Building dangers cause post office to close

ROCKFIELD, Ind. WLFI – A Carroll County community will be without a post office because the building poses a danger to the public.

The Rockfield post office, about seven miles northeast of Delphi, closed for good May 31. The United States Postal Service USPS leased the space from the property owner.According to a letter sent to residents, the landlord feels that the building poses a risk to employees and the public.

Read more: Building dangers cause post office to close | WLFI – Rockfield, Indiana.

Activists vow to escalate the pressure on USPS

 “I suspect the authorities dropped the charges because they were afraid of us,” said Rev. John Schwiebert, one of the “Forever Five” arrestees (so named for the “forever” stamp and to protect “forever” the postal service).  “They knew we were planning to plead not-guilty to criminal trespass and to demand a jury trial.  We were ready to plead that our “occupation” of the Salem mail processing plant was in the public interest, to preserve our constitutionally mandated postal service.”  The protesters claim that closure of the Salem plant is itself a criminal act, violating Title 39, U.S. Code, Sec. 404 which requires the postal service to provide a “maximum degree of effective and regular services…” and to consider the effect of plant “consolidations” on communities, jobs and service.

 Mail sorting machines from the Salem plant began to be removed on April 30^th, headed north to Portland and south to Medford.  In the beginning of May, mail collection times and overnight delivery standards changed throughout Oregon.  Although their plants are not scheduled for closure until later this year, mail from Eugene/ Springfield, Bend and Pendleton is already being shipped all the way to Portland to be sorted.  Mail is being delayed one or two days.

 The U.S. Postal Service’s own studies (see attached), which they attempted to suppress, showed that big mailers leave the system as a result of such delays, costing more in lost revenue than is saved by lowering labor costs, not to mention the dramatic increase in trucking costs as mail is transported hundreds of extra miles to be sorted in the closest still open facilities.

 “Postal management is tearing apart the infrastructure of the public postal service,” said Jamie Partridge, retired letter carrier and one of the Forever Five arrestees.  Vowing further bold actions, Partridge declared that “we plan to escalate this fight to save our national treasure.”  

 The Salem, Springfield, Bend and Pendleton plant closures will eliminate approximately three hundred local union jobs, delay Oregon mail delivery, and disproportionately affect small businesses, the elderly, rural communities, the one-half of the public that pays bills by mail and the many who lack access to reliable internet service.   Oregon’s vote-by-mail system could be compromised.

 Despite a “no lay-off” provision in union contracts, at least forty workers in the Salem plant have lost their jobs, according to local union officials.  Twenty-eight were forced into early retirement and twenty Postal Support Employees “lost their hours.”  Over sixty other workers were “excessed” to Portland or other facilities. 

 At least eighteen of these union, postal jobs will be subcontracted to Matheson Flight Extenders, according to union leaders in Portland.  Twelve mail handler positions and six clerk positions will be filled by low wage, non-postal, non-union workers at Matheson, which owns a warehouse next to the USPS Portland Air Cargo Center.  Postal management states that the PACC cannot hold all the machines from Salem, so they must moved into the private facility.  They claim that union workers are too expensive, thus subcontracting is required.  

 Further subcontracting has hit postal truckers in the Portland area.  Faced with understaffing and extensive overtime, the USPS decided to contract out twenty tractor-trailer routes to Dill Star Trucking, instead of hiring union postal truck drivers.  Claiming an “emergency”, postal management issued the no-bid contract, sub-leased postal trailers to Dill Star, and put APWU-represented postal truckers in “short” trucks with many on stand-by for up to six hours.

 The protesters, organized by Communities and Postal Workers United, a national grassroots network, claim that a 2006 Congressional mandate, which forces the U.S. Postal Service to prefund retiree health benefits 75 years in advance, has created a phony financial crisis.  Not only would the postal service have been profitable without the mandate, says CPWU, the USPS has also overpaid tens of billions into two pension funds.

The activists are calling on postal management to suspend cuts and closures and allow Congress to fix the finances by repealing the prefunding mandate and refunding the pension surplus.    Twin bills, HR 630, sponsored by U.S. Representative Peter DeFazio (Oregon) and S 316, sponsored by Senator Bernie Sanders (Vermont), would fix postal finances and prevent plant and office closures and service cuts. 

www.statesmanjournal.com/article/20130417/UPDATE/130417026/Five-arrested-during-protest-Salem-Post-Office

Gallery of photos here:  www.statesmanjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/gallery?Avis=J0&Dato=20130417&Kategori=NEWS&Lopenr=304170802&Ref=PH&odyssey=mod|galleriespic

From Save the Berkeley Post Office via Youtube:

Across the country, over 3700 post offices are at the risk of closure, including many historic buildings with New Deal public art.

George W. Bush signed legislation in 2006 that destroyed the financial stability of the Postal Service and laid the groundwork for its privatization. The Post Office is being required to pay its pension fund 75 years in advance, which needs to be stopped. Without this requirement, the post office is actually making a profit.

C.B. Richard Ellis (CBRE) chaired by Richard Blum has an exclusive contract to sell USPS properties. Billionaire Blum is a UC regent and is married to Senator Dianne Feinstein.

Sign an online petition at: http://www.savethepostoffice.com

We are in immediate need of legal fees to stop the imminent sale of the Berkeley Post Office.

Please click on the link below and donate what you can. GO TO http://www.nationalpostofficecollabor… then click on DONATE OR MAIL A CHECK TO: National Post Office Collaborate P.O. Box 1234, Berkeley, CA 94701 Save the Berkeley Post Office Committee EMail: savetheberkeleypostoffice@gmail.com WEB:
savethebpo.com

FACEBOOK: Save the Berkeley Post Office

Freddie Gorman (April 11, 1939 — June 13, 2006), who wrote the original lyric to “Please Mr. Postman”, was a retired letter carrier in Detroit MI both before and after the hit song.

Post Office Graphic in the video is the work of Jos Sances and Art Hazelwood.

The APWU challenged management’s “POStPlan” at an arbitration hearing that began on May 1. The union charged that the plan, which resulted in a drastic reduction in the hours of operation at thousands of post offices, also deprives the APWU members of thousands of jobs, in violation of the 2010-2015 Collective Bargaining Agreement.

Testifying at the hearing was Abigail Schmeelk, a member of the Greater Connecticut Area Local, who is the only clerk at the Thompson Post Office. Schmeelk described the work of clerks in small offices that is typical of those affected by the plan.

“The POStPlan violates the clear language of new provisions of the contract,” said Director of Industrial Relations Mike Morris. New language in the 2010 contract stipulates that the work in question must be performed by craft employees, he testified. Assistant Clerk Craft Director Lyle Krueth also testified.

“This is a crucial case that has the potential to create and protect thousands of jobs,” Morris said.

Management will present its case at a future date.

From the US Postal Service:

In his latest State of the Business video, PMG Pat Donahoe addresses some of the mixed messages employees may be hearing regarding the future of USPS.

The PMG begins the video by focusing on the steps the Postal Service is taking to address the financial challenges created by declining First-Class Mail volumes.

“We will continue with the necessary actions that we have to take — things that we can control,” says the PMG. These actions include network consolidations; the Post Plan; and discussions with Congress and stakeholders regarding the USPS plan for 6-day package, 5-day mail delivery.

“When all these things are done, that will be it for the big, major changes,” Donahoe says.

The PMG then clears up misinformation employees may hear on postal issues, such as fears that a move to six-day package, five-day mail delivery will result in massive layoffs. “We have made major changes in this organization without having to lay anyone off,” says Donahoe.

He also emphasizes that there are no plans to reduce mail delivery to fewer than five days a week, saying that doing so would be detrimental to the Postal Service’s business. He points out that five-day delivery is critical for commercial First-Class Mail.

The PMG closes by thanking employees for their hard work, noting that service levels remain at an all-time high, thanks to employee dedication.

State of the Postal Service April 3, 2013 – YouTube.

“The APWU is outraged by USPS plans to accelerate the closure of 71 mail processing plants that were originally slated for possible consolidation in 2014,” said APWU President Cliff Guffey.

“These closures will eliminate jobs, harm communities, and delay mail delivery every day — Monday, through Saturday,” he said. The consolidations will drastically curtail local mail sortation and will virtually eliminate overnight delivery.

“The Postal Service is on the brink of cutting service in a way that will permanently damage our treasured institution. This would be a tragic mistake, and it is unnecessary,” Guffey said. The USPS notified [PDF] the APWU on March 26 that it would implement 53 consolidations this year that were originally scheduled for 2014. In January, the Postal Service said it would accelerate implementation of 18 other closures.

“These closures could have been avoided entirely,” Guffey said. “They are a casualty of congressional inaction.

“Congress must act now to enact meaningful postal reform — reform that restores the Postal Service to financial stability without destroying service or harming postal workers,” he said. “And Congress must act now to prevent the Postal Service from implementing these devastating cuts in service.

“We are calling on members of Congress to support the Postal Service Protection Act, which was introduced in the Senate and House on Feb. 13. This legislation would address the cause of the Postal Service’s manufactured financial crisis and allow the USPS to develop new products and services, so that it can remain relevant in the digital age,” he said. The Protect Service Protection Act would protect — at least temporarily — current service standards.

WALB.com, Albany News, Weather, Sports

Albany, GA. (WALB) -

Leaders in Albany met in Washington, D.C., Wednesday to talk with Postal officials about why the downtown location is needed.

One of those leaders, Frances Krack said the branch is in talks with a private Albany company to take over the Broad Street branch.

"We’re not asking them to continue to maintain the USPS here. We’re just asking them to give us the opportunity to put a new entrepreneur in this location to be able to keep this business in our downtown community," said Frances Krack.

Read more: Historic post office trying to stay open – WALB.com, Albany News, Weather, Sports.

Rep. Schiff Discusses Postal Service Reform on MSNBC – YouTube.

Postal activist Jamie Partridge on “A Growing Concern”

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill, who last year led a successful fight that prevented the closure of hundreds of post offices in rural Missouri, continues her advocacy to protect postal services for Missourians. In a letter, McCaskill requested additional information from the Postmaster General about the Postal Service’s claims that it would realize substantial savings by moving to a five-day delivery model-claims McCaskill questions.

In 2010, the U.S. Postal Service requested that the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) issue an opinion on moving to five-day delivery. At the time, the Postal Service claimed that the move would result in significant savings while incurring only a modest reduction in revenue. However, in 2011, when the Commission issued their independent opinion of what savings would result from moving to five-day delivery, its research concluded that the potential cost savings had been greatly overstated by the Postal Service.

“We don’t even know if the move to five-day delivery will save the post office any real money,” said McCaskill, who was born in Rolla, Mo. “Many families, businesses, and seniors, especially in rural Missouri, depend on current delivery standards and want to see it preserved.”

The data used by USPS and the PRC to make their calculations were years out of date. In letters to Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe and the PRC, McCaskill requests that the agencies re-conduct and publish analyses on the impact of five-day delivery using the most accurate, up-to-date fiscal data.

“In particular (I) have expressed concern about the effects that such a move would have on customers who reside or conduct business in rural or remote areas,” the letter reads.

Last year, McCaskill successfully fought to keep hundreds of rural post offices in rural Missouri open and operating. She has previously argued that shutting down rural post offices would not help the Postal Service achieve substantial cost-savings, and cutting Saturday mail delivery would deal significant blows to communities across rural America.

McCaskill’s letter to Postmaster General Donahoe is available on her website HERE.