The Postal Service has introduced an accounting platform to automate the invoicing of Qualified Business Reply Mail (QBRM) postcards, letters and flats. The platform, Intelligent Mail barcode Accounting (IMbA), allows the organization to make better use of its digital technology, according to Mail Entry and Payment Technology Vice President Marc McCrery. “Intelligent Mail barcode Accounting […]
The Postal Service’s Corporate Information Security Office (CISO) is asking USPS stakeholders to submit policy updates or changes for the next edition of Handbook AS-805, Information Security Policy. The handbook provides a framework for information security policies and updates on evolving online threats that could directly affect the postal network as well as the organization’s […]
In honor of the newly released Made of Hearts stamp, here are eight facts about the Postal Service’s long-running Love stamp series. 1. Love is all around. The first Love stamp was released in 1973. It was illustrated by pop artist Robert Indiana, incorporating a design he’d also famously depicted in painting and sculpture. The […]
Throughout the Postal Service’s history, its leaders have always looked toward tomorrow. USPS has continually invested in equipment, workforce development and other critical areas that allow the organization to effectively serve its customers. This is why investing in the future is one of the Postal Service’s core strategies, along with innovating to deliver value; engaging, […]
The video highlighted in the “Proud to protect” article does a fantastic job depicting Postal Inspector Carroll Harris’s dedication to his family, the military and his career. […]
Letter Carrier Benjamin Dickey was recently delivering mail in a Youngstown, OH, neighborhood when he heard someone yelling “Mr. Mailman!” Dickey soon located a customer across the road who had fallen in her garage and couldn’t get up on her own. The Postal Service employee helped the woman to her feet, and she declined further […]
The Postal Service is continuing to help employees learn to avoid slips, trips and falls. More than 18,600 employees experienced these types of accidents on the job last year. To help prevent these injuries, USPS recently conducted its first National Slip, Trip and Fall Prevention Week, a campaign that offered safety tips to employees and […]
PS Form 8076, Authorization to Hold Mail, has been updated. The new version of the form, which has a January 2020 print date, outlines additional options for customers to file their requests online at usps.com or through the USPS mobile application. The front of the updated form is addressed to “Your Local Post Office” and […]
The Postal Service issues dozens of stamps each year, and each one is a unique product that helps the organization generate revenue. Like many businesses, USPS wants to ensure customers know when its products hit the market. This is why the organization holds dedication ceremonies for most stamp releases. Not only do the ceremonies help […]
Here are five facts about Michigan’s Grand Island ice caves, a natural phenomenon in Lake Superior and the subject of a Priority Mail Express stamp released last week. 1. Grand Island is marked by massive sandstone bluffs. While impressive in any season, the columns, which are 20-50 feet high, are especially dramatic in winter when […]
The Year of the Rat got off to an early start Jan. 11, when the Postal Service launched its latest Lunar New Year stamp series in Monterey Park, CA. Lunar New Year is an important holiday for many Asian communities, including people of Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Tibetan, Mongolian, Malaysian and Filipino heritage. More than 20 […]
The Postal Service will soon introduce eBuy Plus, an improved version of its online requisition system. The new system, which will replace eBuy2, will be more intuitive and offer a better search engine. Other features will include reusable requisition templates, budget data that is visible on requisition screens, spend data reporting, and finance numbers that […]
Darryl Johnson likes to get it right. The Los Angeles letter carrier, who has worked for the Postal Service for more than 30 years, understands mistakes can be costly. “When a customer gets a broken or misdelivered package, they’ll tell five people, who’ll tell five more. It can keep multiplying until we get a bad […]
Did you know that three of the most common passwords among U.S. computer users last year were “qwerty,” “password” and “12345”? If you use generic passwords, the CyberSafe at USPS team is encouraging you to leave them behind. The start of 2020 is an ideal time to update the passwords for your USPS and personal […]
Greeting card promotion. USPS is offering a promotion on Hallmark greeting card purchases at select Post Offices. From Jan. 4-Feb. 14, customers will save $1 when they purchase two Hallmark cards. A coupon, available wherever Hallmark greeting cards are sold, is required. Traveling right. USPS is reminding employees that they must use Omega World Travel […]
Link is looking back at the year in “Heroes’ Corner” with a countdown of the five most-viewed articles. Coming in at No. 5 is “Legal aid,” the story of Jack Harzynski. The Buffalo, NY, business mail technician was off duty when he came to the aid of a sheriff struggling to defend himself during a […]
It’s time for Link’s annual year in review. We’ll spend the next few days taking a look back at 2019, including a four-part series that highlights the major headlines. Our coverage will also include stories about employees and customers who made news this year, as well as special year-end editions of our regular columns: “About […]
Postal Service employees are giving the news media a behind-the-scenes look at this year’s busy holiday season. “We call this our Super Bowl,” Michael Behrend, acting manager for the Des Moines, IA, Network Distribution Center, told KCCI, the local CBS station, during a recent tour of the plant. The facility has more than 500 employees, […]
There’s still time to help the less fortunate this holiday season through Operation Santa, but you must act soon. The annual program allows families in need to write letters to Santa Claus for “adoption” by those who want to help. The deadline to adopt letters this year is Friday, Dec. 20. Several versions of the […]
The Postal Service’s year-end financial report is discussed in Chief Financial Officer Joe Corbett’s latest “Dollars and Change” video. USPS recorded $71.1 billion in total operating revenue in fiscal 2019 (Oct. 1, 2018-Sept. 30, 2019) and $79.9 billion in total operating expenses. This left the organization with a net loss of $8.8 billion — an […]
Dwight Eisenhower was president when Ernie Topness began delivering mail in 1957. Sixty-two years later, Ike is long gone, but Topness is still going strong. The Cedar Rapids, IA, letter carrier began his postal career after serving in the Army for two years during the Korean War. Topness is the only USPS employee in Western […]
The Postal Service’s busiest week of the holiday season is now underway and if you need information — or inspiration — to get through the next few days, there’s plenty available. The USPS Holiday Newsroom site serves as a one-stop shop for fact sheets, recommended mailing and shipping dates, and links to usps.com, where customers […]
Peak season is peaking — and if you want to stay in the know, you need Link mobile, the Link news site’s mobile-friendly version. Link mobile offers the same content available on Link’s desktop version — including news reports, feature stories and informational videos — but in a format that’s easy to read on smartphones, […]
The “Courageous displays” article about the new law requiring Postal Service facilities to fly the POW-MIA flag year-round made my heart smile with pride. I’m a former Marine who has been a Postmaster for more than 20 years, and I always display the POW-MIA flag at my facility. Feedback from customers is always positive. […]
The Postal Service wants employees to use proper recycling procedures when discarding used batteries. In preparation for the holiday peak delivery season, many Post Offices and delivery units will likely replace used batteries in scanners and other equipment. Most depleted batteries, including lithium-ion batteries used in Mobile Delivery Devices and other types of scanners, contain […]
Theodore Rogers is looking forward to what will probably be his last holiday season at the Cardiss Collins Processing and Distribution Center in Chicago. “It’s just wonderful and nice what we do at the Postal Service for folks to celebrate Christmas,” said Rogers, who plans to retire next year. Along with getting into the holiday […]
USPS recently added technology at retail locations that provides employees with the capability to scan government identification cards with two-dimensional barcodes. Postal Service locations with Retail Systems Software (RSS) and mobile Point of Sale (mPOS) equipment can now scan these cards. The scans are required for Hold Mail and change of address requests. Scanning the […]
The Postal Service wants employees to watch out for “malvertisers” who con online holiday shoppers with bogus advertisements. Malvertisers are scammers who promote too-good-to-be-true deals in order to trick online shoppers into clicking links embedded in spoofed or fake ads. The links often lead to malware — malicious software designed to compromise computers once downloaded. […]
Hamilton Award. The Postal Service has won a silver award in this year’s Alexander Hamilton Awards, which are given by Treasury & Risk Magazine to honor innovation in the corporate treasury, finance and risk management sectors. USPS was recognized in the operation risk management and insurance category for implementing a system of “tokenizing” credit card […]
Giving Tuesday, a single-day charity drive held annually on the fifth day after Thanksgiving, is Dec. 3. Postal Service employees can participate by donating to the Combined Federal Campaign, the federal government’s workplace charity effort. Giving Tuesday was created in 2012 to encourage people from around the world to come together and do good deeds […]