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Postal Service refutes claims of Bemidji mail delays, Amazon prioritization

BEMIDJI — A U.S. Postal Service official says mail is being delivered daily in Bemidji and elsewhere and blamed media misinformation for misconceptions about package delivery and working conditions for postal carriers. The Tuesday, Dec. 5, response comes after a November letter from U.S. Sen. Tina Smith to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, demanding answers to problems identified … Read more

Rural mail carriers warned not to blame mail delays on Amazon

Directive comes after Minn. postal workers protested the heavy workloads caused by the sudden arrival of thousands of Amazon packages Mail carriers in a rural Minnesota post office overwhelmed by Amazon packages say they’ve been warned not to use the word “Amazon,” including when customers ask why the mail is delayed. “We are not to … Read more

USPS updates ethics document on outside employment

A federal ethics document for USPS employees was revised recently for the first time since its introduction in 1995. The revisions took effect Sept. 7. Many guidelines in the Supplemental Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the United States Postal Service address outside employment and business activities. Some rules have been eased. Employees may now: • … Read more

A Feel Good Friday surprise for a mail carrier who helped an injured child

EastIdahoNews.com and Ashley in Idaho Falls and Pocatello are partnering to honor people in our community for Feel Good Friday. Every week, we surprise someone deserving of special recognition.

We recently received an email about a mail carrier in the Pocatello/Chubbuck area

We moved into our house a little over six years and have had the same mail lady by the name of Lynda. She is the most kindest and loving person you will ever meet. Eleven months ago, she suffered from a stroke and has recently returned back to work while she still recovers.

Recently my son was riding his bike when he hit a metal mailbox that sliced his finger open. Lynda was there and saw it happen. As my son was bleeding, screaming and crying, Lynda took time to doctor him up with a bandaid and sent him home. When I asked my son who helped him get a bandaid on, he said the mail lady. Shortly after he got home, we got a knock on the door from Lynda asking if that was my little boy that got injured. I let her know it was and thanked her for taking time out of her busy day to help him. She explained what had happened and mentioned that she wasn’t sure if he would need stitches or not.

Later that evening, she reached out on Facebook to check on him to make sure he was ok. I let her know that he indeed needed stitches and he is doing well. I am grateful for Lynda and everything she does for our community. Not only does she keep an eye on the children but also catches our pups when they get out.

We decided to track Lynda down and thank her for her kindness. Check out the video in the player above!

Connolly, Kilmer, Bacon, Valadao Reintroduce Federal Retirement Fairness Act

Today, U.S. Representatives Gerry Connolly (VA-11), Derek Kilmer (WA-06), Don Bacon (NE-02), and David Valadao (CA-22) reintroduced the Federal Retirement Fairness Act (FRFA), legislation to address a gap for federal employees who began their careers as temporary workers and were thus unable to make retirement contributions. The FRFA will allow these workers to make catch-up … Read more

U.S. Senator Bob Casey to USPS: Fix Payroll Disruption Affecting Rural Pennsylvania

Payroll glitch delayed, disrupted paychecks for more than 50,000 rural mail carriers nationwide Some Pennsylvania carriers reported problems had not been resolved even weeks after the disruption occurred Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) sent a letter to United States Postal Service (USPS) Postmaster General Louis DeJoy to express concern for rural mail carriers … Read more

USPS IS FALSIFYING SAFETY DOCS AS ITS WORKERS DIE OF HEAT

Through interviews and union surveys completed in writing by individual Dallas mail carriers and obtained by the Texas Observer, we found that in the months following Gates’ death, USPS seems to have gone back to business as usual. Mail carriers report that management is still pressuring them to speed up, work overtime hours, and forego breaks. … Read more

Rural Letter Carriers Receive New Route Changes

Some saw gains. Others saw further cuts. But the rural letter carriers are still frustrated by the lack of transparency over the data creating new routes. On September 30, rural letter carriers were notified of the latest changes to their weekly routes under the controversial new Rural Route Evaluated Compensation System (RRECS), which will go into effect … Read more