USPS Fined $77,500 For Electrical Hazards At Portland, OR Mail Facility
SEATTLE – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited the U.S. Postal Service for alleged willful and serious violations of safety standards at the Portland, Ore., Processing and Distribution Center, located at 715 N.W. Hoyt St. An OSHA inspection conducted in response to employee complaints resulted in a total of $77,500 in fines for electrical hazards and a failure to adequately lock out machines’ power sources to prevent unexpected startups.
“The Postal Service disregarded basic electrical safety practices, which left workers at this facility exposed to unnecessary risk of serious injury,” said Richard S. Terrill, OSHA regional administrator in Seattle.
OSHA’s inspection found workers were performing tests on live electrical equipment and doing so without adequate personal protective equipment, safety-related work practices and warning signs, as well as working on equipment that had not first been de-energized.
As a result of these conditions, OSHA has issued the Postal Service one willful citation with a proposed fine of $70,000. OSHA defines a willful violation as one committed with plain indifference to or intentional disregard for employee safety and health.
In addition, two serious citations with $7,500 in fines have been issued for failure to adequately lock out machines’ power sources to prevent unexpected startup during servicing and for inadequate insulation on electric cables. OSHA issues serious citations when death or serious physical harm is likely to result from hazards about which an employer knew or should have known.
The Postal Service has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and proposed penalties to comply, meet with the OSHA area director or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. This inspection was conducted by OSHA’s Portland Area Office; telephone 503-326-2251. To report workplace accidents, fatalities or situations posing imminent danger to workers, call OSHA’s toll-free hotline at 800-321-6742.
Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA’s role is to assure these conditions for America’s working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov.
Illinois Congressman Pushes to Save Aurora Postal Jobs
Washington, Jun 23 – Today, Rep. Bill Foster (IL-14) sent a letter to the United States Postal Service in opposition to the anticipated decision to move postal operations from the Fox Valley Processing and Distribution Center in Aurora to the South Suburban Processing and Distribution Center in Bedford Park.
The text of the letter appears below.
Dear Postmaster General Potter:
Thank you for your dedication to the United States Postal Service. The mail carriers, postal workers and staff of the Postal Service provide quality, inexpensive and efficient service for over 170 billion pieces of mail every year. I write expressing strong reservations and concern about the upcoming decision by the Postmaster General to possibly move some operations from the Fox Valley Processing and Distribution Center in Aurora, Illinois to the South Suburban Processing and Distribution Center in Bedford Park, Illinois.
This decision would adversely impact the residents of Aurora, Illinois and the surrounding communities. Currently, unemployment in Aurora is 11.7%, well above the national unemployment rate. The elimination of additional jobs in Aurora will have a ripple effect across the community, from the local schools to local businesses who are already struggling in this tough economic time.
With a boom in population in the last 10 years, the city of Aurora has grown to the second largest city in Illinois, behind only Chicago, with a population of 157,267 according to a special census in 2003. Over the past seven years, this number has surely grown. I believe that when our current period of economic instability ends, the city will continue to grow at a fast rate. It would be a sound business decision to take this rapid growth into consideration when determining where to place postal facilities.
I fully understand the United States Postal Service has tough decisions to make in the future in order to ensure the survival of the most trusted and valued of government services. We must take the impact that reorganization of facilities will have on the local community into account.
I strongly encourage the United States Postal Service to consider the impact on the Aurora community and I believe other cost saving alternatives may be better suited for this area.
Sincerely,
BILL FOSTER
Pioneering Black Filmmaker Oscar Micheaux Immortalized on Postage
NEW YORK CITY — Film director, screenwriter, producer and distributor Oscar Micheaux, who illuminated the African–American experience through more than 40 feature films, was immortalized on a U.S. postage stamp today, taking his place as the 33rd person honored in the popular Black Heritage commemorative stamp series.
Micheaux’s unique storytelling ability shattered stereotypes and challenged film audiences with realistic representations of African–Americans. The stamp was dedicated today at a ceremony in Miller Auditorium at Columbia University.
“Oscar Micheaux was a transformational filmmaker and gifted storyteller with an uncompromising technique that embraced honest depictions of African–Americans,” said Delores Killette, vice president and Consumer Advocate for the U.S. Postal Service. “His films not only entertained, they left audiences with a sense of encouragement, hope and inspiration.”
Joining Killette at the event were Wycliffe Gordon, jazz musician and leader of the Wycliffe Gordon Quartet; Melvin Van Peebles, film director; Lisa Collins, producer, Right on Time Productions; Jamel Joseph, chair, Film Department, Columbia University; and Geoffrey Fletcher, Adjunct Faculty of Film, Columbia University School of the Arts. Other events taking place in New York City to recognize the issuance of the Oscar Micheaux commemorative stamp will be held at the Adam Clayton Powell Jr. State Office Building on June 23 and at Steiner Studios in Brooklyn on June 24.
The stamp is designed by Derry Noyes of Washington, DC, and features a stylized portrait of Oscar Micheaux by artist Gary Kelly of Cedar Falls, IA. The artwork is based on one of the few surviving photographs of Micheaux, a portrait that appeared in his 1913 novel The Conquest.
All 33 stamp designs in the Black Heritage commemorative series can be viewed online at http://beyondtheperf.com/.
The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses, and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.
Testimony from Joint Senate and House Hearing on the USPS
Video: United States Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs : Hearings
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
02:30 PM
Dirksen Senate Office Building, room G-50
Member Statements
- Senator Thomas R. Carper [view statement]
Witnesses
Panel 1
- H. James Gooden [view testimony]
Chairman, Board of Directors
American Lung Association - Donald Hall, Jr. [view testimony]
President and Chief Executive Officer
Hallmark Cards, Inc. - Allen Abbott [view testimony]
Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
MenStyle, Inc. - Keith McFalls [view testimony]
Vice President of Operations, PrimeMail and Triessant
Prime Therapeutics - Paul Misener [view testimony]
Vice President of Global Public Policy
Amazon.com - Paul Misener [view testimony]
Vice President of Global Public Policy
Amazon.com - Andrew Rendich [view testimony]
Chief Service and DVD Operations Officer
Netflix, Inc.
Panel 2
- Don Cantriel [view testimony]
President
National Rural Letter Carriers Association - Mr. Frederic Rolando [view testimony]
President
National Association of Letter Carriers - William Burrus [view testimony]
President
American Postal Workers Union - Richard Collins [view testimony]
Assistant to the President
National Postal Mail Handlers Union - Louis Atkins [view testimony]
Executive Vice President
National Association of Postal Supervisors - Charles Mapa [view testimony]
President
National League of Postmasters - Robert Rapoza [view testimony]
President
National Association of Postmasters of the United States
USPS OIG: Fixing CSRS Overpayment and pre-funding requirements would fully fund pension and retiree health benefits
The economic downturn and the continued electronic diversion of mail, coupled with an aggressive retiree health pre-payment schedule have combined to put the Postal Service in financial crisis. A recent analysis of the future of the mail conducted on behalf of the Postal Service showed that mail volume may not recover along with the economy – further deteriorating the Postal Service’s financial condition in the years to come. Moreover, in its April 12 report entitled, “U.S. Postal Service: Strategies and Options to Facilitate Progress Toward Financial Viability,” the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found This report presents the results of our review of the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) Overpayment by the U.S. Postal Service (Project Number 10YO036CI000).This report discusses the $75 billion CSRS overpayment by the Postal Service in fiscal years (FY) 1972 through 2009. The objective of this review was to assess the facts concerning this overpayment and identify any possible solution(s) to correct the overpayment to the benefit of the Postal Service. This review addresses financial risk.See Appendix A for additional information about this review.
On May 5, 2010, the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General (OIG) entered, for the record, the attached Congressional testimony with the U.S. Congress in addition to the oral testimony previously given by the Postal Service’s Inspector General (IG) before Congress on April 15 and 22, 2010. 1 The attached testimony (See Appendix B) explains, in detail, the Postal Service’s $75 billion overpayment to the CSRS and three possible solutions to correct the overpayment contained in the IG’s written testimony of May 5, 2010. (See Appendix B pages 13 – 16)
Conclusion
The Postal Service pension fund is not made up of tax dollars. The two funding streams are the employees’ own money and money collected from postage sales, with inflated prices as a result of the $75 billion overpayment. See Appendix C for OIG’s detailed monetary impact calculation. The return of the overpayment or a combination of actions to realize the benefit of the $75 billion overpayment to the Postal Service would fully fund the pension and health retiree plans. The Postal Service’s more than $7 billion annual payments for retiree health care prefunding and retiree health care premiums would no 1 The April 15, 2010, Hearing before the Committee on Oversight and Government reform and the Subcommittee on the Federal Workforce, Postal Service, and the District of Columbia House of Representatives and the April 22, 2010, Hearing before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee’s Subcommittee on the Federal Financial Management, Government Information, Federal Services, and International Security.
How the $75 Billion overcharge started:
In July 1971, when the Post Office Department became the Postal Service, employees that belonged to the federal pension fund began contributing to the Postal Service’s portion of the pension fund. These retirement costs were divided according to the number of years employees had belonged to each fund. However, the federal pension fund paid for retirements was based on 1971 salaries, not final salaries as administered by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM).
OPM has explained that these mischarges were in response to what they believed to be the will of Congress expressed in 1974 legislation. However, the 1974 language was repealed by Congress in 2003. Congress directed OPM to use its authority to oversee the reforms using accepted “dynamic assumptions” that include pay increases and inflation. OPM switched to dynamic funding for the Postal Service portion, but did not for their share. The Postal Service paid the $75 billion difference.
In 2004, the Postal Service appealed the OPM’s methodology for pension fund allocation and the appeal was denied by the OPM. The denial relied on 1974 legislation that made the Postal Service responsible for the pension costs related to salary increases. However, the 1974 language was repealed by Congress.
In addition, the OPM directed the Postal Service to use 100 percent pre-funding for both pension and health care retirement funds. In contrast the OPM has pension funding levels of 41 percent for federal employees and 24 percent for the military. The OPM’s own retiree health care prefunding for federal employees is 0 percent. The Standard & Poor’s 500 companies’ pension funding is 80 percent.
Correcting either the $75 billion overcharge or reducing the 100 percent target prefunding level to 80 percent would result in the ability of the Postal Service to pay off the Treasury debt associated with paying the $75 billion overcharge.
Accordingly, the annual costs and premiums for the health care liability could be financed out of the interest earnings and surplus. Another option for the Postal Service could be to use the $75 billion overcharge to pledge to the retiree health fund instead of making annual payments. This could be done with the agreement of the OPM and the U.S. Treasury.
The details concerning each of the three possible solutions can be found in the appendix of the attached Congressional testimony.
See Full Report: Management Advisory Report – Civil Service Retirement System
Overpayment by the Postal Service (Report Number CI-MA-10-001).
FMLA Leave Expanded to More Parents And Children
The Department of Labor issued the following clarification on the expanded FMLA regulations:
Neither the statute nor the regulations restrict the number of parents a child may have under the FMLA. For example, where a child’s biological parents divorce, and each parent remarries, the child will be the “son or daughter” of both the biological parents and the stepparents and all four adults would have equal rights to take FMLA leave to care for the child. An employee who will share equally in the raising of an adopted child with a same sex partner, but who does not have a legal relationship with the child, would be entitled to leave to bond with the child following placement, or to care for the child if the child had a serious health condition, because the employee stands “in loco parentis” to the child.
Wage and Hour Division Administrator’s Interpretation No. 2010-3
June 22, 2010
Issued by Deputy Administrator Nancy J. Leppink
SUBJECT: Clarification of the definition of “son or daughter” under Section 101(12) of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) as it applies to an employee standing “in loco parentis” to a child.
The Administrator has determined that additional clarification is needed on the definition of “son or daughter” as it applies to an employee taking FMLA-protected leave for the birth or placement of a child, to care for a newborn or newly placed child, or to care for a child with a serious health condition. Based on the Wage and Hour Division’s experience in administering the FMLA, it is evident that many employees and employers are unsure of how the FMLA applies when there is no legal or biological parent-child relationship. The Administrator is issuing this interpretation to provide needed guidance on this important area of law. Read more
House and Senate Joint Hearing to Discuss USPS Future Financial Viability
Press Release via PostCom
Hearing will examine proposed USPS operational strategies and reforms from the perspective of customers and employee/management groups
WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Wednesday, June 23, 2010 at 2:30 p.m. in room G50 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building, the Senate Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information, Federal Services, and International Security and the Subcommittee on Federal Workforce, Postal Service, and the District of Columbia will hold a joint oversight hearing entitled, “Having Their Say: Customer and Employee Views on the Future of the Postal Service.”
Specifically, the hearing will examine various mailer, union, and management association views on improving the financial condition of the Postal Service in response to recent reports on the short- and long-term strategies for a viable and financially sound United States Postal Service.
“With mail volume projected to be at a low 167 billion pieces, the Postal Service is expecting to end fiscal year 2010 with a loss of over $7 billion. Given these figures, it is imperative that we are forward thinking and innovative in our planning if we are serious about improving the Postal Services’ financial conditions,” said Chairman Stephen F. Lynch. “Customers and employees represent critical elements of the postal industry. Therefore, hearing their ideas and concerns are essential before we embark on any proposed reforms, or legislate drastic changes.”
According to a recent GAO report, given current mail volume declines, the Postal Service’s existing business model is no longer viable. In light of this, decisions must be made about reducing operations, improving efficiency, and increasing product and pricing flexibility. Focusing on those that are most associated with the Service, the hearing will solicit comments on a host of Postal issues, including delivery frequency, network realignment, and employee retiree health benefit obligations.
“Major changes are needed if we expect the Postal Service to continue providing the products and services that so many Americans depend on,” said Sen. Carper. “I look forward to hearing suggestions and plans from the Postal Service’s employees and customers who rely on the Postal Service daily at our hearing. It is imperative that Congress, postal management, postal employees, customers and other stakeholders give up on old fights and biases and work together to cut the Postal Service’s costs and adjust its operations to meet a changing environment.
Stakeholders on both sides of the issue must make shared sacrifices and work together to implement these common sense measures in order to ensure that the Postal Service remains viable in the 21st Century.”
Witness testimonies the Chairman’s opening statement, and a 2:30 p.m. live broadcast of the hearing can be found on the Subcommittee’s website, www.federalworkforce.oversight.house.gov
Owners of Three Mailing Companies Indicted In Postage Meter Scam Resulting In More Than $14 Million Lost To USPS
(HOUSTON) – The owners of three third-party mailing and presort companies and several of their employees have been charged by indictment with conspiracy to commit mail fraud by possessing and using counterfeit postage meter machines to affix counterfeit postage in large mailings resulting in lost revenue of more than $14 million to the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) over a four-year period, United States Attorney José Angel Moreno and Chief Postal Inspector William R. Gilligan Jr. announced today. The seven-count indictment was returned under seal by a Houston grand jury on Thursday, June 17, 2010, and unsealed today.
Accused of conspiracy, two counts of mail fraud and four counts of postage meter fraud arising from a counterfeit metered postage scheme are Neal Lim, 49, the owner of Gulf Coast Presort Inc. (GCP) and Mail Processing Center Inc. (MPC), David Herrera, 44, the owner of Professional Mail Services Inc. (PMS), Robert Kamau Mungai, 41, the manager of GCP and MPC, Ricardo Garciduenas, 57, a supervisor of the GCP location, Ariel Puyo Alban, 46, a supervisor of the MPC location, and Nicole Garciduenas, 30, a postage meter operator at MPC. Lim, Mungai and Ricardo Garciduenas were arrested last night by investigating agents. Each of these three defendants has appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge John Froeschner and each ordered released on a $50,000 unsecured bond pending trial of this case. Each is scheduled to appear in court on Thursday, June 24, 2010, for counsel determination. A summons or court order to appear was served yesterday on Herrera, Alban and Nicole Garciduenas directing each to make their appearance in federal court on June 28, 2010.
According to the indictment, MPC, GCP and PMS are third-party mailers and presort companies which operated as mailing agents engaged in the business of preparing, presorting and presenting mail to the USPS for delivery on behalf of other customers. As a presort bureau, GCP was also engaged in the business of pre-sorting and/or automating mail for a larger number of mailers serviced as the bureau’s customers. All six defendants are accused of conspiring to possess and use counterfeit postage meter machines to apply postage in excess of amounts actually paid to the USPS. The indictment alleges that over the four-year period beginning in January 2004 to July 2007, the USPS incurred in excess of $14 million in lost revenue as a result of this alleged scheme.
“The health and success of the Postal Service depends upon strong and aggressive revenue protection,” said Gilligan Jr. “The Postal Inspection Service will continue to identify and pursue dishonest mailers who deliberately avoid proper payment of postage.”
USPS allows mailers to use postage meter machines, leased by the mailer from a USPS approved and authorized provider, to affix postage meter strips/indicia to mail. All metered mail must be pre-paid by the mailer. Per a licensing agreement with the USPS, an approved meter provider maintains customer information to ensure the proper payment of postage and is responsible for setting and resetting meters with postage and maintaining an inventory.
Third-party mailers are mailing agents in business of preparing and presenting mail on behalf of others. A presort bureau is a company that presorts or automates mail for mailers who are their customers. USPS also offers varying discounts for postage on large mailings that have been presorted. If presorting activities lower the required postage to an amount below the amount affixed to the mail, the presort bureau may claim a “Value Added Refund” from the USPS.
The discovery of discrepancies between projected revenue and the actual amount of pre-paid postage to the USPS by MPC, GCP and PMS lead to an investigation by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
The defendants face a maximum penalty of 20 years on the conspiracy to commit mail fraud, 20 years on the substantive mail fraud counts and five years on the postage meter fraud counts.
Special Assistant United States Attorney Tammie Y. Moore is prosecuting the case.
An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence.
A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until convicted through due process of law
source: US Attorney’s Office
Judge denies California county’s bid to halt mail facility closure
Yuba County’s request for a temporary restraining order against closing the Olivehurst mail sorting facility was denied this morning in federal court, with the next step still to be determined.
Judge John A. Mendez issued the denial, and no hearing has been set to consider the matter further, according to an official with U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California in Sacramento.
source: Marysville Appeal Democrat
Court: Postal Worker’s Vulgar Language is Sufficient Grounds for Removal
The U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit, issued a startling decision on June 16, 2010, in Jeunes v. Potter. The Court upheld the removal of a postal employee who “admits that he used profanity during a verbal altercation with a co-worker on October 26, 2007, conduct clearly proscribed by the zero tolerance policy.” The Court based its decision upon Connecticut District’s version of the zero tolerance policy, which bans “any type of vulgar language which would lead to a hostile workplace.”
I respectfully disagree with the Court. The Connecticut District’s policy is an impermissively broad expansion of the Postal Service’s zero tolerance policy, originally set forth in the 1992 Joint Statement on Violence and Behavior in the Workplace. Due to a lack of consistency in the application of this policy, the Postal Service announced on May 24, 2007, in Postal Bulletin 22207, that it was “Clarifying the meaning of the Postal Service’s zero tolerance policy” in the revised Publication 108 Threat Assessment Team Guide. Vulgar language and profanity are not mentioned in either the Joint Statement or Publication 108.
Publication 108 states: “It is common for the term zero tolerance to be interpreted as resulting in a uniform and automatic response of dismissal for all reported incidents. Even though the meaning of zero tolerance is set out correctly in Postal Service policy, many employees focus on an absolutist interpretation without understanding the term in context….Discipline may be imposed, but it will be based on the nature and severity of the violation.”
Administrative Support Manual 315 prohibits subordinate organizational levels “clarifying,” supplementing (except as authorized in MI AS-310-78-3), or rewording policies or procedures from a higher level organization unless the instructions specifically direct or authorize this action. Postal districts that “clarify,” supplement or reword the national zero tolerance policy as expressed in the 1992 Joint Statement on Violence and Behavior in the Workplace should be challenged.
Don Cheney
Auburn WA
PUB 108 Threat Assessment Team Guide
1992 Joint Statement on Violence Read more