Alabama community finally gets mail service
Filed under: mail delivery, postal, postal news, USPS News Link
An industrial area near Mobile, AL, now has something it’s never had before — mail service.
Pinto Island, home to shipbuilder Austal USA and other manufacturers, is located across the Mobile River from the city of Mobile. Until now, it’s been the most industrialized area in the lower 48 states without mail service. That ended when Mobile, AL, Letter Carrier Alan Green made the Postal Service’s first delivery to the island last September.
Postmaster Veronica Johnson, U.S. Senator Richard Shelby (R-AL), and officials from Austal USA worked together to make mail service a reality. To celebrate the first day of mail delivery, the Mobile Police Department escorted Green and his vehicle to the island, where he was greeted by manufacturing employees, postal officials, congressional representatives, and reporters.
The island is home to some of Mobile’s largest employers, including Austal USA, which opened its shipyard in 2001 and began pursuing postal delivery on the island. Before September, the company had a PO Box in Mobile and paid a courier to bring mail to the shipyard.
Now manufacturers no longer worry about critical, time-sensitive documents on bids and pricing being received on time. Also, since most GPS systems rely on postal information, customers find it easier to navigate now that mail delivery officially has come to Pinto Island.
source: USPS News Link
Can Letter Carriers deliver mail in the dark?
Filed under: letter carriers, mail delivery, NALC, postal, postal news
From NALC Branch #1100 in California
Well winter is here and it is getting dark early. Which means you could be expected to work in the dark. This causes issues every year. The rule to keep in mind is that if it is safe you are to deliver the mail. So what is safe? Safe depends on you and your route.
Arbitrator’s have ruled that darkness in and of itself is not unsafe. Darkness can contribute to an unsafe situation. For example you are on a walking route, it is not well lighted, you trip over a crack in the side walk and a few feet later you stumble over something else. You may want to declare that swing as unsafe and move to the next swing. As you deliver on the next swing the same rule applies. If it is well lighted then deliver the mail. If you stumble due to poor lighting then stop. Move to the next swing.
There are several things you can do to keep safe while delivering when it is dark. If you are on a walking route and it is not well lighted then you don’t cut lawns. You want to walk where it is safest. This is normally the driveway and sidewalk. If the area is not well lighted then you probably can not finger the mail while walking since you may not be able to see the addresses well enough. Additionally if it is not well lighted you cannot see where you are walking with your peripheral vision so you actually need to watch where you walk.
With FSS everyone is delivering in the dark and too many hours. Everyone needs to case in the dog warning cards. It becomes more difficult to tell where the barking dog is when it is dark. If you choose to bring back the mail let your manager know. At some point it is unsafe to be out late, it may be unsafe to be on someone’s porch at 8 or 9 pm. Remember with the exception of the month of December, Letter Carriers cannot be required to work in excess of 12 hours per day. Regardless of the month, Letter Carriers cannot be required to work in excess of 60 hours per week. You are the only one that can keep yourself safe. This article is not to supersede any past practices in your city nor any local agreements. Several of our cities have agreements regarding delivery cutoffs.
See full article from NALC Branch #1100 -California
Mail delivery may be impacted today in some Orange County areas hit by flooding
Mail will be available for pick up at alternate locations
Orange County, CA ― The Postal Service may not be able to access several areas in Orange County today to deliver mail due to road closures and flooding. Mail will be available for impacted customers to pick up at alternate locations.
The Silverado Post Office 92676 is inaccessible and mail for 568 PO Box customers and 391 Rural Route customers will be available at the Orange Post Office, 1075 N. Tustin St. in Orange, until 6 p.m. today.
The Trabuco Canyon Post Office 92678 is also inaccessible due to flooding and road closure. Mail for the 800 PO Box customers and about 75 carrier street deliveries will be available at the Rancho Santa Margarita Carrier Annex, 29862 Avenida De Las Bandera in Rancho Santa Margarita, until 6 p.m. today.
There are also about 600 city letter carrier deliveries in ZIP Code 92651 that will not be able to be made in the downtown and canyon areas of Laguna Beach due to flooding and road closure. That mail will be available at the South Laguna Carrier Annex, 22 Journey in Aliso Viejo until 6 p.m. today.
For security purposes, customers must present photo I.D. to collect their mail.
Mail will continue to be delivered in all other areas where the Postal Service has safe access during this severe weather.
Video: USPS contractors say they don’t have enough trucks to run all the mail
Filed under: mail delivery, postal, postal news, usps, videos
Postal Service Contractors are scrambling to deliver all the mail before Christmas:
Every year at Christmas, the Post Office schedules extra runs for their local highway contractors. Last year, they had to cancel many of those runs, but this year, contractors say they’ve added so many they can’t keep up with all the mail. Highway contractors, like retailers, make their profit at the end of the year so Christmas time is crucial. If people don’t buy presents, they don’t mail them and if they don’t mail the packages, contractors can’t move them.
Contractors say between the snow and the economy, last year was a real struggle. However, this year, they say they don’t have enough trucks to ship all the mail. The weather has cooperated so far except for last Saturday’s blizzard. Contractors say for your mail to make it by Christmas, the weather has to cooperate.
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DPMG Donahoe:USPS FSS Deployment On Track To Deliver Improved Efficiency
Filed under: flat sequencing system, FSS, usps, USPS News Link
As national deployment of flats sequencing system (FSS) equipment continues, DPMG and COO Pat Donahoe emphasizes that communication is key to successful implementation. This means delivery, processing, transportation and maintenance must be sure they complete all identified readiness activities.
“Right now, about two-thirds of all FSS systems are either currently installed or in the process of being installed,” says Donahoe, explaining that 12 machines are now fully operational in five sites — Dulles, VA; Columbus, OH; Kansas City, MO; Phoenix, AZ; and South Florida.
According to Donahoe, more than 140 delivery units with 259 zones are now on-line with FSS, and more than 4,100 routes are receiving sequenced flats. By mid-December, USPS expects to have a total of 28 systems operational in nine sites and all 100 systems will be operational by the summer of 2011.
Canada Post Innovations
PostalReporter.com reader: What would your readers think of the two innovations mentioned in this article? Canada Post adopted 5-day delivery many years ago.
Rules are rules, says Canada Post, even for double-amputee Tom Thompson, who will have to move his mailbox at least 150 feet to comply with new regulations regarding box placement.
Mailbox location in rural areas became an issue when the Canadian Union of Postal Workers negotiated contract carriers out of existence and brought the job in-house.
CUPW has complained that rural delivery is ergonomically unsafe for lone drivers. As a result, many delivery vehicles now carry two people — one to drive and one to fill mailboxes.
CUPW has also made an issue of the safety of rural delivery route.
full story: Canada Post tells double-amputee to move mailbox
Plan to scrap Saturday mail delivering angst
It’s not just letters, bills or greeting cards that Joan Sherman of Ronan brings to her postal customers on her daily 110-mile jaunt through rural Lake County. Try checks from cattle sales, prescription medicines, parts for farming equipment — even live chicks once.
She won’t be making those deliveries on Saturdays anymore if the U.S. Postal Service has its way.
Full story: Plan to scrap Saturday mail delivering angst | greatfallstribune.com | Great Falls Tribune.
PRC: Witness List For Hearings In Chicago To Consider USPS 5-Day Mail Delivery
Witness List for the Postal Regulatory Commission Field Hearing
Monday, June 21, 1:00 p.m.
Chicago City Hall
Council Chambers, Room 201A
121 LaSalle Street
Chicago, IL
Panel 1
John Seebeck
Direct Marketing Business Director, Crate and Barrel
Northbrook, IL
Chris Luthin
Executive V.P. of Operations, Caremark Pharmacy Services
Northbrook, IL
Dan O’Brien
Director of Postage Strategy, First Data
Omaha, NE
Panel 2
Gloria Tyson
Chicago District Manager, U.S. Postal Service
Michael Winn
On behalf of R.R. Donnelley
Lancaster, PA
Lucien “Bud” Wood
Owner and President, Murray McMurray Hatchery
Webster, IA
Panel 3
Cameron Bellamy
President, Grayhair Software, Inc.
Mt. Laurel, NJ
Chris Huckle
Publisher, Cadillac News
Cadillac, MI
Jim Kitzmiller
Executive Director, Associated Mail and Parcel Centers
Rockford, IL
Other Upcoming Hearings
Wednesday, June 23, 9:00 a.m.
Journey Museum
222 New York Street
Rapid City, SD
Monday, June 28, 1:00 p.m.
Buffalo City Hall, 13th floor
Common Council Chambers
Buffalo, NY
Media Outlets Ignore PMG’s Comment About “Value of Going to Four Days” Mail Delivery
As PostalReporter reported on Monday, Potter said it’s possible that USPS can remove a second day of delivery. But the media did not pick up on this comment posted on the Washington Post website.
Postmaster General John Potter leads a cry for retrenchment
Potter expects that unions will make concessions during negotiations this year, but William Burrus, president of the American Postal Workers Union, warned otherwise. “I’m not going to make any concessions,” Burrus said. “He’s trying to deny services to the American public through the service reductions. All of this is designed to accelerate significant savings and become a delivery arm of major mailers. “The value of going to four days — removing a second day — is even greater,” he said. Although no such plans exist, Potter said that Tuesdays are the second-slowest day of the week.
Letter carriers union opposes cutback in mail service; urges Congress to give USPS ‘financial breathing room’
ORLANDO, FL—The president of the 300,000-member National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) today opposed the proposal by Postmaster General John E. Potter to eliminate Saturday delivery to American homes and businesses, and urged Congress instead to take steps that would provide “financial breathing room” while a better plan can be developed.
NALC President Fredric V. Rolando, in this city for the mid-winter meeting of the AFL-CIO Executive Council, said such a drastic move is both unnecessary and counter-productive and that other steps should be taken to bolster the Postal Service’s financial situation while all stakeholders examine viable long-term changes that will assure continued universal service throughout the country.
“I do not believe that weakening our commitment of six-day service to the public will enhance the long-term position of the Postal Service as a critical element in our nation’s economic infrastructure,” Rolando said. “In view of the January report released by the postal Inspector General that showed that the USPS was overcharged by $75 billion for postal pension costs, Congress instead should take immediate steps to correct the error.”
“If Congress takes such action, the Postal Service will have the financial breathing room needed to develop a more successful plan,” Rolando added. “The NALC stands ready to join in discussions with other principal stakeholders to develop a comprehensive strategy for the long-term viability of the Postal Service and continued high-quality service to the American people.”