From the American Postal Workers Union:
The House of Representatives voted for a 5 percent cut in postal and federal workers’ pay on May 10 by approving an increase in employees’ pension contributions. Republican members of the House provided all 218 votes in favor of the measure, while 183 Democrats and 16 Republicans opposed it. Read the rest of this entry »
More than 100 U.S. representatives have signed a letter to Postmaster General Patrick R. Donahoe [PDF], urging him to extend the moratorium on the closure of post offices and mail processing facilities, and asking him to refrain from cutting hours at rural offices.
“We write to urge you to extend the May 15 moratorium on post office and mail processing facility closures until the Congress has completed action on postal reform legislation, including any action that would result in cuts to rural postal services such as cutting back hours at rural facilities,” the May 9 letter said.
The passage of a postal reform bill in the Senate “is evidence that Congress is moving toward putting the United States Postal Service on a path to sustainability,” 107 House members said. “We understand that the USPS cannot sustain itself under its current system, and we agree it is up to Congress to act,” they wrote.
Recently the Postmaster General has said there won’t be a large number of closures as soon as the moratorium expires, but he has not agreed to extend the moratorium. Read the rest of this entry »
Teens Accused of Trying to Rob Postal Worker in Detroit: MyFoxDETROIT.com
DETROIT (WJBK) — Police say a man and his friend are in a lot of trouble for what they did to a Detroit postal worker.
"Our postal carrier was in his vehicle, and two African-American males approached him. One had a gun," said Wiley Christopher with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
The incident happened on May 1 around the same time you would expect to see a lot of government checks and food stamps in the mail.
via Teens Accused of Trying to Rob Postal Worker in Detroit.
Two Hampton Roads postal workers are about to go postal. They say their postmaster is sending them to an area that makes their workplace uncomfortable. Delivering mail to a nudist camp gives a whole new meaning to junk mail.
A reader takes issue with our story headlined “League says it saved post offices, but couldn’t save the postmaster“. Mike Engleman, State President of the Indiana Branch of the League of Postmasters, and candidate for National Vice President of the League, complained about the story on Twitter, which led to this exchange: Read the rest of this entry »
Former congressmen now making a fortune in the lobbying industry, take heed: your government pensions are safe.
That’s the word from Politico, which reports that Republicans defeated a Democrat attempt to keep former Congressmen who sell their influence as lobbyists from collecting Civil Service (or FERS) pensions at the same time. This despite the fact that the prohibition would only apply to those who collected a million dollars a year or more by prostituting themselves in this way.
I suppose the first question we should be asking is why the Civil Service pension system, which is supposedly under so much stress, should be paying pensions to anyone who makes a million dollars a year. But to go out of your way to protect fat cats who are “earning” millions by selling the influence they gained at taxpayer expense is incredible.
It goes without saying that there are corrupt influence peddlers in both parties- but why is it that the Republicans seem so anxious to protect millionaire retired Congressmen, while attempting to slash the pensions of people who actually work for a living?
via Lobbyists safe from losing pensions – Dave Levinthal – POLITICO.com.
APWU News Bulletin 13-2012, May 10, 2012 | PDF
|
As the May 15 expiration of a moratorium on the closure of post offices and mail processing facilities approaches, the APWU is urging the House of Representatives to address postal reform immediately, and to use the Senate bill as a starting point. The USPS’ May 9 announcement about keeping rural offices open isn’t binding and won’t solve the USPS financial crisis, so we must keep fighting, the union says.
The attention of lawmakers, postal workers and customers shifted to the House after the Senate passed a bi-partisan postal bill (S. 1789) on April 25, but, so far, House leaders have displayed no sense of urgency in addressing the issue. As CNN Money reported on April 27, “Aides say Republican leaders don’t feel pressured to take up the House bill right away, because they’re not worried about postal closures.” Read the rest of this entry »
