Author: tommyroma

THE END OF AN ERA

After 46 years of service to the USPS, I am officially hanging up my postal shoes! This has come with mixed emotions because I felt I could still make a difference. Dealing with the public and the employees is what I did best. We always managed to get the job done through the employees and public because I had one belief, “Treat everyone the way you wanted to be treated and the rest would come naturally”. I instilled in everyone I ever interacted with that, “The impossible would just take a little longer to achieve,” and that, “You could accomplish anything you put your mind too.”

The term ”JUST DO IT” was first used by me before it became famous with Nike sneakers.

Naps will be the beneficiary of my retirement as I now can devote 100% of my time to them. I will maintain 2 offices in Brooklyn and have acquired a third one on Staten Island, N.Y. I have done all this to keep the lines of communication with the membership I love to serve at an all-time high.

My last Christmas in the Postal Service after 46 years proved to be a profitable one. With the Amazon account leading the way, we proved that we are truly the Best of the Best. With the expected increase of first class mail (Christmas cards) our employees once again rose to the challenge. Every parcel and first class letter was delivered on time. Our lobby windows were staffed, lobby directors breaking the lines whenever necessary. We again met the challenge. Our trucks kept rolling helping Santa to fulfill the wishes of many children and adults. I can truly say that I am retiring with a sense of pride, knowing that our employees, when the chips are down, can’t be matched.

God bless you all and Merry Christmas,
Tommy

Important Meeting: Branch Presidents, New York & New England Areas: Postal Service’s New Health Plan Proposal – December 4, 2013

Date:   December 4, 2013
Time:   11:00 a.m. (complimentary lunch will be served promptly at 11:00 a.m.) – meeting should conclude by 3:00 p.m.
Location:  James A. Farley Post Office, Room 4500, 33rd Street and 8th Avenue, Manhattan (adjacent to Penn Station, NYC)

The Presentation will be given by the Vice President of Labor Relations, Doug Tulino.  Arrangements have also been made for presentations by Rick Uluski, the USPS Northeast Area VP and Dr. Joshua Colin, the Eastern Region Area VP.  Invitations have also been extended to the District Managers throughout the Northeast Area and Eastern Area to attend this important meeting.  Our Executive Vice President, Jay Killackey will also provide a legislative update.

Please click here for further details.

Federal Agencies Abandon the U.S. Postal Service

This is an interesting article written about a subject that I have complained about many times in the past. The author is Truman Lewis a former reporter and bureau chief for broadcast outlets and magazines.

Everyone knows the U.S. Postal Service is in trouble, but is anyone doing anything about it?

Well federal agencies are. They’re taking their business elsewhere. A new report finds that out of $337 million spent on shipping last year, federal agencies spent only $4.8 million with the Postal Service, less than two percent. The lion’s share of the money went to FedEx and the United Parcel Service.

Please put your thinking caps on, as NAPS members; how many times have we visited our Congressmen and Senators offices only to see FedEx and UPS mailings on their staffs desks? I always see FedEx and UPS trucks idling outside their office buildings making pickups. Where are the USPS trucks? Very few if any.

Why you ask?

One big reason is that, unlike private companies, the Postal Service can’t sell any products below cost, even if doing so would enable it to snag contracts that would be profitable overall. Who would impose such an onerous and un-business like restriction on what is supposed to be a semi-independent government corporation? CONGRESS, of course.

Case in point, as a former Customer Service Rep for the USPS, I was charged with selling our products to the general public and businesses. When speaking with the decision makers of the firms it was not the service in question, it was the discounts and giveaways that FedEx and UPS offered. We offered nothing and guess who got the business?

Mr. Truman went on to say the Postal Service has much in common with Amtrak and the District of Columbia. All are hamstrung by Congressional micromanagement that leaves them often unable to pursue simple initiatives that would improve their fortunes and provide better service to their subjects.

But while the Postal Service is forbidden from, say, granting a big discount on one service that would let it sell additional, profitable services, we are also hampered by the 5.1.billion dollar a year pre funding of our future retiree’s health benefits. This was imposed upon us by Congress in 2006. No other federal agency was ever asked to do this.

The Postal Service’s Inspector General says that while the situation looks grim, all is not lost. Although its competitors have consistently captured more than 98 percent of shipping revenue from federal agencies through GSA contracts, the Postal Service has opportunities to increase its share of this market, the IG said in its report.

On the other hand, the situation is not going to be resolved quickly. Because the Postal Service missed out on contract opportunities, many federal agencies have several years to go on their existing contracts with FedEx and UPS.

Stay Strong!
Tommy Roma