National Veterans Outreach Program Wins USPS Contract For Mail Trays
San Antonio, TX (PRWEB) April 26, 2010 — The National Veterans Outreach Program of the American GI Forum began production of corrugate mail trays for the United States Postal Service, at the Veterans Enterprises of Texas (VETS) manufacturing assembly plant.
The United States Postal Service (USPS) recently issued the contract award to the National Veterans Outreach Program (NVOP) of the American GI Forum for the tray production. The NVOP operate the VETS facility which is a corrugate box manufacturing plant located in San Antonio, Texas. USPS contracted the NVOP to create and implement production of One Million Two hundred Nighty-Six thousand (1,296,000) corrugate mail tray units. Once the corrugated trays are manufactured and assembled, the units will be shipped to USPS facilities in Chicago, Philadephia, Des Moines, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Jacksonville and Dallas.
The Veterans Enterprises of Texas (VETS) is a non-profit company, of the NVOP, who employs the disabled veteran including the veteran in transition from homelessness. All of the homelessness veterans employed at the VETS box manufacturing plant are residents of the NVOP’s Residential Center for the Veterans. Also, the assembly work at the VETS plant provides a 75% direct labor force of disabled veterans.
“The corrugage trays we produce are to be utilized by USPS customers handling large amounts of mail for both the in-coming or out-going sorting process,” shared Yolanda Suarez, Senior Vice President of the National Veterans Outreach Program. Ms. Suarez continued, “This procurement opportunity provides a value to the USPS of a quality product, but, also a much needed value to the veteran client whome we at the NVOP strive to serve with employment opportunities.”
The NVOP provides much needed services to the veterans through their multi-city locations. Some of the services available to veterans through the NVOP are job training, job placement and computer literacy training. Also, an emphasis is centered around the veteran described as the “transitional” and “hard to place.” Ms. Suarez said, “The hard to place veteran is usually in transition from being homeless, over coming substance abuse or may be an ex-offender. The corrugate contract allows us to employ this hard to place veteran.”
Ms. Suarez stated the NVOP continues to explore Corporate procurement opportunities with the goal of keeping the VETS corrugate box manufacturing plant operational.
The American GI Forum-National Veterans Outreach Program (http://www.agif-nvop.org)
was founded in 1972 to meet the needs of Vietnam veterans then returning home. The NVOP is recognized nationally as one of the premier providers to Veterans. They have received numerous awards for their successful program operations, including the Department of Labor’s “Regional Award for Cost Effectiveness,” the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s “National Blue Ribbon Award” for Innovative Economic Development in an Enterprise Community.
The American GI Forum was founded in 1949 by Dr. Hector P. Garcia and is second oldest Hispanic organization in the United States.
Postal Service Expands Prescription Mail Back With Pilot Program For Vets
Program Diverts Expired, Unused Medicine from Landfills, Water Supply
WASHINGTON — Veterans will be able to safely dispose of expired and unused prescriptions and help the environment at the same time under a program offered by the U.S. Postal Service and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
This pilot program is limited to an estimated 780,000 veterans living in Baltimore, Washington, DC, and West Virginia. Veterans mail back outdated, unwanted medicine. Federally approved facilities safely destroy the medicine, insuring that prescriptions don’t end up in municipal refuse, soil or ground water.
“This initiative pairs the convenience of the mail with the safety of a federally approved prescription drug disposal process,” said Robert Bernstock, president, Mailing and Shipping Services. “The Prescription Mail Back program demonstrates the Postal Service’s continued value as an integral part of American communities.”
Veterans receive specially designed, postage-paid envelopes and instructions with their prescription fulfillment. Expired and unused pharmaceuticals placed in the special packaging can be dropped in familiar blue USPS collection boxes or at Post Offices. The envelopes are delivered to facilities regulated and approved by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA). Pharmaceuticals from this and other similar mail-back initiatives are destroyed in accordance with EPA and DEA standards, including cataloguing and use of incineration, chemical or thermal processes.
The prescription mail-back initiative began in the state of Maine in 2008, and has been successfully expanding ever since. The VA program joins similar ones in 47 states. Mail-back envelopes are being distributed at supermarket pharmacies, in doctors and dentists offices, and at medical facilities including hospitals, clinics and hospices.
“The 40th anniversary of Earth Day is a perfect opportunity to tell Americans the good news about the expanded prescription mail-back program,” said Sam Pulcrano, vice president, Sustainability. “It is another way the Postal Service demonstrates its commitment to the environment.”
The Postal Service has won more than 75 environmental awards, including 40 White House Closing the Circle, 10 Environmental Protection Agency WasteWise Partner of the Year, Climate Action Champion, Direct Marketing Association Green Echo, and the Postal Technology International Environmental Achievement of the Year, 2009.
For more information about the Postal Service green initiatives, tools and products, visit usps.com/green.
Postal Electronic Technician Fired Over His “Bad Attitude”
Here is a brief background of the case taken from the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit decision:
Mr. Saunders held the position of PS-11 Electronic Technician [ET] at the USPS’s Roanoke, Virginia Processing and Distribution Center. The adverse action was based on an incident that occurred in April 2006. During the week of April 23-27, 2006 Mr. Saunders April 26 Mr. Saunders was scheduled to take the final examination for the training course. Before taking the exam, Mr. Saunders approached three course instructors and told them that he was going to fail the course. The instructors testified that they attempted to reassure him, and told him that he needed to answer only five (out of 20) questions correctly. According to the instructors, Mr. Saunders responded by saying that he will fail the test on purpose, because he is in “a pissing contest” with his supervisor. As the instructors were trying to convince Mr. Saunders to take the test, he asked one of them if he had an “Uzi.” The instructor informed Mr. Saunders that jokes about weapons were inappropriate. Once the test began, Mr. Saunders handed in a blank answer sheet within one minute. According to the instructors’ testimony, Mr. Saunders appeared visibly upset.
The agency [USPS] held a pre-disciplinary interview with Mr. Saunders. At the interview, he admitted making the remark about the Uzi, but maintained that it was merely a joke. He denied failing the course on purpose, maintaining that he could not concentrate. Following the interview, the agency issued a notice of proposed removal, listing two grounds for the proposed action. First, the notice charged Mr. Saunders with “improper conduct,” and second, it charged him with “unsatisfactory performance.” In support of the improper conduct charge the agency listed the events related to the failed exam and also accused Mr. Saunders of “lack of candor” during the pre-disciplinary interview. In support of the “unsatisfactory performance” charge the agency alleged that Mr. Saunders purposely failed to complete the training which was required of him. The agency noted that he had three prior suspensions for improper conduct, unsatisfactory attendance, and unsatisfactory performance. The proposal notice stated that the appellant was in violation of provisions of the Employee and Labor Relations Manual §§685.16 and 662.1, which list regulations governing behavior of federal employees, as well as §665.24, which addresses violent or threatening behavior. The agency also pointed to the Joint Statement on Violence and Behavior in the Workplace, which requires employees to prevent work-related violence.
The Appeals Court (no surprise) upheld the decision of MSPB.
Read the entire decision and Saunders defense: Billy J. Saunders v. United States Postal Service (PDF)
Disabled Vets Claim Job Harassment, Racism At Charlotte Post Office
WCNC-TV finds 103 complaint letters against post office – veterans say they’re ‘treated like trash’
WCNC has learned that more than a hundred disabled veterans who work for the U.S. Postal Service in Charlotte have signed complaint letters to the federal government, claiming they suffer from on-the-job harassment and what the letters call “blatant discrimination against veterans.” The WCNC Investigators have learned the Charlotte Mail Center is also dealing with complaints of racism – in particular, about a black doll carried by one supervisor. “Why would an individual bring a doll, black, with a noose around its neck to work to a government facility and parade it?” asks Michael Anthony Smith. Full Story and video
Report: Employment of Veterans in the U.S. Postal Service
Excerpt from Report on Veterans in the Federal Government
The U. S. Postal Service (Postal Service) is one of the largest employers of veterans in the nation, second only to the Department of Defense. During FY 2006, the Postal Service employed 695,890 career employees. This was a decrease of 8,313 employees from the 704,203 employed during FY 2005 (Table 13).
There were 179,348 veterans employed in the Postal Service during FY 2006. This is a decrease of 7,796 veterans from the 187,144 during FY 2005. Disabled veterans represented 8.8 percent (61,482) of the Postal Service’s career workforce, as compared to 9.0 percent (63,456) during FY 2005. The representation of disabled veterans in the Postal Service shows a decline of 1,974 disabled veterans (Table 13). Additionally, the Postal Service’s representation of 30 percent or more disabled veterans declined by 36 from 16,859 in FY 2005 to 16,823 in FY 2006 (Table 13).
In FY 2006, veterans received 23.9 percent (6,859) of the promotions, as compared to 25.1 percent (7,270) in FY 2005. Disabled veterans received 9.5 percent (2,725) of all Postal Service promotions (28,696) in FY 2006, as compared to 10.0 percent (2,883) in 2005. This was a decrease of 158 promotions for disabled veterans. Postal Service veterans rated as 30 percent or more disabled received 2.8 percent (810) of the total promotions in FY 2006 as compared to 2.9 percent (844) during FY 2005. This was a decrease of 34 advancements for 30 percent or more disabled veterans. The promotion figures in the table for Postal Service include reassignments of Postal Career Executive Service employees and promotions to Executive and Administrative salary positions.
In advancement and promotions, disabled veterans with less than a 30 percent disability rating accounted for 10.3 percent (2,696) of the total career hires, compared to 7.4 percent (2,620) in FY 2005. This was an increase of 2.9 percentage points. Additionally, 30 percent or more disabled veterans constituted 4.6 percent (1,191) of total career hires, as compared to 3.2 percent (1,144) in FY 2005. This was an increase of 1.4 percentage points.
Although the number of disabled veterans with a 30 percent or more disability rating has declined as shown in Table 13 over the past four years, the percentage of the total workforce has remained steady at 2.4 percent. In addition, Table 13 shows the increasing percentage of 30 percent or more disabled veterans in both categories as a percent of veterans and percent of disabled veterans.
USPS Fires Another Postal Veteran With PTSD
A Vietnam War-era veteran and Postal Supervisor suffered from service-connected Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (“PTSD”) and depression. He was a supervisor at the United States Postal Service (“USPS”) for 16 years until he was assaulted by his supervisor in 1998.
Thereafter, he tumbled into a long period of Major Depression and PTSD symptoms. In August and September 2001, his treating psychologist notified USPS that he was cleared to return to work under certain restrictions.
When asked to comment specifically, his psychologist responded that Mr. Ziegler’s current impairment had no significant impact on his major life activities. USPS determined that Mr. Ziegler was not “disabled” under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C. § 791, et seq., and needed no accommodation. The Veteran’s Administration (“VA”), however, had found Mr. Ziegler to be a “disabled” veteran.
Can one be disabled within the meaning of one statute and not another? The simple answer is “yes” and Mr. Ziegler’s psychologist declared him not disabled within the meaning of the Rehabilitation Act. Summary judgment, in part, must be granted to USPS. The claim of discrimination based on disability will be dismissed as well as Mr. Ziegler’s claim that USPS failed to accommodate his disability. The entirely separate claim of retaliation based on prior protected activity, however, will not be dismissed.
BACKGROUND
Mr. Ziegler alleges that he was assaulted by his supervisor in 1998 and that the incident was poorly handled by the USPS. He suffered from depression and hypertension resulting from work stress. He took a short period of leave in 1998 to obtain medical treatment and eventually took a long unpaid medical leave starting in February 2000. .
In March of that year, his physician notified the USPS that Mr. Ziegler’s’s “long history and recurrent symptomology” of depression going back to 1995 was consistent with chronic Major Depression, which he described as “chronic, recurrent.” A July 2000 letter from his psychiatrist notified USPS that his Major Depression was “severe enough to interfere with his social, occupational, and familial functioning” and that he would “benefit from medical disability.”
Despite these letters to the USPS Health Unit, Mr. Ziegler’s supervisors terminated him in October 2000 for being Absent Without Leave (“AWOL”). As he appealed
his termination, his doctor notified USPS that Mr. Ziegler also suffered from PTSD, that his symptoms were “quite severe,” and that everyday incidents “tend[ed] to trigger post traumatic
On March 15, 2002, the USPS Reasonable Accommodation Committee sent Mr. Ziegler a memorandum that incorrectly stated that the Committee had recently met with Mr. Ziegler; in fact, no meeting had taken place. The memo stated that the Committee had determined that no reasonable accommodation was required because “available medical records failed to establish that [Mr. Ziegler was] disabled in accordance with the Rehabilitation Act.” The Committee’s decision was based solely on the therapist’s September 27, 2001, cover letter, as the members of the Committee received no other documentation concerning hids status.
The fundamental question is whether Mr. Ziegler was discriminated against, or retaliated against, when his request for a reasonable accommodation was denied on March 22, 2002. The USPS responds that he was not a disabled person at that point and, therefore, was not entitled to any accommodation. USPS Zieglers not address whether he was perceived as having a disability or whether he was retaliated against based on prior EEO activity.
“The Court is not persuaded by the USPS’s causation argument, given the record before it. Mr. Ziegler took unpaid leave because of a mental disability in 2000 and his supervisors, in an arbitrary, capricious, and unreasonable manner, discharged him as AWOL. When he applied, through his therapist, for a reasonable accommodation in August-September 2001, only the last letter from his therapist was forwarded to the Reasonable Accommodation Committee. Even the last letter identified a potential disability, despite the last statement in the letter. USPS argues that Mr. Ziegler’s prior protected activity was his appeal of his discharge. Not so. His prior protected activity was the repeated request, in August – September 2001, for a return to work with certain accommodations. That activity was certainly timely to support an inference of causation.”
“It is clear that the Reasonable Accommodation Committee did not receive full information concerning Mr. Ziegler’s mental health. As a simple for instance, there is no indication that the Committee received or reviewed the Medical Restrictions Assessment Form, much less his therapist’s repeated letters in August and September 2001. The September 11 letter (its date might explain the tardy response) was the fourth time that the therapist tried to obtain a return-to-work plan for Mr. Ziegler, who still experienced PTSD symptoms on occasion, in order to keep him away from the location and person involved in the 1998 attack. The USPS Zieglers not shine in its response to Mr. Ziegler’s situation, from its onset to the present. On this record, most especially since the USPS did not analyze Mr. Ziegler’s Complaint allegations of retaliation based on current law, the Court cannot say that Mr. Ziegler’s did not suffer retaliation when his request for an accommodation
“The motion for summary judgment will be granted in part and denied in part. The motion will be granted as to the claims for disability discrimination and disability harassment based on the failure to approve accommodations for Mr. Ziegler in March 2002. The motion will be denied as to the claim for retaliation based on the same action.
Veterans Preference and the U.S. Postal Service
The following link is to a Memorandum sent to an House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform by the Congressional Research Service regarding veterans preference. The memorandum is in response to House Committee’s request for information on veterans preference and the U.S. Postal Service. source: Troy Rorman, APWU National Business Agent, Maintenance Division. Veterans Preference and the U.S. Postal Service
A short excerpt:
Under federal law, an honorably discharged veteran who has served on active duty in the armed forces meeting the duty period and length of service requirements defined in 5 U.S.C. $2108 is considered a preference eligible. As a preference eligible, the veteran receives additional points (above the individual’s earned rating) under 5 U.S.C. $3309 for appointment in the competitive service.’ Preference eligibles also have special considerations in reductions in force, as federal law (5 U.S.C. $3502) requires the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to establish regulations for a reduction in force that reflect military preference. Under OPM regulations (5 CFR Part 35 I), for a competitive area (as defined by the agency), the order of retention for employees in competitive service is based on tenure of employment, veterans preference, length of service, and performance. In addition to being a factor in the order of retention, veterans preference also has an impact on length of service as active duty military service is generally included in computing length of service. Similar regulations exist for excepted federal service employment. In addition, 5 U.S.C. §3502(b) states that a preference eligible disabled veteran with a compensable service-connected disability of 30% or more who has a performance rating that is not unacceptable is entitled to be retained in preference to other competing employees.
USPS Must Do More For Veterans
Although the Postal Service employs large numbers of veterans, not enough is being done to help qualified veterans secure jobs with the agency, APWU Executive Vice President Cliff Guffey told a House panel during testimony on Sept. 6.
“The Postal Service has systematically eliminated or contracted out the six job classifications that, under the Veterans’ Preference Act are restricted to applying veterans.” These policies, he said, are especially damaging to veterans’ chances of finding employment with the USPS. Veterans are losing their postal employment rights because the Postal Service is not preserving these restricted jobs for them in accordance with federal policy. The Postal Service should be required to bargain with the APWU before it can contract out any restricted job.” Full article
Related: Fed agencies avoid hiring vets, critics say
Some Reservists May Be Due Back Pay From 1980
An estimated 100,000 to 300,000 current and former reservists employed as federal government civilians may be able to recoup money for leave days that were improperly charged to them dating back to 1980.
The Federal Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Aug. 28 that Jose Hernandez, a retired Air Force civilian aircraft mechanic, was entitled to be considered for reimbursement for leave that was charged to him from 1980 to 2001, and sent his case back to the federal Merit Systems Protection Board for reconsideration “This is the largest victory for federal employees in the history of the federal civil service system,” said Hernandez’s attorney, Mathew Tully, who practices in Albany, N.Y. Tully, who has represented reservists in thousands of similar cases, said he estimates from 100,000 to 300,000 people could be eligible to receive refunds ranging from $1,500 to $3,000.
The Federal Circuit Court of Appeals, in its decision Tuesday, ruled that the federal Merit Systems Protection Board does have the authority to consider cases that pre-date USERRA, and that the department’s practice of charging military leave also violated the law before USERRA.
Tully said the reimbursements could eventually apply to leave improperly charged before 1980. “We’re litigating a case now that’s from 1972 to 1992. We’re going to push the envelope,” he said. Full story: Federal Times
According to Tully, current federal employees will be compensated with either military or annual leave, with cash payments only in very rare circumstances. Generally, only retired or former federal employees will be compensated with cash, he said.
Archive: Postal Employee Challenges USPS Over Military Leave
APWU: Military Leave Ruling Applies to Postal Employees
by Greg Bell APWU Industrial Relations Director
In the March/April 2006 issue of the American Postal Worker, I wrote about a 2003 court decision that overturned the federal government’s longstanding practice of charging employees “military leave” for non-workdays spent training in the armed forces. The Postal Service, however, had taken the position that the court decision does not apply to its workforce. We initiated a national-level dispute over the matter, which is now pending national-level arbitration.
Since that article appeared, there have been several new developments in the law, including a Merit Systems Protection Board ruling that indicates that postal employees are indeed eligible for back pay for non-workdays during a time when they are undergoing armed forces training.
USERRA
The Uniformed Service Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA), prohibits discrimination against employees of federal agencies, including the Postal Service, who are in the armed forces. Among other things, the law specifically prohibits the denial of any employer benefit on the basis of an employee’s military service.
Title 5, Section 6323, of the U.S. Code grants federal employees who are in the National Guard or the armed forces reserves up to “15 days” of paid military leave.
Although the federal code does not apply to postal employees, USPS regulations provide the same entitlement of paid military leave. Read more