Earlier this week, members of Occupy Democracy – Pasadena joined postal workers, union officials, and area politicians to hold a rally near the steps of Pasadena’s City Hall to protest the closing of the Mack Robinson mail distribution center, where the consolidation process is set to begin at the end of this week. “They’re calling it a ‘limited consolidation’ … Read More
Eureka! The Postal Service finds gold in California
The Postal Service has been actively selling off historic post office buildings for over a year now. About forty have been sold or put up for sale. They’re scattered around the country, but for some reason more than a third of them are in California. Last week news came out that one of the most beautiful post offices in the … Read More
Reducing hours at post offices: A history of transparency problems
POStPlan, the Postal Service’s plan to reduce hours at 13,000 post offices, was not invented out of thin air. The Postal Service has been reducing hours at post offices for many years. But try getting any information from the Postal Service about the scope or effects of those reductions. In 2004, the GAO issued a report about efforts to optimize … Read More
The Hail Mary is an incomplete: The PRC denies the APWU motion to stop the change in service standards
The Postal Regulatory Commission has denied the APWU’s motion for an emergency order directing the Postal Service not to implement its proposed changes in service standards on July 2. Next week, then, overnight delivery will end for Inter-SCF mail (that's mail that needs to travel from between processing facilities). The PRC press release is here, and the order is here. … Read More
Thousands of postmasters head for the exit, others play musical chairs
Some preliminary numbers are circulating on how the Special Incentive Offers are going. About 45,000 mail handlers were offered $15,000 to retire, and as of June 22, the original deadline, 2,800 had decided to accept (2,500 optional and 260 VER). The response is somewhat less than projections based on previous offers. It’s a different story for postmasters, however, and … Read More
The union throws the Commission a Hail Mary on the change in service standards
Sometime this week, the Postal Regulatory Commission will issue a ruling on the APWU’s Motion for an Emergency Order, which seeks to prevent the Postal Service from implementing a change in service standards for First Class mail on July 1. If the PRC does not issue an order to stop the Postal Service, overnight delivery will come to an end for Inter-SCF … Read More
Opportunity knocks: The Postal Service invites postmasters to replace themselves
The Postal Service has notified postmasters considering retirement that they’re welcome to apply for a job as a Postmaster Relief (PMR). It’s “an opportunity to continue to serve postal customers” — and an opportunity to earn $11.76 an hour. Who could pass up an opportunity like that? Who wouldn’t want to give up a good-paying full-time job, transition into retirement a … Read More
Turning up the heat: The DC Hunger Strike
ENDORSE THE HUNGER STRIKE HERE Endorsement List & Flyer On June 25th, a band of protestors will travel to Washington DC to stage a four-day hunger strike calling attention to the Postal Service’s plans to reduce service and cut jobs. That’s just days before the Postal Service implements the change in service standards that will end overnight delivery for about … Read More
Busy week at the PRC: The union complains, the Postal Service shares numbers, and the senator sends a letter
It was a busy week at the Postal Regulatory Commission. On Wednesday and Thursday, the Commission heard cross-examination from witnesses challenging the Postal Service’s Network Rationalization plan to close over 200 processing plants. The APWU has also filed a complaint about the plan as well as a motion for an emergency order seeking to prevent the Postal Service from implementing the service … Read More
Historic Post Offices: An Inventory of the Legacy
Last week the National Trust for Historic Preservation named the Historic Post Office Building to its annual list of the 11 Most Endangered Historic Places. The historic post office faces an “uncertain future,” observes the National Trust in its press release. The Postal Service has been closing post offices at an unprecedented pace, announcing one downsizing plan after another, and … Read More
Free the Post Office
BY MARK JAMISON The United States Postal Service has abandoned the American people. At the direction of its Board of Governors and through the efforts of its primary officer, the Postmaster General, it has abandoned its mission of service and its basic responsibilities to the citizens of this country. In place of an uplifting vision of binding the nation together, … Read More
The National Trust joins the fight to save the post office
[view:slideshow=panel_pane_1] THE NATIONAL TRUST FOR HISTORIC PRESERVATION has named the Historic Post Office Building to its annual list of the 11 most endangered places. The Trust has a story, a slideshow, a feature on the post office in Geneva, Illinois, and a press release (which has the most details). The Chicago Tribune also has a story, and the Associated Press has another. … Read More