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From: <hier...@comcast.net>
Date: Wed, Dec 12, 2007 at 5:09 AM
Subject: {{ruralc...@rootsweb.com}} NJ Postal and Rural News, Issue 33, V. 1, Dec 12, 2007 (List 21)
To: Hier...@comcast.net
Cc: Ruralc...@rootsweb.com
NEW JERSEY POSTAL AND RURAL NEWS
Issue 33, Vol. 1 December 12, 2007 Wednesday Hier...@comcast.net
Issues of the New Jersey Postal and NRLCA News are now posted and available on the following website: http://groups.google.com/group/rlc_onliners_pub?hl=en
DISCLAIMER: I have no affiliation with USPS or the NRLCA and as such any information that I pass on is unofficial and constitutes advice and/or suggestions for your consideration. You may be advised to double-check with official sources before depending on its use and while you are doing that ask why is it that someone without official contacts has this information and is passing it on and its not coming from official sources.
Note: These email messages are being sent to the entire NJ State Board and almost all of the senior stewards in New Jersey. There should be no concerns about this being done secretly.
**If you know any rural craft employee who would like to receive this dissemination, please send email address, and office of employment to Hier...@comcast.net.
**If you do not wish to receive these disseminations, please notify Hier...@comcast.net and request removal from dissemination list.
**Please address all comments, submissions, stories to Hier...@comcast.net and be sure to mark it as confidential or note if it is OK to share.
___________________________________________________________________________
I want to express my gratitude for all the comments, submissions and feeback and the termendous interest in this newsletter. We have passed 200 subscribers who have asked for this newsletter and only two have asked to not receive the newsletter. PLEASE SHARE THIS NEWSLETTER WITH ALL RURAL CARRIER CRAFT EMPLOYEES! _____________________________________________________________________
APWU Asks Day Off for Postal Workers on Dec. 24
Burrus Update #18-2007, Dec. 11, 2007
After President Bush issued an Executive Order granting non-essential federal employees a day off on Dec. 24, 2007, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) quickly announced that the order did not apply to postal employees.
OPM wrote, “The Executive Order excuses most Executive Branch employees from duty on Dec. 24. The day off does not affect Postal Service workers, nor does it include Executive Branch employees whose agencies determine they cannot be excused for reasons of national security, defense or other essential public need.”
Despite the exclusion of postal employees from President Bush’s order, I have officially asked [PDF] the postmaster general, in the spirit of the season, to grant postal employees a day off on Dec. 24, 2007.
As I reminded the PMG, postal employees are no less deserving of recognition for their outstanding service than other federal workers.
William Burrus
National President, APWU
Local Thieves Hit Jackpot -- in Your Mailbox
&nb sp; < /SPAN > &am p; n bsp;&nbs p; Video surveillance cameras caught a thief in action.
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA-Some local thieves are hitting the jackpot, walking away with your Christmas cash and presents -- and they're stealing your stuff right in front of your home.
It's always nice checking your mail this time of year and getting that surprise check or gift for the holiday season. But that gift doesn't always end up in the right hands.
At one complex, residents woke up Monday morning to find their mailboxes completely empty. It's a crime that usually goes up during the holidays.
>From video surveillance cameras to card-only access, residents of the Pacific Legends Condominium complex in northwest Las Vegas have taken extreme measures to keep thieves out of the mail boxes -- with no luck.
Resident Tammy Ernst said, "We spend so much money on security and it's just -- what can we do?"
For the second time in just as many months, a thief has hit the mail room at the complex. First, it was a thief working alone. This time, from this surveillance video, it was a team -- one man, two women. They not only hit the mail boxes but the package parcels.
Resident Michael May said, "They weren't looking for billing this time. They weren't looking for credit card fraud, they were looking for cards sent from family and the money in there. This is going to be the time that people are receiving letters from family for money."
There are reports this same trio also hit another complex, leaving empty Christmas card envelopes behind. When they were done, they drove off in an unmarked white moving van.
Marilyn Fenimore, of USPS said, "What thieves are looking for is cash, anything of value -- so again, pick up your mail."
Postal workers tell Eyewitness News mail theft usually goes up during this time of year. The United States Postal Service says they deliver up to 30-percent more packages during the holidays -- gifts sometimes intercepted by thieves.
But there are some things you can do to protect yourself. First, check your mail every day. Thieves usually work between 12 a.m. and 5 a.m.
"If you are expecting a package and know the date it's going to be delivered and it hasn't been received, call and follow up on it. And if they say it was delivered, notify us and the inspection service immediately," said Fenimore.
And if you think it can't happen to you, think again.
"If they haven't been getting hit, knock on wood, they are lucky but their time is going to come," said Ernst.
Even the most well-prepared fall victim. Postal workers said sometimes they're even followed by thieves. If they put a package at someone's doorstep, there's always a chance it could be snatched.
The Postal Service says if you want to prevent that, you can go to the post office and fill out a notice. Your letter carrier will know you want to pick up your packages at the post office yourself. http://lasvegasnow.com/Global/story.asp?S=7477819
Mail delivery on ice
COLUMBIA, MISSOURI — U.S. Postal Service carrier Julie Alsberge put on spike-soled shoes Monday and loaded her truck with sandbags to deliver mail in midtown Columbia.
Alsberge looked ready to conquer Mount Everest, not her daily route through the city. She said the route might take her more than 10 hours to complete Monday, with icy sidewalks making the job slippery and dangerous.
She even packed a rubber mallet to crack ice off frozen mailboxes.
“Usually, when there’s ice on the sidewalks, you can walk on the grass,” she said. “Right now, the grass is so thickly covered with ice that it’s not a very good option either.”
With more ice expected, the post office is gearing up to keep mail delivery running smoothly. Acting Manager Cindy Bolles said letter carriers will continue their stops, but would not go to homes without a safe path to the mailbox.
“They’re out there in this kind of weather every year,” Bolles said. “If they can make a delivery, they’re going to make it.”
Letter carrier Julie Alsberge clears ice off of her mail truck's window following weekend ice storms Monday, Dec. 10, 2007, at the Columbia Post Office. "These trucks already have a lot blind spots," she said. "You certainly don't need any more."
Postmaster Jackie Cook looks on as Letter Carrier Julie Ausberge loads her truck with sandbags Monday, Dec. 10, 2007, at the Columbia Post Office. After weekend storms blanketed Columbia's streets with ice, sandbags were used to add weight and traction to the city's mail trucks.
Comments on these photos
http://www.columbiamissourian.com/stories/2007/12/10/mail-delivery-ice/
U. S. Post Office Needs Reliable Database, Study Reveals
Continued financial challenges and increased competition call for the U.S. Postal Service to manage its 34,000 facilities as efficiently and cost-effectively as possible. GAO and others have identified key facility management challenges, including the need to (1) capture and maintain accurate facility data, (2) adequately maintain facilities, and (3) align retail access with customer needs. This report assesses Postal Service efforts to overcome these challenges and implement leading federal practices. To conduct this study, GAO analyzed postal data and documents, visited 58 facilities, and interviewed postal officials.
To improve facility management, GAO recommends that the Postal Service consider whether it is more cost-effective to make its Facility Database reliable or to replace it. If the Postal Service chooses to retain the database, GAO recommends that it establish internal controls, measure facility management performance, and track trends. GAO also recommends be tter prioritization of maintenance projects and initiating a criteria-based approach to assist in identifying and closing unneeded retail facilities consistent with leading federal practices. In its comments, the Postal Service chose to retain the database and establish controls but not to track performance or trends. It agreed in principle to prioritize maintenance but not to initiate a criteria-based approach to identify and close unneeded retail facilities.
To address the challenge of capturing and maintaining accurate facility management data, the Postal Service developed the Facility Database, but the database does not conform to the Postal Service's goals or to leading federal practices; specifically, it does not include data needed to measure performance on managing facilities or have the capacity to track such data over time. Further, a database analysis by GAO revealed data reliability problems, including duplicative and contradictory data. In addition, major Postal Service departments do not use the database as a consolidated data source for managing postal facilities. The Postal Service has attempted to improve the database, but many problems remain.
To address the challenge of maintaining its facilities, the Postal Service has begun assessing the condition of the facilities but has neither determined the extent of its maintenance projects nor strategically prioritized the projects. A Postal Service inspection of 651 randomly selected postal facilities revealed that two-thirds were in less than "acceptable" condition, but the Postal Service had not documented the full extent of its maintenance projects backlog. After the inspection, the Postal Service initiated a program to assess the condition of all of its facilities-a necessary first step to improving their condition. In addition, the Postal Service lacks the data needed to implement leading federal practices, such as considering a facility's importance and value when prioritizing its maintenance projects. Due to funding constraints, the Postal Service currently focuses exclusively on emergency and urgent repairs-at the expense of a less costly preventive maintenanc !
e appro
ach.
To address the challenge of aligning access to postal retail services with customer needs, the Postal Service has expanded access in underserved areas but has done less to address overserved areas. Leading federal practices identify criteria for "rightsizing" facility networks-such as considering facilities' importance and utilization-but the Postal Service does not consider these criteria. GAO's analysis shows wide variation in the number of postal retail facilities among comparable counties, and a number of facilities GAO visited appeared to merit consideration for closure based on one or more of the federal criteria. If the Postal Service begins collecting data that reflects criteria based on leading federal practices, it may be able to close facilities and adjust access to retail services according to customer needs. http://www.govtech.com/gt/218296?topic=117688
When you travel, does your mail get held?
Austin, Texas-This may be the riskiest blog I’ve ever posted, because I sure don’t want my mail carrier or the U.S. Postal Service mad at me. But I’m really stumped about what to do, and I’m hoping to get a suggestion — from a fellow traveler or even from a letter carrier. When I travel, I try to get the mail stopped, then delivered on the first day I’m back. It worked for many years, seamlessly. Now, there’s a seam, and it’s ripped.
For the past two months, when I’ve traveled and put in a hold order, some mail’s been held, some has not, and the delivery after I’ve returned has been spotty. I was gone the first week of November, and the first week of this month, I received late notices on two bills that, I now realize, never arrived in November. My next-door neighbor has had similar hold problems and is also getting second notices on some bills after being gone the corresponding week last month.
Why don’t I complain? Because I don’t want to make the situation worse. When my husband went to the post office once when we didn’t get our held mail delivered — and he was careful not to complain, just to ask for the mail — he said the postal official he dealt with was a bit defensive, assuring him that the guy who delivers our mail is very good. I don’t doubt that. Maybe he’s been on vacation and somebody else has been picking up the route; we all know the postal folks are understaffed. And, of course, this time of the year there are a lot of extra catalogs (despite our best efforts not to get them) clogging up the system. We appreciate all letter carriers; truly, we do. (Hello, Newman.) And we’re going to tip ours for the holidays, even with the hold problems. But, bottom line: We want our mail.
Anybody else out there ever have such a problem? How’d you solve it? Postal workers, I’d like to hear from you, too: I know it’s a pain to hold the mail, but, short of staying home, how can we make your lives easier and still get our mail held and delivered? (According to the postal service Web site, there are no post office boxes available for me to rent at the post office nearest me, and I’m not willing to drive to other ones.)
Although we have had adequate service on our hold orders, you are right to be concerned about “complaining.” Our postal carrier routinely misdelivers mail and when we had the gall to complain about it to management, he put a note in magic marker in our box that we were “cronic” complainers and to watch out! And the management at the southwest station on the street with a first name and a last name told us he was a problem but that they couldn’t do anything, despite the many complaints! So I guess the moral of the story is be grateful for what little service you get! http://www.statesman.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/andersmeanders/entries/2007/12/10/when_you_travel_does_your_mail.html
You’ve been preapproved for more junk mail!
Is your mailbox flooded with “preapproved” credit card offers? You ain’t seen nothing yet. The U.S. Postal Service just decided to grant Bank of America a new discount on the letters it sends. The Postal Service claims this will result in savings of $5.5 million.
But the Postal Regulatory Commission — the Postal Service’s regulatory watchdog — disagreed. And that should worry consumers and policymakers. Using data from 2006 and 2007, the PRC found that the agreement would cost the Postal Service between $25 million and $45.8 million. The PRC attributed the numerical discrepancy to the Postal Service’s use of 1999 data.
In her official opinion, PRC Commissioner Ruth Goldway said the Bank of America deal demonstrates “that the Postal Service is not yet capable of negotiating a good bargain.” She then scolded Postal Service negotiators for not “prepar[ing] themselves with all the necessary financial and costing data.”
In the past, the PRC might have killed the agreement. But it felt compelled to approve the deal, citing recent reform legislation that gives the Postal Service greater autonomy. So the Postal Service currently has authorization to lose revenue with every Bank of America envelope delivered. When done right, negotiated service agreements between private firms and the Postal Service can be mutually beneficial. But the Postal Service often seems more interested in increasing its mail volume than in driving a good bargain.
With such partnerships, the devil is in the details. Consumer advocates contend that credit card companies get discounts on ordinary consumers’ backs. With five rate increases in 10 years, why should big mailers get price cuts?
Other postal watchdogs claim that this mail would be sent anyway. A discount for bulk mailers is thus harmful to the agency’s finances. In this case, much of what Bank of America is being rewarded for — like employing new bar code technology — will be required for all future discount mail. Further, this faulty deal represents the first agreement negotiated by the Postal Service since last year’s postal reforms. Not an auspicious debut for its negotiating team operating under the new statutory rate-setting flexibility.
That flexibility will be useless if Postal Service management jeopardizes the agency’s fiscal health with money-losing agreements. Troublingly, the Postal Service could raise stamp prices to make up for questionable agreements and losses in other areas.
True, the potential loss of $45.8 million is a drop in the bucket for the $75 billion agency. But under a new, more autonomous statutory regime, the Postal Service should exercise more business discipline. Otherwise, management may incur the ire of customers who aren’t enthusiastic about subsidizing junk-mail delivery with every stamp they buy. http://www.buffalonews.com/149/story/226261.html
RURALC...@ROOTSWEB.COM MAIL LIST.
FOR DISCUSSION OF POSTAL AND RURAL CARRIER RELATED SUBJECTS.
STEWARD CONTACTS
http://www.nrlca.org/stewards.html
NRLCA CONTACT INFO.
National Rural Letter Carriers' Association
Fourth Floor
1630 Duke Street
Alexandria, Virginia 22314-3465
Phone: 703-684-5545
-------------------------------
To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to RURALCARRI...@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message
From: <hier...@comcast.net>
Date: Wed, Dec 12, 2007 at 5:09 AM
Subject: {{ruralc...@rootsweb.com}} NJ Postal and Rural News, Issue 33, V. 1, Dec 12, 2007 (List 21)
To: Hier...@comcast.net
Cc: Ruralc...@rootsweb.com
NEW JERSEY POSTAL AND RURAL NEWS
Issue 33, Vol. 1 December 12, 2007 Wednesday Hier...@comcast.net
Issues of the New Jersey Postal and NRLCA News are now posted and available on the following website: http://groups.google.com/group/rlc_onliners_pub?hl=en
DISCLAIMER: I have no affiliation with USPS or the NRLCA and as such any information that I pass on is unofficial and constitutes advice and/or suggestions for your consideration. You may be advised to double-check with official sources before depending on its use and while you are doing that ask why is it that someone without official contacts has this information and is passing it on and its not coming from official sources.
Note: These email messages are being sent to the entire NJ State Board and almost all of the senior stewards in New Jersey. There should be no concerns about this being done secretly.
**If you know any rural craft employee who would like to receive this dissemination, please send email address, and office of employment to Hier...@comcast.net.
**If you do not wish to receive these disseminations, please notify Hier...@comcast.net and request removal from dissemination list.
**Please address all comments, submissions, stories to Hier...@comcast.net and be sure to mark it as confidential or note if it is OK to share.
___________________________________________________________________________
I want to express my gratitude for all the comments, submissions and feeback and the termendous interest in this newsletter. We have passed 200 subscribers who have asked for this newsletter and only two have asked to not receive the newsletter. PLEASE SHARE THIS NEWSLETTER WITH ALL RURAL CARRIER CRAFT EMPLOYEES! _____________________________________________________________________
APWU Asks Day Off for Postal Workers on Dec. 24
Burrus Update #18-2007, Dec. 11, 2007
After President Bush issued an Executive Order granting non-essential federal employees a day off on Dec. 24, 2007, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) quickly announced that the order did not apply to postal employees.
OPM wrote, “The Executive Order excuses most Executive Branch employees from duty on Dec. 24. The day off does not affect Postal Service workers, nor does it include Executive Branch employees whose agencies determine they cannot be excused for reasons of national security, defense or other essential public need.”
Despite the exclusion of postal employees from President Bush’s order, I have officially asked [PDF] the postmaster general, in the spirit of the season, to grant postal employees a day off on Dec. 24, 2007.
As I reminded the PMG, postal employees are no less deserving of recognition for their outstanding service than other federal workers.
William Burrus
National President, APWU
Local Thieves Hit Jackpot -- in Your Mailbox
&nb sp; < /SPAN > &am p; n bsp;&nbs p; Video surveillance cameras caught a thief in action.
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA-Some local thieves are hitting the jackpot, walking away with your Christmas cash and presents -- and they're stealing your stuff right in front of your home.
It's always nice checking your mail this time of year and getting that surprise check or gift for the holiday season. But that gift doesn't always end up in the right hands.
At one complex, residents woke up Monday morning to find their mailboxes completely empty. It's a crime that usually goes up during the holidays.
>From video surveillance cameras to card-only access, residents of the Pacific Legends Condominium complex in northwest Las Vegas have taken extreme measures to keep thieves out of the mail boxes -- with no luck.
Resident Tammy Ernst said, "We spend so much money on security and it's just -- what can we do?"
For the second time in just as many months, a thief has hit the mail room at the complex. First, it was a thief working alone. This time, from this surveillance video, it was a team -- one man, two women. They not only hit the mail boxes but the package parcels.
Resident Michael May said, "They weren't looking for billing this time. They weren't looking for credit card fraud, they were looking for cards sent from family and the money in there. This is going to be the time that people are receiving letters from family for money."
There are reports this same trio also hit another complex, leaving empty Christmas card envelopes behind. When they were done, they drove off in an unmarked white moving van.
Marilyn Fenimore, of USPS said, "What thieves are looking for is cash, anything of value -- so again, pick up your mail."
Postal workers tell Eyewitness News mail theft usually goes up during this time of year. The United States Postal Service says they deliver up to 30-percent more packages during the holidays -- gifts sometimes intercepted by thieves.
But there are some things you can do to protect yourself. First, check your mail every day. Thieves usually work between 12 a.m. and 5 a.m.
"If you are expecting a package and know the date it's going to be delivered and it hasn't been received, call and follow up on it. And if they say it was delivered, notify us and the inspection service immediately," said Fenimore.
And if you think it can't happen to you, think again.
"If they haven't been getting hit, knock on wood, they are lucky but their time is going to come," said Ernst.
Even the most well-prepared fall victim. Postal workers said sometimes they're even followed by thieves. If they put a package at someone's doorstep, there's always a chance it could be snatched.
The Postal Service says if you want to prevent that, you can go to the post office and fill out a notice. Your letter carrier will know you want to pick up your packages at the post office yourself. http://lasvegasnow.com/Global/story.asp?S=7477819
Mail delivery on ice
COLUMBIA, MISSOURI — U.S. Postal Service carrier Julie Alsberge put on spike-soled shoes Monday and loaded her truck with sandbags to deliver mail in midtown Columbia.
Alsberge looked ready to conquer Mount Everest, not her daily route through the city. She said the route might take her more than 10 hours to complete Monday, with icy sidewalks making the job slippery and dangerous.
She even packed a rubber mallet to crack ice off frozen mailboxes.
“Usually, when there’s ice on the sidewalks, you can walk on the grass,” she said. “Right now, the grass is so thickly covered with ice that it’s not a very good option either.”
With more ice expected, the post office is gearing up to keep mail delivery running smoothly. Acting Manager Cindy Bolles said letter carriers will continue their stops, but would not go to homes without a safe path to the mailbox.
“They’re out there in this kind of weather every year,” Bolles said. “If they can make a delivery, they’re going to make it.”
Letter carrier Julie Alsberge clears ice off of her mail truck's window following weekend ice storms Monday, Dec. 10, 2007, at the Columbia Post Office. "These trucks already have a lot blind spots," she said. "You certainly don't need any more."
Postmaster Jackie Cook looks on as Letter Carrier Julie Ausberge loads her truck with sandbags Monday, Dec. 10, 2007, at the Columbia Post Office. After weekend storms blanketed Columbia's streets with ice, sandbags were used to add weight and traction to the city's mail trucks.
Comments on these photos
http://www.columbiamissourian.com/stories/2007/12/10/mail-delivery-ice/
U. S. Post Office Needs Reliable Database, Study Reveals
Continued financial challenges and increased competition call for the U.S. Postal Service to manage its 34,000 facilities as efficiently and cost-effectively as possible. GAO and others have identified key facility management challenges, including the need to (1) capture and maintain accurate facility data, (2) adequately maintain facilities, and (3) align retail access with customer needs. This report assesses Postal Service efforts to overcome these challenges and implement leading federal practices. To conduct this study, GAO analyzed postal data and documents, visited 58 facilities, and interviewed postal officials.
To improve facility management, GAO recommends that the Postal Service consider whether it is more cost-effective to make its Facility Database reliable or to replace it. If the Postal Service chooses to retain the database, GAO recommends that it establish internal controls, measure facility management performance, and track trends. GAO also recommends be tter prioritization of maintenance projects and initiating a criteria-based approach to assist in identifying and closing unneeded retail facilities consistent with leading federal practices. In its comments, the Postal Service chose to retain the database and establish controls but not to track performance or trends. It agreed in principle to prioritize maintenance but not to initiate a criteria-based approach to identify and close unneeded retail facilities.
To address the challenge of capturing and maintaining accurate facility management data, the Postal Service developed the Facility Database, but the database does not conform to the Postal Service's goals or to leading federal practices; specifically, it does not include data needed to measure performance on managing facilities or have the capacity to track such data over time. Further, a database analysis by GAO revealed data reliability problems, including duplicative and contradictory data. In addition, major Postal Service departments do not use the database as a consolidated data source for managing postal facilities. The Postal Service has attempted to improve the database, but many problems remain.
To address the challenge of maintaining its facilities, the Postal Service has begun assessing the condition of the facilities but has neither determined the extent of its maintenance projects nor strategically prioritized the projects. A Postal Service inspection of 651 randomly selected postal facilities revealed that two-thirds were in less than "acceptable" condition, but the Postal Service had not documented the full extent of its maintenance projects backlog. After the inspection, the Postal Service initiated a program to assess the condition of all of its facilities-a necessary first step to improving their condition. In addition, the Postal Service lacks the data needed to implement leading federal practices, such as considering a facility's importance and value when prioritizing its maintenance projects. Due to funding constraints, the Postal Service currently focuses exclusively on emergency and urgent repairs-at the expense of a less costly preventive maintenanc !
e appro
ach.
To address the challenge of aligning access to postal retail services with customer needs, the Postal Service has expanded access in underserved areas but has done less to address overserved areas. Leading federal practices identify criteria for "rightsizing" facility networks-such as considering facilities' importance and utilization-but the Postal Service does not consider these criteria. GAO's analysis shows wide variation in the number of postal retail facilities among comparable counties, and a number of facilities GAO visited appeared to merit consideration for closure based on one or more of the federal criteria. If the Postal Service begins collecting data that reflects criteria based on leading federal practices, it may be able to close facilities and adjust access to retail services according to customer needs. http://www.govtech.com/gt/218296?topic=117688
When you travel, does your mail get held?
Austin, Texas-This may be the riskiest blog I’ve ever posted, because I sure don’t want my mail carrier or the U.S. Postal Service mad at me. But I’m really stumped about what to do, and I’m hoping to get a suggestion — from a fellow traveler or even from a letter carrier. When I travel, I try to get the mail stopped, then delivered on the first day I’m back. It worked for many years, seamlessly. Now, there’s a seam, and it’s ripped.
For the past two months, when I’ve traveled and put in a hold order, some mail’s been held, some has not, and the delivery after I’ve returned has been spotty. I was gone the first week of November, and the first week of this month, I received late notices on two bills that, I now realize, never arrived in November. My next-door neighbor has had similar hold problems and is also getting second notices on some bills after being gone the corresponding week last month.
Why don’t I complain? Because I don’t want to make the situation worse. When my husband went to the post office once when we didn’t get our held mail delivered — and he was careful not to complain, just to ask for the mail — he said the postal official he dealt with was a bit defensive, assuring him that the guy who delivers our mail is very good. I don’t doubt that. Maybe he’s been on vacation and somebody else has been picking up the route; we all know the postal folks are understaffed. And, of course, this time of the year there are a lot of extra catalogs (despite our best efforts not to get them) clogging up the system. We appreciate all letter carriers; truly, we do. (Hello, Newman.) And we’re going to tip ours for the holidays, even with the hold problems. But, bottom line: We want our mail.
Anybody else out there ever have such a problem? How’d you solve it? Postal workers, I’d like to hear from you, too: I know it’s a pain to hold the mail, but, short of staying home, how can we make your lives easier and still get our mail held and delivered? (According to the postal service Web site, there are no post office boxes available for me to rent at the post office nearest me, and I’m not willing to drive to other ones.)
Although we have had adequate service on our hold orders, you are right to be concerned about “complaining.” Our postal carrier routinely misdelivers mail and when we had the gall to complain about it to management, he put a note in magic marker in our box that we were “cronic” complainers and to watch out! And the management at the southwest station on the street with a first name and a last name told us he was a problem but that they couldn’t do anything, despite the many complaints! So I guess the moral of the story is be grateful for what little service you get! http://www.statesman.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/andersmeanders/entries/2007/12/10/when_you_travel_does_your_mail.html
You’ve been preapproved for more junk mail!
Is your mailbox flooded with “preapproved” credit card offers? You ain’t seen nothing yet. The U.S. Postal Service just decided to grant Bank of America a new discount on the letters it sends. The Postal Service claims this will result in savings of $5.5 million.
But the Postal Regulatory Commission — the Postal Service’s regulatory watchdog — disagreed. And that should worry consumers and policymakers. Using data from 2006 and 2007, the PRC found that the agreement would cost the Postal Service between $25 million and $45.8 million. The PRC attributed the numerical discrepancy to the Postal Service’s use of 1999 data.
In her official opinion, PRC Commissioner Ruth Goldway said the Bank of America deal demonstrates “that the Postal Service is not yet capable of negotiating a good bargain.” She then scolded Postal Service negotiators for not “prepar[ing] themselves with all the necessary financial and costing data.”
In the past, the PRC might have killed the agreement. But it felt compelled to approve the deal, citing recent reform legislation that gives the Postal Service greater autonomy. So the Postal Service currently has authorization to lose revenue with every Bank of America envelope delivered. When done right, negotiated service agreements between private firms and the Postal Service can be mutually beneficial. But the Postal Service often seems more interested in increasing its mail volume than in driving a good bargain.
With such partnerships, the devil is in the details. Consumer advocates contend that credit card companies get discounts on ordinary consumers’ backs. With five rate increases in 10 years, why should big mailers get price cuts?
Other postal watchdogs claim that this mail would be sent anyway. A discount for bulk mailers is thus harmful to the agency’s finances. In this case, much of what Bank of America is being rewarded for — like employing new bar code technology — will be required for all future discount mail. Further, this faulty deal represents the first agreement negotiated by the Postal Service since last year’s postal reforms. Not an auspicious debut for its negotiating team operating under the new statutory rate-setting flexibility.
That flexibility will be useless if Postal Service management jeopardizes the agency’s fiscal health with money-losing agreements. Troublingly, the Postal Service could raise stamp prices to make up for questionable agreements and losses in other areas.
True, the potential loss of $45.8 million is a drop in the bucket for the $75 billion agency. But under a new, more autonomous statutory regime, the Postal Service should exercise more business discipline. Otherwise, management may incur the ire of customers who aren’t enthusiastic about subsidizing junk-mail delivery with every stamp they buy. http://www.buffalonews.com/149/story/226261.html
RURALC...@ROOTSWEB.COM MAIL LIST.
FOR DISCUSSION OF POSTAL AND RURAL CARRIER RELATED SUBJECTS.
STEWARD CONTACTS
http://www.nrlca.org/stewards.html
NRLCA CONTACT INFO.
National Rural Letter Carriers' Association
Fourth Floor
1630 Duke Street
Alexandria, Virginia 22314-3465
Phone: 703-684-5545
-------------------------------
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