Wednesday, January 31, 2024
Postal Service employees must complete this year’s heat safety training
The online course, available in HERO, is due March 15
It’s never too early to think about heat safety.
The Postal Service’s mandatory Heat Illness Prevention Program (HIPP) training is now available in HERO.
The course is titled “FY24 Heat Stress Recognition and Prevention” and must be completed by Friday, March 15.
Facility managers are responsible for ensuring the course is presented to bargaining unit employees without computer access and then recorded in HERO as after-the-fact training by March 15.
“Employee safety is a top priority for the Postal Service. This course, part of our HIPP, is designed to ensure that employees are educated about all heat-related ailments,” said Leeann Theriault, employee safety and health awareness manager.
The HIPP is in effect from April 1 through Oct. 31 and is triggered any other time when National Weather Service (NWS) reports for a particular work location indicate that the outdoor heat index is expected to exceed 80 degrees Fahrenheit during the course of a workday or work shift.
Weather reports are available from the NWS website.
To further educate employees, facility managers or their designees can order heat safety posters, vehicle stickers and badge cards from the Topeka, KS, Material Distribution Center eBuyPlus catalog.
HERO is now part of the new MyHR website. Employees can access the site by going to Blue or LiteBlue on a computer or mobile device and selecting the MyHR link.
HERO appears under “MyHR apps.”
Heroes
Rising from the ashes
A carrier alerted a sleeping customer to a house fire
Letter Carrier Bryan Cocadiz was delivering mail recently in Monterey Park, CA, when he spotted flames coming from a home.
Cocadiz banged on the door and yelled to alert anyone inside. He called 911 and retreated a safe distance as he watched the blaze intensify.
The Postal Service employee waited for firefighters to arrive. As he was talking to them, a man covered in soot burst out of the home’s garage.
The man said he woke up from the carrier banging on the door. He was treated for minor burns to his arms and smoke inhalation, and is expected to fully recover.
The local fire department later honored Cocadiz at a ceremony.
This year’s Black Heritage stamp honors a legal trailblazer
Constance Baker Motley was the first African American woman to argue a case before the Supreme Court
The Postal Service will release this year’s Black Heritage stamp, honoring civil rights activist and pioneering jurist Constance Baker Motley, on Wednesday, Jan. 31.
Motley is the first African American woman to argue a case before the U.S. Supreme Court and the first to serve as a federal judge.
She started her career in 1945 when she began working for future Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall at the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund.
From 1945 to 1965, Motley worked on about 60 cases that reached the Supreme Court. She won nine of the 10 cases she argued there.
In 1966, Motley was nominated by President Lyndon B. Johnson to a seat on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York — the largest and busiest federal trial court in the country. She rose to chief judge in 1982 and senior judge in 1986.
The stamp features a portrait of Motley by artist Charly Palmer, based on an Associated Press photograph.
Rendered in acrylic on canvas, the portrait displays elements of Palmer’s signature style, including stenciled circular shapes around the head that suggest royalty, and heavy brushstrokes and scratches that provide added texture.
Motley is the 47th honoree in the Black Heritage stamp series, joining other luminaries such as Marshall, lawmaker Barbara Jordan, educator Mary McLeod Bethune and journalist Gwen Ifill.
The Constance Baker Motley stamp will be available in panes of 20 at Post Offices and usps.com.
The Postal Service will dedicate the stamp Jan. 31 at a ceremony in New York City.
Milestones
Appointments, awards and more
Here’s a look at recent USPS announcements
• James T. Dunlap, Colorado-Wyoming District’s labor relations manager, was named acting labor relations systems director. Sheena D. Hazel, who had been serving in that role on an acting basis, resumed her regular duties as North Carolina District’s labor relations manager.
• Michelle M. Sherbert was named Central Area regional sales director. She previously served as an Atlantic Area regional sales director, a post now held by Jamie L. Cousin, who previously served as Florida District sales manager.
• Jeremie Six was named Los Angeles postmaster. He previously served as postmaster in Long Beach, CA.
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February 7, 2024
Datebook
‘Start School Now’
Postal Service employees may participate in an upcoming webinar on returning to school to finish a college degree or starting a new one.
The session, “Start School Now: A Step by Step Guide,” will be held Wednesday, Feb. 7, at noon Eastern.
Representatives from Carlow University will lead the webinar.
Participants must register before the event on the webinar website.
Participation is voluntary. Nonexempt employees must be off the clock or on authorized breaks.
Employees with questions can email the Benefits and Wellness team.
USPS acting historian to speak at UPU event in Switzerland
Stephen Kochersperger, the Postal Service’s acting historian, will speak at a historians’ colloquium in Bern, Switzerland, on Thursday, Feb. 1.
The Universal Postal Union, or UPU, is presenting the “Achieving ‘A Single Postal Territory’: A Global Promise — Past and Present” event as part of the Bern-based organization’s 150th anniversary.
Kochersperger will speak about the transnational influence on the development of the U.S. postal system. He will deliver his remarks from USPS headquarters in Washington, DC.
A live stream of the colloquium, which runs through Friday, Feb. 2, will be available on UPU TV. No registration is required.
Employees who are unable to stream video from external sites on postal computers can use a personal device to watch the event while off the clock. The UPU website has more information on the program.
View past printouts
Printout details
What's included
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Postal Service employees must complete this year’s heat safety training
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Heroes
Rising from the ashes
A carrier alerted a sleeping customer to a house fire
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This year’s Black Heritage stamp honors a legal trailblazer
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Milestones
Appointments, awards and more
Here’s a look at recent USPS announcements
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February7Datebook
‘Start School Now’
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Brief
USPS acting historian to speak at UPU event in Switzerland