Seeking an Ad-Hoc Port St Lucie OIC

Does your career path include becoming a Postmaster? If so, Manager, Post Office Operations Area 7 Louis Klegin is offering an Ad-Hoc opportunity that may be of interest to you. Klegin is seeking a motivated and energetic individual with a wealth of postal knowledge and experience to serve as Port St. Lucie Officer In Charge (OIC), EAS-24.  
 
All qualified career and non-career postal employees in the South Florida District and who reside within 50 miles of the reporting office are eligible to apply for this Ad-Hoc position not to exceed 90 days. The successful applicant will report to the Port St. Lucie Main Office, 290 NW Peacock BLVD, Port St. Lucie, FL 34986-9998.
 
Non-Scheduled Days:   Saturday/Sunday   Hours: 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.    
 
Duties and Responsibilities: Manages carriers and clerks directly or through subordinate supervisors, in mail distribution, delivery and collection, and window service activities; manages the implementation and administration of approved programs as they apply to the local and subordinate reporting offices; operates within established rules, laws, and procedures; prepares, submits, and administers an operating budget for the local and subordinate reporting offices; trains new employees to ensure quality service; manages the implementation and administration of proper safeguards for the welfare of customers and employees, ensuring quality service and the security of the mails; supervises office clerical operations to provide records, files, and reports as required for the local and subordinate reporting offices; selects locations for contract stations and administers the contracts; has regular contact with customers; exercises normal protective care of a stock of accountable paper, a small building, building and office equipment, supplies, and vehicles for the local and subordinate reporting offices; exercises a normal regard for the safety of self and others, with particular emphasis on ensuring employee compliance with established safety policy and procedures; administers the safety program for the local and subordinate reporting offices.

Qualifications/Requirements
The following requirements are to be addressed by applicants for this Ad-Hoc Postmaster position:
 
1. Decision Making/Problem Solving. Ability to carry out operational plans and procedures within the framework of policy. Ability to obtain and interpret relevant facts; analyze problems, complaints, and suggestions; devise effective plans and procedures; and take appropriate action. Ability to analyze problems and to devise improvements.
2. Budget Operations. Ability to prepare a budget and maintain financial records. Ability to carry out operations economically and efficiently. Ability to maintain operating cost and expenditures in proper relationship to the authorized budget.

3. Planning and Scheduling of Work. Ability to plan operations over appropriate time periods, taking into account variations in workload and available resources. Ability to adjust work activities and schedules to meet emergency operations.
4. Safety and Health. Knowledge of safety procedures needed to ensure that safe working conditions are maintained. Knowledge of procedures and techniques established to avoid injuries to self, employees, and customers. Knowledge of normal accident prevention measures and emergency procedures. Knowledge of a Postmaster's safety and health responsibilities. Knowledge of the relationships of safety and health considerations to efficient operations, including absenteeism and operating costs.
5. Customer and Community Relations. Ability to conduct operations in an attitude of responsive service to customers. Ability to present a favorable Postal Service image to the community. Ability to be active in community life. Ability to comprehend and communicate information, both orally and in writing. Knowledge of operating procedures and standards, postal rates and classes, and commonly encountered customer needs. Ability to sell ideas, positions, and recommendations to others. Ability to interact tactfully and relate well with others.
6. Knowledge of labor relations policies, including management's rights, the rights of employees and their representatives, national and local labor agreements, and applicable laws and regulations. Ability to negotiate effectively with employee groups. Knowledge of policy pertaining to Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action. Ability to deal fairly with all employees, customers, and business contacts.
7. Employee Development. Ability to train and develop employees. Ability to delegate work to subordinates according to their current ability and capacity for growth.
8. Supervision. Ability to define assignments or projects clearly. Ability to delegate authority, and to work with and through others effectively. Ability to direct or coordinate individual or group action in order to accomplish a task or goal. Ability to motivate and lead employees of varied backgrounds and skill levels. Ability to deal fairly and objectively with subordinates.


Interested employees must submit their eCareer profile, along with a summary of accomplishments addressing the above eight requirements. All applications should be mailed to the below address for receipt by Close of Business (COB) Friday, October 27, 2017:

Louis Klegin
Manager, Post Office Operations
U.S. Postal Service
3200 Summit Blvd
West Palm Beach, FL 33416-9998 

NALC Nominee Donated Stem Cells

Burnsville, MN, Letter Carrier Deborah Ochetti recently was honored for donating bone marrow to a leukemia patient.

Deborah Ochetti’s journey to receiving this year’s Humanitarian of the Year Award from the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) began years ago.

The Burnsville, MN, letter carrier, who was honored this month, , donated stem cells to help in a cancer patient’s treatment.

Ochetti underwent testing in 2011 to see if she was a match for a family that needed a bone marrow donor. She wasn’t a match, but she was added to a national bone marrow registry.

For years, Ochetti wondered if she’d ever become a match for someone.
Then in 2015, she learned a woman with leukemia needed her.

After a three-month evaluation, Ochetti was asked if she was sure she wanted to continue with a donation.

“For me, there was no question,” she said.

Ochetti’s procedure involved her receiving injections to stimulate her bone marrow to release stem cells, which were then extracted from her blood.

The NALC’s judging panel called Ochetti’s actions “selfless” and praised her willingness to help someone she didn’t know.

“She wasn’t a match the first time, but she still gave a donation to a stranger, even though it wasn’t her original plan,” they wrote.

The letter carrier, who missed only two days of work following the procedure, said she never sought accolades for her generosity.

“If one person can hear my story and possibly save another life, well, job well done,” Ochetti said.

Source: LINK 

In Pink Solidarity on Friday, Oct. 20

Northampton, MA, retail associates get into the Wear Pink Day spirit last year. From left are Isidoro “Izzy” Santiago, Daniel Manjourea and Charles Klepacki.

The Postal Service is inviting employees to support Breast Cancer Awareness Month by wearing pink Friday, October 20.

Wear Pink Day aims to raise awareness of the disease and honor survivors and those who have died.

Breast cancer is the second most common type of cancer in American women, according to the National Cancer Institute. Women are diagnosed more than men, but men can also develop the disease.

USPS encourages employees to learn the symptoms and risk factors, get regular screenings and take preventive measures.

The Postal Service’s Breast Cancer Research stamp has raised more than $86 million to fund research programs across the nation.

Employees who participate in Wear Pink Day are required to follow their facility’s dress code or the regulations found within the Employee and Labor
Relations Manual, Subchapter 930, Work Clothes and Uniforms.

The USPS Wellness LiteBlue page and the National Cancer Institute’s site have more information about breast cancer.

Source: LINK

Miami GMF SSA Adds 6th Gold Star

 

Recently, Miami Postmaster Enrique “Rick” Suarez thanked Sales and Services Associate Donna Jones (above) for providing outstanding service to her customers. Jones earned a Gold Star Award for a perfect Retail Customer Experience (RCE) transaction at the Miami GMF Postal Store.  

“The Gold Star Award is a small token of appreciation to demonstrate that your achievements do not go unnoticed,” said Suarez. “Thank you for all the excellent customer service you provide daily.”

Manager, Customer Services Lawrence Rogers hosted a luncheon for the Retail Staff to celebrate Jones’ latest Gold Star Award, the sixth addition to the GMF collection.

  

 
The Miami General Mail Facility (GMF) Retail Staff recognizes Sales and Services Associate Donna Jones (third from left) on her latest Gold Star Award during a 100% Retail Customer Experience (RCE) transaction. Also pictured from left, Lead Sales and Services Associate Irma Knighton; Mail Handler Bobby Stinson; Manager, Customer Services Lawrence Rogers (behind Jones); Sales and Services Associates VJ Reddy, Briggett Glinton, and Wang Lee; and Supervisor, Customer Services Alex Fonseca.


Photos: Miami Customer Relations Coordinator Mirtha Uriarte  

Rebuilding Puerto Rico

The U.S. Postal Service is accepting requests from employees who want to volunteer to work in Puerto Rico to help restore service following Hurricanes Irma and Maria.

If you wish to participate, you must submit a letter of intent no later than Friday, October 20. More information, including instructions on submitting letters of intent, are available in a memo posted on LiteBlue.

Career and non-career employees are needed. Those selected will work in their assigned crafts. To cite two examples, letter carriers will carry mail, while mail handlers will support processing activities.

The Postal Service won’t pay travel, housing or per diem. You’ll need to arrange your own accommodations with relatives who live in the area — and you’ll need to state this in your letter.

You’ll get your regular pay, plus overtime when applicable. 

Assignments will be made on a 30-day basis and evaluated at the end of each period to determine if the assignment should be renewed. 

APO/FPO/DPO Shipping Deadlines

The holiday season is the most wonderful time of the year, but many people miss loved ones who are stationed overseas as military or diplomatic members. While the holidays are a hard time to be away from home, the U.S. Postal Service makes it a priority that those serving their country will receive their presents, care packages and cards in time for the holidays — no matter where they may be.  

To send packages to loved ones serving in the military and diplomatic posts abroad, the Postal Service offers a discounted price of $17.35 on its largest Priority Mail Flat Rate Box. The price includes a $1.50 per box discount for mail sent to APO/FPO/DPO (Air/Army Post Office/Fleet Post Office/Diplomatic Post Office) destinations worldwide.

Priority Mail Flat Rate Boxes are available at no cost at local Post Offices and online at shop.usps.com. Postage, labels and customs forms can be printed online anytime using Click-N-Ship at usps.com/ship.

To ensure timely delivery of holiday wishes by December 25, the Postal Service recommends that cards and packages be sent to military APO/FPO/DPO addresses overseas no later than the mailing dates listed below.

Military Mail Addressed  To and From	Priority Mail Express Military Service (PMEMS)1	First-Class Mail Letters and Cards	Priority Mail	Parcel Airlift     Mail    (PAL)2	Space Available Mail SAM)3	Retail Ground
APO/FPO/DPO AE                     ZIPs 090-092	Dec. 16	Dec. 11	Dec. 11	Dec. 4	Nov. 27	Nov. 6
APO/FPO/DPO AE                   ZIP 093	N/A	Dec. 4	Dec. 4	Dec. 4	Nov. 27	Nov. 6
APO/FPO/DPO AE                      ZIPs 094-098	Dec. 16	Dec. 11	Dec. 11	Dec. 4	Nov. 27	Nov. 6
APO/FPO/DPO AA                 ZIP 340	Dec. 16	Dec. 11	Dec. 11	Dec. 4	Nov. 27	Nov. 6
APO/FPO/DPO AP                ZIPs 962-966	Dec. 16	Dec. 11	Dec. 11	Dec. 4	Nov. 27	Nov. 6

 

1 PMEMS is available to selected military/diplomatic Post Offices. Check with your local Post Office to determine if this service is available to an APO/FPO/DPO address. 2 PAL is a service that provides air transportation for parcels on a space-available basis. PAL is available for Standard Post items not exceeding 30 pounds in weight or 60 inches in length and girth combined. The applicable PAL fee must be paid in addition to the regular surface price for each addressed piece sent by PAL service. 3 SAM parcels are paid at Standard Post prices with maximum weight and size limits of 15 pounds and 60 inches in length and girth combined. SAM parcels are first transported domestically by surface and then to overseas destinations by air on a space-available basis.

Use the Military Care Kit to Send Presents and Care Packages

The Postal Service has created a free “Military Care Kit” based on the items most frequently requested by military families. The kit contains:

·  Two Priority Mail APO/FPO/DPO Flat Rate Boxes
·  Two Priority Mail Medium Flat Rate Boxes
·  Priority Mail tape
·  Priority Mail address labels
·  Appropriate customs forms

To order the kit, call 800-610-8734. Guidelines for packing, addressing and shipping items to U.S. troops can be found at usps.com/ship/apo-fpo-dpo.htm. To order Flat-Rate Boxes featuring the “America Supports You” logo, go to usps.com/freeboxes.

Addressing the Package
·  Write the service member’s full name
·  Include the unit and APO/FPO/DPO address with the 9-digit ZIP Code (if one is assigned). For example:

Army/Air Post Office (APO)
PFC JANE DOE
PSC 3 BOX 4120
APO AE 09021

Fleet Post Office (FPO)
SEAMAN JOSEPH SMITH
UNIT 100100 BOX 4120
FPO AP 96691

Diplomatic Post Office (DPO)
MELANIE ADAMS
UNIT 8400 BOX 0000
DPO AE 09498-0048

·  Do not write the country name where the service member is stationed in the address
·  Include a return address
·  Inside the box, include the service member’s name and address as well as the sender’s name and address on an index card in case the shipping label gets damaged in transit

Domestic mailing deadlines are as follows: 

Standard Post	First-Class Mail	Priority Mail	Priority Mail Express
Dec. 14	Dec. 19	Dec. 20	Dec. 22

Hidden Memories

The letters, photos and newspaper clippings connected to Bill Stacy that were recently discovered behind the drywall of a Silver Spring, MD, home. Image: The Washington Post

 

For nearly 20 years, Susan and John Greifer kept letters they found hidden behind the drywall of their Silver Spring, MD, home during a remodeling project.

The mailpieces came from Bill Stacy, an Army soldier who wrote to his family each week while serving in Vietnam during the war. The Stacys once lived in the house now occupied by the Griefers.

The letters chronicle Stacy’s experiences during the war, including his loneliness at Christmastime and his work in an orphanage he “adopted” in a nearby village.

“Good and bad, there are many aspects of this country and area of the world that Americans should be aware of,” wrote Stacy, who was killed in action at age 25.

The Greifers were reminded of the lost letters after watching the recent PBS documentary “The Vietnam War.”

They contacted Washington Post columnist John Kelly, who wrote a moving tribute to Stacy based on the letters and other items found behind the drywall, including photos and newspaper clippings.

Kelly also tracked down the soldier’s younger brother Art, who recalled the pain his parents felt when Bill was killed. Art Stacy doesn’t know how the letters ended up in the walls of his family’s old house.

“I doubt they were left there by accident,” he said. “It may be that Dad wanted to just leave it, to make [the painful memories] disappear.”

Source: LINK