USPS Office of Inspector General

Career employees earn 4 hours of sick leave for a full pay period (80 hours), or at a rate of 5 percent. Some career employees are currently taking sick leave at approximately the same rate, liquidating their leave bank. The Postal Service’s sick leave absence rate (absenteeism) was 4.3 percent in 2008. This seems high compared to the 1.1 percent rate the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports for employees in the private sector and 1.7 percent rate for employees in the federal sector. So why was the Postal Service’s rate higher?

Earth Day is celebrated on April 22 this year, making now an appropriate time for a blog on the Postal Service’s green initiatives. The Postal Service’s environmental efforts fall into many areas including:

The Postal Service spends approximately $13 billion each year with contractors, most of whom are also customers of the Postal Service. Meanwhile, the Postal Service has experienced the most significant mail decline in its history. Mail volume fell by 9.5 billion pieces in fiscal year (FY) 2008. The economic stress of current times is a major factor in this decline, and additional Postal Service revenue is lost when major businesses merge and combine their customer mail base.

Two families trade in their vehicles for more fuel-efficient ones. If both travel the same amount each year, which will save more fuel by making the change?

Family 1 decides to trade in their 4-wheel drive Jeep Patriot (25.5 avg. MPG) for a Civic Hybrid (42.5 avg. MPG).
Family 2 decides to trade in their 4-wheel drive Chevy Trailblazer (14 avg. MPG) for a 4-wheel drive Jeep Patriot (25.5 avg. MPG).

Please vote before continuing if you don’t want to cheat.

[poll id="22"]

Did most of you think Family 1?

As Pushing the Envelope noted 8 weeks ago, the Postal Service is facing a severe financial challenge. There are concerns the Postal Service could end this year without enough cash to pay all of its bills. The Postal Service attributes its problems to two major factors: (1) the long-term erosion of high-margin First-Class Mail volume because of electronic diversion and (2) drastic volume losses due to the current recession. The Postal Service has asked Congress to