The Postal Service has announced five new stamp releases for the holiday season. Here’s what’s coming: • Our Lady of Guápulo. This Christmas stamp will feature a detail of “Our Lady of Guápulo,” painted in the 18th century by an unknown artist in Cuzco, Peru. The image shows a crowned Virgin Mary, enrobed in a […]
The Postal Service recently held its Supplier Performance Awards, honoring 13 businesses for their support of the organization’s mission. Supply Management Vice President Mark Guilfoil presented the awards during a ceremony that was held virtually due to the coronavirus pandemic. “This year’s award winners represent the diversity of the Postal Service’s supply chain — including […]
The Postal Service wants employees to continue to be mindful of the differences between Political Mail and Election Mail tags when handling mail. Red Tag 57, for Political Mail, should be used for any political campaign mailing by a registered candidate, campaign committee or committee of a political party. This tag also can be used […]
To help celebrate the recent release of the Hip Hop stamps, here are the top five entries from Rolling Stone’s 2017 list of the 100 greatest hip-hop songs of all time. 5. “Mind Playing Tricks on Me.” This 1991 Geto Boys song was an early gangsta rap hit with crossover appeal. Sampling Isaac Hayes’ “Hung […]
Leominster, MA, City Carrier Assistant Michael Ciccone demonstrated bravery and quick thinking when he helped a crying child who said her house was on fire. […]
Letter Carrier Stephen Hough was making deliveries on a snowy day last winter in Sullivan, MO. An older customer met Hough outside to retrieve mail, and as the Postal Service employee made his way to the next house, he heard the man yelling for help. Hough rushed back and found that the customer had slipped […]
U.S. Rep. John Lewis is being remembered this week as a civil rights icon and an American hero, but he also was a friend to the Postal Service. The Georgia lawmaker, who died July 17, was a stamp proponent who spoke at several dedication ceremonies during his career, including To Form a More Perfect Union, […]
The Postal Service has revealed the third and fourth Bugs Bunny stamp images. The third image, from the classic 1947 short “A Hare Grows in Manhattan,” shows a debonair Bugs wearing a beret, ascot, smoking jacket and shades. In the fourth image, Bugs jokes it up as a jester in bright green garb and a […]
The Postal Service is reminding employees about a procedural change for the replenishment of flags distributed through the organization’s Burial Flag Program. Through the program, all retail Post Offices serve as a burial flag repository in accordance with Retail Operations Handbook PO-209 and Administrative Support Manual 474. Under the procedural change, which took effect in […]
Here are five things you should know about the origins of the U.S. postal system, which will mark its 245th anniversary on July 26. 1. The American postal system was established in Philadelphia. On July 26, 1775, members of the Second Continental Congress, meeting in the City of Brotherly Love, created the position of Postmaster […]
The virtual dedication ceremony for the Hip Hop stamp, highlighted in the article “Pump up the volume,” was excellent. Thanks to USPS for highlighting a culture that I’ve participated in since I was a teenager. […]
Michelle Mindziak, a USPS sales solution expert based in Southeastern, PA, was traveling last year with colleagues for work when they faced a weather delay at the Orlando, FL, airport. The group took the opportunity to dine at an airport restaurant, where a crisis soon erupted when a nearby toddler began choking. As the child’s […]
If you’ve enjoyed “Hamilton,” this summer’s stage-turned-streaming blockbuster, you’ve probably thought, “Gee, why should the Department of the Treasury have all the fun? Where’s a Postal Service-loving Broadway musical?” Aha! Don’t you remember “Mail”? It’s OK, it’s been a while. You know, like, 32-years-a-while. And it ran for a month. Still! “Mail” represents the highest-profile, […]
To mark Tax Day on July 15, here are five things you may not have known. 1. The federal income tax was introduced during the Civil War. The Revenue Act of 1861 introduced the tax as a means to finance the war. These days, as USA Today noted last year, most tax dollars are used […]
In a time when Zoom calls and texts can be emotionally draining, mailing someone a handwritten letter is often personally enriching, according to a New York Times opinion piece published this week. Jordan Salama, a travel journalist who penned the essay, describes picking up a letter-writing habit as a way to help him cope during […]
Customers can now use self-service kiosks in Post Offices to schedule passport application appointments. Beginning July 13, the scheduling option will allow customers to avoid lines and adhere to social distancing guidelines during the coronavirus pandemic. To make an appointment, customers will select “New Passport Only” or “New Passport with Photo Services” on a self-service […]
Jeffersonville, GA, Rural Carrier John Newby was delivering mail one day last December when he heard someone yelling for help. Newby soon spotted a customer who had been stranded for two hours on a second-floor balcony at her home. The woman, who had accidentally locked herself out while hanging holiday decorations, asked Newby to enter […]
More than 7 million Healing PTSD stamps have been sold since its release last year, raising $717,000 to fund research about post-traumatic stress disorder. The funding is being disbursed to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. “Thanks to the millions of Americans who purchased the Healing PTSD stamp, VA will continue to study, create awareness, […]
USPS has ended an extended grace period for nonpayment and resumed normal billing for PO Box customers. On three occasions in recent months, the Postal Service extended the usual 10-day payment grace period to 30 days to assist PO Box customers affected by the coronavirus pandemic. Starting July 1, the Web Box Activity Tracking System […]
The federal government is allowing expanded use of flexible spending accounts under a new law designed to help people during the national economic downturn. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which was signed into law in March, includes two provisions that affect flexible spending accounts: • Over-the-counter drugs and medicine. The CARES […]
To help mark the release of the Fruits and Vegetables stamps next week, here are five facts about everyone’s favorite edible plants. 1. Neither fruits nor vegetables are the nation’s largest crop. Sorry, fruit and veggie fans, but that distinction belongs to a grain: corn, the most widely produced crop in the United States. More […]
Letter Carrier Aiden Cho was recently stopped at an intersection while delivering mail in Port Washington, NY, when a nearby driver suddenly turned on his hazard lights, got out of his car and approached the postal vehicle. The man was gasping for air, so Cho asked him, “Are you choking?” The distressed driver nodded. Cho […]
Thank you, Link, for delivering positive news and information each day. It’s inspiring to read about Postal Service employees doing so much to help others during the coronavirus pandemic. It gives me hope. […]
The Postal Service has reduced greenhouse gas emissions from facilities, vehicles and utilities by 22.4 percent since 2008 — the equivalent of removing more than 250,000 cars from the road in a single year, new data shows. The information is included in the latest USPS Annual Sustainability Report, which was published last week. The report […]
The HERO system has a new feature that encourages employees to complete their HEROProfile, which could help them advance their USPS careers. The HEROProfile allows employees to present a consolidated view of their professional information that managers, supervisors and colleagues can use to assess their skills, talents and experience. When employees log into HERO, they’ll […]
The Postal Service will release its Hip Hop stamps on July 1, celebrating a music, dance and art movement that has profoundly influenced American and global culture. The term “hip-hop” encompasses rapping, DJing, break dancing and graffiti art. The movement was born in the streets of New York City during the mid-1970s and went on […]
Independence Day, the holiday that celebrates the adoption of the Declaration of Independence, is this week. Here are seven facts courtesy of an organization devoted to another famous document — the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia. 1. The Continental Congress officially declared its freedom from Britain on July 2, 1776. After voting on independence, the […]
I loved the “Humor us” article featuring mail-themed dad jokes. They brought a smile to my face. I may not be a dad, but I can certainly “deliver” these to someone who needs a smile. […]
Rural Carrier Howard Willis was making deliveries last December in Kannapolis, NC, when he stopped to check on an older customer facing hardship and see if the man had any outgoing mail. At the customer’s front door, Willis found the man in a wheelchair — unclothed and covered in blood from a head injury sustained […]
The Postal Service has introduced an online form to help customers who send Political Mail. Political Mail consists of mailings from registered political candidates, parties and related organizations like political action committees. USPS delivered a record 3 billion pieces of Political Mail during the 2018 midterm election cycle — a number that could grow this […]