Postal Letter Carriers

Benefits

NALC Endorses Housing Initiative That Helps Members Obtain Home Mortgages

Nalcrest: A retirement that’s union-made

Union Plus Discounts
For NALC Members

Resources

NALC: Retirement Q & A

CSRS| FERS

3982 label and mail endorsement instructions for Carriers

Corporate Flats Strategy-USPS' next push in automation

Workers' Compensation and the USPS Transformation Plan

USPS and NALC Settlement on PTF Loaners

NALC Re: Clarification of Regulations for National Day of Observance HTML & PDF

City/rural task force establishes committees and guidelines-On May 4, 2004 the work of a national task force with representatives from the NALC, the Postal Service, and the National Rural Letter Carriers' Association (NRLCA) resulted in a process agreement which establishes committees to review all outstanding city/rural cases (M-01519)

Failure to Provide Information as Requested
The case arises in the Houston district of the Postal Service (2/22/04)

-City Delivery Info
-JCAM 2004
-Manuals and Publications
-Letter Carriers Pay Chart
-NALC/USPS Memorandums on Route Inspections

Safety and Health
Keeping Letter Carriers Safe on the Job
NALC joins the Postal Service in alerting Letter Carriers to the dangers of heat this spring and summer.

Dog Attacks and Bites Start Rising in February; Peak in June - NALC joins the Postal Service in calling attention to one of the nation's most commonly reported public health problems: Dog Bites

News

Penn. Letter Carrier Facing Disciplinary Action for Petting Dog on Route (.jpg).

(6/05)

Why postal reform is needed now -- and what it means to USPS and the nation (4/25/05)

Bush/Cheney Campaign Charges Letter Carriers Not Delivering Election Mail

Cooper Tire unit wins 10 yr. USPS contract to retread tires-The Postal Service estimates it is using retreads on 20 percent of its fleet, a number it wants to increase to 70 percent, according to the subsidiary. The Postal Service maintains 208,000 ground vehicles, 142,000 of them classified as "long-life vehicles,"

Court Upholds NALC Arbitration Award Demoting Supervisor (6/15/03)

Letter Carriers Collect Record 70.9 Million Pounds
Of Food in Drive to ‘Stamp Out Hunger' in America (Press Release 6/2/04)

Bush Administration Finalizing Agreement with Postal Workers to help deliver antibiotics or antidotes within 48 hours of a biological attack to 21 major cities. USPS would get $12 million to help distribute vaccines and other medical supplies . George Gould of NALC said "his union supports the voluntary plan for letter carriers to deliver emergency medical supplies. Postal workers will be trained in handling the materials and in security."

Letter Carriers Agree to Deliver Antibiotics to American Homes in Bioterrorist Attack

(2/18/04 NALC)

Mail carriers learn how to identify potential meth labs -Pittsburg, Kansas Letter Carriers attend methamphetamine awareness seminar. The seminar focused on identifying and reporting suspicious material for carrier and community safety. (5/15/04)

"The Last Man standing'-78 yr. old Carrier honored for 58 years with USPS - Rudy Tempesta joined the Postal Service right after serving in World War II. He also served as president of the Chapel Hill, North Carolina branch of NALC for 34 years. So far as he can determine, he is the oldest active mail carrier in the nation. (5/15/04)

Morale Low Among Knoxville Tenn. Carriers (9/1/03)

Did postal rules kill carrier? 12/9/02

Zoned Out -The biggest Houston postal "improvement" ever has cut 400 jobs -- and snarled mail delivery (8/23/01)

Mailman Allegedly Beaten For $1400 Eyeglasses-Neighbors who flagged down police after they saw a mail carrier being beaten may have saved his life. (2/19/02)

The Blame Game: Letter carriers blast USPS statement on direct mail delivery
USPS tacitly admitted last month that Standard A advertising mail is not being properly delivered to apartment houses (11/30/99)

New Management Instruction, Piece Count Recording System

Effective immediately, Management Instruction PO–610-2007-1, Piece Count Recording System, replaces Management Instruction PO-610-2000-1. All previous instructions on Piece Count Recording Systems are now obsolete. This management instruction updates the policy and procedures for recording and reporting daily mail volumes within Post Offices™ and station and branch operations.

Flat Sequencing System (FSS) Strategy

FSS will reduce city carrier work load by 85 per cent. Three-fourths of city carrier volume is flats, most City Carriers spend 2 hours in office and 6 hours on street with 30 minute fixed office time break. FSS will reduce office time and increase street time. The Memorandum of Understanding included in the USPS, NALC proposed contract agreement states "FSS Implementation that stipulates that once FSS is fully implemented in a delivery unit, management will determine the methods to estimate the impact of FSS and adjust routes accordingly." See video of FSS in action, photos, deployment and other information. (08/15/07)

Unofficial Transcript of NALC Rap Session

NALC Branch 38 has posted an ‘unofficial’ transcript of the Rap Session held by NALC on January 28, 2007. According to NALC Branch 38: “WE DO NOT YET HAVE PERMISSION TO IDENTIFY THE TRANSCRIBER.” Chech out excerpts from the ‘unofficial’ RAP SESSION TRANSCRIPT

(02/18/07)

Postal Carriers To Hold Emergency Medication Distribution Drill -

In 2004, William H. Young, president of the National Association of Letter Carriers, entered into an agreement with the Department of Homeland Security, Department of Health and Human Services and U.S. Postal Service for utilization of volunteer letter carriers to deliver antibiotics to homes in the event of a catastrophic bioterrorist event. On Saturday, November 11, postal carriers in King County, Washington, including Seattle, will play a critical role in testing local plans to distribute medications directly to people’s homes in an emergency. The United States Postal Service (USPS) and the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) will participate in a drill in which postal carriers will deliver a cardboard container (simulating a bottle of pills) and emergency information cards to approximately 38,000 households in northeast Seattle. Participation by postal carriers is voluntary. (10/28/06)

NALC Presents Postal Service with Main Contract Proposals

NALC’s opening economic proposal calls for a seven-year agreement which would include a continuation of existing cost-of-living adjustments, with no changes; general wage increases of 3 percent in each year of the agreement; and a pay upgrade of one grade for all letter carriers. The union also proposed significant changes in the ways routes are evaluated and designed, and that the letter carrier craft be converted to a 100 percent all-regular work force. In addition, NALC offered creative suggestions for reducing the ever-increasing costs of health benefits without reducing the Postal Service’s share of the cost of premiums. (10/27/06)

NALC Seeks ‘Fair’ Wage Increase in Contract Negotiations
Young Expresses Optimism for Reaching Negotiated Settlement -The head of the National Association of Letter Carriers urged USPS today at the opening of contract negotiations to build on an improved labor relations climate and reward letter carriers with a “fair” wage increase and continued benefits for helping it become a profitable and productive government agency. NALC President William H. Young noted that the Postal Service has eliminated the debt of $11.3 billion it had in 2001 when the current contract began. The Postal Service has turned a $8.4 billion profit over the past three years, he added. “Letter carriers expect to be rewarded for their contributions to the success of the Postal Service,” Young said. Video of the event (8/28/06)

Cost-of-living adjustment

All letter carriers will receive a contractual cost-of-living adjustment of 23 cents an hour, $18.40 per pay period and $478 annually effective the pay period beginning March 18, 2006 (pay date April 7, 2006). The $478 COLA is the seventh of eight regular COLAs provided by the 2001-2006 National Agreement between NALC and the USPS. The $478 COLA raised the total increase in annual pay for top rate carriers (CC Grade 1, Step O) to $48,428 annually, an increase of $5,793 or $222.81 per pay period since the beginning of the contract. COLAs have accounted for nearly 50 percent of the total increase in salary. Click here for the latest pay chart (in PDF format) (2/24/06)

USPS Cancels Bid to Award Contract For 'Generation 3' Carrier Route Vehicles
Due, in part, to recent inflationary pressures driven by higher fuel costs and higher cost-of-living-adjustments linked to the change in the Consumer Price Index paid to our over 600,000 bargaining employees, our projected financial situation is deteriorating. Additionally, actual cash flow from operations fell $768 million dollars below assumptions that formed the basis of our recent rate case, as to amounts needed to fulfill obligations under a 2003 federal law that requires the Postal Service to establish a $3.1 billion escrow account. Public Law 108-18, The Postal Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) Funding Act of 2003, requires that the Postal Service, beginning in FY 2006, hold in escrow an amount equal to the difference between the CSRS retirement costs before and after the implementation of this law.

In addition, recent operational technology enhancements, such as the upcoming Flat
Sequencing System (FSS), may significantly change future carrier route vehicle requirements. The pending mail sortation technology will increase the volume and change the composition of mail on the routes. The stowage, handling, and sequencing of the mail awaiting delivery will be
substantially altered to accommodate anticipated revised delivery methods. Collectively, these
new requirements may necessitate fundamental vehicle specification revisions, impact the
quantity of vehicles required, and may result in an entirely different type of vehicle.

(1/17/06)

source: PDF file

USPS to Replace Long Life Vehicles (LLVs) With "Generation 3" Carrier Route Vehicles -"The USPS operates a fleet of over 200,000 vehicles in all areas of the United States and its territories. Approximately 140,000 of these vehicles are light-duty carrier route vehicles (CRVs) manufactured between 1987 and 1994 from the Grumman Corp. These vehicles, known as Long Life Vehicles (LLVs), are rear drive, 4 cylinder, aluminum body-on-frame vehicles with a payload capacity of approximately 1,400 lbs. The LLVs are nearing the end of their useful life and the USPS intends to retire this fleet over the next 12 to 14 years and replace them with new, similarly sized vehicles. The new vehicles will be referred to as Generation 3 (G3) Carrier Route Vehicles.. . USPS intends to make an award for up to 200,000 CRVs, awarding a "base-level" contract of 4 years with 3 option provisions. Any resulting contract is contingent upon approval of funding by the USPS Board of Governors." (3/18/05)

Management Assures NALC Of Supervisors’ Restrictions In Making Changes to DOIS

Postal management, in a recent meeting with NALC officials at USPS Headquarters, asserted that they had restricted the ability of local supervisors to access the Delivery Operations Information System (DOIS) and alter the base times that had been entered.

Only DOIS administrators now possess the capability of making such changes and NALC received repeated assurances that, absent a new PS Form 1840 from a new route count and inspection, no such changes would be made.

NALC President William H. Young said NALC members are keenly aware of the problems we have encountered when overzealous managers altered route base data using one-day counts in direct contradiction to controlling handbooks and manuals.

“If what is being asserted here is true, one significant problem with DOIS could be resolved,” Young said. “In order to ensure such is the case, I am requesting that each shop steward request the latest DOIS ‘Route Base Information Report’ and the latest PS Form 1840 in order to complete the form that is being provided to you by your National Business Agent.”

Young asked stewards to send the completed forms to the attention of Director of City Delivery Fred Rolando at NALC Headquarters.

“While additional issues remain, it would be nice to know that one of the stumbling blocks had been removed and we can now move on to another,” Young said. (NALC News Bulletin, 1/17/06)

New Scanners
The Postal Service is planning to begin deployment of new scanners for letter carriers in May of 2006. The new scanners are called Intelligent Mail Devices. Several letter carriers were involved in the testing and provided input into the design of the new devices.

The new IMDs weigh about three ounces more that the current scanners, and have a larger screen. The new device will take a digital picture of the customer’s signature, prompted by a barcode situated below the signature block on the PS Form 3849. The new scanner will have the ability to scan at any angle. The device itself has a full alphabet keyboard, an adjustable hand strap, and additional large scan buttons on either side.

The Postal Service is planning to conduct performance, engineering, and field testing between January and April, with plans to begin deployment to letter carriers in May in the Capital Metro Area. Nationwide deployment would follow and take 6-12 months.

We were advised that stand-up talks are being developed for letter carriers in advance of the deployment, and that each letter carrier will receive about one hour of end-user training when the devices arrive. Additionally, each route will be assigned a user guide, and each letter carrier will be provided with a pocket card as a quick reference to the scanner functions. (source: NALC 12/22/05)

January 2006 - JCAM 2005
The NALC and the Postal Service have completed the 2005 updates to the Joint Contract Administration Manual (JCAM). The 2005 JCAM will be printed as a completely new manual, rather than a transmittal letter with inserts as was done last year. While there aren’t many major changes or additions to the interpretive material, a brand-new printing was needed because of the many rewrites, typographical corrections, and grammatical and formatting changes. The new JCAM is currently being printed and should be ready for distribution in mid January. As with previous editions, the new JCAM will be mailed to each NALC branch, and to each USPS delivery unit for use by shop stewards and supervisors. (source: NALC 12/22/05)

Early-Outs Okayed for Carriers Affected by Hurricane Katrina

NALC has received a notice from the Postal Service that its request to the Office of Personnel Management, for Voluntary Early Retirement for career employees in Louisiana and Mississippi Districts has been approved. Only career employees covered by the Hurricane Katrina MOU who meet the eligibility requirements outlined in Section III, Eligibility/Annuity Requirement of the Guidelines for Processing Voluntary Early Retirement (VER) for Employees Covered by Hurricane Katrina VER Authority may submit a Statement of Interest Form. . (12/14/05)

An eligible employee's Statement of Interest Form must be completed and returned to the address provided in his or her package and postmarked no later than:

December 30, 2005 for full-time employees
February 8, 2006 for part-time employees

If you know an employee who is covered by the Hurricane Katrina MOU, please inform him or her that there is new information available on NALC's web page.

Click here for the correct forms

Do not apply if you are not an employee covered by the Hurricane Katrina MOU.

Letter Carriers to Picket Missouri Offices Of Senator Bond to Protest Hold on Postal Reform Bill - Active and retired Missouri letter carriers will engage in informational picketing on Tuesday, Dec. 6 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. CST in four cities across the state to protest the action by Sen. Christopher Bond (R-Mo.) that is blocking a U.S. Senate floor vote on bipartisan postal reform legislation aimed at improving universal mail delivery and curtailing future postage rate increases. (12/05/05)

NALC President Young Urges Senator to Lift 'Hold' on Postal Reform Bill

Blockbuster Apologizes - In response to a letter from NALC President William H. Young, a top official of the Blockbuster, Inc. video-DVD firm has apologized for running a promotional ad that could encourage the general public to refrain from giving their letter carrier a Holiday time gratuity for a year of good service. Young demanded the apology and termination of the ad campaign in an October 31 letter to Blockbuster Chairman and CEO John Atioco. The matter was brought to Young’s attention by the office of Region 15 NBA George Mignosi after a shop steward in Cranford, New Jersey Br. 754 saw the ad. (12/05/05)

NALC: Tell Rep. Flake NO to Privatization -

"As you know H.R. 22, The Postal Enhancement and Accountability Act of 2005 passed the House by a vote of 410-20 on July 26th. The NALC e-Activists worked very hard to help pass Postal Reform, but also to defeat a number of anti-worker amendments. One of the amendments was offered by Congressman Jeff Flake (R-AZ) and would have required within the legislation a five-year privatization pilot program, specifically to study alternate means of delivery. In an October 25th letter to Postal Service Board of Governors Chairman James C. Miller III, Congressman Flake expresses his interest in pursuing privatization further and even asks for USPS help in doing so." (12/02/05)

Seven Florida Mail Carriers Issued Removal Notices for Failing to Deliver Bulk Rate Mail
seven veteran St. Petersburg mail carriers were summoned to the station manager's office through a side entrance. As an armed postal inspector stood by, the letters were read to them.
They were losing their jobs, they learned that day in September, for failing to deliver bulk mail advertising to a handful of customers on their routes who had specifically asked them not to.
Citing improper conduct, the Postal Service alleges the carriers didn't perform their duties. The companies that produce bulk mail had paid to have it delivered to every address, the Postal Service maintains, and the St. Pete Seven didn't do that. The carriers don't dispute that. (11/11/05)

1.3 Percent Wage Hike Set for November 26, 2005
Under terms of the 2001-2006 National Agreement, letter carriers will receive a 1.3 percent salary increase effective November 26. The amount of the increase will be based on the basic annual salary for the grade and step in effect as of November 16, 2001 – at the start of the contract. The new wage adjustment will bring the top scale for most city carriers (Grade 1, Step O) to $47,950 annually. It is the fifth and final regular salary increase under the contract, in addition to cost-of-living increases and a one-time lump sum payment at the start of the contract. The current contract expires in November 2006 (11/09/05) NALC November 26, 2005 Pay Charts

New Postal Vehicle via Indiana State NALC

From PR Injured Workers Forum: "Check out the new USPS delivery vehicle .."

Is it the G3 Next Generation Carrier Route Vehicle? (10/22/05)

Letter Carriers Cost-of-living adjustment
All letter carriers will receive a contractual cost-of-living adjustment of 34 cents an hour, $27.20 per pay period and $707 annually effective the pay period beginning September 3, 2005 (pay date September 23, 2005). The $707 COLA is the sixth of eight regular COLAs provided by the 2001-2006 National Agreement between NALC and USPS. NEW SALARY AND WAGE SCHEDULE (08/22/05)

Multiple Days of Inspection

On June 30, 2005, President Young signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Postal Service (M-01543) which effectively reinstates the terms of a previous MOU which expired last year. The MOU allows management up to three "days of inspection," but limits them to only one day of completing PS Form 1838-C. Additionally, when two or three PS Forms 3999 are completed, the MOU dictates which PS Form 3999 will be used to transfer territory when adjusting routes. The terms of the new MOU are applicable through May 26, 2006 unless mutually extended by the parties.(7/12/05)

NALC-USPS hold DOIS talks-NALC President William H. Young and Director of City Delivery Fred Rolando met with officials of the U.S. Postal Service May 12 over use by the Service of the Delivery Operations Information System (DOIS) for route adjustments. Young described the session as “forthcoming ... honest and open.” Young said he and Rolando gave postal management a list of the violations of postal handbooks and manuals that have occurred in their use of DOIS and management said it would examine the situation. (5/17/05)

Los Angeles Letter Carriers Placed on Leave Over Market Ads-"I am a Letter Carrier in the Los Angeles area...has anyone heard of the massive firing of Carriers over wasting market ads?"(4/20/05)

see comments

Flats Sequencing System & Delivery Point Packaging Update -Thomas Day, USPS VP Engineering stated at a recent MTAC meeting that "the Postal Service is moving along two paths to a time when manual handling of flats and letters will be minimized. One route is an integrated delivery point packaging (DPP) system, merging presorted flats and letters into a single bundle." The other route is developing a flats sequencing system (FSS) that would sort flats separately, reduce the time required to case flats and save office time for carriers. (4/17/05) - see comments

- Flats Sequencing System & Delivery Point Packaging Update presentation (pdf)

Federal Business Opps

Postal Tidbit: According to USPS, "Delivery operations constitute 43% of the workhours in the fiscal year (FY) 2004 field operating budget, which is mainly attributable to office and street workhours. Salary and benefits for rural and city carriers totaled approximately $20 billion. Nationwide, more than 33,000 delivery units deliver mail on over 240,000 routes to service the more than 141 million delivery addresses. In FY 2004 field budget. the Postal Service established a goal to reduce delivery workhours by 11.2 million. " (9/25/04)

NALC: Postal Management Scuttles Agreement on Route Inspections-"Postal management has notified the NALC of its intent to withdraw unilaterally from USPS-NALC Memorandums that mandated local management and union leaders to work out agreements on route inspections. Postal headquarters officials are convinced they can eliminate 2,000 routes if they capture the under time that DOIS is alerting them exists. The chief operating officer of the Postal Service asserted that no route should have more than two hours office time given the Service's gains in DPS percentage and other efficiencies now available to carriers." The chief operating officer of the Postal Service asserted that no route should have more than two hours office time given the Service's gains in DPS percentage and other efficiencies now available to carriers. (12/14/04)

USPS to order 300,000 Windows CE handheld scanners-The United States Postal Service (USPS) has signed a multi-year contract valued at roughly $300 million with Motorola for the development and delivery of a new generation of intelligent handheld mail scanning devices that reportedly will run Windows CE. The new devices are a key component of the USPS's "Intelligent Mail Data Acquisition System" (IMDAS). The new IMDAS scanning devices will be built on a common, integrated architecture and infrastructure and include various forms of communication, according to the USPS. IMDAS is intended to provide a standard, integrated method of receiving data from all types of postal facilities and create the ability to distribute data to many different applications. While the scanning devices may consist of several designs, the components of the devices will be consistent, the USPS says. The scanners are expected to include the capability for both the 4-state barcode and 2-dimensional (2-d) codes. The 4-state barcode, currently under test, can hold nearly 3 times as much data as the POSTNET code currently used to sort and deliver mail. The 2-d code, currently used in PC Postage, can contain considerably more data than a barcode in the same amount of space.
As part of the contract, the USPS will order more than 300,000 Windows CE powered handheld scanners from Motorola, according to an article at FCW.com (11/10/04)

Letter Carriers 4th COLA — $624 annually,30 cents per hour, or $24 per pay period. - effective the pay period beginning September 4 (pay date September 24) (8/23/04)

NALC Delegates Vote to Seek 'Early Out' Approval-On a voice vote on the last day of the convention, delegates adopted a legislative resolution supported by the Executive Council calling for the NALC to seek approval from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) for an early out for letter carriers under certain circumstances. The resolution seeks early-outs for letter carriers with (1) 25 years service regardless of age, and (2) 20 years service and 50 years of age. (NALC 8/5/04)

New Memo Allows Local NALC/USPS to Jointly Evaluate Routes -NALC and USPS agreed to permit branches and local postal management to jointly evaluate and adjust routes using locally available data and any agreed-upon method. The MOU (pdf) also allows special route inspection activity suspended from April 1 to Aug. 31, 2004, to resume on Sept. 1 using the traditional route inspection process (NALC 8/5/04)

NALC Executive Council Acts To Revise Route Inspections --The NALC Executive Council, during weeklong meetings May 24-28, decided unanimously to present to the National Convention in Honolulu, Hawaii for debate and consideration, a proposal to revamp the route inspection process. The current system results in daily confrontations between letter carriers and front-line supervisors and is dysfunctional. The Council proposed a new route inspection process that includes union involvement and moves away from the problems of the current process. (NALC 6/8/04)

June 2004 Contract Talk (pdf) -Local managers often attempt to discipline letter carriers for failure to meet standards. Whether called “18 and 8,” “percent to standard,” “demonstrated performance,” or by some other such term, this is never just cause for discipline. NALC and the Postal Service have jointly agreed that failure to meet standards, by itself, is not used by the parties in conjunction with other management records and procedures to support or refute any performance-related discipline. This does not change the principle that, pursuant to Section 242.332 of the M-39, “No carrier shall be disciplined for failure to meet standards, except in cases of unsatisfactory effort which must be based on documented, unacceptable conduct that led to the carrier’s failure to meet office standards.”

Agreement on Route Inspection Moratorium Q & A and Cased Mail Verification -Following input from letter carriers throughout the country regarding difficulties in verifying the cased mail volume under the Moratorium on Route Counts and Inspections announced April 1, NALC President William H. Young and Postal Service representatives met April 9 and agreed on a simpler, easier-to-use form which will be used to track the daily cased mail volume on all routes. The parties also agreed to a second transmittal letter which answers a series of 25 questions that had arisen from the field regarding this moratorium and the route verification process. Cased Volume Verification Form - (further revised 4/14/04 to reflect that S-999 mail will be measured in pieces rather than linear feet)

"Call them scanners or call them Intelligent Mail Devices. Whatever you call them, USPS will be replacing them soon. The bulk of the 350,000 scanners in use today were bought in 1997 to launch Delivery Confirmation. Since then, the scanners’ duties have grown to give us financial, collection box and mail tracking data for more than 15 services and systems. New programs like the Surface Visibility program will increase their functionality even more. Handheld scanners are located in virtually every USPS operations facility nationwide. The new scanners will have the techno-wizardry needed to read the advanced barcode symbologies — key factors in realizing Intelligent Mail’s goals for mail tracking, workload management and advanced volume notification. They’re scheduled for nationwide deployment in 2005." (source: USPS) 4/21/04

Excerpts from MTAC meetings: Regarding the Delivery Operations Information System (DOIS) , it was established about two years ago and it is just now starting to show results, after a lengthy education process. Other developments mentioned were the use of managed service points (carrier hand-held scanners) which has improved street productivity, and a GPS-related (note: GPS=Global Positioning System ) communication system which is being developed to help keep in touch with carriers.

Intelligent Mail Data Acquisition System

From NAPS President Vince Palladino " We've rec'd a USPS Hq ltr advising that Del & Retail Systems, Engineering, will be conducting testing on Intelligent Mail Devices that will replace current hand-held scanners presently used for scanning collection boxes, managed svc points, and mailpieces. Two tests will be conducted in Feb & Mar--the first test will assess the methods of capturing signatures for signature svcs and will take place in Merrifield, VA Feb 2 - Feb 27. Five to ten city carriers will be used in this test. The second test will be a competitive evaluation of the supplier's device solutions and will be run Feb 24 - Mar 30. Ten to twenty city carriers and three to five clerks will be used in this test."

Summary: "The United States Postal Service intends to award a contract for the design, development and installation of up to 350,000 mobile data acquisition devices e.g. handheld and hands free, and all related communication infrastructure. The proposed system will provide a standard, integrated method of receiving data from all types of postal facilities and modifying and distributing the data to many applications. The mobile devices may consist of several physical designs, yet the components of the devices will be consistent. All of the devices will include scanning capability. The primary purpose of the majority of these devices will be tracking mail movement and confirming receipt and delivery. The requirement includes system design, integration services, training, testing, software development, program management, system enhancement, and device maintenance and depot. In addition, the IMDAS will be built on a common, integrated architecture and infrastructure that is consistent with industry best practices. The IMDAS will include local wired and wireless communications, consolidation of transactions, and transmission of collected data to applications requiring information from the mobile data acquisition technology. The IMDAS will be designed to yield an accurate, reliable, and stable flow of data. The IMDAS will also be required to interface successfully with the existing postal infrastructure."

1. Introduction

The United States Postal Service is seeking to obtain information on potential sources for developing, acquiring, and managing an integrated system for mobile data acquisition technologies. This includes the data acquisition technologies along with the system infrastructure and software applications required to support them. The technology will be used in multiple operating environments with various business requirements. This supply management initiative requires standardization and integration within the system to provide more tracking and service measurement information for improved customer service, accountability, and security.

2. Background

The United States Postal Service consists of over 350 major processing facilities and a national transportation network of postal and contract trucks, airlines, and rail services. The postal retail network alone includes more than 38,000 post offices, stations, and branches. This vast network uses technology to monitor its daily transactions needed to deliver the mail.

The Postal Service began using mobile data acquisition technology to monitor performance and volume in delivery units over ten years ago. The corporation also has implemented larger programs such as Delivery Confirmation that requires its carriers and other personnel to scan barcodes to obtain delivery status of mail. Since then, the Postal Service has researched and piloted several programs in developing its strategy for service measurement and mail tracking. These experiences have led the Postal Service to standardize and integrate scanning technology to maximize its benefits

3.3.5 Delivery and Retail Supervisory Operations

The delivery and retail supervisory operations include various recording and analysis purposes within the delivery unit. Delivery operations include route examination and analysis and carrier workload and volume analysis. Retail functions include recording mail volume, workhours, and accountables. Users perform individual and unit closeouts. Users perform computations for financial applications, including accountable audits. Operations include vending functions such as the ability to collect vending machine transaction data (cash, debit and credit card), sales and inventory data and vending machine maintenance information.

Delivery and retail supervisory operations occur in plant and outdoor environments. Nationwide, the operations will have an estimated total volume of 58,000 users.

NALC Branch #1111 Wins $979,000 for Carriers- The award came from two grievances dealing with improper hiring of casuals. "Oakland District Management turned downed offers locally that would have saved the Postal Service and the District over $500,000" December 22, 2003-

. USPS Agrees to Double Penalties For Defiance of Arbitration Award - Sends Clear Message to Managers -The NALC and U.S. Postal Service reached agreement November 4 on a Memorandum of Understanding that set the penalties management must pay to letter carriers for illegally inspecting their routes on all six days of a count and inspection week and doubled the penalty in cases where managers continued the practice after an arbitration award was issued in October, 2002 (NALC) November 10, 2003

Safety, Health and Return to Employment (SHARE) Initiative-On January 9, 2004, President Bush announced the Safety, Health and Return to Employment (SHARE) Initiative, directing federal agencies to establish goals and track performance in four major areas. Federal agencies are charged with lowering workplace injury and illness case rates, lowering lost-time injury and illness case rates, timely reporting of injuries and reducing lost days resulting from work injuries and illnesses. What does this initiative mean to Letter Carriers? . Hopefully the Postal Service will step up their efforts to forward CA-1, CA-2 and CA-7 forms to OWCP within the current statutory time frames. This initiative means postal employees will see a safer work place and possibly other initiatives being developed to address unsafe practices and ergonomic concerns. For the first time safety offices and injury compensation offices will be working more closely with each other in order to prevent injuries and illness instead of only reacting to them once an injury occurs. We will also see a refocused effort to reduce lost production days. What this may mean for you is a more speedy return to work in a limited duty capacity for work related injuries and illnesses.

(Excerpt from Transformation Plan-"Delivery point sequencing of flats will replace the need for an individual to sort flats manually into the sequence in which they are to be delivered. It requires the development of an automated Flats Sequencing System. Multiple contract awards are in process and proposals are due early in FY2004. Delivery point packaging consolidates delivery point sequenced letters and flats into a single unit that can be delivered as a single piece. This is a six-year project planned through FY2008. The Board of Governors has approved research and development funding for this project."

Flats Sequencing System (FSS): This system provides flat mail in "Delivery Point Sequence" (DPS) or "walk" sequence to all carriers within one or more delivery zones. Currently, the USPS has sorting equipment to sort letter mail to full DPS level and flat mail to zone and carrier level. The FSS system approach could add flat mail sorting systems to the existing automation fleet to walk sequence flat mail for carriers. The FSS system must be able to handle all types of flat mail, currently processed by the USPS AFSM100 and the UFSM1000 (upgraded FSM1000) flat mail sorting machines. The FSS must demonstrate a minimum machine throughput of 40,000 pieces per hour for a single pass operation and/or a cumulative 16,350 pieces per hour for a multi-pass operation. The FSS may use image processing to automate sorting using bar codes, optical character reading and online video encoding to achieve a minimum of 95% sort rate to the delivery point with an error rate not to exceed 1% of the volume sorted.

Delivery Point Packager (DPP): This system provides for an all encompassing, seamless operational approach that results in a single bundle of "packets" containing letters and flats individually packaged for each delivery point on the carriers' route. To fulfill this vision requires mail sorting and packaging equipment that efficiently sorts, merges and packages the letter and flat mail streams in delivery sequence order for the letter carrier. The DPP system may result in reduction or complete elimination of some or all, existing USPS mail sorting equipment. A key component of this new approach is a sorting system that assembles a large range of letters and flats into delivery point packages. The system will accommodate all sizes, and weights of letters and flats. A DPP sorting system will be able to process all carriers' flat and letter mail for one or more delivery zones and capable of sorting the mail volume for the next day's delivery within the time window available. The output volume will meet or exceed the existing carrier volume levels available from current sorting methods. Current machine throughput for the equipment is 35,000 pieces per hour. The DPP may use image processing to automate sorting using bar codes, optical character reading and online video encoding to sort all letter and flat mail to the delivery point with an error rate not to exceed 0.5% of the volume sorted.