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From: <hier...@comcast.net>
Date: Sun, Dec 16, 2007 at 12:59 AM
Subject: {{ruralc...@rootsweb.com}} NJ Postal and Rural News, Issue 37, V. 1, Dec. 16, 2007 (List 18)
To: Hier...@comcast.net
Cc: Ruralc...@rootsweb.com
NEW JERSEY POSTAL AND RURAL NEWS
Issue 37, Vol. 1 December 16, 2007 Sunday 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
I want to express my gratitude for all the comments, submissions and feedback and the tremendous interest in this newsletter. PLEASE SHARE THIS NEWSLETTER WITH ALL RURAL CARRIER CRAFT EMPLOYEES!
_________________________________________________________________________
Issue Codes = Issue A(A is not usually used and constitutes just the issue #)-E are news and human interest stories; Issue NJ are New Jersey related issues; Issues SP are special issues with important news; Issues ST are steward related articles and Issues-X are breaking news articles of importance. _________________________________________________________________________
Carrier indicted in keeping of mail
Branson, M issouri - A former r ural lette r carrier has been i ndicted by a federal grand jury for not delivering mail along his Strafford area route, John F. Wood, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced Friday.
Gregory Bennett Stewart, 37, of Branson and formerly of Springfield, was charged in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Springfield on Wednesday. The federal indictment alleges that Stewart kept approximately 80 pieces of first class mail and 531 pieces of standard mail between March 12, 2004, and Jan. 18, 2007. Stewart was a rural carrier associate with the Strafford Post Office from Nov. 16, 2002, to Feb. 28, 2007. http://www.news-leader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?Date=20071215&Category=NEWS01&ArtNo=712150368&SectionCat=&Template=printart
Postal Service must improve
The Business Journal of Milwaukee
Milwaukee, Wisconsin - There is no question that the U.S. Postal Service must protect its mail carriers.
But when it decides to threaten mail suspension or actually do so in Milwaukee neighborhoods because of a crime perception, it must first communicate that decision to local city officials, the Police Department and others affected by such a decision. Postal Service officials must resort to such extreme measures only under extreme circumstances because of its impact on local residents and businesses.
As The Business Journal reported Dec. 7, the Postal Service recently sent red postcards to businesses and residents in a Marquette University neighborhood warning that mail delivery service might be halted as a result of crime in the area. A Postal Service official later admitted that the mailing was mistakenly sent to the university neighborhood.
But, The Business Journal also revealed the practice of sending the cards and stopping mail delivery, which was done in two other Milwaukee neighborhoods in recent months. That was news to Marquette University, the Milwaukee Police Department and Mayor Tom Barrett. Staff for all those officials told The Business Journal they were unaware of the Postal Service practice or the criteria used to send out the cards or stop delivery. http://milwaukee.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/stories/2007/12/17/editorial1.html?t=printable
German parliament approved letter-carrier minimum wage
BERLIN (AP) - Germany's lower house of parliament on Friday approved instituting a minimum wage for letter carriers _ putting an end to an issue that has fueled tension in the left-right coalition government.
The measure will introduce a de-facto hourly minimum of between ¤8 and ¤9.80 (US$11.75 and US$14.40) for letter carriers. The German letter delivery market is scheduled to become fully open to competitors of former monopoly Deutsche Post AG on Jan. 1, the same day the minimum wage agreement takes effect.
The measure was approved 466-70 with 16 abstentions in parliament's final session before the Christmas holiday. It still needs upper house approval, but the governing coalition has overwhelming control there and it is expected to be passed easily.
Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives and their center-left coalition partner the Social Democrats spent months sniping at each other in tensions that stemmed from Social Democratic calls for Germany to introduce an overall minimum wage.
The conservatives rejected that idea, but agreed to extend a minimum wage agreement from the construction industry to the postal sector _ though it took months to work out the details.
The parliament vote declared a wage agreement worked out in conjunction with the union leaders legally binding _ creating a de facto minimum wage for the sector. http://www.pr-inside.com/print348535.htm
Post Office seems to have a new motto
Shreveport, Louisiana - The mail in our neighborhood wasn't delivered on Monday. My wife called the 1-800 line to inquire about it. The lady answering advised her that they don't consider it a problem unless delivery is missed two days in a row. That's the first time I ever heard that. If that's their idea of satisfactory mail service, why not fire half the letter carriers and stagger delivery, covering each neighborhood every other day?
The employee, after explaining this unpublicized postal policy, reluctantly gave my wife the number of our local Post Office. There, my wife was advised that the carrier had seen two large dogs loose in the neighborhood and took the mail back. It would be delivered the next day presuming no loose dogs were sighted.
My father was a career mail carrier. I carried mail during the summers and Christmas holidays back in the late '50s and early '60's. That was before we all moved inside to watch TV and built stockade fences to isolate us from our neighbors. It was common to see dogs on the front porch. Most families preferred large dogs. Chows, a very unpredictable breed and one you seldom see today, were common then.
In the 18 months that I worked for the Post Office, before there were any leash laws, I don't recall any letter carrier ever taking mail back to the office because of dogs. I don't think letter carriers need to confront clearly aggressive dogs to deliver mail, but two loose dogs shouldn't stop the mail for an entire neighborhood. Any loose dogs tha t pose a danger to letter carriers, or meter readers, or anybody, should be reported immediately to local authorities and removed. If the streets and sidewalks are safe enough for neighbors to walk and children to play, they are safe enough for letter carriers.
Other neighbors have attempted to voice complaints about our mail delivery, e.g. delivery at 8 p.m, misdirected mail. The first problem is getting through the maze of numbers and recorded messages to a real live person. Then the problem is finding a person who cares. That would be one who views you as a customer and considers customer satisfaction as a primary objective of the U.S. Postal Service. I am told that contacting the local postmaster (s) with any complaint is a waste of time.
The old "motto" for the U.S. Postal Service was "Neither rain nor hail nor sleet nor snow nor heat of day nor dark of night shall keep this carrier from the swift com p letion of his appointed rounds."
Apparently, the new motto is "We don't consider it a problem unless delivery, whether swift or slow, is missed two days in a row." http://www.shreveporttimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?Date=20071214&Category=OPINION0106&ArtNo=712140302&SectionCat=OPINION&Template=printart
Back Roads: Postal carrier is like Santa all year long
By John Weiss
ZUMBRO FALLS, MINNESOTA -- Dear Santa: Brenda Kautz delivers presents around Zumbro Falls with her eyes twinkling, her cheeks rosy from December winds, her mouth upturned in a smile. She has a light on her vehicle, though hers is yellow and it flashes atop her white Ford Taurus. When she delivers her Christmas gifts, she often gets cookies for her work. Sound familiar?
Yup, you've got an understudy. But get this -- Kautz doesn't work Christmas Eve. Rural mail carriers usually have to work Dec. 24 but she'll be done with her route about 4 p.m., in time to celebrate with her family in Zumbro Falls. It's not that she's trying to outdo you, Santa, it's just that she likes her job in the weeks before Christmas. This is her 28th Christmas delivering presents, cards and the usual mail to 360 or so customers whom she considers her friends. "I know all those people," she said. "I graduated from high school with them, I go to church with them."
She didn't start out to be your understudy. She thought of being a civil engineer but decided being outside surveying land in winter wasn't her cup of tea. Her dad suggested she become a rural mail carrier. She took the test, she was hired, and now she drives around Zumbro Falls at a pace you would envy on Christmas Eve, the window open, the cold wind in her face. She said she's had a bad hair day for more than 20 years.
While Kautz is no fan of cold, she loves the feeling of delivering the extra packages and letters because they are often gifts or cards for her friends. Bigger packages have to be brought directly to the door. "My sleigh is full," Kautz said. "It takes more time, yup, that it does."
She can't daydream about who is getting what because she's too busy keeping her car on the road, making sure the right people get the right mail and avoiding tractors and combines. When the day is done, she might think about it. But Santa, there's one huge difference between Kautz and you -- in January, she has to deliver the credit card bills while you're resting up north.
P.S. Kautz said she's been really good this year and when you stop by Christmas Eve, she'd like tickets to some place warm, like Arizona. Better yet, she wants to have her daughter home safe. She lives several states away. "That is the biggest Christmas present I could ever have," she said. http://www.postbulletin.com/newsmanager/templates/localnews_story.asp?z=41&a=319103
Postal Price Pinch
Eugene, Oregon - People who are sending a lot of holiday packages might be experiencing some sticker shock at the post office.
A new rate schedule — the first price restructuring since 2001 — went into effect in May. Most people quickly caught on that it costs 41 cents to mail a letter. But anyone who hasn’t had occasion to ship packages will now be encountering a bigger change: The new rate structure places more importance on the size of the item being shipped, rather than its weight.
To save on shipping costs, don’t just use any old box lying around, the U.S. Postal Service advises. Take care to find the smallest package that still has enough room for padding to protect the gift, said Ron Anderson, customer relations coordinator for the Postal Service’s Portland district.
“The smaller the container, the less expensive it will be,” he said.
A one-ounce letter costs less to ship than a one-ounce Manila envelope, and a one-ounce package will cost the most of all. The rates reflect the post office’s expense to process and deliver each type of mail, Anderson said.
Letters are easily processed using automated bar-code scanning equipment. Bulkier items require more handling and take up more space in the delivery van.
The changes in postal rates weren’t lost on Joshua Cagle, a 26-year-old Eugene resident, who juggled five packages as he walked through the door and advanced through the line at the post office in Springfield’s Gateway area on Thursday.
Cagle said he sells vintage computers and video games on eBay to collectors and users all over the world. Much of what he has been shipping lately will ultimately end up as someone’s holiday gift, he said.
“Everything is different than it used to be,” Cagle said, referring to the postal rates.
Cagle said he used to be able to eyeball a package and be able to guess the shipping cost when rates were primarily based on weight. Now he takes out both a scale and ruler. He chooses an appropriately sized box and uses light packaging material, such as plastic bubble wrap, instead of newspaper, he said.
Anderson, the Postal Service spokesman in Portland, prepared a sampling of first-class postal rates this year compared with last year. It shows modest increases for local priority mail, which typically is delivered within two to three days.
The example with the most dramatic price increase (24 percent) was for a five-pound box sent priority mail cross country, or about 2,000 miles. Express mail costs more than priority mail and typically is delivered in one to two days. It is the post office’s only guaranteed service and includes up to $100 in insurance, Anderson said.
The queue Cagle waited in Thursday afternoon at the Gateway post office was long, but moved relatively quickly. Lines are expected to snake even longer on Monday, which the Postal Service projects will be its busiest day of the year.
“People have gone out and done their shopping over the weekend, and they realize, ‘Oh my, Christmas is next week, I’d better get to the post office,’ ” Anderson said.
Deadlines to mail cards and packages to arrive at their destination by Christmas are fast approaching. Saturday is the deadline to mail items by parcel post in the United States. Tuesday is the deadline to send express mail to selected military post offices. Thursday is the deadline to send letters and priority mail in the United States, and Dec. 22 is the deadline for express mail in the United States.
Customers can save some time by using the automated postal centers in some local post office lobbies. Those who want to skip the post office altogether can send packages by going to the Postal Service’s Web site, usps.com, and using “Click-N-Ship” to print out postage on a shipping label, pay with a credit or debit card, and notify the local post office of a package to be picked up during normal mail delivery at no extra charge.
Packages sent via this service must weigh less than 70 pounds, and the sum of the package’s length and girth (the distance around) cannot exceed 108 inches, Anderson said.
Stamps can be ordered online, over the phone at 800-STAMP-24, at local postal units, such as those at Hirons Drug stores, and at some other stores and banks, Anderson said. http://www.registerguard.com/csp/cms/sites/dt.cms.support.viewStory.cls?cid=35854&sid=1&fid=1&p=print
USPS Flexible Spending Account (FSA) Program
RI 70-02 For Career United States Postal Service Employees
Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) Open Season
Enrollment for 2008 FSAs begins: November 12, 2007
Enrollment ends: December 29, 2007 (5:00 P.M. Central Time)
Enrollments are effective: January 1, 2008.
Who Can Enroll
Only career employees are eligible to enroll in FSAs for 2008.
What Are FSAs for and How Do They Work?
There are two types of FSAs available to you - the Health Care FSA for health care expenses and the Dependent Care FSA for dependent care (day care) expenses.
If you're like most people, you have health care expenses you pay yourself - insurance doesn't cover them. Expenses for you and your family, like prescriptions, doctor and dentist visits, vision care, even overthe- counter medical items like aspirin or bandages. Expenses like FEHB health plan deductibles or copayments. If you enroll in FEDVIP and have dental or vision insurance, amounts for non-cosmetic procedures or items that your plan doesn't cover. But your expenses aren't high enough for you to claim a deduction on your taxes.
You can get a tax break, though, by signing up for Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs). You decide how much to contribute for 2008. Then, you contribute money every payday to an FSA, which is an account that allows you to cover your eligible health care expenses throughout the year with tax-free money. Meanwhile, whatever you contribute isn't subject to Federal income tax, or Social Security tax, or Medicare tax. Since, you get a tax break each payday, it's cheaper to pay for your health care expenses through an FSA. (Without an FSA, you pay for health care expenses using your checkbook or a credit card, and there's no tax break at all.)
You can use FSAs for dependent care (day care) expenses too, and you'll save on taxes the same way. The full amount that you sign up for is available to you beginning January 1, 2008, to cover your eligible expenses, even though FSA contributions are taken from your pay over the entire year. So, for example, if you have Lasik surgery in February and it costs you $3,000, you can withdraw the entire amount from your Health Care FSA even though you won't have had that much withheld from your pay at that time. It works the same way for the Dependent Care FSA too. Be sure to the read the FSA brochure that's mailed to you as it explains the limitations on using your FSA - for example, there are specific time limits for expenses to be eligible. You can't cover certain expenses, such as cosmetic items or procedures. And there's a deadline for filing your claims. But the brochure explains the details.
What Are the Contribution Limits?
You can contribute up to $5,000 to the Health Care FSA.
You can contribute up to $5,000 to the Dependent Care FSA
How to Enroll
To use the Employee Web - the easiest way to use PostalEASE - access the system in any of these ways:
On the Internet at https://liteblue.usps.gov. Under "Employee Self Service," select PostalEASE.
At an employee self-service kiosk.
On the Intranet at http://blue.usps.gov. Under "Employee Resources," select Employee Self Service and then PostalEASE.
To use the telephone, call the Employee Service Line at 877-4PS-EASE (877-477-3273), option 1. If you have a medical condition that interferes or for another reason cannot successfully complete your transaction using PostalEASE, contact the Human Resources Shared Service Center (HRSSC) for assistance.
Details Are in the Mail
A leaflet and a brochure, FSA BK1, Flexible Spending Accounts (November 2007), with a PostalEASE FSA worksheet included, are being mailed to all career employees. If you do not receive yours by November 26, 2007, contact the HRSSC.
What if I Enroll in a High-Deductible Health Plan with a Health Savings Account?
It is very important for you to read the FSA brochure that is mailed to you this FSA open season so that you understand the rules before you sign up for a Health Care FSA. Look for the section that explains the Limited FSA.
Questions
Hotline for FSA questions: 800-842-2026.
TTY line for employees who are deaf or hard of hearing: 866-649-4869 or 866-206-7810. Advance call to hotline encouraged http://www.opm.gov/insure/08/guides/70-02/fsa.asp
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. I do not speak for any Postal or Union entity and have no authority to serve as spokesman for, against or otherwise in Postal or Union matters.
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 or behind anyone's backs without their knowledge.
**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, feedback, submissions, stories to Hier...@comcast.net and be sure to mark it OK to share or if you want the submission to be confidential and anonymous, please indicate that it is CONFIDENTIAL and I will never disclose authorship, content or any other identifying detail. Absent express authority to share, I will strictly maintain confidentiality per my legal obligations and responsibilities.
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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
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Alexandria, Virginia 22314-3465
Phone: 703-684-5545
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From: <hier...@comcast.net>
Date: Sun, Dec 16, 2007 at 12:59 AM
Subject: {{ruralc...@rootsweb.com}} NJ Postal and Rural News, Issue 37, V. 1, Dec. 16, 2007 (List 18)
To: Hier...@comcast.net
Cc: Ruralc...@rootsweb.com
NEW JERSEY POSTAL AND RURAL NEWS
Issue 37, Vol. 1 December 16, 2007 Sunday 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
I want to express my gratitude for all the comments, submissions and feedback and the tremendous interest in this newsletter. PLEASE SHARE THIS NEWSLETTER WITH ALL RURAL CARRIER CRAFT EMPLOYEES!
_________________________________________________________________________
Issue Codes = Issue A(A is not usually used and constitutes just the issue #)-E are news and human interest stories; Issue NJ are New Jersey related issues; Issues SP are special issues with important news; Issues ST are steward related articles and Issues-X are breaking news articles of importance. _________________________________________________________________________
Carrier indicted in keeping of mail
Branson, M issouri - A former r ural lette r carrier has been i ndicted by a federal grand jury for not delivering mail along his Strafford area route, John F. Wood, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced Friday.
Gregory Bennett Stewart, 37, of Branson and formerly of Springfield, was charged in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Springfield on Wednesday. The federal indictment alleges that Stewart kept approximately 80 pieces of first class mail and 531 pieces of standard mail between March 12, 2004, and Jan. 18, 2007. Stewart was a rural carrier associate with the Strafford Post Office from Nov. 16, 2002, to Feb. 28, 2007. http://www.news-leader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?Date=20071215&Category=NEWS01&ArtNo=712150368&SectionCat=&Template=printart
Postal Service must improve
The Business Journal of Milwaukee
Milwaukee, Wisconsin - There is no question that the U.S. Postal Service must protect its mail carriers.
But when it decides to threaten mail suspension or actually do so in Milwaukee neighborhoods because of a crime perception, it must first communicate that decision to local city officials, the Police Department and others affected by such a decision. Postal Service officials must resort to such extreme measures only under extreme circumstances because of its impact on local residents and businesses.
As The Business Journal reported Dec. 7, the Postal Service recently sent red postcards to businesses and residents in a Marquette University neighborhood warning that mail delivery service might be halted as a result of crime in the area. A Postal Service official later admitted that the mailing was mistakenly sent to the university neighborhood.
But, The Business Journal also revealed the practice of sending the cards and stopping mail delivery, which was done in two other Milwaukee neighborhoods in recent months. That was news to Marquette University, the Milwaukee Police Department and Mayor Tom Barrett. Staff for all those officials told The Business Journal they were unaware of the Postal Service practice or the criteria used to send out the cards or stop delivery. http://milwaukee.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/stories/2007/12/17/editorial1.html?t=printable
German parliament approved letter-carrier minimum wage
BERLIN (AP) - Germany's lower house of parliament on Friday approved instituting a minimum wage for letter carriers _ putting an end to an issue that has fueled tension in the left-right coalition government.
The measure will introduce a de-facto hourly minimum of between ¤8 and ¤9.80 (US$11.75 and US$14.40) for letter carriers. The German letter delivery market is scheduled to become fully open to competitors of former monopoly Deutsche Post AG on Jan. 1, the same day the minimum wage agreement takes effect.
The measure was approved 466-70 with 16 abstentions in parliament's final session before the Christmas holiday. It still needs upper house approval, but the governing coalition has overwhelming control there and it is expected to be passed easily.
Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives and their center-left coalition partner the Social Democrats spent months sniping at each other in tensions that stemmed from Social Democratic calls for Germany to introduce an overall minimum wage.
The conservatives rejected that idea, but agreed to extend a minimum wage agreement from the construction industry to the postal sector _ though it took months to work out the details.
The parliament vote declared a wage agreement worked out in conjunction with the union leaders legally binding _ creating a de facto minimum wage for the sector. http://www.pr-inside.com/print348535.htm
Post Office seems to have a new motto
Shreveport, Louisiana - The mail in our neighborhood wasn't delivered on Monday. My wife called the 1-800 line to inquire about it. The lady answering advised her that they don't consider it a problem unless delivery is missed two days in a row. That's the first time I ever heard that. If that's their idea of satisfactory mail service, why not fire half the letter carriers and stagger delivery, covering each neighborhood every other day?
The employee, after explaining this unpublicized postal policy, reluctantly gave my wife the number of our local Post Office. There, my wife was advised that the carrier had seen two large dogs loose in the neighborhood and took the mail back. It would be delivered the next day presuming no loose dogs were sighted.
My father was a career mail carrier. I carried mail during the summers and Christmas holidays back in the late '50s and early '60's. That was before we all moved inside to watch TV and built stockade fences to isolate us from our neighbors. It was common to see dogs on the front porch. Most families preferred large dogs. Chows, a very unpredictable breed and one you seldom see today, were common then.
In the 18 months that I worked for the Post Office, before there were any leash laws, I don't recall any letter carrier ever taking mail back to the office because of dogs. I don't think letter carriers need to confront clearly aggressive dogs to deliver mail, but two loose dogs shouldn't stop the mail for an entire neighborhood. Any loose dogs tha t pose a danger to letter carriers, or meter readers, or anybody, should be reported immediately to local authorities and removed. If the streets and sidewalks are safe enough for neighbors to walk and children to play, they are safe enough for letter carriers.
Other neighbors have attempted to voice complaints about our mail delivery, e.g. delivery at 8 p.m, misdirected mail. The first problem is getting through the maze of numbers and recorded messages to a real live person. Then the problem is finding a person who cares. That would be one who views you as a customer and considers customer satisfaction as a primary objective of the U.S. Postal Service. I am told that contacting the local postmaster (s) with any complaint is a waste of time.
The old "motto" for the U.S. Postal Service was "Neither rain nor hail nor sleet nor snow nor heat of day nor dark of night shall keep this carrier from the swift com p letion of his appointed rounds."
Apparently, the new motto is "We don't consider it a problem unless delivery, whether swift or slow, is missed two days in a row." http://www.shreveporttimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?Date=20071214&Category=OPINION0106&ArtNo=712140302&SectionCat=OPINION&Template=printart
Back Roads: Postal carrier is like Santa all year long
By John Weiss
ZUMBRO FALLS, MINNESOTA -- Dear Santa: Brenda Kautz delivers presents around Zumbro Falls with her eyes twinkling, her cheeks rosy from December winds, her mouth upturned in a smile. She has a light on her vehicle, though hers is yellow and it flashes atop her white Ford Taurus. When she delivers her Christmas gifts, she often gets cookies for her work. Sound familiar?
Yup, you've got an understudy. But get this -- Kautz doesn't work Christmas Eve. Rural mail carriers usually have to work Dec. 24 but she'll be done with her route about 4 p.m., in time to celebrate with her family in Zumbro Falls. It's not that she's trying to outdo you, Santa, it's just that she likes her job in the weeks before Christmas. This is her 28th Christmas delivering presents, cards and the usual mail to 360 or so customers whom she considers her friends. "I know all those people," she said. "I graduated from high school with them, I go to church with them."
She didn't start out to be your understudy. She thought of being a civil engineer but decided being outside surveying land in winter wasn't her cup of tea. Her dad suggested she become a rural mail carrier. She took the test, she was hired, and now she drives around Zumbro Falls at a pace you would envy on Christmas Eve, the window open, the cold wind in her face. She said she's had a bad hair day for more than 20 years.
While Kautz is no fan of cold, she loves the feeling of delivering the extra packages and letters because they are often gifts or cards for her friends. Bigger packages have to be brought directly to the door. "My sleigh is full," Kautz said. "It takes more time, yup, that it does."
She can't daydream about who is getting what because she's too busy keeping her car on the road, making sure the right people get the right mail and avoiding tractors and combines. When the day is done, she might think about it. But Santa, there's one huge difference between Kautz and you -- in January, she has to deliver the credit card bills while you're resting up north.
P.S. Kautz said she's been really good this year and when you stop by Christmas Eve, she'd like tickets to some place warm, like Arizona. Better yet, she wants to have her daughter home safe. She lives several states away. "That is the biggest Christmas present I could ever have," she said. http://www.postbulletin.com/newsmanager/templates/localnews_story.asp?z=41&a=319103
Postal Price Pinch
Eugene, Oregon - People who are sending a lot of holiday packages might be experiencing some sticker shock at the post office.
A new rate schedule — the first price restructuring since 2001 — went into effect in May. Most people quickly caught on that it costs 41 cents to mail a letter. But anyone who hasn’t had occasion to ship packages will now be encountering a bigger change: The new rate structure places more importance on the size of the item being shipped, rather than its weight.
To save on shipping costs, don’t just use any old box lying around, the U.S. Postal Service advises. Take care to find the smallest package that still has enough room for padding to protect the gift, said Ron Anderson, customer relations coordinator for the Postal Service’s Portland district.
“The smaller the container, the less expensive it will be,” he said.
A one-ounce letter costs less to ship than a one-ounce Manila envelope, and a one-ounce package will cost the most of all. The rates reflect the post office’s expense to process and deliver each type of mail, Anderson said.
Letters are easily processed using automated bar-code scanning equipment. Bulkier items require more handling and take up more space in the delivery van.
The changes in postal rates weren’t lost on Joshua Cagle, a 26-year-old Eugene resident, who juggled five packages as he walked through the door and advanced through the line at the post office in Springfield’s Gateway area on Thursday.
Cagle said he sells vintage computers and video games on eBay to collectors and users all over the world. Much of what he has been shipping lately will ultimately end up as someone’s holiday gift, he said.
“Everything is different than it used to be,” Cagle said, referring to the postal rates.
Cagle said he used to be able to eyeball a package and be able to guess the shipping cost when rates were primarily based on weight. Now he takes out both a scale and ruler. He chooses an appropriately sized box and uses light packaging material, such as plastic bubble wrap, instead of newspaper, he said.
Anderson, the Postal Service spokesman in Portland, prepared a sampling of first-class postal rates this year compared with last year. It shows modest increases for local priority mail, which typically is delivered within two to three days.
The example with the most dramatic price increase (24 percent) was for a five-pound box sent priority mail cross country, or about 2,000 miles. Express mail costs more than priority mail and typically is delivered in one to two days. It is the post office’s only guaranteed service and includes up to $100 in insurance, Anderson said.
The queue Cagle waited in Thursday afternoon at the Gateway post office was long, but moved relatively quickly. Lines are expected to snake even longer on Monday, which the Postal Service projects will be its busiest day of the year.
“People have gone out and done their shopping over the weekend, and they realize, ‘Oh my, Christmas is next week, I’d better get to the post office,’ ” Anderson said.
Deadlines to mail cards and packages to arrive at their destination by Christmas are fast approaching. Saturday is the deadline to mail items by parcel post in the United States. Tuesday is the deadline to send express mail to selected military post offices. Thursday is the deadline to send letters and priority mail in the United States, and Dec. 22 is the deadline for express mail in the United States.
Customers can save some time by using the automated postal centers in some local post office lobbies. Those who want to skip the post office altogether can send packages by going to the Postal Service’s Web site, usps.com, and using “Click-N-Ship” to print out postage on a shipping label, pay with a credit or debit card, and notify the local post office of a package to be picked up during normal mail delivery at no extra charge.
Packages sent via this service must weigh less than 70 pounds, and the sum of the package’s length and girth (the distance around) cannot exceed 108 inches, Anderson said.
Stamps can be ordered online, over the phone at 800-STAMP-24, at local postal units, such as those at Hirons Drug stores, and at some other stores and banks, Anderson said. http://www.registerguard.com/csp/cms/sites/dt.cms.support.viewStory.cls?cid=35854&sid=1&fid=1&p=print
USPS Flexible Spending Account (FSA) Program
RI 70-02 For Career United States Postal Service Employees
Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) Open Season
Enrollment for 2008 FSAs begins: November 12, 2007
Enrollment ends: December 29, 2007 (5:00 P.M. Central Time)
Enrollments are effective: January 1, 2008.
Who Can Enroll
Only career employees are eligible to enroll in FSAs for 2008.
What Are FSAs for and How Do They Work?
There are two types of FSAs available to you - the Health Care FSA for health care expenses and the Dependent Care FSA for dependent care (day care) expenses.
If you're like most people, you have health care expenses you pay yourself - insurance doesn't cover them. Expenses for you and your family, like prescriptions, doctor and dentist visits, vision care, even overthe- counter medical items like aspirin or bandages. Expenses like FEHB health plan deductibles or copayments. If you enroll in FEDVIP and have dental or vision insurance, amounts for non-cosmetic procedures or items that your plan doesn't cover. But your expenses aren't high enough for you to claim a deduction on your taxes.
You can get a tax break, though, by signing up for Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs). You decide how much to contribute for 2008. Then, you contribute money every payday to an FSA, which is an account that allows you to cover your eligible health care expenses throughout the year with tax-free money. Meanwhile, whatever you contribute isn't subject to Federal income tax, or Social Security tax, or Medicare tax. Since, you get a tax break each payday, it's cheaper to pay for your health care expenses through an FSA. (Without an FSA, you pay for health care expenses using your checkbook or a credit card, and there's no tax break at all.)
You can use FSAs for dependent care (day care) expenses too, and you'll save on taxes the same way. The full amount that you sign up for is available to you beginning January 1, 2008, to cover your eligible expenses, even though FSA contributions are taken from your pay over the entire year. So, for example, if you have Lasik surgery in February and it costs you $3,000, you can withdraw the entire amount from your Health Care FSA even though you won't have had that much withheld from your pay at that time. It works the same way for the Dependent Care FSA too. Be sure to the read the FSA brochure that's mailed to you as it explains the limitations on using your FSA - for example, there are specific time limits for expenses to be eligible. You can't cover certain expenses, such as cosmetic items or procedures. And there's a deadline for filing your claims. But the brochure explains the details.
What Are the Contribution Limits?
You can contribute up to $5,000 to the Health Care FSA.
You can contribute up to $5,000 to the Dependent Care FSA
How to Enroll
To use the Employee Web - the easiest way to use PostalEASE - access the system in any of these ways:
On the Internet at https://liteblue.usps.gov. Under "Employee Self Service," select PostalEASE.
At an employee self-service kiosk.
On the Intranet at http://blue.usps.gov. Under "Employee Resources," select Employee Self Service and then PostalEASE.
To use the telephone, call the Employee Service Line at 877-4PS-EASE (877-477-3273), option 1. If you have a medical condition that interferes or for another reason cannot successfully complete your transaction using PostalEASE, contact the Human Resources Shared Service Center (HRSSC) for assistance.
Details Are in the Mail
A leaflet and a brochure, FSA BK1, Flexible Spending Accounts (November 2007), with a PostalEASE FSA worksheet included, are being mailed to all career employees. If you do not receive yours by November 26, 2007, contact the HRSSC.
What if I Enroll in a High-Deductible Health Plan with a Health Savings Account?
It is very important for you to read the FSA brochure that is mailed to you this FSA open season so that you understand the rules before you sign up for a Health Care FSA. Look for the section that explains the Limited FSA.
Questions
Hotline for FSA questions: 800-842-2026.
TTY line for employees who are deaf or hard of hearing: 866-649-4869 or 866-206-7810. Advance call to hotline encouraged http://www.opm.gov/insure/08/guides/70-02/fsa.asp
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. I do not speak for any Postal or Union entity and have no authority to serve as spokesman for, against or otherwise in Postal or Union matters.
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STEWARD CONTACTS
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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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