TNT Post, which is part of Dutch post office PostNL, is to roll out an end to end postal delivery service in the UK, following a deal between its parent company and private equity house LDC.

The joint venture will provide the funding and expertise for the phased implementation of the E2E-service, following trials in London and recent extension to Manchester.

via TNT Post to challenge Royal Mail postal service – News – Logistics Manager.

Press release from Darrell Issa:

WASHINGTON – House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif., today applauded Canada Post, the Canadian postal service, for moving to phase out expensive to-the-door delivery for paper mail. Chairman Issa, chief sponsor of H.R. 2748, the Postal Reform Act of 2013, has advanced similar reforms.

“As technology advances, the Canadian people are changing the way they use paper mail. Canada Post has recognized this reality and responded to it. The Canadian government is supportive of its decision to modernize,” said Chairman Issa. “The American people have also changed the way they use paper mail and the cash-strapped United States Postal Service must respond accordingly. Likewise, Congress and the Administration need to grant USPS the flexibility to modernize its mail delivery and eliminate unnecessary costs.”

The vast majority of American homes do not receive expensive to-the-door delivery, but instead receive less expensive curbside or centralized delivery. The Postal Reform Act, which was approved by the Committee in July, would require USPS to transition 30 million delivery points over 10 years. This provision will save the financially distressed USPS at least $4 billion per year and is one of the largest opportunities for USPS savings.

Canada Post ended expensive Saturday delivery of paper mail for its customers in 1969. Issa’s legislation would also allow USPS to do the same, saving additional billions. A Senate companion bill also includes provisions to end the forced delivery of paper mail on Saturdays and delivery point modernization.

DPMG Ron Stroman has named Sheila Meyers Acting VP, Government Relations and Public Policy.

Prior to her new appointment, Meyers served as manager, Government Liaison, where she worked as the Postal Service’s primary contact with the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. In this capacity, she has extensively interacted with key congressional leaders and their staff regarding the Postal Service’s public policy interests, including the development and House passage of legislation consistent with the Postal Service’s operational and financial needs.

Meyers has been with the Postal Service for 34 years. She has experience in a variety of positions, including mail processing, Retail Services, Human Resources, Labor Relations and Government Relations.

Meyers’ appointment as Acting VP became effective Dec. 9.

PORTLAND, Ore. – Bruce Douglas Menzies, 54 of Tigard, Oregon was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Anna J. Brown to serve three years of probation, pay a $2,500 fine and pay a $100 fee assessment for theft of U.S. mail. Menzies pled guilty on August 25, 2013; as a condition of his plea agreement, he resigned from the U.S. Postal Service and agreed to pay restitution in the amount of $300.

This case came to the attention of the U.S. Postal Inspector General’s Office after they received a complaint from a postal customer in Portland, who reported that her grandmother had been sending birthday cards to her two young children that contained money. However, the greeting cards were received torn open without money, or not received at all. Read the rest of this entry »

WSVN-TV – 7NEWS Miam Ft. Lauderdale News, Weather, Deco

HOMESTEAD, Fla. WSVN — Police are hoping the community will help them catch the man who robbed a mail carrier while on the job.

Investigators said the robbery took place Tuesday around 2:30 p.m. while the postal worker was delivering mail on Northeast Second Avenue and 10th Street. Now residents of this Homestead neighborhood run the risk of having thier identites stolen. Antonio Ginebra, a neighbor who lives in this area, said, "I’m afraid. It’s our information. I mean, it’s our mail."

Postal service officials took to the streets Wednesday handing out about 300 flyers to area residents in the hopes of catching the suspect.

Read more: WSVN-TV – Police search for suspect in postal worker robbery.

From the Canadian Union of Postal Workers:

OTTAWA – Canada Post’s decision to end door-to-door mail delivery and dramatically increase stamp prices is short-sighted and foolish. The Canadian Union of Postal Workers is extremely alarmed at this rash decision to gut public postal service for millions of Canadians.

“If this happens, it would be the end of an era for Canada Post,” said Denis Lemelin, CUPW National President. “We recognize that Canada Post needs to change, but this is not the way!” CUPW has consistently advocated for innovation and service expansion to create a financially viable and service oriented postal service for the future.

“We are sure we are not alone in disagreeing with Canada Post’s plan,” said Lemelin. CUPW will stand with those people who resist the elimination of door-to-door delivery.

“We are extremely concerned that these changes will send Canada Post into a downward spiral,” said Lemelin. “Furthermore, the skyrocketing stamp prices will make the postal service inaccessible to many people.”

CUPW has been vigorously campaigning to bring back and expand postal banking, with growing support from municipalities and groups across the country. Postal banks have been proven to be a solid source of income for post offices and a much needed financial resource for people in other parts of the world.

“Where many postal operators are responding to a changing postal business with innovation, Canada Post is relying on cuts and rate increases,” said Lemelin.

Read more: CUPW – 2013-12-11 – Canada Post chooses cuts over better options.

OTTAWA – Canada Post’s abrupt announcement that it is ending door-to-door delivery in urban areas and charging $1 for an individual stamp has alarmed opposition MPs and postal workers who say the new plan is bad news for Canadians.

The plan – released the day after the House of Commons started its Christmas break – caught parliamentarians by surprise.

Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau said the timing of the announcement “is a demonstration of a tremendous level of cynicism.”

The NDP slammed Canada Post’s new business plan, with Transport Critic Olivia Chow saying the “short-sighted service cuts” will have huge impacts on seniors and people with disabilities.

Read more: Olivia Chow decries Canada Post cuts as ‘destroying’ mail services while Justin Trudeau slams ‘cynicism’ | National Post.

From The National Association of Letter Carriers:

Dec. 11, 2013–NALC grassroots activists and the American public scored a huge victory on Tuesday when efforts to include elimination of Saturday mail delivery in the emerging budget agreement for 2014 failed. Read the rest of this entry »

Canada Post has released an a new “Action Plan” that it says will “form the foundation of a new postal system designed to meet the needs of busy Canadians”. But one aspect of the plan will make some Canadians a bit busier- the end of door to door mail delivery:

The one third of Canadian households that still receive their mail at their door will be converted to community mailbox delivery over the next five years. (The other two thirds already receive their mail and parcels through community mailboxes, grouped or lobby mailboxes or curbside rural mailboxes.

Here’s the Canada Post video detaiing the plan:

Read more: Canada Post – Five-point Action Plan unveiled.

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Postmaster General Pat Donahoe expressed optimism about the agency’s future, and pointed to reductions in staffing and expenses the USPS had achieved despite the lack of Congressional action. He also appeared to confirm fears that the USPS might provide higher levels of service to some affluent communities, even as it reduces services across the country.

He told the WSJ that the USPS had reduced staffing by 200,000 employees since 2006. While accepting that labor costs account for 80 percent of postal service expenses (and that “it will always be that high”), he pointed to the fact that twenty percent of the current staff are non-career part time workers. Curiously, he suggested later in the interview that the percentage would drop in the future, telling the interviewer that the USPS “in the near term” required about 400,000 career emplyees, and 60,000 non-career. That works out to a non-career percentage of 13%.

Continued staffing and cost reductions would depend on Congressional action to allow the USPS to eliminate Saturday mail delivery, but the PMG promised “package delivery seven days a week in ZIP codes that can support Sunday”.

Donahoe also said that while the USPS would continue to seek partnerships with the private sector, he doesn’t think it should be privatized.

Read more: Why the Postmaster General Says He’s an Optimist Despite Red Ink – WSJ.com.