Bonneville America Forums Forums Off Topic Discussion Forums Lounge David Bisard Strikes Again

From wikipedia,
"The PAEA stipulates that the USPS is to make payments of $5.4 - $5.8 billion into the Postal Service Retiree Health Benefits Fund, each year, from 2007 to 2016 in order to prefund 50 years of estimated costs. This requirement also explicitly stated that the USPS was to stop using its savings to reduce postal debt, which was stipulated in Postal Civil Service Retirement System Funding Reform Act of 2003"

In other words the management of USPS was breaking the 2003 law by paying off debt with the savings, instead of funding the separated USPS health system. The 2006 law also forced the USPS to quit obscuring their financials and use accepted accounting practices among other things.

Actually read H.R. 6407 (109th): Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act in 2006.

It's a LITTLE different than Wikipedia.

The heavily edited Wiki article isn't even close to accurate. None of what you posted is accurate.

Look up the sponsors of both the 2003 and 2006 acts.

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/108/s380

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/109/hr6407

Henry Waxman (Ca) and Danny Davis (Il) are union busters?

Sorry about my tone. I didn't intend to come across so harsh. I just meant you got the sponsor wrong.

More than one Postal union. APWU (Clerks and Maintenance), NPMHU (Mailhandlers) and NALC (Letter Carriers).

I'd have APWU employees on Standby while NPMHU employees were being forced to work overtime hours, PTF (Part Time Flex) employees could be sent home after 4 hours if there was no work, but both unions fight to convert PTF's to full-time at every turn.

H.R. 6407 (109th): Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act
Introduced:
Dec 07, 2006 (109th Congress, 2005–2006)
Sponsor:
Rep. Thomas “Tom” Davis III [R-VA11]

---

Rep. Davis is well known in Virginia for his anti union positions.

I'm not anti-union, but I am a realist. I spent 4 years as a member of NPMHU, 5 years as a member of APWU and about 18 years with NAPS. For almost 15 years, I was Manager, Labor Relations. I've seen the good and the bad.

In the USPS, it's not about the money. The work rules are the problem. A Mail Handler can key 3 digit zip codes, but not 5 digit zip codes. A Clerk can move a container of mail if it is part of a mail sorting machine. Away from the machine, and the work belongs to a Mail Handler. Turn the machine off and ALL the equipment belongs to the MailHandler. A Mechanic (APWU) is the only one that can move a computer, but an Electronics Technician (also APWU) has to be called to plug it in (same thing with a wired telephone). Some (but not all), of the Union Reps spend 8 hours each day just looking for violations. Some employees (fortunately just a minority) file formal grievances on petty issues just so they can spend half a day sitting in the union office "writing their statement".

Until I finally fired the SOB , one union president bragged about filing 3,000+ grievances each year. He had about a 5% win rate in arbitration, but his idea was to keep management tied up with cases so he could spend his entire day (including overtime hours) in the union office.

I'm not painting all union activities or stewards negatively, because some of my best friends are union officials and they too get aggravated at the archaic rules and the antics of some - but they want to get re-elected so they play the game.

I'm speaking only to the USPS - not other unions.

The unions have some boneheaded rules, no doubt about it. They also overreached. It's the nature of representation. Like the Congressman who brags about bringing home the pork while preaching fiscal responsibility.

Let's not throw the baby out with the bathwater, though. If labor has no organization the working person will be thoroughly and completely screwed.

All i can say about it is; I dont use my local postal service because they steal everything of value, they even opened my Christmas cards, and the postmaster will not do anything about it.
I use my shop address for everything because that postal service seems to be pretty dependable.

Sorry to hear that. Mail passes through so many steps that it does happen occasionally. The local Postmaster isn't your best contact person. Try https://postalinspectors.uspis.gov/ and register a complaint. With todays technology, mail can be tracked through every step of the process. Most mail is processed through automated equipment, which can unfortunately cause damage. Some problems occur if the package opens and the contents can't be matched with the container. Entry and exit from that system are really the only points of human contact.

I still think the employees we have are some of the best in the industry, but there are bad apples in every group. Gift cards in holiday envelopes are an easily identified target and during the holidays we hire thousands of seasonal workers (casuals) that aren't screened to the same extent as career employees. Supervisors and Postmasters have also been convicted of theft. My only personal experience with theft (and I mail a lot) was a gift card sent to our granddaughter that was sliced from the envelope.

I worked on a lot of cases with the Postal Inspection Service and those folks will take it seriously. Every square inch of larger postal facilities is recorded 24/7. Complaints (especially when a pattern emerges) will get quick attention. Theft of mail is one offense that leads to immediate termination, loss of retirement benefits and usually federal prosecution.

I've seen arbitrators and MSPB judges return a lot of employees to duty after termination, but NEVER have I seen a thief get their job back.

I'm a BIG fan of USPS. Simply the fact that you can send a letter between any two US addresses for forty-something cents is amazing. If it goes private they won't go to or from every address and it will cost nine dollars, if we're lucky.

I'm relatively sure your could put mine and Ruth's first names on an envelope along with the name of out town and we'd get it. Lord knows we've gotten mail with half that information wrong plenty of times.

The jury convicted him today, of all the major charges. Sentencing will likely take a few weeks, in which the victims will be able to speak from the witness stand.

Like to see what he gets and if he actually ends up serving it out.