New York City, November 15, 2011 – The Executive Board of the New York Metro Area Postal Union, APWU, AFL-CIO unanimously passed a resolution in support of Occupy Wall Street and to condemn the eviction of the 99% from Zuccotti Park (Liberty Square). The union, which is the largest local in the American Postal Workers Union, believes that it is imperative that everyone take a stand in support of Occupy Wall Street and the right of the 99% to exercise its constitutionally protected right to free speech and the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

The New York Metro Area Postal Union sees that Occupy Wall Street has been a beacon in the struggle that all working people are facing in the unrelenting attacks from Wall Street and, therefore, Occupy Wall Street must be defended.

Postal workers and the public that we serve are fighting to Save America’s Postal Service and prevent the closing of thousands of post offices and hundreds of mail processing facilities which will impact tremendously on the people who depend upon the Postal Service the most, the elderly, the disabled, the poor and small business owners. This is just one struggle in a myriad of attacks on working people that Occupy Wall Street has been able to bring into focus so everyone can see. An injury to one is an injury to all.

Occupy Wall Street is the vanguard of the movement of people who are seeking justice and accountability, it is more than just one physical space; it is an idea that can’t be stopped.

We are the 99%.

From Postcom:

Word has it that the Postal Service is moving rapidly to announcing an eMailbox service of its own. In addition to the recent IG report on the matter, the jungle drums have been beating away in the background, suggesting that an announcement is imminent.

via PostCom: Postal News and Information from Around the World.

EquaShip, America’s new fourth parcel carrier catering to small- and medium-sized business shippers, today announced a three-way partnership to add discounted USPS Priority Mail, Express Mail and international products to its breadth of offerings.

EquaShip’s unprecedented partnership with Online Shipping Insurance Services, Inc. (InsureShip), which is backed by The Underwriters at Lloyds, now bundles Priority Mail with $100 of real, honest, regulated insurance for parcels, called EquaSurance™.

EquaShip offers small- to medium-sized business (SMB) shippers easy access to savings from 26 percent to 88 percent compared to FedEx, UPS and DHL rates. The newly-added USPS products are designed to give customers one-stop shopping for the lowest cost method of shipping any parcel, anywhere, fully insured, through the http://www.EquaShip.com website.

EquaSurance coverage on every parcel significantly reduces the impact to merchants’ customer service departments when packages are lost or damaged in transit. Bad marks from disappointed customers can lower merchants’ rankings and diminish and their sales through online marketplaces like eBay and Amazon. With complete end-to-end tracking and real insurance on every package merchants can cement customer loyalty by speedily replacing merchandise, with full confidence that they will be reimbursed.

“More than two-thirds of all e-commerce shipments—which are predominantly residential and weighing less than four pounds—are shipped by USPS today,” said EquaShip CEO Ron Wiener. “Higher-priced carriers like UPS and FedEx attract some lightweight parcel shippers through their built-in $100 of declared value coverage, which USPS Priority Mail does not include.”

Through EquaShip.com, they can now buy the same proven Priority Mail service with $100 of real insurance coverage included, and reach all mailboxes in the USA—including PO Boxes and APO/FPO military addresses—that FedEx and UPS cannot. Additional coverage is only $0.50 per $100 of content value, which is one-third less than the major carriers charge for their less beneficial “Declared Value” coverage.

EquaShip.com’s discounts off USPS retail prices are up to 14.8 percent on Priority Mail, 21 percent on Express Mail, and 8 percent on Priority/Express Mail International. Customers can save up to 37 percent over retail USPS Priority Mail with $100 of declared value coverage by buying their postage through EquaShip.com—and take advantage of the superior benefits of real insurance.

“In this age of ‘free shipping’ offers it is hypercritical for merchants to shave every last penny off their shipping bills,” said Colby Clark, managing partner of Express1, an authorized reseller of USPS postage. “EquaShip enables these cost-sensitive shippers to have real insurance that has previously been unaffordable or simply unavailable, without raising the costs of their lightweight Priority Mail parcels.”

EquaSurance is “merchant’s insurance” designed specifically for online sellers, distributors and manufacturers who ship new, invoiced products to their customers. Unlike the “Declared Value” coverage offered by other major carriers, EquaSurance covers packages all the way to the consumers’ hands, without many of exclusions, restrictions and limitations that often void or reduce claim values.

“Over time, most merchants have been made wary of buying Declared Value coverage from the major carriers because of their dreadfully low claims-to-premiums ratios,” said Walt Moscoso, vice president of sales at InsureShip. “In our experience, shippers often choose to absorb the merchandise losses rather than pay expensive DV premiums. We are thrilled to pioneer this concept of ‘universal health care’ parcel insurance with EquaShip.”

ABOUT EQUASHIP

EquaShip™ is a new kind of parcel delivery service designed specifically for small and medium-sized business shippers. With transparent “all-in” pricing, EquaShip gives shippers access to great service at prices typically 26 percent to 88 percent below FedEx, UPS and DHL retail rates.

EquaShip provides fully-integrated track-and-trace, $100 of EquaSurance™ real, honest insurance coverage included with every package, and superior customer care, all with no hidden assessorial fees, special software or contracted volume commitments. EquaShip also offers discounts of up to 21 percent on USPS expedited services, also bundled with $100 of EquaSurance coverage.

Ed Schultz talked to USPS letter carrier and Rep. Joe Walsh constituent Melissa Rakestraw about her encounter with Walsh at a recent meeting he had where he basically melted down and started screaming at Rakestraw and some of the others who were unfortunate enough to be attending that event.

via Ed Schultz Talks to USPS Letter Carrier Who Was Screamed at By Rep. Joe Walsh | Video Cafe.

Thank you for signing a petition about the U.S. Postal Service. We appreciate your participation in the We the People platform on WhiteHouse.gov and your concerns about the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) in a challenging economy. The Postal Service is vital to the Nation’s commerce and communications, which is why we must act quickly to make the changes necessary to ensure its viability for years to come.

Postal volumes have dropped precipitously in recent years due to longer-run shifts in communication technologies and other economic factors. As a result, USPS accrued losses of $8.5 billion in 2010, and faced financial insolvency on September 30th. Without reform it is forecast to sustain greater losses this year and next.

However, the Postal Service needs more than just short term financial relief at this time; it needs a comprehensive plan for reform to ensure that it can be flexible and competitive in a changing marketplace. There are multiple ways to provide relief and reform, but the Administration’s proposal in The President’s Plan for Economic Growth and Job Creation [PDF] represents a balanced approach for postal workers, USPS, consumers, and taxpayers.

More specifically, the proposal includes a set of near-term financial relief measures that will provide the Postal Service with the time necessary to restructure its operations and take advantage of flexibilities in the proposal, such as the ability to cooperate with state and local governments and modest pricing flexibility.

In the longer term, we are proposing to help the Postal Service reduce its excessive operating costs by providing the flexibility to gradually move to 5-day delivery, beginning in 2013. Under USPS’ plan for how it would use this authority, post offices would still remain open on Saturdays, Express Mail deliveries would still be made 7 days a week, post office box deliveries would still be made on Saturdays, and USPS would continue to make Saturday deliveries in the busy weeks leading up to the winter Holidays. These and other cost structuring actions will ensure that the Postal Service remains viable for the medium- and longer-term.

We believe USPS’ financial situation demands such reforms and the Administration’s package includes provisions to reduce the impact for USPS workers and customers. We share petitioners’ concern for the health and viability of the USPS and developed this plan with the best interest of this vital institution in mind.

As we work to get our Nation back on a sustainable fiscal path, the Administration is making tough choices across the Federal government and asking everyone to do their fair share. These shared sacrifices are not easy, but together with investments in our economic growth and job creation [PDF], they will make us stronger and more competitive for the future.

Dana Hyde is Associate Director for General Government Programs, Office of Management and Budget

The Direct Marketing Association has sent the following letter to its members:

Dear DMA Member,

Your Business is Being Threatened.

On Monday, the United States Postal Service (USPS) told the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) that it will pursue its request for exigent – above inflation – postage increases. These increases would be above and beyond the already scheduled 2.1 percent increase set to take effect on January 22, 2012.

DMA believes that the future of the US Mail depends upon forward thinking. Rather than digging up the past, USPS should be looking forward and right-sizing its network, transportation, and employee complement. DMA immediately urged the PRC to reject the USPS’ plan, which relies upon old data and failed logic to support driving postage higher. This is not the time to drive more mail from the system.

On your behalf, DMA has already fought – and won – this battle once in 2010. Now we’re gearing up to win it for you once again. DMA successfully opposed the previous exigent case on the grounds that the circumstances didn’t warrant an exigent rate hike and that such a hike would in fact drive more mail out of the system at a time when USPS should be removing excess capacity.

Every step of the way, DMA has kept its members up to speed on the fast-moving postal debate. Our very own Direct from Washington e-newsletter delivers comprehensive information weekly. You have also had the opportunity to speak directly with postal policymakers through our “Postal Perspectives” Webinar Series, which focuses on the tough decisions and significant changes that must be made to improve the fiscal health of the USPS. These informal conversations with the policymakers at the center of the postal debate give you the opportunity to hear exactly what the experts are thinking about the future of USPS.

In addition to fighting rate increases at the PRC, DMA has been working hard to make sure that postal legislation in Congress safeguards the interests of all DMA members. We continue to work closely with key policymakers – on both sides of Capitol Hill, and both sides of the political aisle – and our efforts are really paying off.

• Just yesterday afternoon, the Senate Homeland Security and Government Reform Committee voted to send the “21st Century Postal Service Act” to the Senate floor. When this bipartisan bill was introduced last week, it failed to properly protect catalog products from steep and immediate postage increases. DMA worked with key leaders in the Senate to create a provision that safeguards catalogs appropriately before the bill was passed out of the Committee.
• DMA was also successful in fighting two proposed amendments that would have required USPS to create a national “Do Not Mail” program. Because of our efforts, these amendments were not even considered by the Committee.
• We are also fighting to defend the lifeblood of nonprofit mailers. DMA was able to keep a harmful provision that would have slashed the nonprofit rate preference from being introduced in the Senate. We are also fighting hard to have a similar provision removed from legislation being considered in the House.

We are not resting on our laurels. Instead, we will take to Capitol Hill next week for a special DMA Postal Hill Day on November 17 in Washington, DC. A host of DMA catalogers and DMANF nonprofit mailers will join DMA’s Government Affairs team in meetings with senior Congressional staff leading the way on postal reform in Congress.

We encourage you to join the hundreds of DMA members that have already taken “DMAAction” to support our efforts in Washington. Visit our DMAAction website today to learn how you can tell Congress to safeguard the interests of the mailing community!

Sincerely,

Linda Woolley

EVP, Washington Operations

Direct Marketing Association

Beginning Nov. 23, 2011, mandatory overtime will end for many APWU-represented employees.

In accordance with the 2010-2015 Collective Bargaining Agreement, full-time regular career Clerk Craft and Motor Vehicle Craft employees who work in an installation and functional area with Non-Traditional Full-Time assignments cannot be required to work overtime (except in an emergency), unless they are on the Overtime Desired List. If just one clerk in any station or branch occupies a NTFT duty assignment, clerks working in Function 4 throughout the installation cannot be required to work mandatory overtime unless they are on the OTDL. If only one clerk in mail processing occupies a NTFT duty assignment, then no non-OTDL clerks in Function 1 can be required to work mandatory overtime.

There is no “December exception” for this mandatory overtime prohibition.

“Emergencies” are defined in Article 3 as, “An unforeseen circumstance or a combination of circumstances which calls for immediate action in a situation which is not expected to be of a recurring nature.”

via Short-Term Relief, Long-Term Damage: Senate Panel Approves Postal Legislation.

A Senate committee approved postal legislation that would severely weaken the USPS, by a vote of 12 to 5 on Nov. 9.

The 21st Century Postal Service Act (S. 1789) would give the USPS short-term financial relief, but it also would force the agency to dismantle its retail and mail-processing network, APWU President Cliff Guffey said.

“Mail will be delayed as a result of the elimination of hundreds of mail processing facilities and thousands of post offices, stations and branches,” he said. The bill also would allow the USPS to eliminate Saturday mail delivery after two years and would degrade delivery to customers’ to doors no later than 2015.

“These drastic cuts will severely damage the Postal Service. It will make the USPS less relevant and drive away customers,” Guffey said.

The bill would return approximately $7 billion in overpayments the USPS made to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS), but it would not return $50 billion to $75 billion in overpayments to the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS). Two independent actuarial studies concluded that the USPS has overpaid the CSRS account by $50 billion to $75 billion.

Earlier bills introduced by Democratic Sen. Tom Caper (DE) and Republican Sen. Susan Collins (ME) both contained provisions that would return the CSRS overpayments, but the new “compromise” bill excludes that provision. (The Government Accountability Office [GAO] issued a report in October that did not specifically refute the overpayments, but concluded that the overpayments did not violate federal law.)

In addition, although the bill would restructure required payments to pre-fund healthcare benefits for future retirees, it would not do enough to relieve the Postal Service of the pre-funding obligation, Guffey said. No other government agency or private company is required to make these payments.

“By failing to provide more substantial financial relief, S. 1789 will harm the USPS and its customers,” the union president said. “The Postal Service desperately needs funds to modernize its mail processing and retail networks, so it can continue to serve the American people.

Several other provisions of the bill are deeply troubling to the APWU:

It would dramatically reduce the compensation of employees who are injured on duty, once they reach retirement age.

The bill also would require arbitrators in postal labor negotiations to consider the financial health of the USPS. Postal unions have denounced this provision as an attempt to skew contract negotiations in favor of management by giving greater emphasis to financial considerations, at the expense of employees.

“We will work to improve the bill when it comes to a vote before the full Senate,” Guffey said. “APWU members must remain vigilant and let their senators know about our concerns.”

Several alternative bills have been introduced in Congress, he noted, and varying proposals are being presented to the congressional super-committee that is charged with reducing the nation’s deficit.

via Short-Term Relief, Long-Term Damage: Senate Panel Approves Postal Legislation.

Bargaining between the NPMHU and the U.S. Postal Service is reaching its critical stages, as the November 20th deadline draws closer.

During the next two weeks, the parties will determine if a negotiated settlement is possible. If a tentative agreement is concluded through bargaining, that agreement would be presented to the NPMHU membership for ratification through a referendum vote. If no agreement is reached, then the parties will resolve their dispute through either mediation or interest arbitration proceedings.

As is common in these situations, prior to the November 20 deadline the parties are required to present, on the record, their proposals on both non-economic work rules and on the key economic components of the National Agreement. A party’s submission of proposals means that either the NPMHU or USPS management is prepared to put these proposals forward in interest arbitration proceedings if the parties eventually reach an impasse in their negotiations.

The deadline for work rule proposals has just passed, and before it did, the Postal Service submitted a lengthy list of proposals. These proposals could accurately be described as draconian, or even outrageous. But the bargainers on both sides understand that these are markers or place-holders, representing the most extreme work rules that might serve as a starting point and lead to a series of subsequent compromises.

Nonetheless, to this point the Postal Service has presented several work rule proposals that, whether considered individually or collectively, would effectively re-write large portions of the current National Agreement to the detriment of all mail handlers. These proposals include the following, among others:

total elimination of protection from layoff and reduction in force

an increase in the non-career workforce to 40% of the mail handler complement, with no contractual restrictions on their hiring or use

an elimination of overtime after 8 hours per day, such that overtime would be paid only after 40 hours of actual work each service week

the elimination of extra pay for the Christmas holiday

a declaration that all current Local Memoranda of Understanding previously negotiated under Article 30 are null and void, and the requirement that the parties start local negotiations anew with only a handful of permissible subjects.

It goes without saying that these USPS proposals are totally unacceptable. They will not be accepted by the NPMHU bargaining team, and the Postal Service obviously knows that they will not be accepted by the NPMHU bargaining team. The NPMHU therefore sees no particular reason to overreact to these proposals. At the same time, the NPMHU does not believe that these proposals say anything meaningful – one way or the other – about the chances or likelihood that the parties will be able to reach a negotiated settlement prior to, or even after, the current bargaining deadline of November 20.

As more developments in bargaining occur, they will be reported, so all mail handlers should stay tuned by watching and reading their bulletin boards.

DOWNLOAD PDF VERSION OF CONTRACT UPDATE #8

via NPMHU Releases Contract Update #8 – National Postal Mail Handlers Union.

From USPS News Link:

To help reduce costs, the Postal Service today announced it is freezing Postmaster, manager, administrative and supervisor pay for fiscal years 2011 and 2012. USPS also is changing its sick and annual leave earnings formulas for new hires in these positions.

Effective Jan. 14, 2012, individuals hired from outside the Postal Service as supervisory or managerial employees or as Postmasters will accrue annual and sick leave at different rates than current employees (see table below). The accrual rate for current employees in these positions — as well as current employees who are promoted to these categories in the future — will not change.

This action follows decisions made earlier this year, including an officer and executive pay freeze implemented in July. Last spring, the American Postal Workers Union, which represents 209,834 employees, agreed to a two-year pay freeze and other provisions that will save the Postal Service $3.8 billion over the term of the negotiated labor agreement.

Today’s announcement affects nearly 62,000 Executive and Administrative Schedule (EAS) category employees, including more than 44,000 represented by the Postal Service’s three management associations. The National Association of Postal Supervisors (NAPS) represents 23,385 supervisory and managerial employees. The National Association of Postmasters of the United States (NAPUS) and the National League of Postmasters of the United States (NLPM) represent 13,741 and 7,271 Postmasters, respectively.

Today’s announcement follows pay consultations with those associations. USPS consults with management associations on pay and benefit packages. Postal Service management employees do not have access to collective bargaining.

The wage freeze also applies to 17,439 additional EAS employees not represented by management associations.

Formula for Earning Sick and Annual Leave (calculated by years of service)

Note: One pay period equals two weeks. There are 26 pay periods per year.

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