USPS Statement on COVID-19 Vaccines

(USPS releases this statement: https://about.usps.com/newsroom/statements/091621-usps-statement-on-covid19-vaccinations.htm)

Sept. 16, 2021

The health and safety of the Postal Service’s 650,000 employees who work every day to ensure that vital mail and packages are timely delivered to the American people, remains our highest priority. We will continue to take measures to protect the health and safety of our Postal workers that, given the critical role of vaccinations, includes encouraging all to get vaccinated.

We appreciate the urgency with which the administration is moving to implement new measures to stem the further spread of COVID-19 and its Delta variant.  Because the Postal Service is an independent federal agency that operates under a private sector collective bargaining model, modifications to working conditions are mandatory subjects of bargaining. In addition, our workplaces are subject to regulations from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Therefore, we are working closely with our union leadership so that once OSHA’s COVID-19 Vaccination Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) is issued we can move quickly to determine its applicability to our employees and how best to implement.

Additional information on the steps we have taken to keep our employees and customers safe is available here.

USPS ANNOUNCES

(This information comes from USPS LINK: https://link.usps.com/2021/09/15/labor-update-12/)

Labor update

Fingers on computer keyboard

USPS and the Human Resources Shared Service Center (HRSSC) bargaining unit have reached a tentative agreement on a 36-month contract.

The HRSSC unit is under the umbrella of the American Postal Workers Union and covers approximately 218 employees represented by the union.

“This agreement is economically responsible and fair to our employees,” said Deputy Postmaster General and Chief Human Resources Officer Doug Tulino.

The tentative agreement is subject to a ratification vote by the union membership. Upon ratification, the agreement will expire at midnight on Oct. 10, 2024.

LiteBlue: A New Look

(This information comes from USPS LINK: https://link.usps.com/2021/09/14/whole-new-liteblue/)

Whole new LiteBlue

LiteBlue has a new look and features as part of an extensive redesign that creates an improved user experience, particularly for those who view the website using mobile devices.

The redesign — LiteBlue’s first major overhaul since 2004 — debuted Sept. 14.

An important resource for Postal Service employees, LiteBlue can be accessed from any computer or mobile device with an internet connection and offers a range of information, including news, information and links to frequently used applications.

To use the site, employees must log in with their ID number and password.

The site has been redesigned to be responsive, so that it adapts to being easily viewed on both computer and mobile device screens.

Mobile device users make up a large portion of LiteBlue users.

Of the 106 million total page views LiteBlue received last year, approximately 81 percent were on mobile devices. Most viewers (73 percent) used iPhones.

The new LiteBlue homepage has been designed with user-friendly features, including several sections:

• Human Resources, which includes links to frequently accessed pages;

• Employee Apps, which links to regularly used applications;

• Featured Topics, which links to new or frequently visited content;

• Area Updates, which links to the latest employee newsletters; and

• Workforce Community, which highlights employee special deals, information security, employee engagement and more.

The site also features a Resource Index to help employees easily find information and services.

Other improvements include Apps, which provides access to frequently used applications; Home, which provides access to regularly used pages; and My HR, a tab featuring Human Resources information, which will be redesigned soon.