Postal Workers - Postal Employees - Postal Press Releases

Open for Business
Ensuring Employee and Customer Safety at the Former Brentwood Postal Facility

Thursday, October 23, 2003 1:30 PM

Washington - What: COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT REFORM OVERSIGHT HEARING:

“OPEN FOR BUSINESS: ENSURING EMPLOYEE AND CUSTOMER SAFETY AT THE FORMER BRENTWOOD POSTAL FACILITY”

When: Thursday, OCTOBER 23, 2003, 1:30 p.m.

Where: ROOM 2154 RAYBURN HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING

This hearing will examine the status of efforts to reopen the United States Postal Service’s center on Brentwood Road in Washington, D.C., which closed on October 21, 2001 because of anthrax contamination.

The hearing will obtain views regarding safety issues involved in the reopening of the building. The purpose of the hearing is to ensure that the facility is clean and to make sure new security measures are taken to prevent contamination or another bio-terrorist attack.

The 632,000 square feet facility with a workforce of about 2,400 was closed on October 21, 2001 after United States Senators Tom Daschle of South Dakota and Patrick J. Leahy of Vermont received anthrax-laced letters in their offices at the Hart Senate Office Building. The letters had been processed through the Brentwood Facility. Two postal workers died and two others became seriously ill after inhaling anthrax spores released at the facility. Many workers were treated with antibiotics and were displaced. After the anthrax incident claimed the lives of two dedicated postal workers, the facility name was changed to the Joseph Curseen Jr. and Thomas Morris Jr. Mail Processing and Distribution Center (Curseen and Morris P & DC).

This is a follow-up to a hearing held on July 26, 2002 examining the clean-up efforts of the USPS’s Brentwood Processing and Distribution Center. The facility will open for business in November and the Committee will review proposed measures to ensure employee safety and other issues involving the reopening of the building.

Witnesses will be asked to address the following questions: Has the facility been decontaminated successfully and is it ready for workers to return? How have employees been informed about the latest developments? What choices are employees given? Will they have to return to the facility, and when they return what precautions will be taken to ensure their safety?

Witnesses

Bernard L. Unger, Director, Physical Infrastructure Issues, Comptroller General, U.S. General Accounting Office

R. Davis Layne, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor, Occupational Safety & Health Administration, U.S. Department of Labor

Thomas Day, Vice President of Engineering, U.S. Postal Service

Jerry Lane, Manager of Capitol Metro Operations, U.S. Postal Service

Theodore J. Gordon, Senior Deputy Director for Environmental Health Science and Regulation, District of Columbia Department of Health

Dick Collins, Assistant to the President, National President, National Postal Mail Handlers Union

Mike Reid, Assistant Legislative Director, American Postal Workers Union, AFL-CIO

The Postal Grievance Research System is the most valuable weapon for APWU and NALC union officers and stewards in the fight against the USPS.

For Immediate Release:

Woodhaven, MI. Oct. 8th 2003 -- A year of pains taking labor not to mention the thousands of dollars later and the Postal Grievance Research System is finished. It is a collection of software designed to assist APWU and NALC union stewards in grievance research against the USPS.

   It is extremely easy to use and requires No switching of CDs during operation because it runs completely self-contained on the hard disk, which makes it very fast and gives the user instant access to everything including key case Summaries, Arbitrations, Step 4s, NLRB decisions, Manuals and Forms. Unlike ones on the web every Manual and CFR is book-marked, complete and self-contained in its own file for easy access. Also references to the Cs and Ms in the JCAM are active, clicking on them will bring up the source documents.

   There are 2800 Case Summaries which are book-marked and prioritized, national being the highest, within each category or subcategory. Also 23368 Arbitrations including National, Regional, Expedited and Pre-Arbitrations. With 1481 Step 4s grievances and 34 NLRB Cases decisions. As well as other key legal opinions as of the date of this publication.

   You must have a minimum 10 Gig Hard Disk space available and since the system runs under Adobe it is compatible with PC, Mac, Mini and Main Frames. Invaluable running on a laptop in the hands of a union steward.

   You should expect nothing less than perfection and that’s what you get from a computer programmer that has 22 years experience not to mention a Steward that has 15 years.

Contact:

John Carl
http://www.pgrs.org
info@mail.pgrs.org

related links:

The FILE GRIEVANCE ADMINISTRATOR

EZ-OFFICE 2000 Union Office Tracking System

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 3, 2003

SCHUMER: FEDERAL STUDY FINDS EXPRESS MAIL DELIVERIES ARE CHRONICALLY LATE IN NYC

Schumer asks US Postal Service for more trucks, more mail carriers to cope with the enormous volume of business mail in New York

Schumer: Express Mail is a great deal especially for small businesses – but the Postal Service has to give us the manpower we need to get it delivered on time

Armed with data from showing that Express Mail deliveries in New York City are not being delivered on time, US Senator Charles E. Schumer today asked the Postmaster General of the United States send more mail trucks to New York and hire additional personnel here so that businesses that take advantage of the post office's lower overnight shipping costs can be ensured that their packages will be delivered on time.

"Express Mail from the Post Office is a great deal because it helps companies – especially small businesses – stretch their budgets and pay less for overnight deliveries. But if customers aren't getting what they pay for, we have to do everything possible to make sure the Express Mail gets there on time. The simple fact is that New York the business capital of America, and we have just a huge volume of business mail here. If it takes more people and more trucks to get the mail here on time, then we simply have to have them."

Express Mail from the Post Office offers overnight delivery of envelopes and small packages to most locations in the United States – including any address in New York City – for less than what private-sector competitors like FedEx and UPS charge. But the Postal Service's independent watchdog – its Inspector General – recently released a report finding that as many as half of the Express Mail overnight delivery packages processed through six major Manhattan post offices bypass the Postal Service's "Track and Confirm" computer system that shows when they are delivered. Instead, the packages are being entered manually into the computer system – often with stated delivery times far earlier than when the packages really arrived.

The Inspector General's report found that the system is being bypassed to "falsify delivery times giving the appearance that Express Mail packages were delivered on time, when in fact they were delivered after the stated service commitment." The report also found that "the Track and Confirm information viewed by customers was inaccurate and incorrectly reported on-time delivery performance."

Schumer specifically said that he believes local postal employees are not to blame, but that there simply aren't enough of them to deliver the huge volume of mail that comes here every day. In a letter US Postmaster General John E. Potter, Schumer asked him to determine how many more postal workers are needed to improve Express Mail on-time delivery rates, and what additional resources – trucks, hand carts, and the like – these new workers will need.

"Most of the postal workers I've met are hard working and dedicated – the problem is we just don't seem to have enough of them. The Postal Service should be ready to do whatever it takes – including hiring more people and buying more trucks – to make sure customers get the on-time service that they are paying for," Schumer said.

The study was done at six major Manhattan post offices where between 12 and 48 percent of the Express Mail packages were delivered without being properly entered into "Track and Confirm" system: the Church Street Station, Madison Square Garden Station, Canal Street Station, Grand Central Station, Radio City Station and Times Square Station. Schumer was joined by postal carriers today in front of the Grand Central Station Post Office.

OIG Says New York Postal Workers Faked Express Delivery Times-Postal workers in New York City falsified delivery dates for express mail to give the appearance the mail was delivered on time, according to study by OIG-

NY Times 10/3

Congressman Smith Protests Postal Service Plans to
Reduce Service in Two Key Locations

Congressman Chris Smith (R-Hamilton) today urged regional and national Postal Service officials to reverse a plan to reduce days of operation at two key post offices in Hamilton and Trenton.
Smith sent letters to the officials after learning that the USPS plans to eliminate one day of operation at both the Yardville Station in Hamilton and the Chambersburg station on South Broad Street in Trenton.

“It seems counterproductive for the Post Office to consider cutting operations at these two facilities while our local postal operations and customer service are still strained and suffering due to the anthrax crisis,” Smith wrote in the letter.

The Postal Service’s proposal would eliminate Thursday hours at the two stations as of November 6.   Prior to the anthrax crisis, the facilities were open only four days a week, but the postal service added the additional day to compensate for ongoing mail delivery problems associated with the prolonged closing of the Hamilton Processing and Distribution Center on Route 130.

“As the anthrax crisis is not yet over, it is premature to consider reverting back to the pre-anthrax schedule before the Route 130 facility is thoroughly cleaned and ready to resume its customer workload,” Smith wrote.

“It is also important to note that the volume of mail is likely to substantially increase just as the reductions in service are planned to take effect….While customers may be able to purchase stamps at other stores near the Yardville and Chambersburg branches, they cannot use these facilities to mail parcels and insured or certified packages – services in great demand during the holiday season.”

“In light of these concerns and the continued service disruption imposed on our anthrax-impacted area, I am urging you to reject – or at a minimum postpone – this proposal until full, area-wide operations are resumed and postal customers have the access they once had before the anthrax attacks of two years ago,” he continued.

Since the closure of the Route 130 facility due to anthrax contamination in the fall of 2001, Smith has led the effort to ensure the Postal Service does not make permanent operational changes while the Route 130 facility remains closed.

Last year, the Postal Service proposed issuing a permanent reassignment of more than 60 Hamilton employees to facilities in Middlesex County. Smith raised the issue to top-level postal management and persuaded the authorities to reverse their decision.

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For Immediate Release: October 3, 2003
Contact: Nick Manetto (202) 225-3765

Congressman Smith Protests Postal Service Plans to Reduce Service in Two Key Locations

Congressman Chris Smith (R-Hamilton) today urged regional and national Postal Service officials to reverse a plan to reduce days of operation at two key post offices in Hamilton and Trenton. Smith sent letters to the officials after learning that the USPS plans to eliminate one day of operation at both the Yardville Station in Hamilton and the Chambersburg station on South Broad Street in Trenton. “It seems counterproductive for the Post Office to consider cutting operations at these two facilities while our local postal operations and customer service are still strained and suffering due to the anthrax crisis,” Smith wrote in the letter. The Postal Service’s proposal would eliminate Thursday hours at the two stations as of November 6. Prior to the anthrax crisis, the facilities were open only four days a week, but the postal service added the additional day to compensate for ongoing mail delivery problems associated with the prolonged closing of the Hamilton Processing and Distribution Center on Route 130. “As the anthrax crisis is not yet over, it is premature to consider reverting back to the pre-anthrax schedule before the Route 130 facility is thoroughly cleaned and ready to resume its customer workload,” Smith wrote. “It is also important to note that the volume of mail is likely to substantially increase just as the reductions in service are planned to take effect….While customers may be able to purchase stamps at other stores near the Yardville and Chambersburg branches, they cannot use these facilities to mail parcels and insured or certified packages – services in great demand during the holiday season.” “In light of these concerns and the continued service disruption imposed on our anthrax-impacted area, I am urging you to reject – or at a minimum postpone – this proposal until full, area-wide operations are resumed and postal customers have the access they once had before the anthrax attacks of two years ago,” he continued. Since the closure of the Route 130 facility due to anthrax contamination in the fall of 2001, Smith has led the effort to ensure the Postal Service does not make permanent operational changes while the Route 130 facility remains closed. Last year, the Postal Service proposed issuing a permanent reassignment of more than 60 Hamilton employees to facilities in Middlesex County. Smith raised the issue to top-level postal management and persuaded the authorities to reverse their decision.

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For Immediate Release: October 3, 2003 Contact: Nick Manetto (202) 225-3765