The Postal Regulatory Commission will issue an expedited decision on a complaint filed by the APWU that seeks to stop the USPS from implementing its network consolidation plan on July 1, the panel has announced. The union filed a complaint on June 12 asserting that the USPS cannot implement the changes without first obtaining an advisory opinion from the commission

The PRC announced [PDF] June 15 that it will issue a final order on the APWU motion in advance of the July 1 implementation date announced by the Postal Service, and ordered the USPS to reply to the union’s motion by June 20.

Federal law requires the Postal Service to request an advisory opinion from the commission when it seeks to make nationwide changes in service, but the agency announced it would proceed with its latest plan on July 1. The USPS announced a modified, two-stage version of its network consolidation plan on May 17, and filed a formal notice of the revised plan on May 25. The PRC is not expected to issue an opinion until close to Labor Day.

Phase 1 of the modified plans calls for the consolidation 48 Processing and Distribution Centers by the end of August and for another 92 plants to be consolidated or closed in 2013. Phase 2 calls for an additional 89 plants to be consolidated by the end of 2014, for a total of 229 — half of the nation’s mail processing centers. The PRC was considering an earlier version of the plan when the USPS announced a revised timetable, along with changes to plans for service standards reductions and revised projections for savings.

Under the modified plan, overnight delivery of first-class mail will be limited to “intra-SCF” [sectional center facility] mail beginning July 1. Periodical mail will also be slowed. Beginning in 2014, overnight delivery of first-class mail would be available only to large presort mailers and periodical mail will be further slowed.

The complaint also contends that the service cuts scheduled for July 1 are unnecessary, unsupported by the evidence, and in violation of federal law that establishes criteria for service.

At a June 7 hearing on the modified plan, the APWU asserted that the Postal Service justify the plan by relying on testimony and evidence presented to the commission about the earlier version of the plan.

“Given the complete lack of analysis and evidence, there appears to be no justification for management’s claims of an estimated $1.2 billion in savings from Phase 1 of the plan,” APWU counsel told the panel.

[Click here for more information.]

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) uncovered risk factors for feeder and sweeper tasks associated with Delivery Bar Code Sorters during an inspection at the Kalamazoo, Michigan Processing and Distribution Center on Feb. 2, the union has learned.

The ergonomic risk factors were not violations of OSHA’s standards, according to a letter [PDF] from OSHA’ Lansing Area Office, but they were “considered significant enough to be brought to the employer’s attention with the intent of encouraging efforts by the employer to reduce exposure or to eliminate them completely.”

Based on the review, OSHA has resent a copy of the Ergonomic Evaluation of the DBCS to the manager at the Kalamazoo P&DC. OSHA’s report identifies the ergonomic risk factors for Feeder and Sweeper tasks on DBCS operations. To prevent musculoskeletal disorders, OSHA strongly suggested that the Kalamazoo P&DC work with USPS to eliminate the ergonomic risk factors identified in the Feeder and Sweeper tasks.

The APWU has submitted OSHA’s findings to the National Joint Labor Management Safety and Health Committee and we will pursue ways to reduce employee exposure to unsafe ergonomic work tasks on the DBCS machines.

From USPS News Link:

Postmasters eligible for optional retirement — or eligible to retire under the current Voluntary Early Retirement offering — have an opportunity to continue serving their communities by applying to become Postmaster Relief (PMR) employees.

Accepting a PMR position will not affect annuity payments. The pay rate for a PMR who takes advantage of this opportunity will be $11.76 per hour.

The Postal Service will hire PMRs to work in Post Offices where the operating hours are reduced to 2-4 hours and where other conditions are met. Postmasters who retire will be eligible for these positions.

Eligible applicants can apply by providing a written request to their Human Resources District Managers that includes the locations where they are interested in working.

The Postal Service believes retired Postmasters make excellent reemployment candidates for these positions because of their knowledge of postal products and services, their community connections and their ability to provide continuity of service.

via USPS News Link Story – PMR opportunity for retiring Postmasters.

From the Biloxi Sun Herald:

GULFPORT — A former U.S. Postal Service employee has pleaded guilty to stealing mail while she worked for the post office in Diamondhead.

Nikki Gardner, 35, of Picayune, faces up to five years in prison at her sentencing Sept. 5.

She’s accused of stealing gift cards from the mail for more than two years, between November 2009 and Jan. 12.

She is free on an unsecured $25,000 bond, but her travel is restricted to the federal court regions of the Southern District of Mississippi and the Eastern District of Louisiana.

Read more at The Sun Herald.

WASHINGTON, D.C. –U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) is calling on the United States Postal Service (USPS) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) to immediately resume its stalled independent audit of the USPS’s decision to close processing centers, including those in Altoona, New Castle and Greensburg. These facilities are scheduled for consolidation this summer.

Earlier this year, the USPS OIG agreed to conduct an independent audit of the decision to consolidate processing centers in the Commonwealth. The independent audit has been stalled since USPS chose to alter its national plan for consolidating processing centers. However, recently, the USPS has decided to begin consolidations at facilities in Altoona, New Castle and Greensburg this summer. Read the rest of this entry »