News & information

News items from various industry corners that could have an impact on letter carriers:

Show me the money: Humboldt County, CA’s board of supervisors is planning to send a letter to Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe, asking for hard facts to prove how closing the Eureka mail processing center would save money. Doubtless the workers and communities served by the other 80 or so centers around the country that are scheduled for closure next year will be waiting for an answer as well. (KIEM-TV, Eureka, CA)

It’s not even Halloween yet: USPS has announced that, beginning Dece. 6, retired letter carriers can sign up to pick up a satchel once again—temporarily—and work as holiday carrier assistants. Money earned won’t reduce or offset retirement pay. (WDSU-TV, New Orleans)

Playing catch-up: As Amazon continues to extend its partnership with USPS to include grocery delivery as well as Sunday package delivery, Google has announced plans to expand its own delivery service, using private couriers driving Google-branded vans. (The Wall Street Journal)

Battleground—Alaska: Released letter carriers are among the union members in The Last Frontier who are helping to get re-elected Sen. Mark Begich—whom Mother Jones calls “a fierce supporter of labor.” Check out NALC’s Voter Guide to find out who else is standing up for letter carriers this election season. (Mother Jones)

Sad but not invitable: The corporate class does not like the good wages that unions make happen, writes New York University professor and blogger Steve Hutkins, who notes that good wages at the USPS help bring wages up across the economy. In an Oct. 12 Angry Bear blog repost of a 2012 Save the Post Office article, Hutkins says that this animosity toward unions fuels much of what’s going on with the Postal Service today. (Angry Bear via Save The Post Office)