The White House announced on Friday that President Obama has nominated Dr. Katherine C. Tobin (Democrat) to serve on the Board of Governors of the US Postal Service. President George W. Bush appointed her to a 6-year term as a Governor of the U.S. Postal Service in August 2006. In 2009 she left to serve as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Performance Improvement at the Department of Education. Tobin served as Chairman of the Audit and Finance Committee and as a member of the Compensation and Management Resources Committee.
From the White House press announcement:
Dr. Katherine C. Tobin, Nominee for Governor, Board of Governors of the United States Postal Service
Dr. Katherine C. Tobin served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Performance Improvement at the Department of Education from May 2009 to February 2011. From 2006 to 2009, Dr. Tobin was a member of the U.S. Postal Service Board of Governors, where she was Chairman of the Board’s Audit and Finance Committee. She was a Senior Market Research Manager at TNS from 2003 to 2005 and at Catalyst, a nonprofit working to advance women in business, from 1998 to 2003. In 1994, she founded the Leadership Institute, LLC, which advised corporations on market research and management issues. Earlier in her career, Dr. Tobin worked in management and development for a diverse group of educational and corporate institutions, including Manhattanville College, the University of Nevada, Stanford University, and Hewlett-Packard. Dr. Tobin earned a B.A. from Skidmore College, a M.A. from the University of Massachusetts’ School of Education, and a M.A. and Ph.D. from Stanford University’s School of Education.
Dan Cassidy, former Clerk Craft Director of American Postal Workers Union (APWU) Local 189 (located in Little Rock, Ark.), was sentenced to one year of probation, 40 hours of community service, and was ordered to pay a $200 assessment. On August 3, 2010, Cassidy pled guilty to wire fraud in violation of 18 U.S.C. 1343, a Class C Felony.
Deborah C. Essler
America needs a financially stable and Private Postal Service to best adapt to a changing marketplace and evolving mail needs.
Toward that end, the U.S. Postal Service is taking actions to abrogate the long-term affordability of mail and send this organization to financial instability.
Declining mail volumes and a rising percentage of our 6 figure salaries and bonuses dictate that we take this bold action to preserve and protect the Postal Service to retain our lucrative salaries.
In the past financial quarter, the Postal Service lost $3.3 billion dollars and is projecting steep losses for the remainder of the year, most due to the high salaries paid to upper and lower management.
It is in March ,2012 that we will announce across the board Early Retirements and possibly incentives, though the largest incentives will go to Management, and any remaining funds for craft buyouts.
Times have just changed, and so must the Postal Service. The fact is the American public and businesses are relying more on electronic communications. Bills are paid online. Friends and family interact through email, Facebook and Twitter.
Nevertheless, the demise of the Postal Service is something we all have to deal with, The Postal Service sustains a $900 billion industry that employs more than 8 million people. Its employees deliver mail to 151 million locations, the free ride of delivery to every residence , is an element of the past.
Last year, more than 8,000 postal employees in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont alone processed, transported and delivered 650 million pieces of mail to more than 1.83 million homes, businesses and post office boxes, even though management in their places of work used and continue to use intimidation and threats against them daily.
Our employees do a great job and are committed to both their co-workers and our communities, these employees though working in abusive and hostile working environments, for some reason ,continue to work.
And yet, to preserve the affordability of mail and to return the Postal Service to long-term financial stability, the Postal Service is pursuing a dismantling of our operational networks. As we do so, we are committed to ensuring a tragic end for our employees and our customers.
In December, the Postal Service agreed to impose a moratorium on closing or consolidating post offices and mail processing facilities until May 15, to give Congress time for Privatization to begin.
The steps we are taking now will put the Postal Service on a strong course for Privatization footing within the next few years.
Deborah C. Essler is district manager of the Northern New England District of the U.S. Postal Service, composed of Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont.
We should all take comfort in knowing that APWU will file grievances on this because, as we all know…that’s what they do best! Keep paying dem dues so that APWU can continue to bring you updated contracts that you didn’t vote for!