Even though wages have stagnated amongst unionized workers, as well as non-unionized workers, and the lowly wages of America's real workers is a pittance of that of the fat-cats. The difference in the median weekly earnings of unionized and non-union workers is substantial over the course of a career. In a nutshell, wages are probably the number one concern with workers, running nearly a tie for first place are benefits, pensions and job security, which a unionized workforce tends to have. This in itself should be proof enough of what union membership provides. Specifically, if your union evaporated, you would quickly see your wages decline and pensions dissipate.

Who are the people the union is representing and protecting the most (based on data)? According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2014 Data), it is men (11.7 percent), Among major race and ethnicity groups, black workers had a higher union membership rate in 2014 (13.2 percent) than workers who were white (10.8 percent), Asian (10.4 percent), or Hispanic (9.2 percent). By age, the union membership rate was highest among workers ages 45 to 64--13.8 percent for those ages 45 to 54 and 14.1 percent for those ages 55 to 64. The union membership rate was 12.3 percent for full-time workers, more than twice the rate for part-time workers, 5.8 percent. In 2014, 7.2 million employees in the public sector belonged to a union, compared with 7.4 million workers in the private sector. The union membership rate for public-sector workers (35.7 percent) was substantially higher than the rate for private-sector workers (6.6 percent). Within the public sector, the union membership rate was highest for local government (41.9 percent), which includes employees in heavily unionized occupations, such as teachers, police officers, and firefighters. In the private sector, industries with high unionization rates included utilities (22.3 percent), transportation and warehousing (19.6 percent), telecommunications (14.8 percent), and construction (13.9 percent). Low unionization rates occurred in agriculture and related industries (1.1 percent), finance (1.3 percent), professional and technical services (1.4 percent), and food services and drinking places (1.4 percent).

In synopsis, you can see there is a defined benefit to the worker in a unionized workforce. However, if you have kept an eye on data over the years, as union membership declines, so do wages and benefits. There is power in numbers and corporate America is winning the fight against worker protections, wages and benefits by working hard to kill unions. Will you let them win and continue to rob you in contract negotiations, thru the media and thru buying politicians? Only time will tell. If you do not feel you are getting your benefit from your union, then speak up, vote them out, file labor charges, and more importantly, you should step up and volunteer your time to change things. And more importantly, register to vote and vote out those who are trying to kill unions, protect tax breaks of the wealthy, and steal your Social Security and pensions.

Reference: npmhu317.blogspot.com